Axe and Grind

De: Taylor Hutton

Narrado por: Stephanie Rose, Angus King

In this decadently dark romance, a virtual dating experiment spins into a deadly web of obsession, greed, love, and passion.

Josie Greene has always been a glass half-full kind of girl. But after a messy breakup, she’s broke, betrayed, and barely getting by. Even her trusted tarot cards point to chaos in her future. And they’re right: Axe MacKenzie needs her help.

As part of the tech CEO’s latest covert mission, Axe has been developing a simulator to create any user’s “Perfect Match,” and bubbly Josie is the ideal woman to test his product. When the gorgeous, reclusive billionaire makes her an offer—fake date him so he can launch his groundbreaking AI dating app—Josie’s in no position to refuse.

But Axe’s two worlds collide as the criminal underworld corrupts their experimental fling. What started as steamy role-play quickly spirals into a very real threat, leaving both Josie and Axe no choice but to uncover their well-buried pasts. With her life on the line, Josie will have to trust the man who has created the ultimate virtual illusion—and who might be hiding the most sinister truths of all…

Reseñas de la Crítica

Praise for Taylor Hutton

“Readers looking to dip a toe into dark romance and morally grey heroes will find this book the perfect beginning.”—Booklist, on Axe and Grind

"This is a hot, sexy, mysterious novel with lots of twists, hot sex and romance. This is one you do not want to miss out on."—Red Carpet Crash, on Strike and Burn

"Hutton’s burning-hot sex scenes torch the pages, and the hallmark of the best dark romances emerges from the smoke: morally ambiguous characters whom readers will root for despite their deep flaws and violent tendencies. Strike and Burn is a can’t-look-away read."—BookPage

“Hutton’s multilayered characters captivate, particularly Strike, whose drive to deliver justice for Honor will please fans of alpha male heroes...[T]he thrilling plot keeps the pages turning.”--Publishers Weekly, on Strike and Burn

If you like juicy sex, a slightly twisted sense of humour AI girlfriends, sex toys, and very bad people, this book for you

This is my second Taylor Hutton novel, and I absolutely loved it. Axe is a compelling character. I liked his manliness, his confidence, and his sexiness, and if I am honest, parts of him reminded me a bit of myself. He is very much an idealized masculine figure, capable, guarded, physically dominant, and clearly constructed to be desired. The chemistry between the two leads works from the start, and the sexual tension carries the story effortlessly.

The backstories are a little fantastical, but they fit the tone and add momentum rather than distraction. I especially enjoyed the mother and father scammers. That dynamic was strange, funny, and unsettling in a way that felt surprisingly believable. It is easy to see how growing up in that environment shapes people, how survival, deception, and desire become learned behaviors. They add more texture to the story than you might expect from what could have been throwaway characters.

What I appreciated most, looking back, is that beneath the sexy chaos there is something quietly thoughtful going on. Axe feels like a performance of an ideal man, just as the AI girlfriend represents a technological projection of desire. Both are about fantasy, control, and what it means to want connection without friction. The push and pull between attraction and resistance is not just sexual tension, it reflects a deeper discomfort with surrendering autonomy, whether to another person or to something designed to meet your needs too perfectly.

For a funny, sexy, slightly twisted romance with a wild AI premise, this was a blast to read. It knows exactly what it is, leans into it confidently, and still manages to sneak in a few ideas about desire, performance, and modern loneliness along the way. That combination made it even more enjoyable than expected.