The Lazarus The Vernum City Series #1

What a brilliant debut! I had no idea I needed a book featuring heroes and villains ruling a city, but Marlow Locker delivered ten-fold.

Vernum City is divided by "levels": Upper and Mid-Vernum, where the rich and glamour live, and Lower and Under-Vernum, where decay and no one of value live. Now, crime is ever-present everywhere and the police partner with masked heroes to keep the peace. Unfortunately, these masked heroes aren't like your typical superhero movies since they toe the line of being vigilantes. And even worse, you have other groups rising to take justice into their own hands.

Marlow Locker really blew me away with this debut. I'm not a major fan of comic books or Marvel/DC. Sure, I'll watch the movies, but it's not because I'm a die-hard fan. But this book makes me want to dive into the comic book world of superheroes and villains. I remember watching just a few episodes of Daredevil and this book gave me those exact vibes; Vernum City is like Gotham!

"If anything, Sweetheart, I'm here to make you a villain."

June, being a female detective in a police department that only values you if you have a dick, has been constantly pushed aside from cases and mostly kept to her desk. When she ends up to the point of being assaulted and killed, Caden arrives and saves her, someone who killed right in front of her. She should arrest him, but she's definitely more intrigued by him than anything. But Caden isn't just a regular citizen; he's the top vigilante in Lower Vernum, working for a crime boss, the person who rescued him from death when he was younger.

I feel like carnage.

Unknowingly to the police department, she starts following a lead on missing prostitutes, and Caden signs up to help; he does have his own motives: being able to have a detective to share all the secrets on the "heroes" of Vernum.

This story is incredibly intricate, eloquent, and vivid! Personally, I felt like I was a sidekick, riding along with The Lazarus (Caden) and Hex (June); my heart was pumping so hard! I love a strong and badass FMC, and that's exactly what June is. Having been trained in combat since she was little, June can hold her own and then some.

"Oh, Sweetheart." And for the second time tonight, he touches me, a strand of hair he twists between his fingertips. "I'm going to crack you open and drag out that power that already exists. And together, we'll fucking rule."

Caden and June are on opposite sides of the coin, but together they make a deadly team. June is ready to rid the world of abusers, no matter what it takes, even if it means teaming with a vigilante that is wanted by the police. She understands more than anyone that the world isn't just black and white. I loved the unwavering trust she had for Caden. She understood that whatever Caden would have her do, there was a reason behind it, a justification. Her trust in Caden made him push her more and more, to really help her see she was more than what everyone had made her believe.

I'm asking her to tear her fucking heart out, hoping that she survives the carnage.

The healthy balance between plot and romance was well-done; there was actually even more plot than romance, and surprisingly, I didn't mind one bit! While the romance was incredibly spicy, it was the story, the city, the villains and heroes, the mc's individually, that really had me going and addicted. I was 1000% invested in this world, and I cannot wait for more!

IF YOU LIKE

- detective x vigilante anti-hero (comic-style villain)

- slow burn

- dark romance

- dirty and smart-mouth MMC

- badass and strong FMC

- Gotham vibes

- heart-pumping action

Please check TW before reading!

⚜️ARC REVIEW⚜️

"𝑂ℎ, 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡." 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒, 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟 ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑠. "𝐼'𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑒."

This book… is really amazing. I can’t believe this is Marlow’s debut book. The story, the characters, the writing and the smut was perfectly balanced. Having a comic-like style to her writing, it’s a new theme for me, but she made it work so nicely. I can’t get enough of a strong FMC and that’s exactly what June is. She recognizes the wrong things but finds a balance in looking for justice. Everything is justified, knowing that if she did something wrong she had a good reason to. And Caden… I must say he reminds me of Zade Meadows. The way he pushes June to the limit to make her realize all that she’s capable of. Love me a MMC that admires and pushes his love interest to becoming the best version of themselves without being overly pushy or patronizing. And that’s why we love men written by women. You need to give this book a try, here are some reasons to:

•Dual POV

•Vigilante

•Enemies to lovers

•Strong FMC

•Morally grey MMC

•Action packed

•Comic book vibes

•There’s a book playlist and aesthetic Pinterest board

•✨Piercings✨

Warning: check TW and if you’re not into dark romance then this might not be for you. But for all my smut babes that love a good plot, check this out. It comes out on September 5th! Thank you so much to the author for welcoming me to her street team and gifting me this ARC. I can’t wait to see the other things she has in store for us.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🌶🌶.5

Stars: 4 Spice: 3 Details: MF | Book 1 in series | Triggers/Content: violence, mentions of SA, sex trafficking, drug use, light degradation This was a great debut! I love this edgy, comic book-y world that Marlow has created. Vernum City is ruled by Heroes, masked men who work alongside and often above the law. We meet June, the police officer who sees crimes being committed that only she seems to care about, because they don't fit the political agenda of her superiors and the heroes that everyone seems to revere unquestionably. In comes Caden. He’s a Villain, or that’s the public’s perception. He’s been so utterly failed by a broken system. You can see why he's taken the law into his own hands, to take some power back. Caden sees June’s potential, and offers to help her… for a price. I love the discussion that this book brings up between good and evil. It’s not black and white, and sometimes you need to do bad in order to do good. Watching June come to terms with this, with Caden’s help, was so interesting to read. June was so badass, it was amazing to see her come alive! Really looking forward to book 2 in this universe!