Book five in the Darkest Dance series is here and our MM fans are going to be very excited for this installment!
Thanks to Valentine PR for the gifted ebook copy and for having me on the tour
DANCE OF DEFIANCE – Jagger Cole (Releasing Octber 9th, 2025)
You can see my thoughts on the other books in this series here!
Book Description:
A night meant for violence and vengeance turns into something far more twisted and deviant… I was raised to be brutal. Hard. Tough. Unmerciful. In the Bratva, men don’t crave other men. Good thing I’m straight. And if I say that enough times, six inches from the mirror, it usually sounds true. That is, until I go into the woods looking for monsters, and find something far harder to escape from.
Val Bancroft is chaos and carnage wrapped in electrified sin. Provocative and defiant. Lethally, disarmingly beautiful. A violent, unhinged corruption to my own brand of carefully controlled darkness. I tell myself I’m not gay. That our families want to kill each other. That my place as my father’s heir, with a woman chosen for me at my side, has already been carved in stone.
But he dismantles me, piece by bloody piece, until even my demons bow to him. He’s an unstoppable force. I’m an immovable object. And when we slam together, we’ll find beautiful wreckage—or vicious goddamn ruin.
Dance of Defiance is a standalone dark mafia male x male romance with two ultra possessive, extremely unhinged heroes. Readers are STRONGLY advised to read the TW inside. No cliffhanger; HEA included.
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
For fans of dark mafia romances, ballet romances, and MM romance – well this is the book that you’ve been waiting for! DANCE OF DEFIANCE, like the rest of the series, is a book you need to clear time out for in your schedule. I don’t think any of the five books in the series have taken me more than two sittings each. The fact that this is Cole’s first ever MM romance novel is shocking because the chemistry between these two characters just jumped off the page and they were so perfect for each other throughout their growth in this series and within their own story.
Trying to fight with the expectations of being in a powerful and violent mafia family and being who they are really brought a lot of emotion to this book and intensity as Val and Roman navigated their feelings and budding relationship. Hating each other to falling hard. Ballet and bratva. Plenty of spice to go around and I can’t wait to see where this series continues and to keep seeing these two make their appearances. This book deals a lot in finding yourself and accepting your true self and I think that added a layer to their story. While this is still a violent underworld they deal in, they were able to find hope and comfort in each other as Val helped Roman discover who he truly is.
While these books can be read as standalones, I will always recommend picking up the other books because you get some backstory on the other characters and some insight into their lives and family dynamics.
About the Author:
A reader first and foremost, Jagger Cole cut his romance writing teeth penning various fan-fiction stories years ago. After deciding to hang up his writing boots, Jagger worked in advertising pretending to be Don Draper. It worked enough to convince a woman way out of his league to marry him, though, which is a total win.
Now, Dad to two little princesses and King to a Queen, Jagger is thrilled to be back at the keyboard.
When not writing or reading romance books, he can be found woodworking, enjoying good whiskey, and grilling outside–rain or shine.
Connect with Jagger:
Website — Goodreads — Amazon — Facebook — Facebook Group — Instagram — TikTok — Bookbub — Pinterest
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