Prey for Me by Allie Oleanader: My Honest Book Review
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⭐ Quick Verdict
⭐ My Rating: 4 ★
💭 Quick Take: A darkly playful romance that blends stalking, kink exploration, and a hero whose all-consuming devotion makes him impossible not to root for.
👉 Read If You Love:
- He Falls First
- Obsessive but devoted heroes
- Forced proximity
- Kink exploration
- High-consent romance
- Horror-inspired romance
- Golden retriever heroes
- Protective heroes
🚫 Skip if:
- Stalking, psychological suspense, or horror elements aren’t your thing.
- You don’t enjoy mask play or knife play.
- You prefer lighter romances without religious trauma or emotional abuse.
- You’d rather your romances stay focused on the relationship than include a darker suspense storyline.
Book Details
Release Date: September 2026
Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance
Tropes: He Falls First, Forced Proximity, Stalking, Kink Exploration, Protective Hero, Golden Retriever Hero
Series: Feral Love (book 2)
Steam Level: High
POV: Dual
What This Book Is About
Years after escaping an emotionally abusive marriage to a charismatic pastor whose carefully crafted public image hid a controlling narcissist, Margot has finally begun rebuilding her life. But when he’s released from prison, the terror begins again as he starts stalking her and escalating his intimidation in increasingly disturbing ways.
Standing beside her is Caine, a man who’s quietly loved Margot ever since one unforgettable night together years earlier. As the danger surrounding her grows, the two grow closer while exploring the darker fantasies Margot has long been shamed for wanting, discovering that trust, safety, and acceptance can exist even in the middle of fear.
My Review of Prey for Me
To say I was eagerly waiting for Prey for Me would be an understatement. Willing Prey landed on my Best Romance Books of the Year list, so my expectations for this sequel were incredibly high. That honestly made this one difficult to review because there were parts I absolutely loved and other elements that simply aren’t my personal preference in romance. Does that make the book less successful? Not necessarily. It just made it hit differently for me.
Let’s start with what worked because Allie Oleander continues to impress me with her writing. She has such a gift for sharp dialogue, engaging pacing, and creating romances that somehow manage to be incredibly steamy while also surprisingly funny. Prey for Me balances genuine danger with humor in a way that shouldn’t work on paper but somehow does. Between Margot’s fascination with fear and horror, her very real stalking situation, and the playful dynamic she develops with Caine, the story constantly felt original.
The true star of this book, though, is Caine.
I’m an absolute sucker for a hero who falls completely and irrevocably in love, and Caine may be one of the most devoted heroes I’ve read in a long time. One night with Margot was enough for him to spend years quietly loving her from afar without expecting anything in return. What made him so lovable wasn’t just the obsession, but the way he constantly met Margot where she was emotionally. He never pressured her, never demanded more than she was ready to give, and simply kept showing up for her over and over again.
The “Book of Margot” completely won me over. Keeping notes about everything from her latex allergy to the ways she’d expertly dodge difficult conversations could easily have crossed into creepy territory, but Caine was self-aware enough to recognize exactly how obsessive it looked. Instead, it became one of the sweetest demonstrations of just how deeply he paid attention to the woman he loved. And then there are his tattoos…which I’ll leave unspoiled because discovering those for yourself is part of the fun.
Margot was a more challenging heroine for me personally. Not because she wasn’t well written, but because I found it harder to relate to her. After years of emotional abuse within an evangelical marriage, she’s spent years rebuilding her life while her ex-husband served time in prison. Now that he’s been released, she’s once again forced to live in fear as he begins terrorizing her. Watching her slowly reclaim the parts of herself she’d long been taught to suppress, including her fascination with fear and horror and the kinks she’d always been made to feel ashamed of, ended up being one of the strongest emotional arcs in the book. Her bratty personality wasn’t always my favorite, but Caine absolutely adored every bit of it.
I also appreciated how thoughtfully the kink exploration was handled. While the specific kinks ventured into darker territory than I typically gravitate toward, particularly the mask and knife play, everything centered around enthusiastic consent, communication, and mutual trust. I especially liked that Caine was just as willing to let Margot lead as he was to take charge. Setting so much of their exploration inside a haunted house gave the entire romance a distinctive atmosphere that felt different from Willing Prey rather than simply repeating what worked in the first book.
Plus, it needs to be said that the title for this book is absolute perfection.
Where the story lost me was more because of my own reading preferences than the execution itself. I don’t typically gravitate toward romances where the suspense storyline becomes quite so dark, and the horror elements combined with Margot’s ongoing terror at the hands of her ex-husband occasionally pulled me out of the romance. It also felt a little strange at times that the book maintained such a romcom tone despite the heavier events unfolding alongside it, even though Margot herself wrestled with many of those same conflicting emotions.
Ultimately, I think this came down to expectations. Willing Prey captivated me because I loved both the relationship development and the primal play at its center. Prey for Me delivers equally strong relationship development, but this time it was Caine who completely stole the show for me. The kink exploration was fascinating, but it simply wasn’t as compelling to me personally as the primal play explored in the first book.
I received an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
What I Loved
- Caine’s years-long devotion to Margot.
- The thoughtful emphasis on consent and communication throughout the kink exploration.
- A hero who perfectly balances obsessive love with golden retriever energy.
- The “Book of Margot” and all the little details that showed how deeply Caine knew her.
- A fresh setting that makes the romance feel different from the first book.
- Excellent dialogue and pacing.
Things to Know Before You Read
- On-page stalking, violence, and escalating threats.
- History of emotional abuse by a narcissistic ex-husband.
- Commentary on purity culture and religious indoctrination.
- Includes mask play, knife play, and other forms of consensual kink exploration.
- Horror themes are woven throughout the romance.
- Much darker than a typical romantic comedy despite its humor.
Final Thoughts
Prey for Me didn’t quite reach the same heights for me as Willing Prey, but that’s largely because the darker horror elements and suspense storyline fall outside my personal preferences. What never wavered, though, was Allie Oleander’s ability to write compelling relationships, memorable dialogue, and one of my favorite heroes of the year in Caine.
If you’re looking for a romance that blends horror, humor, obsessive devotion, and thoughtful kink exploration, I think you’ll find a lot to love here. And as for me? I’ll absolutely be back for the next book, especially if Shane and Caine’s sister end up getting their own happily ever after.
More Books by Allie Oleander:
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