Book Review ~ The Predator

5 Stars | 4 Spice

Book 1 of the Dark Verse series by RuNyx

This book is an absolute must-read! With jaw-dropping plot twists, expertly crafted tension, and unforgettable characters, it keeps you hooked from start to finish. RuNyx masterfully blends mystery, thriller, and dark romance, creating a gripping enemies-to-lovers story. The writing is phenomenal, making you feel every emotion. Don't wait—read it now!

QUICK REVIEW

WOW. Just WOW. I mean, this book was incredible. Why did it take me this long to finally read it?! The tension building, in-bloody-sane. The plot twists, mind-bloody-blowing. I can not say enough good things about this book. Read it. Seriously, just read it. You will not regret it.

FULL REVIEW

SPOILERS AHEAD     ~     SPOILERS AHEAD

Writing & Plot

Normally, I'm a first person pov girl through and through. I think that's why it took me so long to read this book, I didn't think I'd enjoy it because it's in third person. Oh, how wrong I was. I couldn't put it down. I read it in 5 hours and loved every, single mili-second.

The tension building was just complete perfection. Whether it was anxious tension, sexual tension, murderous tension, it didn't matter it was perfect and incredible. I found myself holding my breath on multiple occasions. I also may have screamed 'AHH WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN'...multiple times.

RuNyx is a truly talented author at building tension and keeping you on the edge of your seat. I mean, I literally fell off my chair at one point. Seriously.

This book was a mystery thriller with dark romance perfectly woven through it. A true enemies to lovers. They were big time enemies at the start.

The build up of the plot was slow and steady, but never too slow. Everything was revealed at just the right time, and the right things were kept back (meaning I'm dying right now because I'm writing this review instead of finishing the second book).

When we found out the reason for Tristan's animosity for Morana - because it wasn't and isn't hatred and when we find out the reason for the reactions that appear like hatred but aren't it all made sense - MAN, I was like, OH. MY. GAWD. Like, I totally get it, but at the same time, she was completely innocent; she was only 2/ 3 years old. I want to say what it was so bad and talk about it for hours on end but I also want every single person who reads this to read the book and hopefully this little insight might make you...mwahahahaha.

Anyway, the chapter from 8 year old Tristan's perspective is just...perfection isn't even the right word because it was just...wow. I truly, I mean truly, felt as though I was there standing right beside Tristan. And then, seeing how his mind locked parts himself away moment by moment, leaving him as the, well, somewhat dead inside, person he became from that event onwards... Incredible.

Some of the best writing I've ever read.

Characters

Ok, ok. Let's start with Morana. The more and more I read, the more and more I loved her. You see she's hyper-intelligent just from how her mind works (again, a testament to the great writing), but you can also see how new and surprising everything in the world is to her due to her (unwillingly) sheltered life. Seeing her grow and not only break, but smash through all the walls her father and their world created to keep her trapped was beautiful.

You really see her grow as a women and find herself. Something else I loved that she is (well, was...) a character that's truly alone in the world. Now, I know, that sounds odd me saying I love that, but I think it's because in a lot of books where the FMC is claimed to be all alone, she's not. She usually always has someone, whether that be a friend or sibling etc. But, Morana, truly had NO ONE. Like zero people. Which is why when Tristan (her honest to god enemy at first) showed her some semblance of humanity, because it wasn't even kindness or compassion, it was just simple human grace, she was floored because she never had anyone show her, well anything other than indifference, outright hatred or sliminess.

I'm so excited for us to see her come out of her skin and be unashamedly who she is in the second book.

Now, onto the one and only Tristan Caine. This man... I mean I've seen people on TikTok saying they would crawl through glass for this man and I was like eh, would you? Yes. The answer is yes. He is so complex, yet completely easy to figure out at the same time. He is such an interesting character. He is broken, damaged, but he put himself back together with different pieces. What I mean by this is, when he was young, one moment completely shattered him. Every single part of him broke down, yet, in the same moment, he started to piece himself together. The way he protected himself in that moment, and the way he continued to do so throughout his life, he didn't build himself back up with the pieces of himself, he built himself back up with the pieces he had observed thought out his life. He literally built himself from all the most dangerous, violent, deadly pieces he could and that made him invincible.

I love the difference between how he sounds when speaking directly to people and then how he sounds when he's texting. I think it's a very clever way to show who he presents himself as to the world isn't completely who he truly is. In text he's able to be funny, playful almost because he doesn't have to worry about looking vulnerable in any way because it's a text. He's not looking into anyones eyes, no one is analysing his body language. He is free to say exactly what's in his mind. And, again, when we find out the reason for the animosity towards Morana, it explains why he sounds so different talking to her in text, than when she's right in front of him.

I'm hoping in the next book we start to see more of him actually showing those hidden, locked away pieces to Morana.

FANTASTIC read.

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