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chauntel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Medical content, Stalking, Grief, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Drug use, Gore, Pregnancy, Abortion, Body horror, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Gun violence
Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Torture, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
laylareadsthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall this series is basically a perfect five stars for me. It’s top tier dark romance and my favorite to recommend when someone is ready to dive into DARK dark romance (please take TW and content warnings very seriously, they are lengthy and there for a reason). The smut is iconic, I don’t think anyone comes close to Shantel in this genre. So it pains me to say that this wasn’t my favorite of the series. And LOOK like I said I LOVE this series, so by ’least favorite’ I mean no insult, there were just some issues for me and each new addition is competing with perfection. Spoilers will be hidden, open at your own risk.
One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed this world is the attention to detail with the plot. The long conning and planning, the way characters maneuver around an incredibly strict set of rules. In Carnage, some of the character motivations and decisions felt more juvenile to me than previous books. More chaos than control. This may be because you’re juggling more characters here so the story doesn’t feel as tightly woven. There is more reiteration in this book than previous ones of the FMCs consent and interests, which some may find repetitive but I think is extremely important with this story. Ashtyn and Saint will make you work for their love, and I’m going to be thinking about them for a long time. Saint is SO GOOD, might be right behind Ryat for me as #1. And Ashtyn is really unlike any FMC I’ve read before which I mean as the highest compliment, especially in this genre where FMCs can feel repetitive to me.
There’s incredible interconnectivity from the other books in the series, people pop up for a reason and it doesn’t feel frivolous. This book is written as a standalone, however I recommend you read the prior books to get the full impact. If you go in blind, the ending may feel confusing to you - but I actually think it would be a wild ride to go back and piece everything together knowing how this book wraps up.
I am so freaking thrilled to continue in this world and I’m dying for the next two brothers’ books (and hopefully many more)!! Once I’ve read a few palette cleansers, I’m excited to go back and do a reread.
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Abandonment