Synopses & Reviews
The latest from groundbreaking author Leah Raeder is a dark, sexy romantic thriller written in her signature provocative style, which has been praised as “dizzingly intense…an exhilarating ride for our inner underdog” (
Publishers Weekly, starred review) and “compelling and unnerving” (
Booklist).
Very few mainstream authors have garnered the devoted following that USA TODAY bestselling author Leah Raeder has earned by pushing the boundaries of romantic suspense. Her carefully rendered “anti-heroines” buck norms, immersing you in a gritty world of sexual fluidity, drugs, and revenge, told with exquisite language and candor that turns the romance genre on its head and leaves readers begging for more.
Her latest novel is a tightly plotted adventure that follows closely on the heels of her acclaimed novels Unteachable—“lush, haunting prose, deft storytelling, and scorching sensuality” (M. Pierce)—the “intense and visceral” (Lauren Blakely) Black Iris, and the highly anticipated Cam Girl, and is sure to keep you reading late into the night.
Review
Praise for Black Iris:"Like an afternoon special on bullying gone impossibly dark, Raeder's dizzyingly intense, drug-addicted queer teenage revenge fantasy takes its reader on a sexy, bloody journey of pure emotion that's by turns expressed, denied, and turned back in on itself. Delaney Keating, viciously mistreated in high school for her attraction to girls and damaged by her unstable mother's suicide, falls into a love triangle with two of the dramatic inhabitants of underground dance club Umbra: DJ and patient medical student Armin, and impulsive, fierce, deliciously sensual Blythe. She pulls them into her scheme of violence against her abusers in a heady mélange of lust and bloodlust, while the triad pulls against itself with internal jealousies. A twisting timeline dancing over a year's events makes every moment seem both immediate and angrily steeped in memory. Major themes include depression, mania, and the ways that the use and abuse of drugs affect access to the reality of self and the world's essential nature; but the soul-searching always comes in the context of action, everyone around hit by the shrapnel of exploding feelings. This is an exhilarating ride for our inner underdog, craving a taste of what it would feel like to just get back at everyone if we were reckless enough not to care about the consequences." Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"Not for the faint of heart…gritty, intense, and lyrical…Raeders compelling and unnerving dysfunctional love story is about revenge and survival.”
Booklist
Review
"Raeder is a true, original talent." Jennifer L. Armentrout
Review
"Risky, brave, bold. Heart-breaking, captivating, and sensual. There arent enough words to describe this suspenseful powerhouse of a novel. Raeders gorgeous prose and raw characters will keep you flipping to the very end. Black Iris is one of the best books Ive read this year." #1 New York Times bestselling author
Review
"Intense and visceral, Black Iris is as sharp as a knife and beats with a heart that is double-edged and dangerous." Karina Halle - New York Times bestselling author
Review
"Provocative, seductive, and skillfully written, Black Iris is a story that stands out from the crowd."
Review
"Raeder masterfully weaves a dark, twisted, dangerously sexy quest for revenge with a raw, honest search for kinship and self-acceptance. Black Iris demands your attention, your heart, and an immediate reread."
Review
"Lyrical, vivid, and poignant, Unteachable is one of best forbidden romances I've ever read."
Review
"Unteachable infuses the complicated dynamics of forbidden sexual tension and untamed passion, all while managing to break your heart. Easily one of my favorite reads."
Review
"With lush, haunting prose, deft storytelling and scorching sensuality, Leah Raeder weaves a love story that obliterates convention. The best book I’ve read this year."
Review
"Leah Raeder's writing is skillful and stunning. Unteachable is one of the most beautifully powerful stories of forbidden love that I have ever read."
Synopsis
Wake writes with abandon and razor-sharp wit as he details the struggles and joys of being a 'self-made man'. A fast-paced, mind-bending romantic thriller from an author with humor, heart, and big writing muscles. Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Vlog star Renard Grant has nothing to prove: he s got a pretty face, chiseled body, and two million adoring video subscribers. Plus the scars on his chest and a prescription for testosterone. Because Ren is transgender: assigned female at birth, living now as male. He films his transition and shares it bravely with the world; his fans love his honesty and positivity.
But Ren has been living a double life.
Off-camera, he s Cane, the muscle-bound enforcer for social justice vigilante group Black Iris. As Cane, he lets his dark side loose. Hurts those who prey on the disempowered. Indulges in the ugly side of masculinity. And his new partner, Tamsin Baylor, is a girl as rough and relentless as him. Together, they terrorize the trolls into silence.
But when a routine Black Iris job goes south, Ren is put in the crosshairs. Someone is out to ruin his life. He s a bad boy, they say, guilty of what he punishes others for.
Just like every other guy: at heart, he s a monster, too.
Now Ren s got everything to prove. He has to clear his name, and show the world he s a good man. But that requires facing demons he s locked away for years. And it might mean discovering he s not such a good guy after all.
Wake presents an intense, suspenseful, and unusual tale of romantic suspense that will make readers question their perceptions of gender and relationships. Booklist (starred review)
A provocative and sexually charged novel of vengeance and betrayal....This erotic and suspenseful tale offers illuminating and often heartbreaking insight into the psychology of its transgender protagonist and compels readers to question their conceptions about gender and desire. Publishers Weekly"
Synopsis
"Wake presents an intense, suspenseful, and unusual tale of romantic suspense that will make readers question their perceptions of gender and relationships." --Booklist (starred review) A "fast-paced, mind-bending romantic thriller" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a transgender vlog star who struggles with a past that continues to haunt him as he sets out to prove that he's not a "bad boy," but something else entirely: a good man.
Vlog star Renard Grant has nothing to prove: he's got a pretty face, chiseled body, and two million adoring video subscribers. Plus scars on his chest and a prescription for testosterone. Because Ren is transgender: assigned female at birth, living now as male. He films his transition and shares it bravely with the world; his fans love his honesty and positivity.
But Ren has been living a double life.
Off-camera, he's Cane, the muscle-bound enforcer for social justice vigilante group Black Iris. As Cane, he lets his dark side loose. Hurts those who prey on the disempowered. Indulges in the ugly side of masculinity. And his new partner, Tamsin Baylor, is a girl as rough and relentless as he is. Together, they terrorize the trolls into silence. But when a routine Black Iris job goes south, Ren is put in the crosshairs. Someone is out to ruin his life. He's a bad boy, they say, guilty of what he punishes others for. Just like every other guy: at heart, he's a monster, too.
Now Ren's got everything to prove. He has to clear his name, and show the world he's a good man. But that requires facing demons he's locked away for years. And it might mean discovering he's not such a good guy after all.
Elliot Wake has written a "searingly modern game of cat and mouse" (L.S. Hilton, New York Times bestselling author) that "compels readers to question their conceptions about gender and desire" (Publishers Weekly). Darkly humorous and evocatively sexy, Bad Boy is romantic suspense at its finest.
About the Author
Leah Raeder is the author of Unteachable, Black Iris, and the forthcoming Cam Girl. Aside from reading her brains out, she enjoys graphic design, video games, fine whiskey, and the art of self-deprecation. She lives with her very own manic pixie dream boy in Chicago. Visit her at LeahRaeder.com.