The Dark Before Light Audiobook By L.M. Halloran cover art

The Dark Before Light

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The Dark Before Light

By: L.M. Halloran
Narrated by: Lucy Rivers, Sean Masters
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I’ve never fallen for a patient.
But I’ve never had one quite like him.

Kieran Hayes is a modern-day king: brilliant, arrogant, and ruthless. The Irish tech CEO has spent the last decade building his legacy in my city, but now he's breaking beneath the weight of his multibillion-dollar crown.

Forced into my therapy office, he’s confident I can't help him. I'm determined to prove him wrong.

Kieran will never know my desire to treat him stems from more than professional obligation. He doesn't remember the long-ago act of kindness that changed my life, but I've never forgotten.

This time I'm going to save him.

Or so I think.

The more I learn about his beautiful mind, the more my professional boundaries crumble. Especially when he decides he doesn't want any boundaries—or clothes—separating us.

Can I save him without sacrificing my ethics?

Or will Kieran be the first man to bring me to my knees?

The Dark Before Light is a full-length contemporary romance with a HEA. For a detailed list of content warnings, please visit the author's website.

©2024 L.M. Halloran (P)2024 L.M. Halloran Romantic Suspense
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Most relevant
On a whim I got this book….. needless to say it was amazing! Worth a credit you ask? Hell fucking yes it is!!

Loved this book!

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This book is absolutely amazing. LM’s writing is beautiful. She knows how to weave a story! Full of raw, real emotion, and flawed beautiful adults. It’s so nice to pick up a story and just be absolutely consumed by it.

Lucy & Sean are absolutely phenomenal. Definitely recommend this one!

Incredible!

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This is my first book by this author and I absolutely loved it. The story was so good I was hooked from the start. The audio was amazing and highly recommend!

LOVED THIS STORY

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My first read by this author and my god she's amazing! So much spice I was not expecting that haha. The narrators were fantastic and the story was amazing. Loved it!

Sooooo good!

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This was my very first book by L.M. Halloran, and it will definitely not be my last. So many romances these days feel predictable, but The Dark Before Light was refreshingly different I found myself genuinely surprised by where the story went. The writing is stunning: poetic but raw, deeply emotional without tipping into melodrama. Halloran has a gift for weaving flawed, beautiful adults into narratives that feel both tender and gutting.

Lucy Rivers and Sean Masters deliver an incredible performance in this audiobook, perfectly embodying Talia and Kieran. Sean’s Irish accent was chef’s kiss—authentic, magnetic, and exactly what this broody CEO needed. Together, Lucy and Sean pulled me so completely into this story that every ounce of angst, tension, and emotion felt razor sharp.

The Story
Talia, a therapist, and Kieran, her brilliant but unraveling Irish patient, ignite a forbidden, tension-filled romance that dances between boundaries, obsession, and healing. What starts as professional obligation soon bleeds into a battle of wills in the office and out of it. Add in the domme spice, threads of suspense, and a second-chance twist, and you’ve got a story that feels layered, unexpected, and completely addictive.

What I Loved
✔️ The therapist/patient dynamic taboo, but handled with emotional depth and intensity.
✔️ The sense of fate between Talia and Kieran it truly felt like they were kismet.
✔️ The blend of romance, suspense, and grief/mental health it made the love story feel weighty and real.
✔️ The push/pull tension the electric chemistry between these two practically bled off the page.
✔️ The domme spice unique, sizzling, and perfectly balanced with emotional vulnerability.

🎧 Narration
Lucy Rivers and Sean Masters were phenomenal. Dual narration brought so much depth, and Sean’s accent was the perfect finishing touch. They made this audiobook an experience, not just a story.

Tropes
✔️ Therapist/patient (forbidden romance)
✔️ Dual POV
✔️ Dislike → obsession → love
✔️ Surprise second chance
✔️ Bossy, broken Irish CEO + former Domme FMC
✔️ Suspense twist

Final Thoughts
The Dark Before Light is more than just a romance it’s an emotional journey. It balances spice with substance, passion with pain, and suspense with heart. If you love tension-filled forbidden romance, complex characters, and writing that makes you feel every moment, this book deserves a place at the very top of your TBR.

Tension-filled forbidden romance

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