I won’t lie, Nero by SJ Tilly hooked me simply because it was a stalker dark romance written by one of my favorite comfort authors. As a mood reader my two main moods are either fluffy cute and spice rom coms or dark romance, so SJ Tilly who wrote Latte Darling writing a dark romance book had me running to my tablet.
Nero by SJ Tilly
Nero by SJ Tilly is book 1 in the Alliance series. It is a dark romance book published on March 16th, 2023 and is 368 pages long. You can find the book on Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, and the author’s website here.
Premise
All Payton wanted was some fresh air in her apartment, living on the second floor she felt pretty safe with her patio door wide open. That is until a man appears inside her apartment, blood on him, and he’s staring directly at her. He plops down on her sofa next to her, watches the movie, and eats her popcorn. After she leaves she tries to push the man from her thoughts, but she still feels his eyes on her. She should go to the authorities, someone, anyone, but she doesn’t. Instead she leaves her patio door wide open and goes to bed.
Triggers
Triggers found in Nero by SJ Tilly include:
- Stalking
- Violence / Murder
- Kidnapping
- Past Physical Abuse
- Dubious Consent
My Thoughts
Oh, Nero. Sigh Of course, stalking is only ok when fictional men are doing it. Let’s just say that first. But Nero, he was down right obsessed with Peyton from the moment he laid his eyes on her, and I enjoyed every single second of it.
Peyton had an extremely rough childhood, her step-father was an absolute piece of shit who wanted to sell her virginity the moment she turned 18, and Peyton ran away from home. It takes a strong woman to do and survive the way Peyton had.
“You know,” he says, as he takes a few slow steps, crossing in front of the TV. “You really shouldn’t leave your door open like that.” My lips part, but my words get jumbled on my tongue and I have to swallow before trying again. “I’m on the second floor,” I whisper, still trying to understand what’s happening. – Nero by SJ Tilly
The two main characters are pretty much opposites. Peyton has a soft, caring, and extremely polite personality. Meanwhile Nero is hard, ruthless, and will do anything, including kidnapping, to get his way. Still the tension and the heat between these two are perfect.
SJ Tilly knows how to write great spicy scenes and we get plenty of them in this book. It was almost shocking to read dub con in one of her books, though. Her rom coms are pretty heavy in consent and communications. However, I’m a big fan of dark romance so it doesn’t bother me in fiction.
“I’m not staying,” he mutters it this time. He sounds so resigned, even as he does the opposite of what he just said, and I almost laugh. Nero drops onto his back, shifting the pillow, lifting his head and smacking it back down against the lumpy cotton, trying to get comfortable. With one final sigh, he stretches his arm out in my direction. “Come fucking cuddle with me.” – Nero by SJ Tilly
Now, I wouldn’t say there was a lot of character growth in this book, at least not with Nero. He remains the obsessed, over protective, and possessive throughout the entire book. However, he does learn to communicate well with Peyton.
Nero bends over me, putting our faces an inch apart. “For you, I’m fucking certifiable.” – Nero by SJ Tilly
Peyton on the other hand, really steps into her own. After a lifetime of feeling unloved and uncared for I was happy to see her learning to accept Nero’s “claim” over her. Make no mistake, he’d never let her go, but everything he did for her was because he loves her and his moral compass is non-existent.
King was absolutely hilarious. And his book is the next one in the series. Additionally, I really loved King’s sister Aspen, who makes a brief appearance.
King grins. “Wouldn’t miss it.” Then he hoists a heavy metal tube onto his shoulder. “And you forgot your key.” Without missing a beat, he turns, aims the surface-to-air launcher at the reinforced gate blocking Mikhail’s driveway, and sets the missile free. – Nero by SJ Tilly
The vibes in this book are dark, but there were still a lot of laugh out loud moments for me. Understand I have a pretty dark sense of humor so some of Nero’s actions were just hysterical to me, I’d talk to a therapist about it but I kinda like it.
Who Would Like Nero by SJ Tilly?
Tropes in Nero by SJ Tilly include:
- Stalking
- Plus Size FMC
- Age Gap
- Mafia-esque
If you liked Lights Out by Navessa Allen, The Pucking Wrong Number by CR Jane, or Promises and Pomegranates by Sav R Miller, you will probably love Nero by SJ Tilly.
Make sure to check my reviews of the other books in the Alliance series as well:
- King
- Dom
- Hans
Have you read Nero by SJ Tilly, or are you adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments below. I love interacting with other reader about books I loved.