Decimation

A Dark Captive Romance (The Brethren Lords, Book 6)

By: Ellie Sanders

Narrated by: Juniper Reyes, Joe Arden

They took my name first. Then my face.

I was brought here to pay for sins that were never mine. Traded, reshaped, and punished until the woman I used to be is completely erased.

They say I look like her. They demand that I become her; become a living ghost. And when I fail, they remind me what happens to replacements that don’t fit their requirements.

For a long time, I believe there is only one man doing this. His cruelty and obsession simply wearing different moods like a living god who punishes and absolves at whim.

By the time I learn the truth, that there are in fact two of them, that they are twins, it’s already too late. I no longer remember who I was before they remade me.

And I don’t know if that loss terrifies me…or if surrendering to it is the only way I can survive.

©2026 Ellie Sanders (P)2026 Blue Nose Publishing

Dark with a HEA I needed

Decimation by Ellie Sanders is an incredibly intense, emotionally devastating book, and the audio was even more intense.

Joe Arden is a favorite of mine, and I’ve listened to him narrate a ridiculous number of books. I even heard him narrate parts of this one live in the Audio Attic, so I knew some of these scenes were coming.

Did that help me? No.

Juniper Reyes was completely new to me, and she absolutely impressed me. The difference between Ines and Leandra was incredible. Ines has an unsettling presence, while Leandra is enduring extremely difficult circumstances with Isaac and Ezekiel. Juniper made them feel like completely different people, and her performance was phenomenal.

This is only the second book I’ve read where the male main character feels every bit as emotionally damaged as the female main character. Somehow, it’s also the book that begins helping them heal. After the previous books, this felt like a powerful relief.

I’m pretty sure Joe Arden and Ellie Sanders persuaded me to love Lazarus. Should that concern me? Probably.

His devotion to her is intense.

Would I recommend this series? Yes… with a giant, flashing CHECK YOUR WARNINGS sign.

If you’re normally someone who says, “I don’t have triggers, so I don’t check warnings,” check them anyway. At the very least, be prepared for the intensity of this series.

This is genuinely one of the darkest series I’ve ever read. It’s incredibly well written, and the audio performance is phenomenal, but Ellie Sanders is going to take you places.

I’ve said before that I think books are art, and the best art makes you feel something.

Ellie, ma’am. I was not prepared to feel this many things.

You’re an artist, and emotional devastation is your palette.

Tropes: dark romance, morally gray characters, obsessive devotion, emotionally damaged characters, forced proximity, trauma bonding, healing together, enemies to lovers, intense suspense, audiobook duet narration

Painful and Phenomenal

This is book 5 in The Brethren Lords series.

This is a PITCH BLACK story. Let me preface this by saying this is NOT a romance. It’s an erotic horror and there are LOTS of traumatic themes, including SA and religious trauma. It was devastating from start to almost finish. I. Loved. This. Story. 😭🖤

The FMC is sold at 18 to a man in a religious-type group. She experiences so much pain and torture, but her spirit NEVER breaks. She has these tiny pockets of hope for a different life, only to have them ripped away again and again. UGH. The heartbreak I felt reading this. 😭
The MMC is a twin and the spare to the “empire.” He has endured his own traumas and times as a captive. He’s cunning and VERY patient, but he’s also so deeply indoctrinated in their beliefs that I wanted to scream at him at times. When these two finally meet, I thought maybe things would finally get better…NOPE. It was just more pain.

I really don’t want to give away too much because this story was so phenomenally written and performed that you NEED to experience it for yourself. The strength it took for this man to fight for the future he envisioned for them was everything!! Watching these two claw their way toward something better after everything they endured absolutely destroyed me.

Juniper Reyes and Joe Arden blew my mind with this performance. 😭🖤🖤🖤 They brought every ounce of darkness, pain and emotion to these characters and I was completely wrecked.

If you love a hard-fought HEA, dark DARK themes, a man who will burn the world down for his woman and a strong-as-hell FMC who refuses to break…ADD THIS TO YOUR TBR. 🖤🔥

Phenomenal Writing and Performance

ALC provided by Blue Nose Audio

I genuinely think this is one of the best books I’ve ever read and listened to.

Joe Arden and Juniper Reyes were both spectacular. I already knew what Joe could do, but this was my first time listening to Juniper and wow. Their performances were so engaging that there was almost no separation between listening to the story and being inside it. But, I also don’t want the narration to overshadow how incredible the writing itself is, because neither was carrying the other. Ellie Sanders gave them something phenomenal to perform, and they absolutely delivered.

The writing is spectacular. I was completely consumed by this story, and that feeling never went away. There were moments where it almost felt suffocating, not because anything was too much, but because I was so far inside the story that it felt like I was right there experiencing everything with them.

The manipulation and mind games made the story for me. This was psychologically dark for the characters, and I was completely invested in how they were going to come out of everything being done to them. I needed to know what was going to happen, and the story never loosened its grip on me.

I recommend this one for readers who like psychologically dark stories, manipulation and mind games, and books that completely consume you, especially audiobook listeners who appreciate incredible writing paired with performances that make it almost impossible to pull yourself out of the story.

The Perfect Ending to an Incredible Series

READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!

I devoured this story and found myself completely fascinated with the characters. Decimation is beyond dark; it’s pitch black, it’s disturbing, it’s unnerving… and I loved every second of it. Listening to the audiobook was an experience, as the narration transformed the words into an emotionally damaging journey that leaves a mark.

Juniper Reyes and Joe Arden definitely understood the assignment with their incredible performances. All the angst, fear, and even the all-consuming madness could be physically felt in their storytelling.

This storyline is darkness and madness… it’s obsession and possession with emotional manipulation that will leave you stunned. The love is unhealthy and toxic while the performances from the voice actors pushed everything to another level. I cannot stress enough, read the trigger warnings, and go in with an open mind.