You must check your trigger warnings before reading this book. I found this book very backwards in terms of the spice and story. Majority of the spice was at the beginning of the book and more of the story in the 2nd half of the book. I would say this book is about 65% smut and 35% plot. It’s been a while since I’ve read any dark romance and it was a nice change up for me from my typical sports or college romances. It’s quite a sad story really to see how messed up they’ve both become from the same person. As the story goes on, it gives you answers and you’re like ‘ohhh, that’s why they’re so messed up!’.I really enjoyed reading about her dissociative disorder, this something I’ve not really heard of before, I feel like the author did a good job at explaining what it is. I found it easier to understand due to the change of chapter perspectives towards the end between the main character and ‘her’. If this book becomes part of a series, I will be reading the rest of them.

I wish we could see more emotional communication than physical. I waited to get through the halfway point of the book to see almost any character development from just reading smut, which made it difficult to connect with the characters. Additionally, the male main character's attitudes and reactions seemed unnecessary, even though this was a dark romance.
2.5 Stars

Be sure to check the TW before diving into this one. Dark romance meets psychological thriller type vibes with disassociative disorder. Definitely ran through all of the emotions, but loved every minute. Cannot wait for the next book in the series!

I wanted to start with the fact that the second half of the book was much better than the first. In the very beginning Donny talks very derogatory to his sister and then treats the FMC like a dog. I did not find that sexy at all. It was forced and dub con. Half way thru it becomes more of a story that they are trying to better themselves. There was too many story lines to follow and then the ending was like 3 continuous endings. I just didn't appreciate some of content, the bulling, the kidnapping, and the constantly changing plot. Amnesia? Hypnotized? Just didn't do it for me, sorry! Ladies want a respectful strong lead not a person to talk down to them.

Cherry Auction by Stasia Black is an enticing and steamy romance novel that explores the world of high-stakes auctions with a dark, suspenseful twist. The story follows a thrilling mix of passion, power dynamics, and intense chemistry. Black’s writing delivers both tension and vulnerability, making for an engaging, if somewhat intense, read. While the plot keeps the pace fast, the characters could use more depth, but it’s a captivating choice for fans of edgy, dramatic romance.

This book is geared towards dark romance lovers. The topics discussed are incredibly heavy and psychological which can leave readers with a mix of emotions. As someone who does not read dark romance often this book was incredibly out of my comfort zone. The standard dark romance reader would probably love this book so long as trigger warnings are properly understood prior to reading! For me personally this is not in my wheelhouse but feel the writing is easy to follow and understand!

I thought I would read a nice spicy, somewhat dark book. But it was so much more! Definitely one of the darker smut books I have read, but there was so much more depth than I expected. A strong main character with her own problems, but one who puts her shoulder to the wheel!

Wowza...this book was terrible! I can't believe I actually finished reading it.

*Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity in exchange of my honest opinion.

3.5 stars! This book kept me on my toes, and the twist?! Didn't see that coming from a mile away!! This was emotional and raw and I enjoyed how much you felt like you knew the characters and their background of what made them who they are. The beginning caught me off guard with his accent at first, but once I knew more about his character it made sense. For sure a good read and recommend!

I was drawn in at the beginning, but my interest started to wain halfway in. The book is definitely spicy and dark and something you need to be in the "mood" for. The story could have been better fleshed out and a bit shorter. Wasn't for me, but I can see a lot of people enjoying the story.

I want to thank NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

This was an enjoyable read that i was pulled into straight away, it is very spicy and very dark but that doesn't bother me the spicier and darker the better. I do however think it could have been a little bit shorter perhaps

This was dark phscological/thrillery with a touch of f*d up romance. I don’t know how much research the author did into DID or the complex ptsd of the childhoods both of the main characters had but I just feel like it wasn’t resolved in the right amount of time and felt weird.
Moira the sister has her own set of major issues with I assume would be explored in the next book but I don’t know if I would pick it up.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Checking the trigger warnings might be a good idea before jumping into this one. This was a dark romance with a lot of spicy scenes in the first half of the book. (The storyline kind of picks up after that.) While it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it will definitely be someone else's!

Warped in the best way possible...what an ending...I am not sure that I like the happy ending but it works.

I was pleasantly surprised with this read! The first 50% is just pure smut, so it definitely draws you in! (🌶🌶🌶🌶 for sure). The unknown elements keeps you enthralled, wanting to know more about the characters and their motivations. The characters are deeply flawed, and messy, but you do end up hoping for a cute ending for them. The twists and turns in the second half do get to be a bit much, too many plot points happening at once, in my opinion. All in all, not a bad read at all! Smutty, dark, and twisty.

I cannot lie; I underestimated the themes in this story. If nothing else, reading The Cherry Auction helped me learn what things I do not like reading- turns out I am simply not a dark romance girly. Through cringed faces and uncomfortable eye covering – I persisted!

The “virgin auction” premise is what drew me in. It was… so much more than that. Almost too many things. The amnesia, the mental struggles, the history between the characters, the plot twists with more demented history… so many dark tropes. The first half was pure smut. The mmc was too far gone in his revenge and mental illness, and I felt it made the whole dom/sub aspect feel particularly icky. The plot finally unfolded in more depth in the second half. Again, interesting twists? But yikes. It was very hard to read. I typically like to leave constructive reviews, but I was truly focused on surviving this story and wading through the very loaded triggers.

The writing was done well enough, the pacing was… sporadic, but at the end of the day it was an interesting story.

My overall takeaway was: “know your limits”.

Cherry Auction by Stasia Black is a second chance dark romance.
Carnal is a high class spicy club that is auctioning one night with a v!rg!n. Hence, the title of the book.
Our FMC is Brooke, she was a recent head trauma victim and now suffers from amnesia. With no clue of who she is she is determined to start a new life for herself.
Domhnall is an Irish billionaire, he is a member at Carnal and is ultimately who ends up purchasing Brooke.
No one truly knows how unhinged Domhnall is until he ends up kidnapping and locking Brooke in his dungeon for an entire week.
His reasoning is where the book takes an interesting turn, it’s also what causes the story to plunge in a dark direction.
Some of the events were predictable but then there were a few that surprised me.
The author did an amazing job being respectful when writing about the trauma that both characters had endured.
I felt all the emotions as if I was the one that had lived through those experiences and I think it’s only because of the great job Stasia did.
I wasn’t sure if it would be a HEA or not and I won’t ruin it for the next reader, you’ll just have to read it and see for yourselves.

**Lots of triggers, please read the warnings before reading
🖤🖤🖤
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was a no for me- which was super disappointing. I desperately wanted to love it! But it dragged on for me & to be honest I continued on with the hopes at some point it would pull me back into the story.

This book will definitely have people that love it and I'm excited for those people to read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Girl this book was absolutely mental, I love you now. I couldn’t believe what I was reading half the time and to be fair I prefer dark romance with a bit of a shock factor to it. Still in awe that I read this and simultaneously wondering if the author wants to be friends because I feel like I’d get her 😂 thank you so much to @netgalley for my copy of Cherry Auction in exchange for an honest review

This was SO GOOD! Definitely a new one for the dark romance girlies. Reminded me of a dirty tangled. Overall great pace and story. Very well written!