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Crossed (Never After Series) Kindle Edition

by Emily McIntire (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 8,889 ratings
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From USA TODAY bestselling author Emily McIntire comes a dark and delicious fractured fairy tale reimagining of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

He is righteousness. She is sin.

Father Cade Frédéric is a holy man. Brought up in the streets of Paris, he has dedicated his life to the church. But there’s a monster that lingers just beneath the surface. A sickness. One that bleeds darkness and feeds on the damned. When he’s tasked to become the priest in Festivalé, Vermont, a town both beautiful in architecture and riddled with despair, his sickness sings, demanding he rid the place of evil.

Amaya Paquette is Festivalé’s beautiful mystery. She spends her days caring for her younger brother and her nights transforming into Esmeralda, dancing for greedy eyes and shameless lips. Although she longs for love, she shies away from companionship, afraid of being abandoned again.

When Father Cade lays eyes on Amaya, he finds himself ensnared, convinced she’s using witchcraft to lure him to her. He can’t eat. Can’t breathe. Can’t think unless it’s of her.

And temptation is a devastating mistress.

She’s his weakness, so he decides he’ll be her demise…even if it means killing the only woman he might ever love.

***

*CROSSED is a dark, contemporary romance (not fantasy or a literal retelling) and the fifth complete standalone in the Never After series: fractured fairy tales inspired by our favorite villains. It features mature themes and content that may not be suitable for all readers. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Detailed TW can be found on the author's website. This series can be enjoyed in any order.*
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  1. Part of series
    Never After Series
  2. Print length
    418 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    August 1, 2023
  6. File size
    949 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Emily McIntire is an Amazon top 20 author of painful, messy, beautiful romance. She doesn’t like to box herself into one subgenre, but at the core of all her stories is soul deep love. A long time songwriter and an avid reader, Emily has always had a passion for the written word, and when she’s not writing you can find her waiting on her long lost Hogwarts letter, chasing her crazy toddler, or lost between the pages of a good book.

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BSMLCV2L
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (August 1, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 949 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 418 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 8,889 ratings

About the author

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Emily McIntire

Emily McIntire

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Emily McIntire is a USA Today, Publishers Weekly and Amazon bestselling author whose stories serve steam, slow burns, and seriously questionable morals. Her books have been translated in over a dozen languages, and span across several sub-genres within romance.

A stage IV breast cancer thriver, you can find Emily enjoying free time with her family, getting lost in a good book, or redecorating her house depending on her mood.

Instagram: @itsemilymcintire

Facebook Group: The McInCult

Tiktok: @authoremilymcintire

X: @authoremilym

Never After Series:

- Hooked

- Scarred

- Wretched

- Twisted

- Crossed

- TBA

Sugarlake Series:

- Beneath the Stars

- Beneath the Stands

- Beneath the Hood

- Beneath the Surface

Standalone:

- Be Still My Heart

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
8,889 global ratings
Checked Every Box
5 Stars
Checked Every Box
If you like dark romance and sexy villains that get the girl, this series is definitely for you!After a few months of multiple DNF books and a super bad reading slump, this book brought me back to life! I actually got into the series with ‘Hooked’ a couple of years ago and I have been a fan ever since… I am a sucker for Villain-gets-the-girl tropes and Cade made every single cell in my dark little heart sing. What a man… lol The idea of ‘Frollo’ being the sexy anti-hero was so perfect somehow and I was hooked from the first chapter. I read this in about 4 days because I couldn’t put it down!The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of my favorite Dis.ney movies ever and I LOVE how Emily filled the book with little nods and Easter eggs all over the place and still made this story work REALLY well. That attention to detail is something I admire immensely.Overall, the buildups to all the fun and crazy parts were really well paced, believable and well written. The ending was also really satisfying in all the ways. I really hope we get at LEAST 10 books in this series (Jaffar or Hades anyone? No?) Lol**SPOILERS-ish time**Not only am I glad Cade and Amaya FINALLY got to enjoy each other in all the ways but I’m also glad there was justice and payback for pretty much everyone (except poor Dalia) and I wish we would have gotten some payback on sister Agnes as well, what an effing monster of a woman… But in my mind she got her comeuppance as well. Lol
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Top reviews from the United States

Kari LaCombe
5.0 out of 5 stars Entranced and mesmerized doesn't even come close to describe it
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
The overall story was so encapsulating and the spice added to all of it. This is my first Emily McIntire and I can't wait to read more. This is my absolute favorite version of Hunch back of Notre Dame themed story.
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Addicted to Romance Book Blog
4.0 out of 5 stars An intense and dramatic dark romance that touches the forbidden
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2023
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This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖📖📖
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Crossed is the fifth installment in the "Never After" series and I absolutely had a blast with this one here. This is a story that features two characters that are so different and you would never think that they would be a good match, but this author somehow makes it work. There is plenty of taboo's in this book, so please check the trigger/content warnings before moving forward with this one. It has some aspects to the story that just won't be for everyone. Move forward at your own risk. I however, adore how this author writes romance, she has blended dark with fractured fairy tale retellings so very well. I was very curious how she would do a "Frollo and Esmeralda" retelling and I definitely got a kick out of this one, but it was far different than I actually expected it to be.

First Line
Festivale, Vermont, Looks different in the dead of night.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Cade
Cade is self abusive, a priest and a holy man. He was raised in Paris and abused as a child by a servant in the church. There is a mental illness he suffers from.

The Heroine: Amaya
Amaya, is guardian over her younger brother who has his own share of struggles. She is forced to pay money to her mothers pimp of sorts when she abandoned them. And to keep the lights on and pay the medical bills, she is a stripper. But is longing for more in her life.

Summary
When Father Cade comes to town, he is determined to rid any evil in the town. He has a darkness that spreads in him to get rid of evil. But there is a temptation he finds in a stripper club where he finds Esmeralda, who is a exotic dancer and tempts him for things he must deny himself. But when he finds out she is the same woman as Amaya, he is determined to do more than destroy her....he wants her for himself. But there is a unknown factor dealing with the villain of the story.. But when Amaya ends up in trouble for something she didn't do, she is forced to go to the devil for help, but the only one that can be her savior is Father Cade and his form of justice...

What I Loved
This book totally swept me away immediately. I am not sure why I put it off for so long. I knew I would need to be in the right mood for this and I knew that this would be religiously taboo (not that I am Catholic, so I personally don't understand many of the taboo elements but I am a Christian) and I have to say that this author really pushed my boundaries on this one. I wasn't sure how this retelling would actually happen, but man the retelling aspects were just perfect. But don't expect it to be a strict retelling, but the connections that we see to the original tale was so delightful! There are definitely darker themes in this one, some themes that even pushed my boundaries and its rare to come against a dark romance that really makes me struggle. But some of the actions of the hero was even a bit much even for me.

There is also so many forbidden themes to this story. Some aspects totally worked for me and other aspects really pushed my buttons and not necessarily in a good way. This author really wrote this story in such complexity that just clicked in the good and sensually bad ways we all love to see in this author. I really felt for the heroine though. She is just trying to survive and her poor brother. Man my heart went out to this kid. Who had some type of mental illness, not sure what exactly it was, but he seemed to be on the spectrum a bit and what she is willing to sacrifice for her 7 year old brother just broke my heart. I loved what a great mother she is to this child who needs so much love and support. The third act of the story was the most conflicting and yet the way it ends here was so satisfying.

What I Struggled With
There were some factors I really struggled with. The hero is a bit too anti hero even for me. The scene in the beginning was one I battled with the most. How the hero pushes the heroine away when she really needs help and doesn't see that. He sees all the little details, so I wasn't a fan on how that scene played out. I know why the author did it that way though, so that she would go to her mother's pimp and the one who has control over the town but still it was hard to see how that scene played out. The hero is one that hurts himself (like you know the scene in the Da Vinci Code where the holy man whips himself? Yeah he does that and it wasn't really fleshed out) I am not sure even if the heroine finds out or if she does we don't get that scene and I would have loved to see her helping him heal from that type of self abuse or help him understand himself more where that is concerned.

Overall View
Crossed is a dark and edgy romance that will push boundaries, have you feeling all the taboo vibes but delivering a satisfying romance that you will want to cheer these two on despite your reservations!

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance
Character Types: Priest, Exotic Dancer, Anti Hero
Themes: Kids/Teens, Small Town, Taboo, Stalking, Dirty Talkin', Bullying
Tropes: Forbidden Love, Sex Worker with a Heart of Gold

Book Perspective
DUO Pov

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
A blend of both

Song This Book Inspires
Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone
31 people found this helpful
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Rachel
3.0 out of 5 stars This book has jumped the formula shark
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
Like most authors, Emily McIntire has a formula. That's okay because she writes well enough to keep my interest even though I know what's coming.

Misunderstood good girl is helplessly attracted to bad boy with a heart of gold (but only for her) and allows him to continue being terrible because she loves him and doesn't want to change him. Or, bad girl because of deep trauma meets a good guy that loves her despite it, yadda yadda.

SPOILERS
------------

So this series follows the formula consistently until this book. From the beginning of Crossed, the religious angle made me feel all kinds of hinkey ways but there have been other books (Priest, for example) that do this well, so I kept reading. Then I find out this dude is not only a serial killer but he's a masochist as well, while being a priest. Mkay. I keep reading.

He meets the misunderstood girl with the heart of gold, the formula continues more or less intact until the end of the book when...
They both turn into serial killers? He loves seeing her covered in blood? Good grief. Someone got a little too into season 2 of YOU, and damn. I wouldn't have finished the book had this meaningless plot point (because it affects literally nothing except gets him hotter for her) been introduced earlier.

This whole story is a twist on the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but let's retitle it because it was clearly not about him.

If Crossed had been slotted earlier in the series, I wouldn't have finished the series. There was a lot of gore, not a lot of spice, and a whole lotta need for a good psychiatrist but therapy is obviously not an angle this author is going to pursue.

WORSE! It was pretty boring and it took me days to finish whereas before I'd devoured the books in a couple of hours.

Read at your own risk.
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Book Worm
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the Never After series!
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2023
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Crossed is book 5 in the Never After series written by Emily McIntire. This book is a dark romance reimagining of the Hunchback of Notre Dame fairytale. In this story, Father Cade, is the priest with a dark side. He battles these inner “monsters” that make him crave depravity because he was told that from when he was little. Amaya is an exotic dancer with a troubled past. Her mother left town and left her with a reputation as the town witch. She also left her with her beautiful little brother Quinten.. who’s on the spectrum. Amaya wants nothing more than to provide a stable, loving, environment for Quinten. But with her mothers ex, the man who stole her innocence, Parker, running the whole show.. it leads her down a dark path.

When Daddy Cade, excuse me sorry, Father Cade (lol) crosses paths with Amaya, he becomes transfixed with having her. He’s battling with the urge to have Amaya while keeping his faith and vow to his God. This book is their journey. Their journey of finding the light in the darkness.. finding their happiness when all odds are against them.

Emily McIntire can do no wrong. She definitely went on a darker path with this book and SLAYED!! Father Cade is absolutely to die for. The desire he had for Amaya and their chemistry?? Woooo! When these 2 were in a room together, sexual chemistry & tension radiated off the pages. This was definitely a slow burn but ooo when it burned, it BURNED HOT!!

Aside from Amaya’s determination to provide a good life for her brother, the representation of autism was beautifully written. I know Emily deals with this personally so the fact that she was able to portray Quinten’s character so beautifully is truly remarkable. Emily McIntire never disappoints in her books. I devoured it and loved the plot, the characters, and when Cade speaks French???? Holy SMOKES!!!!! I melt!! Well done Ms McIntire!! You did it again and managed to steal my heart through another book!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sarah Lestrange
5.0 out of 5 stars Un good condition
Reviewed in Canada on January 30, 2024
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The media could not be loaded.
 The book came in perfect condition. I haven’t seen any default in the writing.
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Emelie Tärnqvist
5.0 out of 5 stars Adult 18+ book
Reviewed in Sweden on November 10, 2023
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This is one of my favorite read this year. It has a dark theme of romance and as Emilys other books it follows a story you might have heard of before but in a retelling twisted way. I read it within a few hours and got a book hangover after. 5 star ⭐
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askin
5.0 out of 5 stars Gute Ware
Reviewed in Germany on October 21, 2023
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Artikel wie beschrieben.Gerne mal wieder…
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B.S.A
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, passionate and unapologetic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2023
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If someone was meant to prove that love should be unconditional then it’s Cade and Amaya. Her devotion for Quin is absolute and this is the way it should be. A powerful life story and I absolutely loved this book
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Dona M.
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are not reading this, you are missing out
Reviewed in India on August 11, 2023
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This series.. I am telling you all, it's a banger. Each and every book in this series do not disappoint. Crossed was interesting and unique in the story idea where monsters and saint inside us collide. I loved everything Cade and especially Amaya, she is so strong and that just makes her more beautiful.
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