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krista_timm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
hereiskyra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Stalker/Secret Identity
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kitsuthebookworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Blood, and Death of parent
once_upon_a_storybook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Rape
lc9939's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug use, Torture, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Pregnancy
leshalea30's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Sin.... not better than Ryat. I wanted to punch him after the halfway point. It got very confusing with the secrets, but when the story unfolded... it was astounding.
It's super spicy.
I can't wait to read The Sacrifice and Carnage.
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Stalking
Minor: Pregnancy
fictionalized_bliss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
cassidy_99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Child abuse and Rape
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Murder
absurdlyalex's review
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Most of this review will be one big spoiler (including a tiny one for book 1, as a compare/contrast note) but I wish I’d known before going in. I’ve read the other books in this series and liked them, but this one really missed the mark for me. In this world, the women are property and the men treat them as such, but they also love them. It’s toxic AF, but at least in the other books there is genuine care and affection. This one doesn’t until the end and bam! HEA. I finished this book about a week ago and have been sitting on my feelings for it, so there may be minor details that aren’t 100% accurate.
Our 2 main characters are in desperate need of therapy, and they don’t get it. Particularly the FMC. She has a metric ton of unresolved childhood trauma (which is graphically described and is the TW in particular I feel could have been handled better) that the MMC blatantly and unapologetically uses to manipulate her.
There were a couple of scenes in this that turned my stomach, and I read a lot of dark romance. Honestly, TW for the following section:
He teaches her to like what he does to her, and crave it - through drugs and orgasms. He gets her high and “shares” her (these scenes are explicit), makes her orgasm, and then tells her how filthy and worthless she is for it. She grows up feeling like she asked for it/wanted it and is a “dirty whore” because of it. She genuinely believes that she willingly “gave” him her virginity (if I remember right he made her beg for it) and not one person ever tells her different. Including the MMC who “loves” her. Elli’s relationship with her body, her desires, and sex in general is pretty broken, and that never really changes.
Sin spends the large majority of the book being downright hateful to her, using her for sex while telling her what a slut she is, and she accepts it because she feels like she deserves it since she is “dirty” and “worthless”.
Plenty of SA survivors have a boatload of kinks as a result of their trauma, and we don’t kink shame. You can like it rough and dirty, and Elli does. I’m not here to say that anything about what Elli likes during sex is wrong or shameful. But Elli thinks that. She feels that liking rough sex makes her even more “dirty” (she regularly calls herself this, both in her own mind and out loud), and Sin is all too happy to ignore that and keep calling her a whore while never providing her with aftercare unless she asks for it.
Compare this with book 1, where Ryat makes a point of consistently letting Blake know that none of her fantasies/kinks are wrong or dirty, and she is safe to explore them with him. While Sin over here is perfectly fine with manipulating her into being a perfect sex doll for him. Oh and he also punishes her by intentionally being rough during anal sex to make it painful (blood and tearing skin) because he is angry with her for a choice HE made/her reaction to a lie he told her - not that it would have been acceptable if she had done anything wrong, I’m just highlighting what a huge bastard he is.
He is never concerned at any time about how her trauma might impact her relationship with sex - he is aware of her history from like chapter 1, and uses it to his benefit from that point on. Her trauma is literally never addressed as something she might need to talk about or heal from.
You’re also meant to believe by the end that they love each other, when there aren’t really any kind or caring scenes between them at all. It’s essentially Stockholm Syndrome and ownership that’s somehow supposed to be a smutty love story.
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
alis143's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail