These Monstrous Deeds

This book was AMAZING - but very TOUGH to read, heartbreaking, and it makes you feel a little sick and devastated to know this stuff actually happens out there in the world - but this novel captivated me and took me on an emotional, hard hitting, eye opening and riveting journey (and it was also surprisingly sexy and tender in a lot of moments!) I found myself unable to put it down. I loved the flaws and dark sides and realism of Nathan, who ultimately is a good man, but living the way he has done has affected him, and I wanted to protect dear Carter and stay with him until the end to make sure he was okay. I thought he was a well built character who I was emotionally invested in. The one and only niggle I had with this book was the third person narrative, and I think this book would have BEEN INCREDIBLE in first person. The 3rd person pulled me out of the characters a little especially in the beginning with the short chapters where I got sick of seeing Carter, Carter, Carter written every sentence. When there was a Casey too that got even more 'distracting' as the names looked too similar. But further in this did get easier and less distracting.

Little late to the party on this one, but no time like the present. 𝙄𝙣 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚, 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙣. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧. Two men in impossible situations. One by choice and for the greater good, another against his will and without all pieces of pertinent information. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩. This is quite a bit darker than my usual reads (although I have read darker before, but infrequently), so I tried to just read through and detach myself from some of the harder parts. Honestly, Nate’s back and forth kept things on an even keel for me as a reader when it would have been a harder pill to swallow would be have been acting his part. It’s interesting to me, given all the intricacies of this situation, whether Carter truly is in love with Nate, or has a case of Stockholm Syndrome. That will be interesting to see develop over the next few books. I’m also interested to find out how Carter digests the information that yes he was rescued but he also has to stay there for the duration of the operation. That would be a tough pill for anyone to swallow I would think. Be mindful of the TW. Don’t remember if this was mentioned as one…

This was a different type of story than I normally read. A heck of alot darker. I hated what Nathan/Travis had to do and become, I hated what Carter had to do. I hated Maison for allowing this to happen to his brother, but... I loved the story. I loved the strength in Carter to hang in there, the strength of Travis/Nathan to remember there was a Travis that has humanity despite having to do monstrous deeds. I loved that Maison, despite Carter being his only family left, chose the safest option for all concerned, including future victims to take down the slimmest monsters in the world. It was good to see when Nathan was Nate instead of Sir with Carter. It's scary to think that such things actually do happen in real life and are occurring at this very moment. I can see the need for men like Travis, Maison, and Jake (Benny) To have to do su h horrendous things to put and end to even worse horrendous things. Reading this book it's like driving by a very grisly accident scene and you can't help but take in all of the awfullness despite being repulsed by it. When I first started reading the book, I was intrigued. It didn't take me long after reading less than 100pgs to buy other two books in thos series and the two books in "A Monstrous Survivors Romance" series. In fact, how I came across monstrous deeds is by reading synopsis of Drown In You...then trying to figure out which books I needed to buy and I discovered I had bought These Monstrous Deeds in June. Made it easier to buy…

The books in this series must be read in order, and the author's content warnings should be taken seriously. The books include graphic depictions of abuse and trauma unlike anything I've read before, but that may be why the hard fought happiness feels so beautiful. These characters stayed with me after finishing the series. Heart-tugging, heartwarming, VERY difficult and graphic at times, but also beautiful and so engaging from start to finish. I felt every emotion right along with the characters. I love books that make me laugh, cry, break and then feel completely whole and put back together by the end. This series did all of that and more. The healing, love and family these characters find make all the pain worth it!

These Monstrous Deeds by T.J. Hamel is a dark, devastating, emotionally loaded read that absolutely shattered me. This book is heavy. Please, please read the trigger warnings—because it doesn’t pull any punches, and you need to be in the right headspace before diving in. The story follows Carter and Nathan, two characters bound together by trauma, secrets, and an impossible situation. I cried through so much of this book. The pain, the manipulation, the heartbreak—everything Carter and Nathan went through (and had to do) was just soul-crushing. I really struggled when Nathan didn’t tell Carter the truth from the beginning. It made sense for his character, but when Carter found out later and it nearly broke him? I was devastated. And then watching Carter continue to "get in trouble" just so Nathan could keep up the illusion of who he was? It hurt. It really hurt. I understood Carter’s choices, but I still wanted to shake him. The emotional push and pull in this book is relentless. This was a TikTok recommendation, and it lived up to the hype in the most painful way. I knew it was going to destroy me—and it did—but I don’t regret reading it for a second. If you love dark romance with serious emotional damage, forbidden love, and characters trying to claw their way toward something good in a broken world, this is for you. Just be ready to cry. Like, ugly cry.