Would you like an Advanced Reader Copy of my next book?
Lay It Bare comes out on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026! You can pre-order it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, etc right now, or, if you like, put your hand up for an ARC in exchange for a review.
ARC copies will be released starting July 1st, 2026. So very soon.
Short Description:
The price that Sevastyan has paid to protect Rei is higher than he realized. The consequences could damn them both. But while Sevastyan is fighting for Rei, Ellisandre is fighting for Sevastyan, even if that fight is with Sevastyan himself. There are secrets that must be disclosed, and the risk is growing higher with each passing day. Can they trust each other long enough to survive?
FYI: Advanced Reader Copies, otherwise known as ARCs, are given out as a book is released, in exchange for reviews on sites like Goodreads, Fable, Storygraph, etc, or storefront where the book is sold.
I screen my ARC team out of necessity, so please be willing to answer a few questions in the above form. I do limit how many team members I have at any time so as not to get overwhelmed. If I cannot take you on directly, Lay It Bare will also be available to ARC readers via Gay Romance Reviews.
Want to know more?
Sanctum Book 2 • MXM • Romantic Suspense • Second Chance Romance • International Crime • Found Family • Interracial Romance • Trauma • Hurt/Comfort
Ellisandre speared a quarter of the peach with their knife and held it up, meeting Sevastyan’s eyes. “Myths—the old ones—endure not because of their brightness. It’s their darkness. The stories might be of gods and heroes, but gods and heroes are gloriously terrible.
“They consume their children, slay their lovers, abandon friends, commit patricide, drink rivers of wine, grieve to the point the earth itself ceases to grow food, and through it all, they are us—writ large. Their crimes are larger, their loves are deeper, all the better for us to see ourselves inside of them. And yet, there is one crucial difference between the mundane man and a god or hero—the gods and the heroes, they dare.”
Sevastyan’s training is now a hinderance. In the wake of his failure, he must find new methods to break the lock on his voice. If he cannot, he will have failed to protect Rei. Time is running out. A power struggle within the criminal organization is going down, and Sevastyan is unwillingly at the center.
Rei grapples with not knowing why new marks have appeared on Sevastyan’s body. It is not his place to ask, and Sevastyan is offering no explanation. Before Rei can make peace with this mystery, they have a visitor, one neither of them knows if they can trust. Rei must make choices between obedience and taking a risk to preserve a life.
Ellisandre’s hands are full with their chosen family and knowing that Sevastyan has a secret he is trying to divulge. In preparation for the war that is coming, they train their protégé, guard their chosen family, and rebuild what was lost while they and Sevastyan were kept apart. And yet it may not be enough. While some Merchari agents are following the direction of the Yadro to watch and wait, others are not. And Ellisandre’s family has already been in their crosshairs.
If Sevastyan cannot speak, if Rei cannot pierce the shadows of what has gone unsaid, Ellisandre may never arrive in time. Can they untangle truth and trust from betrayal and lies before they become three more sacrifices to the Merchari’s greed?
If you’d like to be an ARC reader, please fill out this Google form.
Couple of quick disclaimers.
This serial is a dark, modern MXM+ chosen family romance intended for mature audiences only. While Ellisandre, Sevastyan, and Rei are the central triad, this is a firmly polyamorous romance. There is no cheating. If you like your romance difficult and explicit, then this story is for you. A full list of trigger warnings is in the front of the book.
This is a stand alone serial. It contains spoilers for Collin and Damian & Jun in The Residency Boys Universe. Read those first if you want to avoid finding out some things early. Sanctum Episode 1 starts roughly a week after Damian & Jun Episode 1. The two serials run parallel, but neither has to be read to understand the other. Collin: Episodes 1-3 is the very first book if you wish to read the entire universe chronologically.
Trigger Warnings: The following is either a buffet table of favorite reading topics, or a warning label to be taken seriously. The gloves are off for this one. You decide.
• second chance romance
• massive kink for pagan mythology
• master/slave (the noncon kind)
• on page murder
• parents who should never have been allowed to have pets let alone children
• non-con/dub-con
• consensual power exchange
• blood play
• knife play
• love that heals
• bondage
• erotic humiliation
• consensual non-monogamy
• polyamory
• sassy friends
• lost souls
• human trafficking
• egregious hurt/comfort
• disassociation
• burn victim far along in their healing
• the grayest version of a knight in cracked armor
• a main character whose pronouns have changed over time (I have done my best to keep it from being confusing!)
• suicidal considerations
• eating out
• situations where there are no good choices
• Do I need to say C-PTSD? Because no one is escaping that.
There will be vengeance. There will be justice. There will be an HEA—hard won, but HEA—just not in this volume. This is a serial.
Ciara Darren 