Monsters in the Dark Paperback – February 20, 2015

If you do not like very dark and twisted stories, do not, I repeat DO NOT buy this series. Pepper is an amazing writer and she can write about anything, but she went there. And she went way dark. It's not nice and full of happiness. Not even close. This is a story of sex and human traffic. It's a story of being beaten down. It's a story of fighting back and taking flight. It's a story of growing to appreciate the darkness inside and making it your light. That darkness became a beauty, to me and prevailed.In book 1 (Tears of Tess), I was all over the place. Up, down, hating the boyfriend. Why was he so weak and stupid? Trying to understand why Tess settled in her life when she so obviously wanted more."I let Brax shove me back inot the box where I belonged. The box labelled: perfect, innocent girlfriend who'd do anything for him, as long as it was in the dark and on my back."Questioning Q and what the hell his motives were. So many twists and turns and loving that in spite of it all, Tess was pretty much a kick a$$ chick that never backed down. Even when the worst happened.Book 2 (Quintessentially Q). Man. That made me stop many times. It was a rough ride and so horrendous. Dark, so dark. Hating the men of this story, except Q and his team. He took the world on for his love of Tess."She's more than just one woman, Dubois. She's my life."This story, again was well written, but ripped my heart out piece by piece multiple times and I never knew if it would be put back together right again. Patchwork heart? Perhaps so. Our strong Tess was still there and a fighter but something broke. Would SHE be able to be put back together again? Or did this break her permanently?Book 3 (Twisted Together). So glad that I kept with the story and got here. Totally unconventional in so many ways, but it came full circle and the love and fight these 2 had for one another was actually pretty romantic if you look beyond the ugly."Stroke me, provoke me, adore me, I implore thee, take all of me, ensnare me, play me to your tune"It's not pretty. Not one bit, but Their darkness prevailed in one another until it came out in light. And while this book was still dark and twisted, I wasn't on much of a roller coaster any more. My heart was still stomped out on the ground, but Tess was back and she was ready."My name is Tess...I'm no longer weak or afraid or broken. I've taken control of my fate. I no longer need a tower or dark angels or help. And I take your soul in penance for everything that was done to me . I take it for the women you've raped. I take it for the women you've sold. I take it for my master, soul-mate,....I take you for me."Dark, Twisted, Ugly and full of hope and pain. This series of books took hold and didn't let go. I LOVED them. If you can stand a bit of darkness, this can take you on a rollercoaster of emotions that have you gripped from the start. Well written and a great and intriguing FICTION story. While I got this set for a measily $.99, it is worth much more! Phenomenal writing with characters that you can feel and grow with.

I loved Tears of Tess disliked Quintessentially Q and didn't even bother reading Twisted Together (maybe I will but not today).***** Update *****Thank you for writing Twisted Together because book two killed me. This book was amazing.This is a dark romance I love Vol 1 Q and Tess were made for each other he had dark secrets she had dark secrets. They meet in a horrible circumstance b/c she was kidnapped from Mexico sold to the Russian Mafia and was given as a business bribe to Q. They fell for each other she got kidnapped again by some other retards and was raped and was saved by Q n then he released her back to her previous life. She couldn't manage being without him and went back to him. They lived Happily Ever After The End WRONG!!!!. It could've ended there but it didn't. In Vol 2 Apparently she got kidnapped again by the same guys from Mexico and since she "forgot" to remove the tracker that was placed in her neck (go figure) they were able to easily find her. Although the Russian Mafia had already known where she was since they gave her directly to Q and were in his house for dinner while she was halfway naked on display. Anyway, she was taken to Rio and was drugged for what seemed to be every hour for 14 days and was starved oh and she had pneumonia and was made to beat and kill other girls in her drugged state. At the rate that she was drugged anyone would've died of an overdose. I wasn't okay with that but it was tolerable I skipped like 6 chapters of this repeating scenario. What I didn't like was that in this book Q seemed like a dumb@$$ who couldn't think coherently and was losing his f!@#$%^ mind oh and was portrayed as a godd!@ whimp at the end. When they finally find her she was a drugged up mess and the recovery was even messier. He kept on begging her and begging in so many ways on different chapters to talk and she refused and build a cocoon and eliminated everything and everyone after the kidnap including the love of her life Q. She was so mean, aloof, rude, and indifferent towards Q for like 5 chapters (I skipped a lot) the entire time she was physically healing like 2-3 weeks. He finally had the bright idea to have her beat the f!@# out him almost to death and then miraculously she was cured. It took about 3 weeks for Q to accept her back and believe that she was the same. I was so disappointed with the repetitiveness of the how Q begged and how drugged she was, and how Q went from bold animalistic beast to someone/something he was not. Although he kicked a lot of @$$ in this book, and he seem like a tough guy you would not want to mess with but it was all screwed up when Tess was rescued.Could've ended there too but no obviously there's Vol 3 I will update at a later date maybe my stars for this book will go up or maybe it will go down after reading Vol 3. I love Pepper but Vol 2 was not bad but too repetitive.I'm glad she wrote Twisted Together because it redeemed Q's manliness and it saved the love story build up between Q and Tess. Loved the first book and the third not so much the second. It was an epic ending.

Just amazing! There aren't enough superlatives to describe this trilogy. From the depths of human depravity to one of the best (kinky scorching hot) love stories I've read in a long time. Definitely not for the faint hearted-please listen to the TW'S.

Tears of TessTears of Tess is a book that I have been wanting to read for quite some time. In fact, it has been on my kindle for almost three years and right now I’m questioning my sanity as to why I left it so long to read this story.I must admit that having already read a couple of Pepper Winters’ other dark romance series I was wondering if this one would be more of the same, but I was so wrong. I absolutely loved Tess and Q and reading about the relationship that develops between them. It is one that requires individuals who have a similar need, and this couple have met their perfect match.Tess completely surprised me as I learned more about her throughout the story. Her strength and determination are what I admire about her. Having read other book series where Tess and Q make cameo appearances, I already knew how their story would unfold, but I loved reading this book to learn the finer details about how they met and who they are. This book focused more on Tess and I believe Q’s book is next so I am hoping the author will go back and tell us about his childhood, so that I can understand the reasons behind his actions more.I literally could not put this book down especially during the first half-ish. However, I did feel at times that the story was a little slow and could have been shortened, but other than that I absolutely loved it. I do feel that Tears of Tess deserves 4.5 stars.Quintessentially QI was a little worried for a time. I thought I wasn’t going to get into this book as I found the first part to be a little too slow for my liking. I am so pleased I stuck with it because once the storyline took a different direction with Tess, I didn’t want to put my kindle down!In Quintessentially Q, I assumed that Q would be sharing more about himself and expected it to be written only using his POV. With this storyline it had to be written in dual, as we needed the thoughts and feelings of both Tess and Q. Although they go through the same events, their experiences couldn’t be more different.Pepper Winters once again didn’t hold back any punches when writing some of the scenes in this story. Several were hard for me to read to be honest, BUT it wouldn’t have worked any other way as we needed to witness what happens in order to have a greater understanding of the aftermath.Quintessentially Q ended up being a real page turner and I cannot wait to see what happens next in Twisted Together.Twisted TogetherTwisted Together is the perfect book to end this trilogy. I am aware that there is a follow up story available, but Tess and Q's journey is told over the first three books…. and what a story it is!I absolutely adore Tess and Q together. They couldn’t be more suited for each other. It was lovely to witness their relationship develop throughout this instalment of the trilogy and to see how much they are willing to go through for their soulmate.One of the things I loved about Twisted Together was the unexpected (for me) revelation following those scenes when Q was trying to help Tess through the aftermath of her ordeal. I had been so focused on Tess and her turmoil and emotions, that when Q revealed what he was able to take from this, I was stunned that I hadn’t thought to consider how much he was learning about his own darkness. As I said, I loved this! Oh, and I have one word for that epilogue….. incredible!!I am going to struggle to rate this book because I have conflicting feelings about it. I absolutely loved every moment when there were things happening to/with Tess and Q. I adored the times when scenes had me holding my breath and when I couldn’t read quickly enough to discover how that part of the storyline was going to conclude. BUT then there were times when I really wanted to skim the pages because although we were learning more about Tess and Q as a couple, the pace was too slow and I really wanted to speed up to those heart in the mouth moments that were unputdownable! There was so much excitement to be had and yet in between those moments I felt it took a little too long to get to the next thrilling scene. Twisted Together is a big book, and personally I would have liked the story to have been condensed.I highly recommend this series to all readers who enjoy their romance on the darker side. There are scenes that I found difficult to read but were written brilliantly for this trilogy and are necessary to give the reader a greater understanding. I award Twisted Together 4 stars. I am really looking forward to reading Je Suis a Toi and seeing how the couple have moved forward. I wish them both the happiness and success they truly deserve.

I thought I would leave a quick series review here, though I do have individual reviews posted for each book. To summarize:1. Tears of Tess: 4 stars2. Quintessentially Q: 5 stars3. Twisted Together: 5 stars4. Je Suis à Toi: 4 starsI think this is the first dark romance series I’ve read that follows the same couple across multiple novels in such an in-depth way, and it completely captivated me!This story begins with Tess Snow, unexpectedly ripped from her mundane and normal life and tossed into the dark and disturbing world of human trafficking. Her life changes in the blink of an eye as she is turned into one of many slaves for sale and sold to the highest bidder...Her buyer, Q Mercer, is a wealthy, enigmatic and labile Frenchman that I will say nothing more about to preserve the experience of getting to know and understand him. I actually loved him from his first appearance, but let me tell you, he just gets better and better as the story unfolds.What to expect from MITD:- dark romance with heavy trauma and angst- captor x captive dynamic- complicated and flawed characters- intense romance- bdsm & many kinks under that umbrellaWinters states right in the blurb that this series is "not recommended if you don't enjoy dark romance, angst-filled plots, and BDSM", and I have to agree. However, if you do enjoy those things, you will love this series!Tears of Tess was not a perfect read for me, as Tess’ internal dialogue gave me all kinds of whiplash — but of course I could appreciate the immense stress she is under in her situation. Quintessentially Q and Twisted Together take this series to a whole new level. And I actually appreciate the first book a lot more in hindsight. The journey these two endure is absolute tragedy mixed with insanity at times, and the lengths they go for each other is EVERYTHING!I am sold on Pepper’s ability to write dark romance. I finished this series with the feverish desire to read everything else she’s written!

I am writing this review straight after finishing the trilogy of monsters in the dark . I normally wait before going back to wrote but Pepper has done such an incredible job with it that it would be wrong not to add a review now .This book took me on soo many highs and lows , I cried and squirmed at certain parts I was soo relieved when things took a turn for the better , this is my forth or fifth time reading the books and I've really taken my time this time not rushing and I am so glad I paid the attention as I really lived it all through Tess and Qs side so deeply I could not finish it quickly and not do Pepper any unjust so I took time and lived everything and boy was it a mind blowing read or what !!Pepper is an absolutely amazing author , the way she keeps the interest in the books and has us all literally hanging on a piece of thread wondering what will happen and if we Will get to see justice ! I was barely on the edge of my seat , bed , bus wherever I was reading !It really was a roller-coaster of emotions for me , my husband noticed my emotions and throughout the few days it took me to read he would hug my at night and whisper " it's ok it's a book and you will get through it ." I was soo sucked into the pilot it was so surreal and I can't say I would fault any part of the book .I read all three stories back to back and noticed a few things I missed the first few times I read the books .I will not go into any part of the plot bit I must say it's a f******** fantastic book , if your thinking of buying buy all three as you will need to find out what happens next and won't want to wait for the few seconds it takes to download the next .Very detailed and descriptive writing a Pepper really writes the dark stiff with such finesse it's almost like she takes us there to live it all through .Now that I have finished feeling emotional and like everything has come to a stop but like all good things everything comes to an end and I couldn't be happier with the ending as it gives me hope there may be another few parts to add to this tale of tortured love ?I'm not a writer in any shape so I won't be able to do any justice to Peppers work and say the right things but for anyone who wants a different kind of read , something mysterious , dangerous , dark , away from the fairy tales of handsome rich men saving damsels in distress then these are for you .I hope you enjoy the books as much as I did .

book 1 = I like dark stories....when they have a reason, a purpose and arent just written for the shock factor.I have seen this book around a lot and avoided it because of that very reason....but I gave in and Im glad I did. Tess is an incredible character, and I loved her from the start.There is lots of violence and rape throughout this series but it is all there for a purpose. To understand Tess and Q's journey you have to experience some of what they have ;)I fell in love with Q almost immediately. The more he listens to his inner beast the more I love him. Though I understand the softer side he has and the battle he fights daily to let this, the nice man rule his life.Totally recommended...im moving straight on to book 2Book 2 = Another 4.5 stars for me...... loved Q more than ever. Tess is a force to be reckoned with, though I did shed a tear for her during this book.Once again, lots of non consensual sex and horrific violence, but there is a point to it. Although at one point I did say to myself "at the end of this chapter, if the story hasnt taken a different path Im not finishing it" This was not for any other reason than I found some of the scenes quite hard to read, and actually felt a bit sick at one or two points. The author brought it back for me though and I went on to finish and enjoy it.Moving on to book 3Book 3 = Im glad I read and finished this series... book 3 seemed incredibly long and at times I had to put it down to have a break. I loved the story and peppers way of writing keeps you enthralled and wanting to know more, but I did struggle with some of the more graphic scenes of violence. Its okay though as it was paramount to the storyline and so I kept going.All in all a 4.5 stars for this series. I will add pepper winters to my must read list for the future.*If you dont cope with violence too well then this probably isnt for you ;)