Two Halves, One Brian

Book Stats

• Book 1 of the Black Rabbit series
• Publication Date: 02/03/26
• Format: audiobook
• Audiobook Length: 12 hours & 47 minutes
• Narrators: James Cassidy & Chloe Ryan
• Narrator POV: Told in 1st person & alternates between the main characters – Logan and Kelly
• Also on Kindle Unlimited 🖤

Book Rating

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Summary & Review

Okay, well this was a delightful listen. I went in not knowing what to expect, honestly. I had never read anything by Sloane St. James before this and I went in blind (because sometimes that’s just more fun), so I hadn’t read the book’s blurb or anything. And to say I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement.

I mean, wow. Sloane St. James can write a book. For real, this had such wonderful yearning, which is my favorite trope! 😍 I love when the romance and tension builds until us readers can’t take it anymore and then things explode.

We also have other fun tropes, such as: age gap, forced marriage, forced proximity, friends-to-lovers, obsessive/possessive MMC, some light stalking, slow burn, touch her and die, and (of course) working together. If this list isn’t enough to draw you in, I honestly don’t know what will. What a fantastic list of book tropes! 🖤 Add in the fact that both main characters are tattooed and the MMC wears glasses (which I didn’t realize was a microtrope I loved, but apparently it is) and ta-da! A perfect story.

As if Sloane St. James didn’t work her magic enough by writing this masterpiece, the perfect narrators were chosen to bring it to life. I cannot rave enough about Chloe Ryan and James Cassidy – OMG. They were phenomenal and I’m totally gonna sound cliche, but fuck it, I’ll say it anyway. There were times their acting was so well done, paired with the amazing writing, that I forgot I was listening to a fictional book. I was pulled in and experiencing the story alongside them.

I don’t know how to rave about this any more than I already am, but just know you need this book in your life. Unless you don’t appreciate a bit of spice, phenomenal writing, amazing voice acting, or a bit of unhinged romance. Then I guess your life is a tad depressing anyway, so…🤷🏻‍♀️

Oops, I just realize I kept raving and haven’t actually given any sort of summary. Let’s rectify that. 😉

This story follows the two main characters, Logan and Kelly. Logan owns a tattoo shop that was previously owned by Kelly’s father, who passed away. He now mentors Kelly and encourages her to continue exploring her talent through tattooing/art.

Kelly and Logan are friends. In fact, Logan is one of the few people Kelly knows she can rely on, always. She had a crush on him when she was younger (and still does), but Logan was warned away from her (by her father/ his mentor) until she had a chance to grow up and live her life. Now, she has a lame boyfriend who she considers getting serious with and Logan knows it’s time to intervene. And the way he does it is perfectly unhinged and delightful.

This story gets tense at times and takes some interesting turns. It’s fun to see how their relationship evolves and whether or not they’re both ready to take this friendship to the next level.

I 100% recommend this book to any dark romance girly who enjoys a fantastic plot alongside some spice. I am so excited for the next book in the series, and I think it’s time I take a look at everything else Sloane St. James has ever written! Oh, and I’m also excited to explore more of Chloe Ryan’s work because she was amazing as well!

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about James Cassidy. I only didn’t mention him above because I’m already familiar and obsessed with his talent and work. I’m already constantly on the lookout for anything he does. 🖤 Chloe Ryan and Sloane St. James are new names to add to my ever growing list of talented individuals to keep tabs on.