Book Review: Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova
Your Knife, My Heart by K.M. Moronova
ARC Review: Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Publishing: November 11, 2025
Series: Dark Forces #1
Genres: Adult // Dark Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Quick Thoughts: Though the romance didn't hit like I was hoping it would, Your Knife, My Heart is definitely an entertaining story that I absolutely flew through. It’s worth reading if you’re in the mood for a dark story in a military training setting with trials.
Amazon (Available on KU) | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
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Heavy Substance Abuse
Forced Substance Abuse
Blood & Gore
Graphic Violence/Murder
Death
Sexist Behavior
War Trauma
PTSD
Mentally Unwell Characters
Self-Harm
Abuse of Corpses
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“Touch Her and Die”
One-Bed
Military/Training Settings
Trials
Tortured MMC
“I can save him” heroine
What is Your Knife, My Heart About? (Spoiler Free)
From USA Today Bestselling author KM Moronova comes a brand-new compelling and addictive dark romance in her Dark Forces world.
Dark. Deadly. Irresistible.
Cameron Mortem has a problem―he can't stop killing his partners. Officially labeled clinically insane, he's also one of the most lethal assets in the Dark Forces, a brutal underground military operation built on obedience, survival, and silence. But an experimental drug has fractured his control, making him a liability whenever someone else is on the field. As punishment, he's thrown back into the Under Trials―a merciless boot camp designed to break the weak and sharpen the ruthless.
His one directive? Don't kill the new girl.
Emery Maves narrowly escapes a death sentence after her own brutal crimes, only to find herself forced into the same violent world. Assigned to Cameron, she's expected to survive the Trials and her partner's unstable nature. But Emery quickly realizes there's more to Cameron than bloodlust and body counts. Beneath the madness lies a terrifying allure―and a strange, dangerous tenderness.
As the Trials push them to their limits, Emery must navigate the brutal demands of the Dark Forces while resisting the pull of a man who could just as easily kill her as protect her. And Cameron must fight the one urge he's never been able to overcome.
Their bond is intoxicating, chaotic, and born of violence. And if it doesn't destroy them both, it might just save them.
My Initial Take
After reading that synopsis, how could I not pick this one up? Plus, I’ve been in the mood for a military romance ever since I read Silver Elite and K.M. Moronova’s other book written in this world is highly rated.
Your Knife, My Heart Review
To be honest, I went back and forth on my rating on this book for quite some time. The romance didn't hit like I was hoping it would, but Your Knife, My Heart is definitely an entertaining story that I absolutely flew through.
Before you read this book, check the trigger warnings the author notes at the beginning. There's PTSD, self-harm, and heavy substance abuse, among other things. I knew this story would be dark and found these elements added to the story, but if you're sensitive to any of these topics, please read with caution or maybe skip this one altogether.
Let's start with the good. This book had all the elements I usually devour -- a military training setting with deadly trials and delightfully unhinged (and maybe a little toxic) characters. This book is also heavily character-driven, so there really isn't a ton of intricate world-building and plot to keep track of. Most of the book is Cam and Emery interacting with each other, with the trials and a few training scenes breaking things up. Even without tons of action, I couldn't put it down!
That said, the Cam and Emery scenes got repetitive really quickly. It was sweet moment followed by hot-and-cold behavior, copied and pasted throughout the book. Frankly, each chapter was almost indistinguishable from the last. Since this book is dual-POV, the author had a perfect opportunity to add more inner dialogue or have Emery and Cam open up to each other -- anything to keep things engaging and show some relationship growth. Instead, the characters kept pushing each other away for reasons they never discuss directly with each other, which is why each scene between them feels like a rinse and repeat.
This lack of relationship growth is why the romance fell flat for me. They were pushing each other away until they just....weren't. I'm not convinced they actually love each other yet. Don't get me wrong, the spice was definitely there, so there's lust and physical attraction. But I need to see more emotional connection between them to buy into the romance.
So, should you read Your Knife, My Heart?
Overall, it was an entertaining read. I think I'll read the next one because of the way this one ended, but it won't be a "read on release day" book.
Consider reading this if you're in the mood for a dark story with lots of spice, especially if you like military training settings! I would skip this one if you’re looking for a believable romance with slow relationship growth throughout the book.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
Your Knife, My Heart FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Your Knife, My Heart is not a standalone. It is the first book in the Dark Forces series.
As of the publishing of this post, the second book in the Dark Forces Series My Blade, Your Back will be published on December 9, 2025.
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Yes. Your Knife, My Heart is 4🌶️ on romance.io. That means explicit open door, so spice scenes are frequent and details are plentiful.
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Below are the spicy chapters in Your Knife, My Heart.
Chapter 8
Chapter 12
Chapter 14
Chapter 16
Chapter 20
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Your Knife, My Heart ends on a cliffhanger.
Cam is given a new version of his meds as an experiment. According to Nolan, the new meds shouldn’t kill the other cadets as much as the old version. However, it made Cam extremely aggressive and even more out of control than before. He attacks Emery by hitting her in the head with a rock and knocks her unconscious.
When she wakes up in a hospital room, she looks at Cam and has no idea who he is. The book ends here.