Little Stranger – Leigh Rivers

On one of my odd days off, I decided to finally give into one of my besties on bookstagram (@x_nyxreviews_x) and read Little Stranger. After months of begging me to give it a shot, I gave in, and oh my god it was so worth it. My dark romance brain has been fueled with all things, well… dark. Very dark. 

The story

I’m not someone who usually loves a sibling… or foster sibling? type of romance. It’s never been my business. Despite that, the way that Little Stranger is written, makes it hot. It’s the small things. Of course they’re not actually blood related, there isn’t really anything wrong with it, but despite that I had my apprehensions. 

Little Stranger caused me to reevaluate my favorite dark romance tropes. Possessive older brother? Check. “Teach me” trope? Check. Stalker trope? Yep, you guessed it, check. I can’t even begin to describe the many, many twisted tropes this book managed to include – and somehow I ate them all up. 

The characters

I feel like it would be wrong to not go into detail about Malachi and his situation. While I was considering not even mentioning the character building in the book, I had to bring up Malachi because he’s been through it. Not only has this man suffered a traumatic childhood but he’s gone through abuse from his foster parents and he’s diagnosed with a mental illness that he really struggles with. Not only that but he’s also mute and unable to communicate with the people around him which I can only imagine is such a frustrating situation. 

“I watch him take the black one and write down one word that makes no sense. Mine.”

Malachi’s point of view in the second half of the book gave me everything I needed. The slight sense of humor in his side of the book lightened it up a bit as we see him stalk Olivia for “revenge”, yet all he really wants is her unconditional love. It’s clear to see that he’s conflicted and has been throughout the entire book which is incredibly difficult when things aren’t explained to you properly at a young age. Malachi has gone through so many ups and downs in his life that I can only imagine how it feels to receive love after so long.

The writing style 

Leigh Rivers sucked me in immediately. I love how the book started with the entire backstory of Malachi and Olivia’s relationship, how they first met and the small moments that bonded them as children. It was clear to see that their relationship was so different and the writing style really reflected that. 

“Run, little stranger.”

The fast paced nature of Rivers chapters had me zipping through the book and I ended up finishing the book in one sitting. 

For the dark romance lovers…

After reading haunting adeline and absolutely falling in love with dark romance – specifically the stalker trope – this book was a must read. It’s been on my list for so long and I’m so happy I finally got to it, and it was so good! Definitely a dark, spicy, and almost sinister read! 

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️