This book… holy hell WHAT A RIDE!!! I can’t lie I couldn’t stand Velle in Distorted but I’m actually really obsessed with his story and getting to know him and what drives him. I always find it fascinating getting inside the once anti-hero’s psychi. This story is fucked up I can’t lie, all these officers are dealing with demons on this island that they HAVE to be on because of “The Ivory”. What they do to pass time and drown out the noise however is absolutely fucking HOT. The relationship between Velle, Joy & Rook oh my God. It was.. speechless to be honest. So much yearning, ache, lust, love, passion. It was literally everything. At the 80% mark I was ready to FIGHT BC WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK. This book was GOOD, when I say good I mean GOOD. It’s not a mind trip like distorted, so don’t worry you won’t need therapy after this one probably just a change of panties though😅 It’s still very suspenseful, dark, smutty & makes you go “wtf” & even make you feel a little uncomfy. Tbh it wouldn’t be a Nyla K book if it didn’t Lmfaooo. I’m going on record to say this is one of the spiciest books I’ve read. Nyla is top 5 & she ain’t 5 in writing spice. It’s filthy, steamy, intense, fun & HOT. It’s definitely a palate cleanser just as Nyla said.. it still keeps us on our toes. This series is intertwined and you definitely need to read Distorted before reading this and I don’t want to ruin anything by going any deeper into it but just know it’s good okay. Trust me, I’m only giving it 4.5 bc, I wasn’t obsessed? As I was with Distorted & I’m not sure why probably because I have so many questions. A brute , a ninja & cowboy did in fact walk into a bar & boy…

Rating: 5 Stars! I seriously don't even know how to express how much I love this book. Velle, Rook, and Joy were everything I wanted and MORE. There were so many things that went in a completely different direction than I expected and it was amazing. I was a bit nervous before starting this book because I wasn't sure if it would live up to the high expectations I had set for it *or* the amazingness from book 1 but it surpassed all of them! The story is nowhere near the same to Distorted in terms of plot or the plot twist. While they may be in the same series (and must be read in order), Joyless stands on its own. The story is its own and nobody can say it is the same in any way to Distorted. I can't believe Velle is my favorite *insert shocked Pikachu meme* In Joyless, we get to see a completely different side of him, and omg my heart. Velle is an amazing character and I *will* fight any of the characters who are rude to him in any way, going forward. He is precious and I'll protect him with my whole chest. Joy. Oh my god, Joy Joy Joy. What a QUEEN. She is the best person on that island and you can't change my mind. She is beauty, she is grace, she is the ruler of my heart. I already knew I was going to love her character from book one, but my god is she even better. I honestly had no idea how to feel about Rook lol. I might be one of the only people who didn't care about his character in any way. He was fun in the scenes he was in from book one, but that was about it for me. I was a little curious to see how it played out but nothing else. Well... oh how I ate my words. He is a whole piece of cake. I'll take 2 slices please and thank you. I'm not one for flashbacks in books but omg I was anticipating all the flashbacks so much. Each time we got one showing us why and how each 0f them came to be at Alabaster Pen, I was on the edge of my seat. I'm obsessed with this book and I am *im*patiently waiting for the next one! Especially CAUSE IT'S DARCY. *Received ARC in exchange for an honest review*