The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
frantic_vampire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
This was such a fun read! I loved that we got to meet some new faces that Iām sure will pop up in other Necessary Evils books. I also really liked that we got to see the Mulvaneyās from an outside perspective. Okay, so Dimitri is the absolute sweetest! He may be a psychopath, but he loves Arlo with every fiber of his being. And Arlo is just adorable. I love that he goes from this timid shy person in the beginning to sassing very dangerous people (Asa & August) with little thought. This was so good and I canāt wait to dive into the next book! This is getting four out of five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual violence
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.0
i almost skipped this one and i am SO glad i didnāt. i loved dimitri and arlo so much. did i think of the movie āthe good dinosaurā several times? yes but itās fine š i canāt wait to see their cameo in the next book!
ā ļø: murder, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, violence, child abuse, sexual violence, physical abuse, sexual assault
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse
chilivanilli28's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence
alexandryareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
talk_bookish_with_me's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Rape and Child abuse
jessie_h's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
OMG! Calliope has a kid! Who is also a psychopath! I have been wondering how she got involved with the Mulvaneys since the first book and now I know. Dmitri and Arlo were cute together and the cameos from the Mulvaneys were awesome! I can't wait to see how the ending of their novella fits in to the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
shybookstagramer's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book that doesn't center around one of the Mulvaney boys but we still have a beloved psychopath who just wants to lay claim to his obsession. I really liked this one. I ended up reading this in the middle of reading Headcase because he was introduced in that and I was very confused at who this guy was and all the plot holes that came of not knowing his background. So I stopped headcase to go read this one. It provided some much-needed background. Even though this book was a novella instead of a full novel like the others in the series, it didn't disappoint. There was a great plot, characters, and spice! Overall a really great and necessary addition to the series.Ā
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Domestic abuse
bimeariver's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
for something pretty short, this author still packed quite a heavy punch in this novella; something to be expected with how she writes suspense & mystery into each book in this series. i think even though i didnāt feel that connected to the main characters, i could still see how strong of a connection they had with each other and it almostā¦endeared me more to the story as we see arlo panic about this unprecedented murder that took place while dimitri was there to keep him steady.
Ā after all the abuse & mistreatment that arlo has suffered in his life, for someone like dimitri to offer him a comfort thatās so at odds with whatās deemed the norm about psychopaths, it made their romance hit a little hard because thatās the thing with this entire series, isnāt it? weāre 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 feelā¦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 wouldāve 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? augustās presence in this novella is a huge factor as to what makes me wish we couldāve seen more of that dynamic, because thereās this speech he gives at the end to dimitri that hints that he could sorta be considered the ānext generationā for this project that thomas had created with his entire family.
getting to learn more about calliopeās 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 didnāt 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!! theyāre 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 didnāt feel like enough? but alasā¦.
iām 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 honestāagain, the abuse that arlo has suffered is not to be taken lightly and seeing the effects itās had on him makes for a sobering venture into what turns into a really bloody & scary night for him and dimitri. iām just glad the two found each other, and itās nice to have gotten to see what this novella was all about. Ā
Ā after all the abuse & mistreatment that arlo has suffered in his life, for someone like dimitri to offer him a comfort thatās so at odds with whatās deemed the norm about psychopaths, it made their romance hit a little hard because thatās the thing with this entire series, isnāt it? weāre 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 feelā¦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 wouldāve 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? augustās presence in this novella is a huge factor as to what makes me wish we couldāve seen more of that dynamic, because thereās this speech he gives at the end to dimitri that hints that he could sorta be considered the ānext generationā for this project that thomas had created with his entire family.
getting to learn more about calliopeās 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 didnāt 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!! theyāre 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 didnāt feel like enough? but alasā¦.
iām 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 honestāagain, the abuse that arlo has suffered is not to be taken lightly and seeing the effects itās had on him makes for a sobering venture into what turns into a really bloody & scary night for him and dimitri. iām just glad the two found each other, and itās nice to have gotten to see what this novella was all about. Ā
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
readingtotravel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
sabinehunter's review against another edition
dark
funny
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: Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Death, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Blood, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship