Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Lovely Bad Things

This series.....just wowwwww. It's a roller coaster. And I read all 3 books in 3 days. They were that good. They are deeply philosophical and really made me think about things. It also came at a good time in my life where I'm doing a lot of introspection and staring into the abyss.

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pegloumor's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookishbabbles's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holy shit. I’ve never been so scared(I don’t read horror) and excited at the same time. I’m in love!!!

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sydneykidny's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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samflowerv6's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Kallum Locke….. lord have mercy. This man is insane and ya know what? I ate up every second of it. He was a little scary but I loved it!! Am I insane for enjoying this? Maybe. I blame the wattpad books I read in middle school for my occasionally depraved taste. TRISHA YOU FED US DARK ROMANCE GIRLIES. The part that really sucked me in…. The plot is so interesting. I’m actually so excited for the second book!! Kallum is insane, obsessed with the FMC, smart and cunning. He was a philosopher professor before he was committed into an insane asylum.. he calls her things like little Halen, his muse and sweetness. THE TWISTS HAD ME BY MY THROAT !! And the ritual scene broke my brain in the best way…. I love love love love Hollow’s row and my insane book boyfriend Professor Locke. He’s not even morally grey, he’s pitch black and I’m down.

But what is art and beauty if not pain? Anything which comes too easily is an insult to both the creator and the consumer.

“I will make you see god for damn sure.”

My fingertips memorize the erratic beat of her pulse as she slips away. Bah-dah-bump. Bah-dah-bah-dah-bump. I want to carve it in my skin.

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redrxse222's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.75

READ TRIGGER WARNINGS

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bethjuliette's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a recommendation from booktok for me - a snippet of just one of the first sexually tense scenes. They failed to mention the ritual sacrifices and incredible depth into philosophy, but my GOD that made this all the more incredible for me,

I like reading crime novels, I often find myself figuring them out as I go but this one had me doubting myself and distracting me with Kallum’s character just as he was distracting Halen and manipulating her. The author almost had me thinking I had been wrong…

until that last chapter revealed what I’d suspected.

I’ll say no more, but as a lover of dark fiction this is absolutely a must read - I’ll be reading that sequel ASAP!

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tianabooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is for the criminal minds girlies. In fact, this is for the girlies who wanted to read something with tension and interactions like the cat/spencer scenes but a bit more unhinged. 😇

Definitely check your trigger/content warnings before going into this if you know there are things that might make you uncomfortable or put you in a vulnerable position. At least in terms of violence and gory descriptions, there are several ones on page.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you."
"You are the bad thing."
"And you are the loveliest bad thing."

There is not a single green flag in sight. Nothing at all lmao.

And I guess that's the whole point, morally at least it's challenging and HIGHLY questionable but it somehow works?? The relationship and interactions between Halen and Kallum are what made the story interesting. They don't trust each other, they're trying to outsmart one another, and you can't tell half of the time (if not all the time) if it's attraction or vengeance that drives their actions. Which works here very well. You don't know who's reliable and who isn't.

This book can at times be heavy on the pagan/occult lore and elements as they're part of the plot and it's Kallum's area of expertise. So I'd also say be mindful of that before going into this. I personally didn't mind this aspect but that might not work for everyone.

I don't know how to feel about the ending yet. Lots of twists and turns and lots of revelations but I think I'd like to read the second book and then come back and revisit my feelings on this! It’s not a bad ending and it definitely insinuates that there’s a continuation to the story.

I'll say though: I was reading this on my kindle AND listening to the audiobook at the same time and it was the best experience honestly. Lucy Rivers and Joe Arden narrate this and LET ME TELL YOU. I'd heard both of them before in your usual contemporary romance but never in a dark romance and they both did such a good job. I am now a changed person. 😮‍💨🫠 also the narration fits the atmosphere perfectly!

Oh and definitely leave your moral compass behind going into this lmao.

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