Illicit Obsession (Whitmore Elite #2) by J.A. Owenby

Illicit Obsession (Whitmore Elite #2) Reviews

• 
  ❤️❤️~ Paulette & Her Sexy Alphas❥✘❤️

  
  October 19, 2023.
  
  I was anxiously waiting for this installment since its Ariana and Jagger’s pre-sequel to Forbidden Obsession
  
  Betrayal of the members is punishable by death, so are you willing to pay the price to make all your dreams come true?
  
  We have a Secret society.
  Lord have mercy The suspense is unreal, It will draw you in.
  Some fun-loving erotica.
  A few psychopaths Sprinkled in.
  Plenty of edge of your seat twist and turns
  Unexpected Betrayal.
  
  
  
  Just when you felt like you understood what was going to happen next , the author just proved you wrong. And threw in a wrench in the craziest of place
  
  To be honest, the list continues going on. with all the things that were happening in this particular read………. My best advice to you is to pick up your own copy and then sit back with a good glass of wine, and a huge box of tissue. And be careful with your Kindle because there are plenty of those WTF moments in this one as well……. My apologies, I just did not know how to write a review for this one without giving away any key details…………. Happy reading see you on the other side………..
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Noa

  "When you have a secret, you'll go to great lengths to hide it."
  
  Jagger Whitlock has one goal.
  Play professional football for the NFL.
  Nothing will get in the way of that.
  So when he gets invited to the secret society known as "The Black Widow" and they offer him everything he's ever wanted… He tells him his deepest darkest secret…
  Thinking everything is gone and buried.
  That is until he sees a ghost right in front of his eyes.
  And he's going to make sure she pays for what she's done.
  
  "Nothing else matters. I have nothing left except football."
  
  Phoebe Jenkins is new at Whitmore.
  Got a scholarship and transferred.
  No one knows her past, no one except the man chasing her.
  She has to out run him.
  But what if escaping him leads her back to her past?
  What happens when she comes face to face with a ghost?
  What will Phoebe do when the past comes back to haunt her?
  
  "I'd promised someone a long time ago that we would never be apart, too. Only hours after those words fell from my lips, my entire world turned upside down."
  
  I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
  
  💫 4.5 stars 💫
  
  Phoebe wants to run away from her past. But what happens when running away leads her right back around? And Jagger wants to play football and will do anything to make that happen. Even tell his biggest secret which he though was buried. But what happens when he starts to get haunted?
  
  "She was mine to destroy, the same way she had destroyed me. And in the process of ruining her, I would demand answers. She owed me that much."
  
  This book was so much fun to read!! I was invested throughout the whole thing!!
  We have Jagger who is your classic over-protective, possessive, football player (yay) and then we have Phoebe who is a plus-size baddy which we always love to see!
  
  "Regardless of my twisted love and hate for her, she was mine."
  
  Also I loved the secret society vibe. And the masks!!! If you know me you know how much I love a good dark romance with masks!! And boy did this one deliver.
  
  "She was mine. Always had been."
  
  My playlist includes also the author's playlist BTW:
  (Link:
  https://spotify.link/Kf2NcFwAJDb)
  
  🎶 "Devil Doesn't Bargain" - Alec Benjamin
  🎶 "I Want It All" - Cameron Grey
  🎶 "Secret" - Joshua Bassett
  🎶 "Achilles Heel" - J. Maya
  🎶 "Super Villain" - Stileto, Silent Child, Kendyle Paige
  🎶 "To the Moon & Back" - Savage Garden
  🎶 "Crossed The Line" - Vosai, Facading, Linn Sandin
  🎶 "The Summoning" - Sleep Token
  🎶 "Numb The Pain" - Clarx, Anikdote, Shiah Maisel
  🎶 "Black Widow" - Fame on Fire, Twiggy
  🎶 "If I Killed Someone For You" - Alec Benjamin
  🎶 "Twisted" - MISSIO
  🎶 "Poem of a Killer" - WE ARE FURY, Elijah Cruise
  🎶 "Boss Bitch" - Doja Cat
  🎶 "Take You Down" - L'FREAQ
  🎶 "do you really want to hurt me?" - Nessa Barrett
  🎶 "Wicked" - Miki Ratsula
  🎶 "Innocent" - Mitchel Dae
  🎶 "…Baby One More Time" - Crypto
  🎶 "DARKSIDE (Besomorph Remix)" - NEONI, Besomorph
  🎶 "Fighting Fire" - Vosai, Facading, Linn Sandin
  🎶 "… Ready For It?" - Taylor Swift
  🎶 "Babylon" - babychaos
  🎶 "MONSTER" - Chandler Leighton
  🎶 "Monster" - UNDREAM, IOVA
  🎶 "29" - Demi Lovato
  🎶 "Still Alive" - Demi Lovato
  🎶 "The Kid I Used To Know (WiDEAWAKE REMIX)" - Arrested Youth, WiDEAWAKE
  🎶 "engravings" - Ethan Bortnick
  🎶 "I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE" - Maneskin
  🎶 "Gepetto" - Jacquie
  🎶 "Me & My Demons" - Omido, Silent Child
  🎶 "HAUNTED" - Isabel LaRosa
  🎶 "All I Wanted" - Paramore
  🎶 "More Than I Remember You" - Unlike Pluto
  🎶 "Freefalling" - Facading
  🎶 "MACHINE" - NEONI
  
  And just so you know Jagger is completely worth it 😏😏
  
  "Good girl - asking permission first"
  
  "Open your mouth, my sweet pet."
  
  🔥 Tropes🔥
  
  📚 Dark Romance
  📚 Second Chance Romance
  📚 Stepbrother Romance
  📚 Football romance
  📚 Secret Society
  📚 Masks
  📚 Plus Size FMC
  📚 Touch her and die (and more)
• 
  Kira McKee

  This book has two things right away that I loved- A curvy, strong female and sexy bad boy athlete. What I wasn’t prepared for was the suspense with the twists and turns. I loved Ari and her fire. Can’t wait to read more in the series!
• 
  Priya

  3.5 -4🌟🌟🌟🌟
  
  Very rarely it happens when I am confused about rating.
  So its a second chance romance between Ariana and Jagger. I loved their chemistry there was an adequate plot development. I enjoyed it. The twists were making me keep turning the pages. I was hoping for a new entry to society scene being a second chance romance but it was usual. Both MC had to go through alot while they were away from each other. But somewhere I feel the author put too much together with all the twist n suspence and somewhere at the end I was hoping for proper explanation as to Whyss. I didnt like the ending as such not giving the villain the ending or proper clousure, letting her live and with that amnesia nonsense. I like a good ending of villains but this was not what I was expecting. I needed to understand more of Whys, more explanation.
  Ariana and Jagger have my heart. But somewhere down the line the story felt too much at once.
  Still I enjoyed this one.😊
• 
  Brit

  THIS.... (Mom smoothed my hair. “At least your secret died with her.”) Gave me CHILLS!!
  Holy twists and turns. Just when you think you figure things out, we get hit with another twist. Jagger is angry with his life. The love of his life died in a fire. Phoebe has skeletons in her closet and unfortunately relies on someone she shouldn't. When Jagger and Phoebe collide, my heart raced. What happens when they both have to unravel their past together in order to survive. This is a standalone and does end in a HEA.
• 
  Lori

  Illicit Obsession
  J A Owenby
  
  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
  
  
  Tropes:
  * Unhinged stepbrother
  * Dark romance
  * Curvy bookish girl
  * Secret society
  * Praise kink
  * Touch her & ☠️
  * Breeding kink
  * Sports romance
  
  This book is as unhinged as the stepbrother!!!! I couldn’t stop reading it and didn’t want it to end.
  
  Jagger’s story is dark and will leave you with your jaw on the floor wondering just how much a person can take. There are so many twists and turns that you never see coming. This one is a roller coaster ride. Owenby packs just enough into the story to keep you on your toes, but not overwhelmed. This is why she is always a one-click author for me!
  
• 
  Doris

  Taboo, Dark and Thrilling
  
  Whew!! This was a walk on the wild side, second chance, sports, secret society romance that covered all of the bases making this a huge page turner for me. Jagger and Ari are getting that other chance but at what costs. There were so many twists and turns in this book that it left my head spinning…but it was oh, so good.
  
  Ms. Owenby has created an awesome series with the Whitmore Elite Football novels that has earned five stars from me.
  
• 
  Amber Thomas

  Absolutely devoured this story. I love a good forbidden trope. There’s just something about wanting what you can’t have! Great story line! It had everything I look for in a book. Plot, spice, heartbreak, suspense, plot twist after plot twist, and a HEA. This one added even more with sports scenes!
  Perfect addition to the Obsession series!
  
  This is a dark romance. It does talk about some things that may be hard for some to read so check the trigger warnings if you are someone that has triggers.
• 
  Hollie

  I was anxiously awaiting Ariana and Jagger’s story, and it blew me away. As soon as I started the prologue, I was hooked, and I didn’t put their story down until I was done. There were so many twists and turns, just when I thought things would settle a bit, and things were getting figured out, something else would happen that would leave me guessing. I felt like my heart was in my throat as I read through Ariana and Jagger’s story. When the one person you cared for most is gone and then shows up again, it’s not only a lot to navigate, but you have to decide who and what you can trust again. Their story is dark. Their pasts what they went through and what they have to fight now to save. It will definitely will keep you on the edge of your seat. The perfect addiction to the series- and my favorite.
  
  As always with dark romance, please check your trigger/content warnings.
• 
  Sissy's Romance Book Review

  Illicit Obsession by J.A. Owenby is part of the A Whitmore Elite Football Series. This is the story of Phoebe Jenkins and Jagger Whitlock. Jagger goal and focus was to be a professional NFL player. But then his past came to the collage that being Phoebe. Phoebe and Jagger both had a traumatic past that seem to haunt their present and future. This was a dark romance that kept me turning the pages. I hope to read more from this author soon.
  
• 
  Kayla Hot.Bookmance

  Twister step sibling football romance
  
  Phoebe has a troubled past - from a house fire that ended up killing her stepbrother to an ex that abused her - she is ready to start new at Whitmore College no long we under Daddy’s control. She has her 4 best friends now and a fresh start, just wants to study hard to keep her scholarship and move on with her life. When her past come barging into her life, can she figure out if she is losing her mind or if someone has been lying to her.
  
  Jagger is the star of the football team with a real shot of going pro if he can stay out of trouble. He has friends, talent, good grades and the girls fall at his feet. But he has only ever had eyes for one girl, Ariana, his stepsister who he has loved since he was 12 but died in a house fire that tore apart his family and left him in the hands of a psychopath. So when he meets a girl at his secret society that looks a lot like Ari, will he put everything in jeopardy to find out who she really is?
  
  -Kayla/Hot.Bookmance
• 
  joleigh berry

  When jagger was younger, his world fell apart when he lost the love of his life. For four years, he thought his stepsister had died until he bumps into a girl who looks exactly like her. He knows he should stay away, but will his head win over his heart?
  
  This was my first dark romance book, and it was the perfect introduction into this world! I loved this book. It took over my life, and I want more!!! I adored the characters, the bad boy jagger, who isn't really bad just life made him do things he wouldn't have chose to do and Ariana the sweet quiet book girl with a dark past, who would do anything for her bad boy which made her a kick ass girl!!! And together they were amazing!!
  
  The storylineline has so many twists and turns it has you hooked, with crime and mystery running all throughout the book the suspense is unreal!! Then you have the romance side of it with the touch her and die trope written so well!! I just couldn't get enough, and I still want more!!!
  
  I really enjoyed this book, and I will most certainly be reading more by J.A. Owenby in the near future!!
• 
  Emmi (bookish_redpanda)

  I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review - thanks to GreysPromo for the opportunity!
  
  Actual rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
  Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
  
  This is most definitely a dark romance, so heed all TWs/CWs with caution.
  
  This was my first book by the author, and it had me hooked. This is chock-full of tropes that drew me in: taboo romance, stepbrother romance, secret society, mystery, dark romance, and college sport romance.
  
  The twists throughout the book are what kept me reading; just when you think you figured something out, another curveball was thrown which frequently had my mind reeling. There were, however, a few moments where tense/character perspective were muddled slightly - hence the slight drop in rating. I also feel the secret society aspect was a touch of a throwaway more than anything - JO could have definitely gone further with that little nugget. But again, this was my first book by the author, so might have come up in previous novels. This, however, definitely is a phenomenal read.
  
  It's left me wanting more of Jag and Ari's story - moreso the how they first fell in love. I love that it works based off an established relationship, but half the fun of taboo romance is seeing how they first got together - my opinion, anyway.
  
  Definitely looking forward to more in this series, and will definitely check out the author's other works!
• 
  Brandi-Lynn Weiser

  This book was excellent! Packed with twists and turns, suspense and action, lies and betrayal, and a lot of very steamy scenes! It immediately grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down. Jagger and Ari’s story was emotional and heartbreaking, it was incredible. I loved his possessiveness and how both their love for each other was so strong and fierce. They made an amazing team. When all bombs started dropping I was shocked at the truths, but I was completely floored by the reveal of the “boss”, didn’t see that coming. I thought all the side characters were great, and I loved the strong bond between everyone. Their friends would do anything for them, and it was great to see.
  I definitely recommend this book!
• 
  Nicota

  Wow! I was not prepared for all the plot twists! I was instantly hooked from the prologue! This book was the perfect amount of dark and twisted, but also thrilling and heartbreaking as well. My emotions and feelings were all over the place! So well written, and left you wanting more. Amazing spice!! 🥵 love me a strong badass female. Jagger was 🥵 extremely hot. The only thing I didn’t love in this book was the repeated words “step brother” and “step sister” it was like they couldn’t even get past that even though they were much more. But this book was absolutely amazing! I cannot wait for more 😍
• 
  Peggy Hogan

  Illicit Obsession by J. A. Owenby is Jagger and Ariana's story in the Whitmore Elite Football series. It's a dark stepbrother romance, and it was amazing! It captured my attention from the very beginning and never let up, and it was really hard to put it down! The story was just so interesting, with non-stop action, and some twists and turns that I never saw coming that kept my eyes glued to the pages. Jagger and Ariana's chemistry was undeniable, and I can't wait for more amazing stories by this author, but in the meantime, this one is highly recommended with all the stars!
• 
  K Webz

  I am hooked on this series and Illicit Obsession is…WOW! Jagger and Ari have some history and trauma from 4 years ago to deal with. They each went through their own painful experiences but are now at college.
  
  This story is amazing. It is everything dark and twisty should be. It has lies, betrayal, a secret society. Just when I thought I knew what was going on, another twist came.
  
  Jagger and Ari have amazing chemistry, even though their relationship is considered forbidden.
  
  Read the trigger warnings!
• 
  Devons book corner

  Illicit Obsession is book two in the Whitmore Elite series, and I've been patiently waiting for Jagger and Ariana's story. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I was so hooked that I did not put my kindle down until I finished the book, that's how good it was. There are lots of twists and turns, and just when you think you have it figure out and know which direction they are heading, you get more surprises. I can't tell you just how incredible this book was, so go grab your copy and check it out for yourself. You're welcome by the way!!!
• 
  Erin Pasket

  This was such a good book, I was hooked with Jagger and Ari’s story. When these two believed the other was dead for years, the shock to realize they were told lies was big. The chemistry and love were there for Jagger and Ari, even as step-siblings no one could separate them.
  
  I thought I had the clues figured out but one major twist through me for a loop. I loved seeing how this story played out. With the past and the events Jagger and Ari had to face, I was happy that have them find their way back to each other.
  
  I know I will need to read more of the Whitmore Elite books if they are as good as this one.
• 
  Vivien Richards

  This story is about Ari and Jagger. They have a secret past together but something terrible happened that broke their world apart. When Jagger is at his university he sees a girl that looks just like Ari, but he knows there's no way it could be her. Or is it? This book has lots of spice and is also romantic suspense. I enjoyed this book very much.
• 
  Stacey Gomez

  Holy shoot balls batman this a action packed book with mind effery by adults who are supposed to do good by their children. Anyways, secrets can be hiddent but how well? Jagger and Ariana are step silbilings both growing up together but falling in love with one another later one. they met when they were young 7 and 8 years old, but I would assume the beginning of high school they stepped towards an intimate relationship. One night changed the course of their lives forever. Jaggar believed the love of his life Ari died. But 4 years later she is walking on the same campus as him. How can this be? What will be found out? Oh, the twists and turns of this book got me good. Take a seat and I hope you all just go in blind and don't read the reviews.
• 
  Katherine M

  Dark & perfect
  
  This one amazing dark romance book! So, so good! There was suspense, action, it was thrilling, and just a great read that was so well written! I couldn’t put it down.
• 
  Paris

  4.5/5⭐️
• 
  Sara Cayson

  Jagger And Ariana.
  A fire 🔥 and a dark past.
  Step siblings Romance.
  A love that never died.
  Great story and spicy 🌶️
• 
  Lynda

  What a dark and twisted journey.
  
  This was one hell of a ride with twists and turns right up to the end. This story is a dark and twisted adventure and may trigger some readers but worth it to get to the end. There were surprises around every turn. J.A. Owenby hit another one out of the park.
• 
  Cynthia

  Holy Cow! There is so much to say about this story. It is dark and so twisted, deep in the world of a secret society, football, and lies and betrayal. Jagger and Ari's life came to a standing point, 4 years ago, bad stuff happened to both sides, and they thought the other person was dead. There were quite a few shocking moments that I never would have seen coming, definite proof that people are not who they seem to be. Their relationship was so taboo, and I loved that! This book was amazing from the beginning until the end and is a definite must-read.
• 
  ChapterChaser1

  It's another perfect book in my favourite dark romance series.
  I do love an unhinged man and a strong female.
  If you love those two things and sizzling spicy hot scenes , curvy heroine, breeding kink, and sexret society, this is a book you need to read.
  Packed with action, secrets, love.
• 
  J.A.

  I am absolutely giddy to release Illicit Obsession. This standalone is Jagger's new story that aligns with the rest of the series. If you love dark romance with an unhinged stepbrother, curvy heroine, secret society, and sports romance with all the fave k!nks, you'll love the newest addition to the Whitmore Elite series. Want sneak peeks of Illicit Obsession? Follow me on TikTok @authorjaowenby.