Series Review: The Collector by Amelia Wilde

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Dark Reign (from Goodreads):

Wealthy. Reclusive. Dangerous. Emerson LeBlanc doesn’t enter society much. He only ventures out in pursuit of new art for his collection. It starts with a haunting painting. Then he meets the artist…

Innocent Daphne Morelli is more exquisite than anything he’s ever seen. He becomes obsessed with her. It doesn’t matter that she’s a living, breathing person with her own hopes and dreams.

She’ll be the perfect addition to his collection.

SERIESous’ Top Picks: 2022 Fave
Series: The Collector Trilogy | Midnight Dynasty Series
Author: Amelia Wilde
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Dark, Erotica
Heat Rating: Hot (Kink: minor (#1,#3) & major (#2))
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Dates: November 2021 – March 2022
Source & Format: Kobo Plus–eBook

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

So I went into this book with mixed expectations. For one thing, I was really excited to read Daphne Morelli’s story. It’s alluded to in Secret Beast (Beast of Bishop’s Landing) and I have been curious about it ever since. HOWEVER, I did not enjoy the Beast of Bishop’s Landing Series which is also written by Amelia Wilde so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this novel but I went in with an open mind…

The Concept – Midnight Dynasty:

The Midnight Dynasty Universe is a collection of books (series and standalones) written by different authors but feature the characters from a collective world. They’re intended to be read in any order because each series focuses on two lead characters at a time, but there are some shared chronological events and character interactions throughout the universe that overlap in the different series.

The first book in this series, Dark Reign, basically takes place over the span of the entire Beast of Bishop’s Landing Series so I highly recommend that you read that series first if you are trying to read the Midnight Dynasty Universe novels in the chronological order of events and don’t want to have that series be spoiled for you.

The Plot:

There was something so addicting about this series! There’s this edge of danger and suspense that just keeps building and building as the story progresses that I found to be so captivating.

Add to it the character evolution and I was sucked right into this series! I love dark, unconventional romance novels and this really fit that bill to a T.

I also liked that it showed a softer side to the Morelli family and in particular, Leo Morelli who is the hero in The Beast of Bishop’s Landing. While I didn’t love that series, I appreciated the weaving of that story–and Daphne’s perspective of the events–into Dark Reign (#1).

The Characters:

Emerson is a character unlike any other I’ve encountered before. Sure, he has a lot of tendencies of alpha billionaire heroes with tragic pasts you’ve read before, but there is also this unique vulnerability to him that slowly gets revealed to the reader. I could totally see why Daphne would become enthralled by him.

Daphne is the perfect character to compliment and drive Emerson’s character development. But she also has great character development throughout this series. I was captivated by their respective stories.

The Romance:

This isn’t a conventional love story by any means but I’m a sucker for a good dark romance and this is definitely a great one! The connection these two share just blew me away.

Midnight Dynasty’s Reading Order:

I had found a suggested reading order on Redit but have made some recommendations based on my own readings. Here is the suggested order based on that post and my own readings:

Cinderella Trilogy (K Webster)
Starcrossed Lovers (Jade West)
Beast of Bishop’s Landing (Amelia Wilde)
Hearts Trilogy (M O’Keefe)
The Collector Trilogy (Amelia Wilde)
Wicked Idol [Hellfire Series #1] (Becker Gray)
Lessons in Sin (Pam Goodwin)
Dark Dream Duet (Giana Darling)
The Arranged Marriage Trilogy (Monica Murphy)
Deception Duet (K Webster)

Series Rating: 5/5

Dark Reign 5/5 | Sweet Mercy 4.5/5 | Last Resort 5/5

One of my favourite installments in the Midnight Dynasty Universe so far! I think some people won’t like the darker, unconventional romance but fans of romantic suspense will enjoy.

Read if You Like: romantic suspense
Avoid if You: dislike unorthodox romances