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gabrielle_reads_a_lot's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
milliethebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
it’s readable but obviously I’m not comfortable with the assault, coercion, r@pe fantasy that the author seems to have 😭
It would be fine if those elements were left out omg…
I suppose it is the early vampire/werewolf erotica but reading it in 2024 and I’m tired of the tropes(hetero patriarchal lit): huge and overly dominating masculine mmc, and the fmc is shy, unsure, small petite… I’m tired y’all
Other critiques include the early 2000’s slang which do age the story, also the phonetic writing of accents killed meeee
The plot was fine and mildly interesting. I got halfway thru at least and I don’t wanna finish it.
It would be fine if those elements were left out omg…
I suppose it is the early vampire/werewolf erotica but reading it in 2024 and I’m tired of the tropes(hetero patriarchal lit): huge and overly dominating masculine mmc, and the fmc is shy, unsure, small petite… I’m tired y’all
Other critiques include the early 2000’s slang which do age the story, also the phonetic writing of accents killed meeee
The plot was fine and mildly interesting. I got halfway thru at least and I don’t wanna finish it.
Graphic: Sexual assault
oofie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
2.5 - okay
This book follows Emmaline Troy, half vampire and half Valkyrie. Emma's been raised by her Valkyrie aunts her whole life, but goes on a trip to Paris to find out more information about her parents.
Lachlain has been imprisoned and tortured in the catacombs of Paris, dying repeatedly, for 150 years. He only gains the strength to escape his prison when he smells his one and only mate. He is not only a werewolf, but the king of the werewolves.
His mate is, of course, Emma, and once he has hold of her, he is not letting her go, not even if it turns out his mate is a vampire and therefore his mortal enemy. He struggled with this, even with the relief of finding his one and only finally. On Emma's part, she is unaware of the whole mate thing and entirely alarmed at being kidnapped. Except she's also kinda into this super aggressive werewolf?
This book was meh. There was a lot of sexual assault/harassment going on, which I obviously was not a fan of. And then at one point it just...changed? And Emma was ok with Lachlain all of a sudden? Like I get his aggressiveness given his species but also...yuck. Consent is sexy. Always.
The plot was okayish, I suppose, but after the inevitable mating (spoiler Ig, but you knew it was going to happen without reading the book), then it just went really fast and furious, changing pace from what it had been before.
This book follows Emmaline Troy, half vampire and half Valkyrie. Emma's been raised by her Valkyrie aunts her whole life, but goes on a trip to Paris to find out more information about her parents.
Lachlain has been imprisoned and tortured in the catacombs of Paris, dying repeatedly, for 150 years. He only gains the strength to escape his prison when he smells his one and only mate. He is not only a werewolf, but the king of the werewolves.
His mate is, of course, Emma, and once he has hold of her, he is not letting her go, not even if it turns out his mate is a vampire and therefore his mortal enemy. He struggled with this, even with the relief of finding his one and only finally. On Emma's part, she is unaware of the whole mate thing and entirely alarmed at being kidnapped. Except she's also kinda into this super aggressive werewolf?
This book was meh. There was a lot of sexual assault/harassment going on, which I obviously was not a fan of. And then at one point it just...changed? And Emma was ok with Lachlain all of a sudden? Like I get his aggressiveness given his species but also...yuck. Consent is sexy. Always.
The plot was okayish, I suppose, but after the inevitable mating (spoiler Ig, but you knew it was going to happen without reading the book), then it just went really fast and furious, changing pace from what it had been before.
Graphic: Sexual assault
citymouse's review
2.0
Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Misogyny and Death of parent
flowermel3's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
...dnf at 65% or smth 👎 should've sooner
Graphic: Sexual assault
kelly_jane's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
kimberlynicolee's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual assault
firehawk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
melissalivanos's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Really crossed the line in terms of how much ambiguous consent and/or sexual assault by the male hero I can tolerate in a book. Even once he changed and felt sorry, I still felt gross.
Graphic: Sexual assault
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars - It was ok
After being imprisoned and tortured by the vampire horde for years, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, finally escapes with the help of the scent of his fated mate. Unfortunately, he is enraged to find that his fated mate is a vampire. Emmaline Troy is a sheltered half vampire/half valkyrie who just wants to know more about her parents, but instead finds herself kidnapped by a Lykae and fighting her attraction to him.
After seeing multiple people reading the newer books in this series it made me want to return to this series. Sadly, I have not read any of this series since 2013 and remember none of it, so that meant I needed to reread because I remembered nothing about this series. I knew going into this series that the early books are a bit dated and have some problematic MMC. I was hopeful I could look past that but sadly, I could not.
Lachlan is an extremely problematic character. He doesn’t understand the meaning of no at all or that women have any rights. He sexually assaults Emma by coercing her to do sexual acts with him after kidnapping her. He doesn’t outright rape her but he does threaten to multiple times and frequently ignores her when she says no. He also gets her drunk at one point to try and lower her inhibitions in the hope that she will willingly have sex with him, so no I don’t like Lachlain at all. Yes, he has a few moments where he is kind, protective, and sweet, But overall, he wasn’t a good man and I think Emma deserved someone so much better.
Now for what I did like about this book: Emma and the world. I liked Emma and her character development. She starts as a shy and sheltered woman who has spent her life surrounded by her valkyrie aunts but by the end she realizes she can take care of herself. She is fighting her own fights, beheading vampires, and beating up jealous women. Emma was surprisingly badass in the end and I wonder if we will see more of her in the future.
This world is fascinating and I am really captivated by the different factions of the Lore. There are Lykae, vampires, valkyries, ghouls, wiches, and all kinds of other stuff. It’s just a very fascinating world that makes me want to keep reading, which is good because at this point, the problematic heroes normally would make me stop. Hopefully the next book will be less problematic.
TW: Lachlain manipulates Emma into unwanted sexual contact, attempts to rape her a couple of times, and gets her drunk at one point in an attempt to lower her inhibitions so she will have sex with him; patricide; imprisonment, torture, self mutilation,
Graphic: Sexual assault