{Review} In Peace Lies Havoc by Amo Jones

Title: In Peace Lies Havoc
Author: Amo Jones
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Genre: New Adult Dark Romance

My name is Dove Hendry.

𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘹𝘵𝘰𝘯.

I was captured by darkness.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴…

They groomed me for Midnight Mayhem. Like a trained possession, weak against their control.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵...

But Midnight Mayhem was the stained glass that concealed a very dark culture.

𝘈 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧.

The Brothers of Kiznitch come in fours, and they’re not happy about me being hustled into their acts.

𝘖𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦? 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘈 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯…

Mind-tricks.

Stunts.

Deceit.

𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

But there’s something uglier that has been haunting me for years upon years. So ugly that I have never seen it’s face. I never had to. I’d hear his whispers through my internal screams, feel his shadow brush against my nightmares. He was my the monster that tormented me.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘥…

When I started Midnight Mayhem, his presence faded.

His whispers were silenced.

His shadow dissolving without a trace.

I wondered why that was.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨...

**CW: mild violence, assault, blood, sexual content, on-page forced sexual activity scene, knife, murder, blood play, kidnapping, forced captivity, chokehold**

What we liked

♥ Amo Jones. That's it; that's the post.

♥ The air of mystery of the "Midnight Mayhem."

♥ Dove's past and who she really is unfolding throughout the story.

♥ Brief cameo of the Elite Kings from Amo's The Elite Kings series. Well, only three of the kings + Tillie. Also the main characters from Amo's other book, Manik (which we have yet to read).

♥ Intricate, layered storylines that are intertwined.

♥ One character recommends an Amo Jones book (Manik) to the main character, Dove, but doesn't recommend the author, which so happens to be the very same author of this book. When she made that comment and saw the irony, we LOL'd. 

♥ Amo's signature plot twists (yes, plural).

♥ Amazing music taste as always. No complaints, honestly. Introduced to us some new music as well, so thanks, Amo.

What we didn't

• No content/trigger warning was stated in book summary or beginning of book. 
• The play by play scene of the forced sexual assault in the beginning.
• The use of the word "exotic" to describe a character of color. 
• Call it a bad habit of comparing favorite stories + characters from authors other books, but we just didn't feel much tension or chemistry between the h (Dove) and the H (King). We need to learn how to stop comparing to Bishop/Madison and Nate/Tillie.
• We hope that Dove didn't use the same hand that got someone else's blood on to touch herself intimately with. Infection in the vag is not sexy. (Can you tell our virgo popped out?)
• Manhandling from King to the point even Dove said it could almost pass as domestic abuse. If the h of the story is even pointing that out, no matter how much you try, the H behaving that way is not sexy nor should it be acceptable. Probably shouldn't write the H in such a way if you want readers to add him to their little black book of book boyfriends. (No I'm not sensitive; I'm speaking as a survivor of domestic abuse).
• The ending was a bit lackluster, except for the reminder of the dare Dove still owes King that leaves us wondering what that dare is. Also, the 'aftermath' chapter at the end. It seemed like it came from a different POV and we have theories of who it may be and how the next book will go.

The brothers of Kiznitch

King // The leader of the Brothers of Kiznitch. Blood play turns him on which indicates what kind of person he may be but what else do you expect from a king. A king with a prince albert (yes, the piercing). Dark, sinister motherfucker who could do a little lightening up especially in the manhandling department; it wasn't as endearing as intended. Idgaf, he can fuck off with his manhandling and threats to Dove. I know she can hold her own even against him, but it still doesn't make it okay or sexy to treat her like that. He's an alphahole to the extreme and unfortunately not in the way Bishop (from The Elite Kings series) is.

Killian // He's the playful, funny and persuasive of the boys. He was pretty cool and offered a comic relief but don't let that demeanor fool you; he can fuck you up. We like him...until he made that semi-incestuous comment about Maya. Yeah, no. Also, how dare he do Maya like that.

Kyrin // He might have as much presence or talk as much as the other boys but he is lethal. Quiet but violent and all that. We kinda wanted him to talk more or have him included more until he revealed that he enjoys committing murder. Don't get on his bad side.

Keaton // Like Kyrin, we didn't think much of him as he didn't have much presence like King or Killian did, but in the end he turned out to be pretty cool for a big, intimidating, tatted dude. Protective of Dove in the end (for spoilery reasons). We can't wait to see how his and Dove's relationship develops in the next book.

Kohen // I know, I know; he's technically part of the brothers of Kiznitch (anymore) but he does have a role and is King's brother, so we'll just talk about him for a bit, okay? So he's the actual albeit estranged brother of King. Seductive in guyliner; might be psycho. Will he re-join the brothers in Midnight Mayhem again in the next book? Or will he go astray that will catapult another storyline? Will he find love again - new flame or ghost from the past? If he were a hashtag, he'd be #deadinside

Justice // Also another character not a brother, but is the personal driver of the brothers during the Midnight Mayhem. We don't know how he stays sane dealing with and driving the brothers during Midnight Mayhem but kuddos to him. Needs a pay raise, prob.

The gals

Dove // Don't underestimate her just because she hardly talks (at first). May seem docile and quiet at first, but she flourishes and finds her voice and stands her ground throughout the book. We love to see a dove set free from her cage. She's more freaky and psycho than expected; never underestimate the quiet ones. Badass ballerina. Endured a lot but is still dancing, literally. Can't wait to find out more about her in the next books of the series.

Rose // Cool chick and friend to Dove, even if a bit chatty. Though she's outgoing and extroverted and is an integral part of Dove's life and the book, we don't know much about her or how her days go while training/rehearsing and during the act of the show. We hope to get to know a little more about her in the next book.

Val // She's the "mean girl"/antagonist of the Midnight Mayhem crew and thinks of herself way more highly than she's actually worth. But she comes to reality and her senses by the end. Her character growth isn't fleshed out but is there.

Maya // Maya is probably the only chillest and sanest character out of the whole group story, besides maybe Justice.

Delila // A bit intimidating at first being the showrunner but she seems pretty decent. Sure is a mystery and hopefully we get to know more about her in the next book.

Callan + Saskia // The new girls in Dove's act who were introduced near the end and we can't wait to see what they do in and out of the show.

Lust factor