I’m normally all for a spicy romance, but this is the biggest example of spice without plot trying to masquerade as spice with plot. Literally every other scene was smut, and it eventually hit a point where it just got repetitive and felt like the book was going nowhere. When I got to only 9 minutes left, I had no idea how the author was going to wrap up this book when we hadn’t gotten to the “big event” that kept being talked about. The book ending on the most rushed cliffhanger ever was how. I thought I could get behind a “why choose” romance, but the FMC was the most Mary Sue character in the world. If people complain about the female leads in other series being too perfect and petite and desirable, they clearly haven’t met Skyla Paris. And the voice actor/narrator for Skyla didn’t do the character any favors. The only time we heard any emotion/she wasn’t monotone was during the actual spice scenes. The rest of the series? Flat. The male voice actors/narrators were mostly alright. There was a lack of emotion/range in some scenes. Also, this may be an unpopular opinion, but Sean Masters reading for Asher sounded much older/more mature than a 22 year old spoiled college boy. I will not be continuing the rest of the series.

I really didn't think I had any triggers. But arranged forced marriages. Forced birth control. A 32 year old man calling himself daddy to a 19 year old woman. Ew. This college is not a school. It is an orgy. Nothing about this book was spicy to me. Don't get me wrong. It has plenty of oral sex. But a book to me has to be intellectually challenging to turn me on. And this is just not. I think a reverse harem could have been written a lot better

I’m actually still listening, determined to finish but good heavens nothing prepared me for the explicit sex descriptions. I wasn’t expecting the book to go there, but yeah, I’m still listening lol

Going into a book cold is how I like to go, and this book did not disappoint. I knew nothing but arranged marriage and secret society and I was all in. Skyla is betrothed to Asher and sent to a school she never heard of to begin her new life and get to be near her fiance. Little did she know what she was in for. Not only is there a huge wedge between Skyla and Asher, but there are several others in line to win her attention. Asher's cousin Ronan is the first one taking interest, as well as Asher's best friend Liam and enemy, Vincent. Each with their own uniqueness, they each bring her something to make her almost whole. The question is, will Asher be on board with this? And behind all these men romancing Skyla is a stalker, a mystery woven throughout, bringing a feeling a darkness and danger all leading to a twist I know I didn't see coming. This is a fabulous start to this series and now I can't wait to continue! Amy Hall and her fabulous cast of men bring this story to life. She is in Skyla's head, coming of age, finding and trying to make her own happiness. She brings out her confusion, passion and anger. Sean Masters as Asher, Devon Ryder as Liam, Edward Black as Vincent and Sebastian York as Ronan are all perfectly cast. There voices match the personalities of their characters, each finding the essence, from the darkness to the light in their performance. This is an extraordinary cast and they made for a fantastic listen.

Honestly so overly sexual it gets boring. There is no plot, no character development, female character has no personality or dimension beyond being nice and pretty. 3 of the 4 men are bad people, 1 is just a wimpy "golden retriever". It's so problematic it's a huge turn-off.

Used my VIP credit for this book and though the story line is fine, the spice is high and the narration is great. I couldn’t stop listening and am on book 2.

Nice

It is really good

Loved it

Was not as intense as I expected from the description

Zero story. Gross

No for prudes

Tropes: Age-gap Arranged Marriage Why Choose/Reverse Harem I enjoyed this listen! As a listener, there are a lot of moments where I think "girl what is you doin'?!" But in reality, Skyla (FMC) is only 19. She is naive and has been so sheltered, so of course she's going to fall hard when given attention. However, I still wished that the 'falling in love' parts were slowed down and that we had a little more character development. I LOVE Liam. He is so sweet and is the ultimate 'golden retriever' boyfriend. Liam brings some much needed comedy to the story and had me giggling! Vincent is what I considered the 'black cat' of the group. His character is the darkest, in my opinion. Very much the "touch her and die". Ronan is where our age-gap comes in. Its roughly a ten year age gap, maybe 12. I don't mind age-gaps, but at one point he refers to himself as 'daddy' in a smut scene and it felt a weird. But that's the only time I got a odd feeling. And finally, we have Asher. He is the one Skyla is arranged to marry. My feelings toward him are... confusing. The first quarter of the book, I hated him. He is bitter and deserved to be treated like poorly. Then I started to feel bad because I really thought we were getting somewhere with Asher. Then the ending... HATE HIM. He's got two books to redeem himself. Favorite lines from Deceit: "I don't need a reason. No is a complete sentence." "Excuse me, I'll have you know I have very pretty balls. Want me to prove it?"

oh my, this is steamy, too much but cant turn it off

This series than a great story line. It is on the hot and heavy side, but still a good story plot

Why choose, dark romance cliché. In high school. With a secret patriarchal society and an arranged marriage. You know what's going to happen from the beginning. The only thing that surprises you is how quickly you can fall in love. Oh, and also that it takes place in Salem, but you only hear some gossip about witches at the end. Otherwise, nothing. The narration is great.

Love the drama and mystery

I chose this as a VIP book and didn’t really know about the series. It has been the endless pit I needed to fall into.. I love this series

enjoyable, the various narrators really makes it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love reverse harems. But this book was hard to get through. It’s not a full 3 star for me, but we can’t do fraction stars. The lines of cheating were so blurred it irritated me. The plot was there and could’ve been explored more, but it was too spice driven.

Fun romp with enough twists to keep you hanging!

I loved it!!!, The cliffhanger!!, and I know people love the voice actor for Rowan but the man who does Asher!! Honestly he’s better then teddy Hamilton, I’m not really into the the more then 2/3 men but I’m not hating it as much as I thought I would, and it’s a college gothic style which is perfect, she’s done an amazing job

Story was amazing but the narrators were hard to follow at times

That’s how it ends fucking hell I don’t get hard copies until tomorrow

Horrible!soft porn... so if that is what you like to read then this is the book! didn't even finish it... thank goodness I did not waste any money on it!

I enjoyed the premise of this audiobook, and the narration was mostly solid, earning it four stars. The male narrators shone, fully acting their roles with energy and depth. However, the female narrator felt stiff and lackluster-merely reading her lines at times, which kept the performance from a perfect five. The story, though, was a letdown. Over half the book is filled with extremely explicit, X-rated sex scenes, which dragged the pacing and overshadowed the plot. Without them, the runtime could’ve been cut in half, making for a tighter, more engaging listen. It felt like a raunchier version of Fifty Shades of Grey, dialed up with extra crude language and trashy elements. If you’re into dirty talk and explicit sex scenes, this might be your cup of tea, but it was too much for me. And the ending was a frustrating cliffhanger, abruptly dropping a bombshell to push you toward the next book. It’s a clever tactic by the author, as I wouldn’t have continued the series otherwise due to the overwhelming raunchiness. If you can stomach the explicit content, you might enjoy this book, but it’s not for everyone. These last two elements are why I gave a three star ranking.

I went into this blind and didn’t realize it was going to basically devolve into SMUT. I don’t know anything about this writer and didn’t realize from the description or reviews what I was getting in to. If you are end to this type of book, it is probably good. I’m more of a tame romantasy reader. There is a mystery in this story (and a cliffhanger) but after reading reviews for the next two books, I decided I’d rather leave these things unresolved. Again, this is just not my type of book and I deducted stars because I don’t feel like there was any warning. Basically I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book if I knew. But the multiple narrators were good and the underlying plot wasn’t horrible. If you’re into it- this probably isn’t a bad book.

Good Gods I am absolutely in love and utterly feral over this story, these characters, and this full-cast duet style audiobook!! Whew! Deceit by Katelyn Taylor is the first book in the Gallows Hill series, and I devoured this audiobook as I read along in my kindle! I was immediately draw into the story, the arranged marriage, the intriguing elements of this university and town, the characters, the forbidden and bullying elements gahhh I could not put this down! Each character felt unique, well developed, and I loved them, hate to love moments and all! I was so incredibly immersed into this world listening to the PHENOMENAL narration performances by Amy Hall, Sean Masters, Edward Black, Sebastian York and Devon Ryder. These narrators gave all of the feels bringing these characters to life via audio! Each and every moment of banter, anger, tension, spice, I felt it all and MY HEART. I sobbed, swung hands wildly into the air with rage, swooned, and was just absolutely feral. Dark | Academia Romance Why Choose Secret Society Arranged Marriage

Holy hell, Katelyn Taylor can write! Deceit is the first book in her Gallows Hill trilogy, and this dark, academia Why Choose? romance is nothing short of explosive! Darkly sexy and broody MCs, secret societies, stalkers, and some weird, witchy lore make this story beyond compelling. All of the characters are three-dimensional and nuanced with deeply intriguing back stories that draw you in and never let go. I was fully hooked right from the beginning and stayed completely ensconced in the story to the last word. And what a last word it is! The audio for book two cannot come fast enough for me. The narration is recorded duet style with a full cast consisting of Amy Hall, Devon Ryder, Edward Black, Sean Masters, and Sebastian York. Each one of these extremely talented voice actors delivers a truly unforgettable performance filled with all of the emotion, angst, and passion these complicated and provocative characters demand. With Katelyn Taylor’s genius prose and the truly superb narration, this audiobook is an absolute must for any fan of Why Choose? romance.