🇬🇧 THIS BOOK IS IN ENGLISH

Deceiving Their Minds by Laiken Rhodes

Tactum Obscurae · Book 1 of 4

She was never the innocent princess they believed her to be.

When an invitation arrives for the first Viperae Rosarum Ludi, Audrey Yates has no desire to accept.

Her past is already steeped in tragedy, and fighting for a place within a feared secret society promises only more pain. Still, she enters the Ludi beside the other heirs of Alabastor Cove.

The forefathers controlling the games intend to break her, carve through every defence and discover what makes her tick. They believe Audrey is an innocent princess walking willingly into their trap.

They have no idea what they have allowed through the door.

The Shadow has only one target: Audrey. She is his obsession, his prey and the woman who should have run before he came close enough to claim her attention.

But Audrey refuses to run. As the line between hunter and hunted dissolves, buried memories and dangerous secrets threaten to destroy them both. Hate burns into something darker, and the games close around a heroine far more lethal than anyone expected.

This dark secret-society romance combines multiple perspectives, forced proximity, romantic suspense, primal play and an obsessive antihero before ending on a brutal cliffhanger. The story continues across the four-book Tactum Obscurae series.

"Perfect for readers who love the intricate world of Shantel Tessier, the gritty romances of Rina Kent and the intense pacing of Tate James."

📚 FORMAT & DETAILS

Format: Softback
Pages: 377
Genre: Dark Romance / Romantic Suspense
Series: Tactum Obscurae, Book 1 of 4
Publisher: Independent
Published: 9 May 2026
Language: English
Recommended age: 18+

Content notes: Dark themes • Secret society • Violence • Primal play • Group play (MM, MMF, MFM) • Unreliable narrator • Hidden/repressed memories • Brutal cliffhanger • Explicit content