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pradajones's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Incest
forrestalexander's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't know what to expect and I like the concept, but in my opinion, it didn't follow through.
As someone else said, the book is too short to properly address the multitude of issues it presented.
The book touches on:
- a gay main character with unaccepting parents
- religious trauma
- conversion therapy and the resulting trauma
- domestic abuse, toxic and abusive relationships
- manipulation and general abuse
- rape, sexual assault, and casual sexual harassment
- drug abuse
- suicide, suicidal thoughts
& more. There aren't enough pages in the book to have us become invested in the characters and touch on all of the above topics and do them justice - instead, it half touches on all of them and is just busy and feels cluttered. It is trying to do too much at once.
Because it was trying to cram so much into each page, I wasn't invested in the characters and it made me care less about the story overall.
Also, coming from a queer man living in bushwick from somewhat similar circumstances, I hated the main character. He relied on everyone else and did nothing but pity and feel bad for himself instead of trying to do anything to change his life. He was selfish and self-centered, and how he acted in court destroyed the lives of others to the point of no return. How I am supposed to feel any level of empathy for him, or happiness when he finally sort of gets his shit together at the end, is beyond me.
The religious trauma was a bit trite for a gay character, and I understand the second half was supposed to set it apart from other stories with similar themes - but the second half felt forced, strange, and left me weirded out. I am still not sure what the message was supposed to be, it didn't translate.
With all of that being said, I think if a few of the themes were left out and the author focused on one or two things, it could have been great. For that reason, I have no doubt the author has potential - but I hope in his next book, it feels less crammed.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
dalmavatai's review against another edition
However, I think this book is just poorly executed. The characters and the relationships are not developed well enough for me to believe in them, and the dynamics of an abusive relationship are equally poorly written. It feels like the author read a blog post about Abuse 101 and clumsily inserted every point at random intervals throughout the story. Like, all the dynamics - Jonah gaslighting himself and his experience of abuse, Richard compensating with meaningless shopping sprees after something bad happens - feel disingenuous, insincere; I just wasn't convinced by the author that these characters and relationships are real. They feel very one-dimensional, pawns to illustrate the author's point but lacking in development and depth.
This is really my main issue with the story but I also wanted to mention that of course it's really important to shed light on how old men can coerce younger men into playing out their BDSM fantasies - but BDSM is not inherently abusive. I think Jonah's daddy issues stemming from his homophobic father and wanting to please both him and God in his deeply Christian family is really interesting and will no doubt resonate with a lot of people's experience, but I think it's important to note that wanting to be dominated in sex is not inherently 'pathological', and even if it stems from mommy/daddy issues, it's still a valid sexual preference and people can engage in BDSM and have it be a healthy dynamic (that doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't interrogate cultural trends around daddy issues, but it does mean that we shouldn't pathologize individuals with these sexual preferences because that doesn't help anyone).
Also, if you still want to read this book, please please look into trigger warnings, this book covers very heavy subjects and all the things I listed under 'graphic' content warnings are indeed EXTREMELY graphic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
cupofjoe's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
julesrsovis's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Religious bigotry
foxmulders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest
shereadytoread's review against another edition
1.5
First trigger warnings: this book is FILLED and very frequent sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse. I would estimate there was 1.5/10+ sexual scenes that were openly consensual. It is the premise of almost the entire story. There is also exploration of conversion therapy, homophobic families/churches and financial abuse.
Those trigger warnings are why this story being marketed as a "thriller" is completely wrong to me. This book very explicitly explores how a man uses financial abuse to entrap a man that has already been sexually abused in the past. Nothing about this is "thrilling". There are no plot twists. It is a straightforward horrific story. There was nothing I didn't expect and spent time trying to figure out, other than how this terrible abuse would be resolved. I'm not sure how any of this is "thrilling". It is compelling, gritty, and it is fast-paced. I read it in one sitting (partially because if I put it down, I doubt I would have picked it up again). It makes callbacks to #MeToo in some ways I won't really explain because they are spoilers, but I think it missed the mark.
Disclaimer: I received a free finished copy from the publisher.
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Violence
kaykaysbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence and Blood
mothreadsbookssometimes's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Suicide attempt
bells_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting