![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Riot-Act-Live.jpg?resize=357%2C528&ssl=1\")
<\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nAmazon US<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon CA<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon AU\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Amazon UK<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Amazon Germany<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/h4>\n
\nBlurb<\/b><\/h4>\n
Want something? Pax will take it from you.<\/p>\n
Love something? Pax will destroy it.<\/p>\n
Love him<\/i>? Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth.<\/p>\n
PAX<\/strong><\/p>\nI don\u2019t do complicated. I sure as hell don\u2019t do love. With graduation in sight, I\u2019ve made it almost four years at Wolf Hall without getting tangled up in BS with girls.
\nI especially want nothing to do with\u00a0her:<\/i>
\nPresley. Maria. Witton. Chase.
\nThe timid little mouse with the red hair, who can\u2019t even look my way without hyperventilating. She\u2019s nothing to me. Beautiful, sure, but I\u2019ve had plenty of beautiful women.
\nI\u2019m perfectly content ignoring her\u2026
\n\u2026until her life is suddenly in my hands.<\/p>\n
PRES<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019ve loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him.
\nThe cruel, inked anarchist of Riot House.
\nHe\u2019s wicked, and he\u2019s cold, and there\u2019s nothing good left in him.
\nI fear him almost as much as I crave him.
\nWith only a few weeks left until graduation, all I have to do is keep my head down, and then I\u2019ll be free; I can leave Mountain Lakes and my obsession with Pax Davis in my rearview mirror.
\nBut the demons I\u2019ve been hiding for years now are growing restless\u2026
\n\u2026and Pax is thing that will keep them at bay.<\/p>\n
This is not an act of kindness.
\nNot an act of love.
\nNot an act of forgiveness.
\nYou’ll find no redemption here.
\nThis is the final riot.<\/p>\n
ACT ACCORDINGLY.<\/p>\n
RIOT ACT is a 137,000-word standalone book in the Crooked Sinners Series and does not end on a cliffhanger. This book contains dark content that may be considered a trigger for some readers, and as such is recommended for readers 17+<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
5 stars and a fave for 2021!<\/b><\/p>\n
OMG, this book! An incredible, character-rich story that is dark, dramatic and intense with an amazing love story that completely captivated me. It\u2019s everything I was hoping for for Pax\u2019s story, and I freaking loved it!<\/p>\n
This is the third book in the Crooked Sinners<\/i> series, and Pax is the final in the trio of friends to have their story told in the series. Pax and his insanely wealthy and arrogant friends live together in the appropriately named \u2018Riot House\u2019, while attending a super exclusive high school in New Hampshire. The boys are spoiled and entitled, and have a well-earned reputation as being malicious and cruel, caring about little else other than themselves.<\/p>\n
Like his friends, Pax is from a wealthy family (though he has a practically non-existent, but deeply difficult relationship with his family), though he makes his own money through modelling. He is, to be frank, a complete a-hole with no time for anybody outside of his two best friends, and though he has watched Wren and Dash meet their girls and fall in love, he wants absolutely nothing to do with their girlfriends, or relationships in general.<\/p>\n
He is magnificent. He\u2019s also the cruellest, most unbearable asshole I\u2019ve ever come across.
\nWant something? Pax will take it away from you.
\nLove something? Pax will destroy it.
\nLove him? Then Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Presley has crushed on the untouchable Pax Davies since she first laid eyes on him, but she\u2019s always been too shy to do anything about it, knowing that she\u2019d never survive the bullying or broken heart that she knows would come her way when he declared himself inevitably done with her. But hitting rock bottom causes a shift in her perspective on life. She no longer cares about what will happen afterwards, she\u2019s all about seizing the day and not caring about the fallout, and Pax is first on her list.<\/p>\n
Being destroyed by Pax is way better than being eaten alive by the dark memories that threaten to claim me whenever I\u2019m not around him. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The change in Presley is huge, and I loved getting to see this new side of her. She\u2019s bold and daring, and though the reasons behind it are devastating and we can see that she still has a huge heart and vulnerabilities, she\u2019s embracing this new side to herself, and she\u2019s a bold force for Pax to contend with, which creates a fantastic dynamic.<\/p>\n
Pax is pretty apathetic about everything in his life, and when he finally starts to truly see<\/i> Presley, she becomes a fixation for him. It\u2019s actually really funny watching him react to her presence in his everyday life. He truly has no clue what\u2019s going on with his attraction, and it was so great to watch.<\/p>\nYears of animosity and violence have made their mark on me. It\u2019s hard to tamp down the drive to wrap myself in sharp barbs, to protect myself from this\u2026this\u2026<\/i>whatever this is. I\u2019m so drawn to her at the same time, magnetized to her, hands itching to reach out and touch her again, that I feel like I\u2019m losing my mind. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Pax is a wonderfully complex character. Like his friends before him, he\u2019s got a vicious dark side, but there is SO much more to him than we ever knew. He’s absolutely fascinating, and I absolutely loved being in his head, getting to explore his past, his present, and what makes him uniquely him. And watching Presley come into his life and shake everything up when he\u2019s so sure he\u2019s got his life under control is so freaking entertaining.<\/p>\n
In the small, dark corner of my soul that still wants things, I recognize that I\u2019ve claimed her and she\u2019s mine now. It\u2019ll be a long fucking time before I\u2019m ready to admit that out loud.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And Presley is just perfect for him. She\u2019s a \u2018normal\u2019 girl who has been through the unimaginable, and her past is hinted at throughout the story so we know just enough to guess at what is going on without knowing everything, and I thought it was so cleverly written. Her feelings for Pax are all-encompassing, but at no time did I feel like she was a doormat. She\u2019s strong and brave, she accepts him just as he is, and she takes from him exactly what she needs. I absolutely loved her, and loved her for him.<\/p>\n
Pax encompasses me. He always has. Every dark, angry, ugly part of him, wrapped up in such a devilishly beautiful package. He\u2019s hostile and he\u2019s hateful, and he wields his anger like a blade. There is nothing good about him. But when I\u2019m with him, I can let go. I don\u2019t think anymore. I don\u2019t rage against my own inner pain. The waking nightmares that plague me every second of the day have no power over me in his presence. I used to crave him because of how he looked. Because of how he made me feel. Now, I crave him because, around him, I can surrender. I can feel nothing at all.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Together, they are a passionate powerhouse. I can\u2019t freaking believe that high school kids are having sex like this, but holy damn! And I loved watching their lust for each other naturally and unexpectedly (for them) turn into something so much more.<\/p>\n
I saw this happening.
\nI fucking felt it.
\nI told myself it wasn\u2019t real. That I could outrun it. Escape it.
\nI told myself that I wouldn\u2019t fall victim to the same bullshit human condition as my friends, but damn.
\nI\u2019ve been such a stupid c*nt.
\nArrogant.
\nTo think I was bigger than <\/i>this.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The love story is an emotional rollercoaster, but it\u2019s a beautiful journey, playing out amidst the chaos of their lives, and intense and extreme family drama. There is a lot going on in this book, but it\u2019s woven together so well, and I loved watching it all unfold. The pacing is perfect, the shifts, twists and reveals all happen at just the right time, and the emotion of it all is beautifully written. There are scenes that made me laugh, and moments that made my heart ache, and I longed for a happy ending for these two. It\u2019s unpredictable, but was just so right<\/i>, and I loved every moment of their tumultuous story.<\/p>\n\u201cThe path of least resistance doesn\u2019t always mean taking the easiest option. Sometimes\u2026it means that your soul finds its way home, towards something it loves, after you\u2019ve held it back for too fucking long.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I loved these characters, their individual journeys, and their romance so much. This is a fave for 2021.<\/p>\n
5 huge stars!<\/p>\n
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Crooked Sinners<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Riot-House-1.jpg?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Riot-Rules.jpg?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/RA-FINAL-COVER.jpg?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Riot-Reunion.jpg?resize=80%2C122&ssl=1\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nRiot House<\/strong> (#1) <\/strong>(Wren & Elodie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon \u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Rules (#2) <\/strong>(Dash & Carrie)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Act (#3) <\/strong>(Pax & Presley)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Reunion (#4) <\/strong>(Multiple POV)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n
\nAbout the Author<\/b><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Callie-Hart.jpg?resize=197%2C196\")
Callie Hart is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary and dark romance. Her\u00a0Blood & Roses Series<\/a>\u00a0is currently being translated into multiple languages all over the world. Having spent the last seven years living in Australia, Callie now calls Los Angeles
\nhome, where she enjoys hiking, spending time at the beach, daily hot yoga classes, and\u00a0generally pretending to be a hipster.<\/p>\nCallie is often asked, \u2018What is dark romance?\u2019 Her reply is always the same: Dark romance is a story that makes you fall for the anti-hero. It is a story that will make you walk a tightrope, question your sanity, and have you checking your moral compass at the door. If you love a good story about a very bad boy, then dark romance is for you.\u2019 Under her legal name, Frankie Rose, Callie writes young adult fiction that has been globally recognized, and has received numerous awards for her \u2018Halo\u2019 series.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0BOOKBUB<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0GOODREADS<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\nSubscribe to Callie\u2019s\u00a0NEWSLETTER<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Find more great reads on our\u00a0Callie Hart Author Spotlight<\/a>!<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
USA Today Bestselling Author, Callie Hart, delivers a twisted and edgy new dark romance tale, featuring a girl with nothing left to lose and a broken boy with a heart as black as his soul. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,52,13,9,29],"tags":[59,140,1151,48],"class_list":["post-61678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-gritty","category-drama","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-callie-hart","tag-crooked-sinners","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Riot-Act.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-g2O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/b><\/h4>\n
\nBlurb<\/b><\/h4>\n
Want something? Pax will take it from you.<\/p>\n
Love something? Pax will destroy it.<\/p>\n
Love him<\/i>? Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth.<\/p>\n
PAX<\/strong><\/p>\nI don\u2019t do complicated. I sure as hell don\u2019t do love. With graduation in sight, I\u2019ve made it almost four years at Wolf Hall without getting tangled up in BS with girls.
\nI especially want nothing to do with\u00a0her:<\/i>
\nPresley. Maria. Witton. Chase.
\nThe timid little mouse with the red hair, who can\u2019t even look my way without hyperventilating. She\u2019s nothing to me. Beautiful, sure, but I\u2019ve had plenty of beautiful women.
\nI\u2019m perfectly content ignoring her\u2026
\n\u2026until her life is suddenly in my hands.<\/p>\n
PRES<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019ve loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him.
\nThe cruel, inked anarchist of Riot House.
\nHe\u2019s wicked, and he\u2019s cold, and there\u2019s nothing good left in him.
\nI fear him almost as much as I crave him.
\nWith only a few weeks left until graduation, all I have to do is keep my head down, and then I\u2019ll be free; I can leave Mountain Lakes and my obsession with Pax Davis in my rearview mirror.
\nBut the demons I\u2019ve been hiding for years now are growing restless\u2026
\n\u2026and Pax is thing that will keep them at bay.<\/p>\n
This is not an act of kindness.
\nNot an act of love.
\nNot an act of forgiveness.
\nYou’ll find no redemption here.
\nThis is the final riot.<\/p>\n
ACT ACCORDINGLY.<\/p>\n
RIOT ACT is a 137,000-word standalone book in the Crooked Sinners Series and does not end on a cliffhanger. This book contains dark content that may be considered a trigger for some readers, and as such is recommended for readers 17+<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
5 stars and a fave for 2021!<\/b><\/p>\n
OMG, this book! An incredible, character-rich story that is dark, dramatic and intense with an amazing love story that completely captivated me. It\u2019s everything I was hoping for for Pax\u2019s story, and I freaking loved it!<\/p>\n
This is the third book in the Crooked Sinners<\/i> series, and Pax is the final in the trio of friends to have their story told in the series. Pax and his insanely wealthy and arrogant friends live together in the appropriately named \u2018Riot House\u2019, while attending a super exclusive high school in New Hampshire. The boys are spoiled and entitled, and have a well-earned reputation as being malicious and cruel, caring about little else other than themselves.<\/p>\n
Like his friends, Pax is from a wealthy family (though he has a practically non-existent, but deeply difficult relationship with his family), though he makes his own money through modelling. He is, to be frank, a complete a-hole with no time for anybody outside of his two best friends, and though he has watched Wren and Dash meet their girls and fall in love, he wants absolutely nothing to do with their girlfriends, or relationships in general.<\/p>\n
He is magnificent. He\u2019s also the cruellest, most unbearable asshole I\u2019ve ever come across.
\nWant something? Pax will take it away from you.
\nLove something? Pax will destroy it.
\nLove him? Then Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Presley has crushed on the untouchable Pax Davies since she first laid eyes on him, but she\u2019s always been too shy to do anything about it, knowing that she\u2019d never survive the bullying or broken heart that she knows would come her way when he declared himself inevitably done with her. But hitting rock bottom causes a shift in her perspective on life. She no longer cares about what will happen afterwards, she\u2019s all about seizing the day and not caring about the fallout, and Pax is first on her list.<\/p>\n
Being destroyed by Pax is way better than being eaten alive by the dark memories that threaten to claim me whenever I\u2019m not around him. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The change in Presley is huge, and I loved getting to see this new side of her. She\u2019s bold and daring, and though the reasons behind it are devastating and we can see that she still has a huge heart and vulnerabilities, she\u2019s embracing this new side to herself, and she\u2019s a bold force for Pax to contend with, which creates a fantastic dynamic.<\/p>\n
Pax is pretty apathetic about everything in his life, and when he finally starts to truly see<\/i> Presley, she becomes a fixation for him. It\u2019s actually really funny watching him react to her presence in his everyday life. He truly has no clue what\u2019s going on with his attraction, and it was so great to watch.<\/p>\nYears of animosity and violence have made their mark on me. It\u2019s hard to tamp down the drive to wrap myself in sharp barbs, to protect myself from this\u2026this\u2026<\/i>whatever this is. I\u2019m so drawn to her at the same time, magnetized to her, hands itching to reach out and touch her again, that I feel like I\u2019m losing my mind. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Pax is a wonderfully complex character. Like his friends before him, he\u2019s got a vicious dark side, but there is SO much more to him than we ever knew. He’s absolutely fascinating, and I absolutely loved being in his head, getting to explore his past, his present, and what makes him uniquely him. And watching Presley come into his life and shake everything up when he\u2019s so sure he\u2019s got his life under control is so freaking entertaining.<\/p>\n
In the small, dark corner of my soul that still wants things, I recognize that I\u2019ve claimed her and she\u2019s mine now. It\u2019ll be a long fucking time before I\u2019m ready to admit that out loud.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And Presley is just perfect for him. She\u2019s a \u2018normal\u2019 girl who has been through the unimaginable, and her past is hinted at throughout the story so we know just enough to guess at what is going on without knowing everything, and I thought it was so cleverly written. Her feelings for Pax are all-encompassing, but at no time did I feel like she was a doormat. She\u2019s strong and brave, she accepts him just as he is, and she takes from him exactly what she needs. I absolutely loved her, and loved her for him.<\/p>\n
Pax encompasses me. He always has. Every dark, angry, ugly part of him, wrapped up in such a devilishly beautiful package. He\u2019s hostile and he\u2019s hateful, and he wields his anger like a blade. There is nothing good about him. But when I\u2019m with him, I can let go. I don\u2019t think anymore. I don\u2019t rage against my own inner pain. The waking nightmares that plague me every second of the day have no power over me in his presence. I used to crave him because of how he looked. Because of how he made me feel. Now, I crave him because, around him, I can surrender. I can feel nothing at all.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Together, they are a passionate powerhouse. I can\u2019t freaking believe that high school kids are having sex like this, but holy damn! And I loved watching their lust for each other naturally and unexpectedly (for them) turn into something so much more.<\/p>\n
I saw this happening.
\nI fucking felt it.
\nI told myself it wasn\u2019t real. That I could outrun it. Escape it.
\nI told myself that I wouldn\u2019t fall victim to the same bullshit human condition as my friends, but damn.
\nI\u2019ve been such a stupid c*nt.
\nArrogant.
\nTo think I was bigger than <\/i>this.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The love story is an emotional rollercoaster, but it\u2019s a beautiful journey, playing out amidst the chaos of their lives, and intense and extreme family drama. There is a lot going on in this book, but it\u2019s woven together so well, and I loved watching it all unfold. The pacing is perfect, the shifts, twists and reveals all happen at just the right time, and the emotion of it all is beautifully written. There are scenes that made me laugh, and moments that made my heart ache, and I longed for a happy ending for these two. It\u2019s unpredictable, but was just so right<\/i>, and I loved every moment of their tumultuous story.<\/p>\n\u201cThe path of least resistance doesn\u2019t always mean taking the easiest option. Sometimes\u2026it means that your soul finds its way home, towards something it loves, after you\u2019ve held it back for too fucking long.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I loved these characters, their individual journeys, and their romance so much. This is a fave for 2021.<\/p>\n
5 huge stars!<\/p>\n
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Crooked Sinners<\/strong><\/h4>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nRiot House<\/strong> (#1) <\/strong>(Wren & Elodie)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon \u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Rules (#2) <\/strong>(Dash & Carrie)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Act (#3) <\/strong>(Pax & Presley)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\nRiot Reunion (#4) <\/strong>(Multiple POV)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n
\nAbout the Author<\/b><\/h4>\n
Callie Hart is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary and dark romance. Her\u00a0Blood & Roses Series<\/a>\u00a0is currently being translated into multiple languages all over the world. Having spent the last seven years living in Australia, Callie now calls Los Angeles
\nhome, where she enjoys hiking, spending time at the beach, daily hot yoga classes, and\u00a0generally pretending to be a hipster.<\/p>\nCallie is often asked, \u2018What is dark romance?\u2019 Her reply is always the same: Dark romance is a story that makes you fall for the anti-hero. It is a story that will make you walk a tightrope, question your sanity, and have you checking your moral compass at the door. If you love a good story about a very bad boy, then dark romance is for you.\u2019 Under her legal name, Frankie Rose, Callie writes young adult fiction that has been globally recognized, and has received numerous awards for her \u2018Halo\u2019 series.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0BOOKBUB<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0GOODREADS<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\nSubscribe to Callie\u2019s\u00a0NEWSLETTER<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Find more great reads on our\u00a0Callie Hart Author Spotlight<\/a>!<\/strong><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
USA Today Bestselling Author, Callie Hart, delivers a twisted and edgy new dark romance tale, featuring a girl with nothing left to lose and a broken boy with a heart as black as his soul. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,52,13,9,29],"tags":[59,140,1151,48],"class_list":["post-61678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-gritty","category-drama","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-callie-hart","tag-crooked-sinners","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Riot-Act.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-g2O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
Blurb<\/b><\/h4>\n
Want something? Pax will take it from you.<\/p>\n
Love something? Pax will destroy it.<\/p>\n
Love him<\/i>? Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth.<\/p>\n
PAX<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t do complicated. I sure as hell don\u2019t do love. With graduation in sight, I\u2019ve made it almost four years at Wolf Hall without getting tangled up in BS with girls. PRES<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve loved him from the moment I laid eyes on him. This is not an act of kindness. ACT ACCORDINGLY.<\/p>\n RIOT ACT is a 137,000-word standalone book in the Crooked Sinners Series and does not end on a cliffhanger. This book contains dark content that may be considered a trigger for some readers, and as such is recommended for readers 17+<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5 stars and a fave for 2021!<\/b><\/p>\n OMG, this book! An incredible, character-rich story that is dark, dramatic and intense with an amazing love story that completely captivated me. It\u2019s everything I was hoping for for Pax\u2019s story, and I freaking loved it!<\/p>\n This is the third book in the Crooked Sinners<\/i> series, and Pax is the final in the trio of friends to have their story told in the series. Pax and his insanely wealthy and arrogant friends live together in the appropriately named \u2018Riot House\u2019, while attending a super exclusive high school in New Hampshire. The boys are spoiled and entitled, and have a well-earned reputation as being malicious and cruel, caring about little else other than themselves.<\/p>\n Like his friends, Pax is from a wealthy family (though he has a practically non-existent, but deeply difficult relationship with his family), though he makes his own money through modelling. He is, to be frank, a complete a-hole with no time for anybody outside of his two best friends, and though he has watched Wren and Dash meet their girls and fall in love, he wants absolutely nothing to do with their girlfriends, or relationships in general.<\/p>\n He is magnificent. He\u2019s also the cruellest, most unbearable asshole I\u2019ve ever come across. Presley has crushed on the untouchable Pax Davies since she first laid eyes on him, but she\u2019s always been too shy to do anything about it, knowing that she\u2019d never survive the bullying or broken heart that she knows would come her way when he declared himself inevitably done with her. But hitting rock bottom causes a shift in her perspective on life. She no longer cares about what will happen afterwards, she\u2019s all about seizing the day and not caring about the fallout, and Pax is first on her list.<\/p>\n Being destroyed by Pax is way better than being eaten alive by the dark memories that threaten to claim me whenever I\u2019m not around him. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The change in Presley is huge, and I loved getting to see this new side of her. She\u2019s bold and daring, and though the reasons behind it are devastating and we can see that she still has a huge heart and vulnerabilities, she\u2019s embracing this new side to herself, and she\u2019s a bold force for Pax to contend with, which creates a fantastic dynamic.<\/p>\n Pax is pretty apathetic about everything in his life, and when he finally starts to truly see<\/i> Presley, she becomes a fixation for him. It\u2019s actually really funny watching him react to her presence in his everyday life. He truly has no clue what\u2019s going on with his attraction, and it was so great to watch.<\/p>\n Years of animosity and violence have made their mark on me. It\u2019s hard to tamp down the drive to wrap myself in sharp barbs, to protect myself from this\u2026this\u2026<\/i>whatever this is. I\u2019m so drawn to her at the same time, magnetized to her, hands itching to reach out and touch her again, that I feel like I\u2019m losing my mind. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Pax is a wonderfully complex character. Like his friends before him, he\u2019s got a vicious dark side, but there is SO much more to him than we ever knew. He’s absolutely fascinating, and I absolutely loved being in his head, getting to explore his past, his present, and what makes him uniquely him. And watching Presley come into his life and shake everything up when he\u2019s so sure he\u2019s got his life under control is so freaking entertaining.<\/p>\n In the small, dark corner of my soul that still wants things, I recognize that I\u2019ve claimed her and she\u2019s mine now. It\u2019ll be a long fucking time before I\u2019m ready to admit that out loud.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And Presley is just perfect for him. She\u2019s a \u2018normal\u2019 girl who has been through the unimaginable, and her past is hinted at throughout the story so we know just enough to guess at what is going on without knowing everything, and I thought it was so cleverly written. Her feelings for Pax are all-encompassing, but at no time did I feel like she was a doormat. She\u2019s strong and brave, she accepts him just as he is, and she takes from him exactly what she needs. I absolutely loved her, and loved her for him.<\/p>\n Pax encompasses me. He always has. Every dark, angry, ugly part of him, wrapped up in such a devilishly beautiful package. He\u2019s hostile and he\u2019s hateful, and he wields his anger like a blade. There is nothing good about him. But when I\u2019m with him, I can let go. I don\u2019t think anymore. I don\u2019t rage against my own inner pain. The waking nightmares that plague me every second of the day have no power over me in his presence. I used to crave him because of how he looked. Because of how he made me feel. Now, I crave him because, around him, I can surrender. I can feel nothing at all.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Together, they are a passionate powerhouse. I can\u2019t freaking believe that high school kids are having sex like this, but holy damn! And I loved watching their lust for each other naturally and unexpectedly (for them) turn into something so much more.<\/p>\n I saw this happening. The love story is an emotional rollercoaster, but it\u2019s a beautiful journey, playing out amidst the chaos of their lives, and intense and extreme family drama. There is a lot going on in this book, but it\u2019s woven together so well, and I loved watching it all unfold. The pacing is perfect, the shifts, twists and reveals all happen at just the right time, and the emotion of it all is beautifully written. There are scenes that made me laugh, and moments that made my heart ache, and I longed for a happy ending for these two. It\u2019s unpredictable, but was just so right<\/i>, and I loved every moment of their tumultuous story.<\/p>\n \u201cThe path of least resistance doesn\u2019t always mean taking the easiest option. Sometimes\u2026it means that your soul finds its way home, towards something it loves, after you\u2019ve held it back for too fucking long.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I loved these characters, their individual journeys, and their romance so much. This is a fave for 2021.<\/p>\n 5 huge stars!<\/p>\n An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Riot House<\/strong> (#1) <\/strong>(Wren & Elodie) Riot Rules (#2) <\/strong>(Dash & Carrie) Riot Act (#3) <\/strong>(Pax & Presley) Riot Reunion (#4) <\/strong>(Multiple POV) <\/p>\n Callie is often asked, \u2018What is dark romance?\u2019 Her reply is always the same: Dark romance is a story that makes you fall for the anti-hero. It is a story that will make you walk a tightrope, question your sanity, and have you checking your moral compass at the door. If you love a good story about a very bad boy, then dark romance is for you.\u2019 Under her legal name, Frankie Rose, Callie writes young adult fiction that has been globally recognized, and has received numerous awards for her \u2018Halo\u2019 series.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0| \u00a0BOOKBUB<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0GOODREADS<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Subscribe to Callie\u2019s\u00a0NEWSLETTER<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" USA Today Bestselling Author, Callie Hart, delivers a twisted and edgy new dark romance tale, featuring a girl with nothing left to lose and a broken boy with a heart as black as his soul. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,52,13,9,29],"tags":[59,140,1151,48],"class_list":["post-61678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dark-gritty","category-drama","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-callie-hart","tag-crooked-sinners","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Riot-Act.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-g2O","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/61524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nI especially want nothing to do with\u00a0her:<\/i>
\nPresley. Maria. Witton. Chase.
\nThe timid little mouse with the red hair, who can\u2019t even look my way without hyperventilating. She\u2019s nothing to me. Beautiful, sure, but I\u2019ve had plenty of beautiful women.
\nI\u2019m perfectly content ignoring her\u2026
\n\u2026until her life is suddenly in my hands.<\/p>\n
\nThe cruel, inked anarchist of Riot House.
\nHe\u2019s wicked, and he\u2019s cold, and there\u2019s nothing good left in him.
\nI fear him almost as much as I crave him.
\nWith only a few weeks left until graduation, all I have to do is keep my head down, and then I\u2019ll be free; I can leave Mountain Lakes and my obsession with Pax Davis in my rearview mirror.
\nBut the demons I\u2019ve been hiding for years now are growing restless\u2026
\n\u2026and Pax is thing that will keep them at bay.<\/p>\n
\nNot an act of love.
\nNot an act of forgiveness.
\nYou’ll find no redemption here.
\nThis is the final riot.<\/p>\n
\nReview<\/b><\/h4>\n
\nWant something? Pax will take it away from you.
\nLove something? Pax will destroy it.
\nLove him? Then Heaven help you. You\u2019d have to be the stupidest person to walk the face of the earth. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nI fucking felt it.
\nI told myself it wasn\u2019t real. That I could outrun it. Escape it.
\nI told myself that I wouldn\u2019t fall victim to the same bullshit human condition as my friends, but damn.
\nI\u2019ve been such a stupid c*nt.
\nArrogant.
\nTo think I was bigger than <\/i>this.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\nCrooked Sinners<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nAbout the Author<\/b><\/h4>\n
Callie Hart is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary and dark romance. Her\u00a0Blood & Roses Series<\/a>\u00a0is currently being translated into multiple languages all over the world. Having spent the last seven years living in Australia, Callie now calls Los Angeles
\nhome, where she enjoys hiking, spending time at the beach, daily hot yoga classes, and\u00a0generally pretending to be a hipster.<\/p>\nFind more great reads on our\u00a0Callie Hart Author Spotlight<\/a>!<\/strong><\/h4>\n