Jealousy, Betrayal, and the Cracks in Sebastian’s Redemption
By the time I reached His Dark Jealousy, the sixth installment in The Twelve Nights of Christmas, I already knew Sebastian was heading toward disaster. The ending of His Cursed Beast practically lit the fuse. Still, knowing something terrible is coming does not soften the impact once it finally detonates. And Sebastian truly detonates everything here.
Through BookSirens I received an advance review copy (ARC) for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
His Dark Jealousy by Darcy Fayton
Series: The Twelve Nights of Christmas #6
more Volumes: His Forbidden Bargain, His Lesson in Submission, His Broken Vow, His Father's Sin, His Cursed Beast
Genre: Abuse, Adult, Dark Romance, Historical Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Violence, Wolfshifters
Published on 15. Mai 2026 by Independently Published
Pages: 124
Format: ARC, Kindle Edition
ASIN: B0GSJD45TN
Language: English
Source: BookSirens
Link to Goodreads
My rating: | Spice:
Jealousy can make a vampire do terrible things.
Kathryn is expecting a visitor—an old friend of Sebastian’s. And now, her friend too.
She’s eager to see him again.Sebastian would almost rather he’d never introduced them.
Because jealousy has always been his darkest weakness.
And this time, in a moment of possessive fury, he has done something he cannot take back.Now he must face the one thing that truly terrifies him:
that even Kathryn may not be able to forgive him.Jealousy is a dangerous thing in a vampire.
Especially when the man across the table carries secrets Sebastian knows all too well.
Beyond the quiet walls of Rookvane Manor, tensions in the city are beginning to stir. Rumours whisper of old powers are shifting.
But Sebastian finds his attention fixed on one far more immediate problem.
The way Kathryn looks at someone who is not him.
And Sebastian has never been particularly good at sharing.
Dark forbidden romance. Jealousy, possession, and a dangerous game between friends and rivals.
Buy here: Amazon*
More Books by the Author: Embedded by the Headmaster, Collared by the Vampie Prince, His Forbidden Bargain, His Lesson in Submission, His Broken Vow, His Father's Sin, His Cursed Beast
Find the Author: Goodreads, Amazon
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His Dark Jealousy ♦ Darcy Fayton
A Review
Opinion
What makes his betrayal so infuriating is how painfully petty its source feels: jealousy. Not noble protectiveness, not sacrifice, not some tragic necessity. Just wounded masculine pride curdling into possessiveness. Sebastian cannot bear the emotional closeness developing between Kathryn and Theodore, despite the fact that Theodore is one of the few genuinely kind and stable presences in Kathryn’s increasingly horrific existence.
And because Sebastian cannot handle his jealousy like an emotionally functional immortal adult, Kathryn pays the price–again.
That imbalance is what made this installment so difficult for me emotionally. Kathryn is the one enduring the physical and psychological torment of these patrons, the one carrying the emotional burden of survival, the one sacrificing pieces of herself night after night. Meanwhile, Sebastian spirals into possessive self-pity because Kathryn and Theodore share warmth and understanding. Worse still, Sebastian never even grants Kathryn the dignity of honesty beforehand. Not a warning. Not an explanation. Not even the courtesy of a meaningful internal struggle that would make his decision feel tragic instead of selfish.
And the result? He sends her back to Professor Zott. Of all people.
Zott was already utterly revolting in His Lesson in Submission. Fayton writes him with this oily, predatory energy that immediately contaminates every scene he enters. Bringing him back here feels intentionally cruel, both toward Kathryn and toward me, the reader. The encounter itself is deeply uncomfortable, though the author again avoids treating the violence casually or gratuitously. The horror comes less from graphic detail and more from emotional framing: Sebastian knowingly condemns Kathryn to this because he cannot control his jealousy.
That is the point where my investment in Sebastian as a romantic lead collapsed completely.
At this stage, I genuinely do not want Kathryn and Sebastian to be endgame. Whatever tortured love story the series is building, Sebastian currently feels undeserving of redemption. The betrayal cuts too deeply because it targets the very core of Kathryn’s trust in him. Their relationship no longer feels tragic-romantic to me so much as emotionally corrosive.
Ironically, Theodore now feels far more compelling as a potential partner and I hope he will appear again. There is warmth, steadiness, and genuine care in his interactions with Kathryn. The emotional geometry of this series has shifted dramatically for me: Sebastian is no longer the dark, tortured protector at the center of the imagination. He is becoming part of the problem.
That said, Kathryn herself is magnificent in this installment.
The true highlight of the novella is the way she endures the hour with Zott. She refuses to break in the way Sebastian probably expects. Instead, she weaponizes her composure. She keeps her gaze fixed on him, making absolutely certain he witnesses the consequences of his own cruelty. Every second becomes an accusation. Every moment forces him to confront what he has done to her.
And honestly? She makes him suffer exquisitely. Though personally, I still do not think it was enough.
Which is why I struggled somewhat with the emotional resolution the following morning. Kathryn softens toward Sebastian sooner than I wanted her to. Yes, forgiveness is clearly incomplete, and the emotional damage remains unresolved, but after such a devastating betrayal, I needed more distance, more fury, more consequences hanging in the air like shattered glass.
Still, the novella succeeds brilliantly at maintaining intrigue around the larger mystery. Sebastian’s still hidden secret continues to loom over everything like a locked crypt beneath the story. The implication that Kathryn’s memories from five years earlier were erased for traumatic reasons grows increasingly unsettling. What happened to her that her mind buried it completely? Who hurt her? And what exactly is Sebastian protecting her from?
And then there is the royal visitor arriving that same morning, clearly positioned as the next looming patron in His Royal Threat. By the end, I was furious with Sebastian, emotionally exhausted for Kathryn, suspicious of everyone, and still completely unable to stop reading.
Which, honestly, may be the series’ greatest trick.
Conclusion
An emotionally brutal installment fueled by jealousy, betrayal, and shifting loyalties. Sebastian falls hard from grace here, while Kathryn emerges stronger, sharper, and far more compelling than ever.
The Twelve Nights of Christmas
Series
| His Forbidden Bargain (#1) | His Lesson in Submission (#2) |
| His Broken Vow (#3) | His Father’s Sin (#4) |
| His Cursed Beast (#5) | His Dark Jealousy (#6) |
| His Royal Threat (#7) | … (#8) |
| … (#9) | … (#10) |
| … (#11) | … (#12) |
This review was also published at:
| Goodreads | Amazon |
| StoryGraph | BookSirens |
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