A Debt Owed (The Debt Duet) Paperback – May 15, 2019

I was engrossed in this book from the beginning. I love pretty much all things Clarissa Wild. But this may be one of my top five favorites by her. I was considering leaving a review already, but when I read through all the one star reviews, that decided it for me. Because, while they make a certain amount of sense, I do want to point out that this is a DARK romance, and marketed as such. So don't biotch about it being a bit dark and demented in parts. But it's also a fantasy story. It's like a twisted fairytale. And those don't always make the most sense. Sure they only met once or twice. But, hello, love at first sight?!! Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White only met their princes once before true love bound them together. And no one fusses about that?! When did we become so jaded that we can't just let go, get wrapped up in a good fantasy, and lose ourselves for a few hours? Especially one with some seriously sexy scenes, a heroine that has pixie pink hair, and a smoking hot billionaire?? I give this 5 stars, not because it's the "great American novel" of 2019, but because it actually made me forget all the B.S. that was going on in my life right now, and let me slip into a darkly twisted fantasy fairytale of Ms. Wild's making.

This would have been a 5 star book, but It was a short book with a sort of cliffhanger. A cliffhanger you knew was coming, so it wasn't a surprise.I have had a genre change this year, reading less YA and more adult romance. With that being said, I found the premise of this book enticed me, and I was not disappointed. I found both main characters to be completely believable, and the world building very well done. At times, the responses of Charlotte were just somewhat lacking for me. Although she didn't let go of her need for freedom throughout the book, which I thought was a good thing.This is somewhat a dark twisted romance, with revenge as the motivation. Easton has been infatuated with Charlotte for a long time, as suggested by the glimpses into the past. The POV's are from both Easton and Charlotte, and personally I prefer Easton's. In this first book, there are no graphic sex scenes, but there are a few graphic self pleasuring and oral scenes. These were well done, and we were given enough to make it steamy and hot, and a little on the wrong side.Overall, I thought this was a good read, but a bit short, I feel this could have been a bit longer. I can see the need for a cliffhanger for this type of book. I look forward to see what happens in the next.

This book has a lot of moments that are great, but it gets pretty much drown out by the excess that Easton go through to get Charlotte. I felt bad reading about her freedom in juxtaposition with her Stockholm syndrome getting the better of her.(Spoilers)This is a very weird book. Like for example, he falls in love with her at 16 (she's 14 at the time). And that's pretty sweet. But the next time they meet he's 18 and he just kind of expects her to fall for his charm and gets mad that she ignores him and "breaks his heart." Which is absurd because they don't owe each other anything? Yet, he blindly blames her for everything that a 16 year old girl could not be responsible for. How was she gonna stand up for someone she doesn't really know??? Against her dad??? Who beats her???Then blames her for his father's death... which I'm not a 100% sure why he couldn't and didn't leave. I'm sure it was explained, but it was a weak explanation.Also, she was clearly going through some stuff at home if her father beats on her, and yet this whole "princess" bit gets old because we know she's neglected. I don't get how he missed that if Charlotte got slapped at a party partly because of him.Also, it's kind of disgusting that he has the save footage to show to her dad, when Charlotte's father does not care about her. There was a lot of moments that clashed with other parts in the story, but you know, it is what it is.I'm not even 100% against them together, but the story was like well these kids are attractive to each other at one point in their lives. That should make the stalking bit better and the stealing from her... there's so much. I want to root for them, but I don't honestly know why?The writing was good at least. It was a lot.

A Debt Owed is a dark, intriguing story about Easton who has had a twisted obsession with Charlotte Davis. Easton has been planning revenge on the Davis family for something that happened for years and Charlotte is the payment he takes for the debt her father owes. This book took me on an intense roller coaster ride full of drama, angst, suspense, secrets, twists and turns that captivated me throughout the story. I can't wait to read the next book because that cliffhanger left me desperate for more. I originally received this as an arc but I loved it so much I had to purchase it.

A lot of strong feelings expressed in this story of a young woman sacrificed by her father to his enemy and her former acquaintance. I don't like her father and I wasn't impressed with her brother. Good for her standing up for herself and fighting back. I like her spunk and cleverness. A story that will grab the full attention to see what will happen next. The fact that all these people allow her to be held captive and her coerced marriage to a man who she once liked who turned a monster. I think Easton would have more success if he went about wooing Charlotte differently.