Taken by touch and torment is the second and final book in the eternal possession duet by Maggie Sunseri. I absolutely loved this book, more than the first one. You must read the first book before you read this one.
Spoilers ahead.
Trigger warnings & spoilers : bullying by a sibling, sexual violence, sexual assault (not done by mmc, please rune is so much better), emotional abuse by a sibling, obsession, and possessiveness, stalking, consensual bdsm, and kink, somnophilia, violence and murder, torture (by the antagonist), vampiric feeding, use of canes, slapping, spanking, there’s more, so you can see the warnings here.
Https://maggiesunseri.com/content-warnings/
Story : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing style : Maggie’s writing is poetry, she writes in a langauge that had me smiling, and feelings all sorts of emotions, she’s a gifted writer. It’s descriptive, and vivid, sometimes she drags things, but it only creates more mystery, so i’m all in.
MMC : Rune gets ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars, because this man, even though he failed once, he made sure he obliterated those who hurt his scarlett.
FMC : scarlett hale — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ the character growth? Now this woman is what I want to see in fantasy romances, i’m so in love with her, she’s written so perfectly, i f•••••• love Maggie’s mind.
side characters : please Maggie, give me snow and uriah’s story, please. I just know their story is gonna be entertaining. The side characters stand out, on both sides, the antagonist and protagonist, both.
Story setting : i find it hard to know where the story is set in, valentin, Aristelle, and ravenia are the names i can remember, but all i understood is two people are fighting, rune and durian to have power. Rune just wants freedom for those who are trapped in sex slavery, while durian wants ultimate power over the turned vampires and born vampires, claiming that he is Lillian’s chosen.
Dedicated to by the author : the first book was dedicated to soulmate love, and the second book was dedicated to self love — the root of all other loves, and now that i have entered into self loving era too, this book felt like it was written for me. Also, the many references and uses of Maggie’s tarot knowledge was just top tier.
Pacing : slow to medium. The book wasn’t dragged, i was reading it slowly, it was perfect.
Tropes : vampire x succubus, fantasy romance, second chance, interconnected standalone, shadow daddy, obsessive, possesive, protective hero, strong heroine.
Type of romance : fantasy.
Tags for the book : obsessed, stalker MMC, magick, spells, and all that magical stuff.
What i loved : I loved the book from the part when Scarlett is rescued, and how everyone from rune’s clan takes care of her after the s••• she went through. The way rune is protective over her, but also does not clip her wings too much, how he understands when she wants to stand in her power, while standing beside her, cheering her, and being there for her. He is perfect, also, i didn’t imagine this man to be as dark of a hero as he was. But i loved it. And Scarlett’s growth from the book one, to this one, from going to understanding her identity, her sister’s bullying, to using her powers to escape durian’s clutches, from shaming herself to reclaiming herself, everything was just too good. This FMC was the best fmc i have ever read. I loved both rune and scarlett, I miss them. The book is not too long, it’s perfect, it gives more insight into the characters, story and I loved every bit of it.
Favourite parts/ highlights :
Is a part of a series : yes.
Series name : eternal possession duet.
Series order number : 2.
Plot or character driven : a mix.
Loveable characters : yessss.
Strong character development : yesss.
Flaws of characters a main focus : yes.
Interconnected/ or standalone : interconnected. This is not a standalone. The first book needs to be read before starting with this one.
Recs from the same author : i haven’t read the other books, but I plan to read the everlasting possession duet, kylo’s story.
Similar books : this fantasy romance is too good, I haven’t read many romantasy books, this was like my third or fourth one.
Last details : i loved rune’s shadows, his guilt, his rage, scarlett’s rage, her dark feminine aura, her friends, snow, Rosalind, and her determination to step into danger again, even though knowing the horrors that would surround her. She wanted mortals to be free from slavery, and being forced into durian’s power. She did her best to stay strong through all the torture, humiliation, and pain durian put her through. Rune’s love became her strength, and i loved nothing more to see that her own power turned her on, her character growth is written so well, i was cheering while reading. I loved this duet so much. Best fantasy romance book of 2026.