Toxic

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Toxic

Toxic is the latest novel to be checked off my to be read list. The description of The Joker meets Haunting Adeline is what caught my attention with it. I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve been reading more dark romance novels lately, but I haven’t decided if that is the genre for me either.

But I’ve been wanting to read more and see if it is a genre issue, a specific author issue, or I’m just super picky about my books. Maybe it is simply that I haven’t found the right one to capture my attention yet. Or maybe they aren’t dark enough. I’m still trying to figure it all out. Which can be an adventure.

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Prior to reading Toxic, I had never heard of Nicole Banchard or read anything from her. Toxic is my introduction to her writing, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this takes me because she has written quite a number of novels besides this one.

“What kind of person wants more from a man like him? What kind of woman aches for another kiss from a criminal?

Me.

I want more.

I want it all.

I want it right here.

Again. And again. And again.”
Nicole Blanchard, Toxic

At the time of publishing this review, Toxic is available via Kindle Unlimited, making it more easily accessible to readers, and helping me utilize my subscription more often.

Have you read Toxic? Come on in and let me tell you about it!

About Toxic

The Joker meets Haunting Adeline in this dark, forbidden romance where a prison nurse is caught in a dangerous web of obsession with her ruthless psychopath patient.

My life has been a series of bad decisions.

Marrying an abusive man was the first… but falling for a dangerous inmate where I’m a nurse may be the worst.

He’s brutal, heartless, and twisted.

But he’s also the only one to notice the bruises on my skin.

His forbidden touch becomes my addiction.

His drugging kisses my obsession.

After I learn the truth about why he’s in prison, I try to escape, but he finds me.

Now I’m his prisoner.

Toxic is a standalone dark romance featuring a pierced, morally gray antihero with Joker energy, obsessive “Touch Her & Die” protectiveness, and a dangerous cat-and-mouse dynamic with the prison nurse he refuses to let go. It contains explicit sexual content and a full list of trigger warnings can be found at the beginning of the book.

Toxic Book Playlist

“End of Days” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Night of the Hunter” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Conquistador” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Sucker for Pain” by Lil Wayne and others
“The Red” by Chevelle
“Hurricane” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Incomplete” by James Bay
“Starving” by Hailee Steinfeld, Grey, Zedd
“Demons” by Imagine Dragons
“Scars To Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara
“Unsteady” by X-Ambassadors
“Say You Love Me” by Jessie Ware
“You Don’t Own Me” by SAYGRACE and G-Eazy
“Hide Away” by Daya
“The Monster” by Eminem and Rihanna
“Dark Side” by Kelly Clarkson
“Scars” by James Bay
“Army” by Ellie Goulding
“Avalanche” by Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato
“Never Be Like You” by Flume and Jai
“Let Him Fly” by The Chicks
“Letters From The Sky” by Civil Twilight
“Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers and Daya
“Somethin’ Bad” by Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
“I Feel A Sin Comin’ On” by Pistol Annies, and others
“Skinny Love” by Bon Iver
“Heal” by Tom Odell
“Up In The Air” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Oblivion” by Bastille
“Trying Not to Love You” by Nickelback
“The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed
“Headphones” by Florida Georgia Line
“Familiar Taste of Poison” by Halestorm
“Wicked Games” by The Weeknd
“Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles
“Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele
“Fuck You” by Lily Allen
“Make It Rain” by Ed Sheeran
“Dark Times” by The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran
“High For This” by The Weeknd
“Gangsta” by Kehlani
“Open Up Your Eyes” by Daughry
“Roar” by Katy Perry
“Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
“Waiting for You” by Demi Lovato and Sirah
“Slow It Down” by The Lumineers
“Bitter Pill” by Gavin James and Mark “Spike” Stent
“Roads” by Portishead
“Hurt” by Christina Aguilera
“I Hate Everything About You” by Three Days Grace
“Lies” by Marina
“Points of Authority” by Linkin Park
“I Can’t Not Love You” by Every Avenue
“Freak Like Me” by Halestorm
“Love The Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna
“Same Old Love” by Selena Gomez
“Call Your Name” by Daughry
“Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed
“Fire and Fury” by Skillet
“Heathens” by Twenty One Pilots
“Deal with the Devil” by Pop Evil
“Monster You Made” by Pop Evil
“Footsteps” by Pop Evil
“Addicted” by Saving Abel
“Mad Love” by JoJo
“I Miss the Misery” by Halestorm
“Bad Girlfriend” by Theory of a Deadman
“Jekyll and Hyde” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Jenny” by NOTHING MORE
“45” by Shinedown
“Gravity” by Papa Roach
“Bad Company” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Fake It” by Seether
“Paper Dolls” by Rob Thomas
“Animals” by Maroon 5
It Ends Tonight” by The All-American Rejects
“You’re Going Down” by SICK PUPPIES
“Bodies” by Drowning Pool
“Savior” by Rise Against
“Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down
“Love Bites” Halestorm
“Last Resort” by Papa Roach
“Wash It All Away” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Torn to Pieces” by Pop Evil
“Chop Suey!” by System of a Down
“Coming Undone” by Korn
“Still Counting” by Volbeat
“Words As Weapons” by Seether
“Prayer Of The Refugee” by Rise Against
“My Demons” by STARSET
“Do Or Die” Thirty Seconds To Mars
“Heaven Knows” by The Pretty Reckless
“What If I Was Nothing” All That Remains
“Not Meant to Be” by Theory of a Deadman
“Undead” by Hollywood Undead
“Dance with the Devil” by Breaking Benjamin
“Face Everything and Rise” by Papa Roach
“Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence
“Broken” by Seether and Amy Lee
“Lift Me Up” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Trenches” by Pop Evil
“A Warrior’s Call” by Volbeat
“Bright Lights” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“This is the Time” by Nothing More
“Here Without You” by 3 Doors Down
“Hate My Life” by Theory of a Deadman
“Centuries” by Fall Out Boy
“Toxicity” by System of a Down
“Enter Sandman” by Metallica
“I Will Not Bow” by Breaking Benjamin
“Wrong Side of Heaven” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit
“The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” by Bolbeat
“Falling Apart” by Papa Roach
“Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson
“Twisted Transistor” by Korn
“Angel” by Theory of a Deadman
“One for the Money” by Escape the Fate
“Carnivore” by STARSET
“The Diary of Jane” by Breaking Benjamin
“White Rabbit” by Egypt Central
“Going Under” by Evanescence
“We Are” by Hollywood Undead
“Remember Everything” by Five Finger Death Punch
“A Little Faster” by There For Tomorrow
“I Stand Alone” by Godsmack
“Better Than Me” by Hinder
“When I’m Gone” by 3 Doors Down
“Remedy” by Seether
“City of Angels” by Thirty Seconds to Mars
“Angels Fall” by Breaking Benjamin
“Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica
“Blurry” by Puddle of Mud
“All or Nothing” by Theory of a Deadman
“House of the Rising Sun” by Five Finger Death Punch
“Here’s to the Heartache” by Nothing More
“Behind Blue Eyes” by Limp Bizkit
“Tainted Love” by Marilyn Manson
“The Beautiful People” by Marilyn Manson
“If I was Your Vampire” by Marilyn Manson
“Break the Spell” by Daughtry
“Heaven Help Me” by Rob Thomas
“Blue Ain’t Your Color” by Keith Urban
“Stay” by Rihanna and Mikky Ekko
“Mercy” by Shawn Medes
“Criminal” by Britney Spears
“Kill for You” by Skylar Grey and Eminem

Toxic Trigger Warnings

While I believe Toxic is ultimately a story of redemption and all consuming love, it’s also a dark romance that features:

Dub / Non Con
Abusive Significant Other (not the “hero”)
Praise
Pierced man bits
Back door play
Coercion
Bondage
Domestic violence / abuse
Graphic violence
Blood / gore
Psychological manipulation
Sexual content
Murder
Blackmail
Stalking
Sex near a dead body
Abduction
Torture
Pregnancy / miscarriage
Heroine in captivity
Psychological trauma
Harley / Joker dynamics

Please read the triggers and take care of yourselves.

~ Nicole Blanchard

Thoughts on Toxic

“Gracin sighs as if he’s at the supermarket and the clerk won’t direct him to his favorite sparkling water.”
Nicole Blanchard, Toxic

My first thought when I read the description was, I love the Joker, so why not read it? The Joker meets Haunting Adeline is quite the promise here. I wanted to see if it had potential.

My second thought once I started reading was just being a bit pissed. The term, “Little Mouse” was a dead ripoff from Haunting Adeline, and it made me mad. You can’t call something “X Meets X” and then rip off parts from X that are ridiculously obvious. It irritated me. Like, Little Mouse belongs in Haunting Adeline and nowhere else. That part felt really lazy, like Nicole Blanchard lacked the creativity to come up with an original nickname for the main character.

And it may be that Haunting Adeline wasn’t the first to use that nickname. I’m not an expert on that part, so if I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. That is simply where it is the most memorable for me. But I also get annoyed anyway when I feel like I’m reading the exact same phrases or scenes in any book. The more I read, the more I was able to overlook these minor complaints and instead focus on enjoying where the story was taking me.

But despite that, this is a book that sucked me in and kept me reading and on the edge of my seat. It starts off a bit slow and depressing, but it picks up pretty quickly too. It wasn’t a slow burn by any stretch of the imagination. Things escalate pretty quickly, and once they do, they keep right on moving.

When you’re a prison nurse falling for a convicted felon while planning to leave your abusive husband who is the prison warden, nothing good is going to happen. This is a story that has been documented in a thousand true crime documentaries, as it will continue to happen. But trust me when I say that this isn’t a true crime documentary. This is a beautifully crafted fictional story. Nothing is as it seems, so be patient and wait for the twists.

My favorite part about the book is the character development that happens with Tessa. Her growth in this book is amazing to me, and I simply love it. She goes from victim to survivor, and takes the revenge she deserves. Gracin obviously helps her to do this, but wow. It was perfect for me.

Gracin is a walking red flag, but he obviously cares about Tessa, and she deserves to be seen. Which Gracin is good at doing. When you’ve lived your entire life being invisible, despite feeling like you’re screaming from the inside out, it is a game changer to have someone actually see you. The funny thing is, the more the book progressed, the more I found that I liked him.

Gracin and Tessa are perfect for each other, and I found myself rooting for them, to get a happily ever after ending. I wanted that kind of ending for this book, despite how dark it was. The more I read, the more I was driven to keep reading, and see if the ending was what I wanted it to be or not.

I wasn’t a fan of Haunting Adeline, but that was because I disliked Zade as a main character. He tried to pretend he was a “good” guy when he really wasn’t. Gracin never tried to present himself as anything but exactly what he was, a bad guy. He never told Tessa any different. She found out as time went on just how bad he really was, and still loved him anyway.

Final Thoughts on Toxic

“As I reach for seconds, I consider the man across from me. The dressings may have changed, but the air of brutality sure hasn’t. He’s violence wrapped in a pretty bow. Danger made to shine. Only instead of the prison jumpsuit, his warning label is an Armani suit and a Rolex. Money is power, but on him, it’s also lethal.”
Nicole Blanchard, Toxic

I’m calling Toxic a five star read. Because this is one that is going to stick with me for a while. I don’t know that I’ll read it again, as I know everything that happens. But it is not an easily forgettable book, and that says a lot for me.

This is one of those books where I feel like I shouldn’t love it, but oh how I do!

My only complaint is that it could have been a little bit longer. It was three hundred and sixteen pages. But the ending felt rushed. I kind of wanted more. Yes, I got exactly the ending I wanted, and I love that. But there could have been a little bit more written at the same time.

It seems like there could have been an epilogue about Gracin and Tessa’s life after everything that has happened. But that didn’t detract from the book at all. Just my wish. But also, when I am enjoying something this much, I always want more.

I also would not complain if there was a sequel to Toxic. Maybe Gracin decides to retire from his job? This is the sign of a great book though. Where the author leaves you wanting so much more, yet feels complete at the same time.

Toxic is a story that at its core, gives hope to women in similar situations. There is a way out. There is hope. You need to find the strength to stand up for yourself and say no more. You can do it. That is why this story will stick with me long after I’ve moved on to other novels.

I went to look at reviews for Toxic once I finished composing my own thoughts. The reviews are pretty even across all star ratings, and I find that really interesting. But I will say that the readers who hated it, hated it with a passion. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it myself, but it really blew me and my expectations out of the water.

Discussion

Have you read Toxic or any other writing from author Nicole Blanchard? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author

Nicole Blanchard is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over twenty-five novels ranging from small-town heroes to the villains you love to hate. Her stories are packed with twists, grit, heart, and all the heat – just the way readers like them.

When she’s not plotting her next twisted love story, she’s soaking up sweet tea and sunshine at the beach, parked in the tattoo chair, or tending to her farm full of misfit pets.

Purchasing Toxic

If you are interested in buying the paperback version of Toxic, click here.
Click here for the Kindle version.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

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Toxic

Toxic

About Toxic

Toxic Book Playlist

Toxic Trigger Warnings

Thoughts on Toxic

Final Thoughts on Toxic

Discussion

About the Author

Purchasing Toxic

More from Nicole Blanchard

The Lost Planet Series

First to Flight Series

Friend Zone Series

Queensmakers Series

Standalone Novels

Amazon Notice

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