Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Master of Salt & Bones by Keri Lake

18 reviews

hex_girl_13's review against another edition

Half the book so far is flashbacks of the mmc being groomed and introduced to bdsm as a teenager. That and the kink of risking your life while trying to orgasm to make it more pleasurable ain’t for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

doahdancer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

I read Nocticadia first and found this one to be disappointing in comparison.

This book suffered from slowness in the upfront build, but it did have a good payoff. My first critique is some of the reveals were obvious, despite their resolutions being quite satisfying.

Overall, I was surprised at how gruesome this one was and I'm not sure I'm content with the write-off on the MMCs involvement in some of the darker elements that were introduced. Not sure there was a better way forward without overpowering his character further, but at least the FMC's acceptance of his reasons for staying involved needed to be developed more.

I loved the gothic feel and the mystery that wound its way around their fated romance. If you can handle some loose ends remaining at the end, this is a great choice for someone craving a dark, romantic mystery/thriller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Rape

foxgame's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

So I’m in a FaRo FB group. Some recommendations have been brilliant. Some have scared me.  In this book i read the following 

“Giulia is accommodating, indulging in whatever I ask, but what I need is something that would turn her stomach.”

And it was at this point that I knew it was going to be one of those books (more 😳 than 🌶️). 
However moving past the 😳 moments, this book had gothic overtones and I had to keep reading to find out what happened to his wife and child, even though we all could guess. I liked the writing with some action, some good guys and some real nasty guys. 

Recommended for those who enjoy a Mr Rochester with a side serve of nazi genetic sadistic BDSM research.

Can’t give it a 🌶️ level because past book recommendations with low 🌶️ have shown I’m living a sheltered life. But will opt for a 😳😳😳 out of 5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

that_casshole's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

3.0

Please heed the content warnings. It was very predictable and followed the typical dark romance plot lines. Which is fine IF you have a good plot. The idea for the plot was there, but it was horribly predictable. I guessed about 95% of the “big reveals” about a quarter into the book. The spicy scenes got boring fast. If you’ve got some time, it’s a fine read, but if your tbr looks like mine, wait on this one. I definitely had to make myself keep reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Stalking

Minor: Gaslighting

bo_okish's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a wild ride. Not only do you go through every emotion while reading but it made me have to stop and walk away just to process what I read. The writing was done well, the characters and story line are phenomenal. I highly recommend but also not for the faint of heart. There are multiple triggers in this book so please look into them before diving in

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

xoxo_bookishbabe's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Keri Lake is truly a master of her craft with the way she layers her stories with mystery, secrets, and various dark elements. She creates something so deliciously dark and beautiful that I find myself enthralled, unable to get enough. 

I’m perhaps a bit too good at piecing together mysteries, though, because I did find some of the twists of the story to be predictable. But, truly if you’re paying attention, it’s easy to pick up on the clues for when the twist is revealed later. This isn’t a point of contention for me because I still very much enjoyed the book. 

If you’re a dark romance, romantic suspense, etc reader and you haven’t read Keri Lake, I’m assuming you live under a rock. She just knows how to write ‘em and this book was no exception. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mkc_0423's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia and Car accident

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

kat1105's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mermaidreef's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

More fucked up than I anticipated but good nevertheless. The content warnings for this go crazy lmfao. Did almost stop reading once or twice because of how weird it got, but I still.....enjoyed it....and kept coming back??? Sure hope this didn't awaken anything in me. Read this if you like pain during sex

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

erinrachelreads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

This burrowed into my skin and made me doubt everything. The dual PoV, with the flashbacks really played into the uncertainty regarding what was real and what wasn't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Gaslighting