Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Cruel King by Rina Kent

12 reviews

luckyyyyy's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Murder, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Violence, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death, and Mental illness

carsons1996's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

I got sucked into this story so fast and it had me hooked throughout the entire story. I great romance with a good amount of drama. I know it was supposed to be dark,

but I just hated how much Levi disrespected Astrid's personal autonomy and she just accepted it. I guess you could read betwee  the lines and they eventually figured out a healthy balance, but it just came off as so toxic that I couldn't get passed it and had to deduct a star from my rating.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, and Addiction

Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault

nineinchnails's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.25

i know rina kent claims to be british but as someone who's lived all over england (literally north, midlands, and now south/southwest) i do not know a single person who talks like that. i feel like maybe she picked up a few words and ran with it because most of the british slang is misused or super oddly placed in sentences. i think her dialogue in general isn't accurate to how people naturally speak but this book was riddled with spelling + grammar mistakes even outside of the dialogue. the main characters had no chemistry, from what i can see at least, but it was an easy read at least and i enjoyed some of the supporting characters.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Car accident, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

Drugging, Amnesia, Post traumatic stress disorder, Revenge porn, Slut-shaming, Student/teacher relationship, and Date rape

samflowerv6's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

 I am trying to read the Rina Kent universe in order so this is my first one. Bully romance is nothing new and it felt nostalgic?? Like a lot of tropes remind me of wattpad where the MMC would be horrible but we still loved them lol. The plot reminded me of wattpad too, not the quality but the set up . I liked how he fell first and Astrid didn’t just roll over and take his bs. It was overall enjoyable but Levi isn’t my favorite book bf. Maybe it’s because the age range isn’t usually my favorite, at least for a romance central plot. I think the ones with Aiden will be more for me. I liked how there was a mysterious vibe also. The first few chapters felt like a fever dream!! I was like SLOW DOWN !!! but overall it was funny and I fully laughed a bunch of times. I don’t know if it was intentional all the time bc the British English vernacular was cracking me up. The side characters were really fun as well, it got me excited for Ronan and Aiden’s stories. I can’t wait for the rest of this universe. Levi and Astrid…. You cute or whateva. Princess and the King. 👑 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Mental illness, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Death of parent and Gun violence

Minor: Addiction and Abandonment

wulethephoenix's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

beevivi's review against another edition

mysterious

2.0

My first Rina Kent

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

readwthsam's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Violence, and Drug use

emilycruz1016's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Death of parent

thesmutsister_emma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

We Are All Aware I Need Therapy

Look... I am completely and utterly aware I need therapy. WITH THAT SAID, this book reinforced this. I truly, honestly sat there half the book believing I could change Levi. I thought because I understand what it's like to have a father who has bipolar, I would be able to do it. Maybe I just need more frequent therapy sessions instead.

The Characters
Astrid: Girl. I have no idea how you did it. There was so much back and forth and fucking trauma. I literally could not. I would have given up so much earlier on. Jesus. I feel like I write about strong FMCs frequently but this is a different case. Astrid honestly did what few other FMCs I have seen could do. She held her head high though so much adversity and bullshit. There was so much she could have just looked at the whole thing and just turned in, yet she didn't. She persevered. And I don't even mean all the bullshit with Levi. That's just a whole other can of worms. Jesus.
Levi: Levi, honey, baby, child, love. I am desperately begging you to go to fucking therapy. Jesus Christ. So much of this book would not be an issue if you would. There was just. so. much. I'm not going to look too deeply into my love for the possessiveness or the toxicity. I just will book more and longer sessions with Rod. That is how I'm going to deal with that.

Things I Loved
Look. I'm going to be honest. I waited too long and loved my last book too much to be able to give any specifics other than I adore the writing style and fully intend on continuing the series, if not Rina's entire backlog.

The Final Verdict
If you can take the bully romance trope and are okay with getting your feelings hurt, you better run to Kindle Unlimited for this one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Bullying, Car accident, Drug use, and Mental illness

Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction

culzean's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, and Rape