ARC Book Review: Twin Roses by Dorian Sumpter (ARC edition)
Details
Book Title: Twin Roses
Author: Dorian Sumpter
Genre: Smut? Dark romance?
Publication Date: Will be published on Sept 14 2025
Page Count / Format I got the ARC Edition as a PDF from the author himself, I believe it will be sold on amazon on release date
Rating: Lost in the Thickets
ARC provided free in exchange for an honest review. This review is not paid for, or produced by the author of the book.
I want to be upfront. This review is not in my usual format. When I agreed to read this ARC I promised to be honest, and honesty means saying that I don’t believe this book is ready for publication in it’s current form. Unfortunately, it ended up on my DNF shelf. By the end of the prologue, I knew this wasn’t going to be the right read for me, and not because of the story line, but because of the writing, formatting, and execution.
The most immediate hurdle was the formatting. Paragraphs weren’t indented, dialogue wasn’t spaced apart, and POV shifts happened without warning. This made the book unnecessarily difficult to read, often making me stop to reread passages for clarity. A book should pull readers in, not make them stumble over its structure. The prose itself often felt rushed and skeletal, like bones without any flesh to hold them together. Scenes lacked depth, descriptions were thin, and transitions between scenes were non-existent. It read more like an early draft than a manuscript approaching publication.
The prologue, which should have set the stage and captivated the reader, felt disjointed. It read more like a series of expanded bullet points rather than a flowing narrative. By the time I had reached the end, I was more confused than intrigued. And I don’t mean the good kind of confused that I get from mystery thrillers like Along Came a Spider or something else along those lines. The scenes were very brief, and while I can appreciate leaving details out for story and plot development, this did not feel like the case. It felt rushed and just quickly jotted down. Like when I’m working on my first draft of novel and I just write snippets that I go back to when I can flesh them out more or remove them. It’s like these snippets were left in.
Chapter One didn’t improve matters. An art show is introduced briefly, but instead of developing the scene of characters, the narrative is disrupted abruptly. Interrupting a scene in the middle of it can be effective. But this just felt like it was just something thrown in with the sole purpose of being an interrupter? Does that makes sense? It was explained very briefly, had one sentence of dialogue, and it somehow caused the whole event to end and slip into a smut scene? Without setup or emotional weight, it came across as “porn without plot” instead of what it was going for. (Which I think they might have been going for dark, suspenseful, and edgy?)
I understand ARCs are not the finished product. Typos and small errors are expected. But this goes far beyond that. With a scheduled publication date of September 14, 2025, this book desperately needs a full editorial pass, rewrites to flesh out scenes, and stronger world building. The potential for a great story is there, but right now it just feels incomplete.
Indie authors already face unfair stereotypes, and unfortunately, this book reinforces them. Readers deserve a polished, immersive experience be it from someone who published as an indie author or a traditionally published author. This book, in its current form, simply isn’t ready.
I won’t be finishing it past chapter three, and while that makes me feel guilty as an ARC reader, I’d rather be honest than offer false praise. My hope is that the author revisits this manuscript, invests in editing, and gives the story the care it deserves because the spark of something good IS there, hidden under the rough draft.