rickireadss's review
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse
chilivanilli28's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence
laureljeanreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
jessie_h's review
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
secretbookshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Homophobia
bimeariver's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
after all the abuse & mistreatment that arlo has suffered in his life, for someone like dimitri to offer him a comfort that’s so at odds with what’s deemed the norm about psychopaths, it made their romance hit a little hard because that’s the thing with this entire series, isn’t it? we’re seeing these characters fall in love with their psychopaths and the whole thing just makes you wonder what the author is telling you with that. these characters feel safe with their lovers, they feel protected, they feel…loved, in a way. and i think getting to read a story in this series where we were witnessing this love at around the time where dimitri & arlo are in college offered a really well-rounded perspective that had its share of chaos like all the other books but all boiled down to these soft moments between our two main characters.
would i have loved to see more of the mulvaney family? yes. it would’ve been so cool to see them interacting more with dimitri, someone whose mom has tried to prevent him from involving himself in any more crime, and yet he finds himself in some deep shit anyways. and so what better way to see him evolve better than with the mulvaney brothers? august’s presence in this novella is a huge factor as to what makes me wish we could’ve seen more of that dynamic, because there’s this speech he gives at the end to dimitri that hints that he could sorta be considered the “next generation” for this project that thomas had created with his entire family.
getting to learn more about calliope’s background and how she came to even be part of this family was really interesting; so interesting, in fact, that a part of me is bitter we didn’t see more about her, either, specifically her relationship with her son, dimitri, altogether. the appealing thing about novellas for a majority of people is that they make you crave more, they make you latch onto these characters you only know for a brief amount of time and then boom!! they’re gone. here it felt like the same thing for me, but it also kinda revealed the disheartening thing with this format of storytelling because as sweet as this overall novella was, as tense & suspensful as it was, it didn’t feel like enough? but alas….
i’m glad i finally read this. this was something short & quick to read right before one of my most anticipated 2022 releases drops into my kindle library at midnight, and it was a nice reading experience, too. it had its emotional moments to be honest—again, the abuse that arlo has suffered is not to be taken lightly and seeing the effects it’s had on him makes for a sobering venture into what turns into a really bloody & scary night for him and dimitri. i’m just glad the two found each other, and it’s nice to have gotten to see what this novella was all about.
Graphic: Sexual content and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
sabinehunter's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Blood, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
ruthiedr89's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Death, Violence, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence
Minor: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
secret_librarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
buffyloverlori's review
5.0
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence