I’m a fraud. Or an imposter. I’m certainly a hypocrite.

I offer advice for a living. Encourage my patients to make wise decisions—help them help themselves to walk through life stronger, healthier, happier.

Isn’t that the goal? To live our best lives?

If only I practiced what I preach.

I wasn’t always like this. Every move I make lately is the opposite of smart. These questionable life choices are a new development.

They started the day a certain Vitale barged into my life.

Brand Vitale might look like a hero to the rest of the world, but looks can be deceiving.

I’m driven by obsession for a man who’s turning out to be dark, dangerous, and downright depraved.

And I don’t care.

Because, sometimes, depraved, debauched—hell, or even deathly—is the only option.

— Goodreads — Amazon —

Brynne Asher lives in the Midwest with her husband, three children, and her perfect dog. When she isn’t creating pretend people and relationships in her head, she is running her kids around and doing laundry. She enjoys cooking, decorating, shopping at outlet malls as well as online and is always seeking the best deal. A perfect day in “Brynne World” ends in front of an outdoor fire with family, friends, s’mores, and a delicious cocktail.

— Facebook — Goodreads — Amazon —

Obsession: an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind.

How deep can an obsession go? How far is too far? What lengths would go to, to protect the one you love? That’s the question you are going to ask yourself as you reads Deathly. There were many times, as I was reading, where I thought I knew what was going on but BOY I had absolutely no idea.

Deathly is the first installment of a duet, where the first one focuses on Dr. Aria Dillon, and Damaged(written by the one and only, Layla Frost) focuses on her sister, Bria Dillon. Their stories are very separate, featuring two damaged sisters running from their past.

And lemme tell ya, if Deathly is any indication, and if I know these two authors (which I do, devoured every book they’ve written) it’s gonna be a doozy.

Deathly starts with a meet-cute. Aria, the psychologist and therapist, goes to a charity event where they’re auctioning off dogs and dates with hot firemen and paramedics. (Enter heavy breathing and inappropriate panting here – also, side note, my husband was a volunteer firefighter for a LONG time and not one of them looked like those calendars, I feel lied to). Aria has ulterior motives in going to the event, and it’s not to get a hot date. It’s actually to avoid a date and a dog all together. She doesn’t have time for either it’s just to get out of her comfort zone, take her own psychological advice she’d give to any patient, and do something different. Something uncomfortable. She wants absolutely nothing to do with the glowering firefighter with the fluffy puppy he cannot control.

She’s also lying to herself.

Enter Brando Vitale, Jr. If anyone could top the sexiest name in all of history (Theo Amato, sorry to my book husband and actual husband) it would be Brando. *takes a sip of wine*. Brando is a broody firefighter, forced to participate in the stupid charity event, with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He has no time for aloof women or untrained puppies. In fact, he’s downright rude to the Doctor. He just wants out. But when the intriguing, dismissive woman who wants nothing to do with a date or a dog ends up spending $15k in a split decision (or potential mental breakdown, either is fine) he forces her out on that date. Not one of owing people anything, he makes sure Aria knows there’s nowhere she can run. As soon as the date is over, they can go their separate ways.

Brand is also a liar. At least they have that in common.

I have to admit that the “I hate everyone but my woman” trope is one of my faves. Brand tops the list for alpha-hole, without being a jerk, but also pushing boundaries of the good doctor. He has a freaking hurricane brewing and should not, under any circumstances, be going on a date with any woman. Aria also has way to much on her plate, with student loans, two jobs, and a full load of patients to worry about. So while Aria tries desperately to get out of her date, Brand is not letting her go. Despite literally everything that could and would go wrong, Brand’s obsession with the intriguing doctor is quick but no less addicting.

Both of these characters have scars that run deep. Scars that carry over from lives they were forced to live. While utterly different in motives, and different sets of morals and values, they begin to realize they have one other thing in common: both have seemingly unhealthy addictions to each other. While Brand is busy giving the middle finger to literally everyone, Aria is trying to move past her own fears and mental issues. I was as obsessed with these two as they were with each other.

Brynne Asher has a magical way of world and word building. She sucks you in from the very first moment. You find yourself biting your nails along with Aria, truly experiencing her anxieties as if their your own, while rooting for Brand to take a wrecking ball to the shields Aria has built to protect herself. It was so easy to get lost in the world Brynne created, full of lies and deception, addiction and obsession, twists and turns.

I can honestly say I had no idea what was coming until it happened. Had no idea how deep their obsessions ran, how far they would go to protect the other. And it was freaking amaze balls. This is one of those books where, once finished, I immediately wished I could read again just to experience it all over. I’m a big fan of rereading, so I can’t wait until I can open it back up to see if there’s any foreshadowing, though I doubt it. It was a wonderfully twisted book, edging the line of darkness without falling too deep, feeding my own unhealthy obsession with Brynne & alpha-holes.

While reading books for the first time, I love to save quotes. It started as a way to help create teasers for my reviews, to try to capture the essence of the book without spoilers and to help tease readers with what’s coming. Overtime, it’s helped me go back and look at couples I’ve fallen in love with, and remember what they say to each other that made me swoon. Usually I save 5 or 6 quotes I can use for teasers, or for personal reasons, but I went back and counted seventeen quotes I highlighted. Each one impactful, important to the story, and ones I want tattooed on my skin forever. Though if I did that for every quote I loved from every book I’ve read I’d end up looking like Travis Barker with boobs.

It was so hard choosing only three quotes from this masterpiece. So hard to choose which ones to help portray what an amazing book this was. It had everything. Mystery, romance, death, mafia associations, police interrogations, and steamy scenes that will have you reaching for your significant other. I cannot wait until I can read Damaged. If it’s anything like Deathly, which I know it will be, I’ll be left with another book hangover.

TL;DR download the friggen book right the heck now.