Us Dark Few: Book 1

🌶️ Spice Level: 3/10

Description:
Khalani Kanes has spent her entire life beneath the surface of the Earth, living in the underground city of Apollo and dreaming of one day seeing the sun. But when she is imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit, her hopes of reaching the surface seem further away than ever. Sent to Braderhelm Prison, where violent criminals and merciless guards make survival a daily battle, Khalani quickly discovers that the prison holds darker secrets than she could have imagined. Then there's Takeshi Steele, the cold and ruthless captain responsible for her cell block. He is determined to keep Khalani under control, while she refuses to let him break her. As they are drawn into a dangerous web of secrets, survival and betrayal, their hostility begins to develop into something far more complicated. With a dystopian world, enemies-to-lovers tension, slow-burn romance, survival, political intrigue and a morally grey hero, Us Dark Few is a dark and atmospheric YA romance where danger comes long before desire.

Reviews:
Readers particularly enjoy the dystopian setting, survival elements and tense relationship between Khalani and Takeshi, with the enemies-to-lovers dynamic providing a slow-building romantic thread throughout the story. Takeshi's cold and intimidating personality creates plenty of tension, while Khalani is praised for being determined, resilient and unwilling to simply accept the circumstances she has been given. However, the romance develops slowly and the sexual content is extremely limited, with the book being categorised as behind-closed-doors rather than an explicit romance. The main focus is on Khalani's imprisonment, survival, the mystery surrounding her conviction and the wider dystopian world. Readers looking for a fast-paced, darker YA survival story with romantic tension will likely enjoy it, but anyone buying it specifically for spice should expect very little sexual content.