Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Heartless Heathens

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Heartless Heathens by Santana Knox

7 reviews

devsreadsnrambles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

If you are a dark romance reader, give this a shot. If you are a contemporary romance reader, PLEASE CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!
There are a lot of possible triggers, especially regarding religion.

That being said, this book was HOT HOT HOT. I enjoyed the reverse harem of tattooed bad boys. There were some plot points that didn't quite hit for me, but I definitely enjoyed the

revenge against the priest that locked Romina up in the tower

.
I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the story itself and how invested I was in seeing Romina come out on top.

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babybatash's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-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? No

2.25

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vidalovesspice's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Spice Lvl - 5 - Ya'll need Jesus after this...and some eye bleach...and mouth wash...
Female Character - Romina
- 1/5 - soft, bland tofu. But she develops into HORNY, soft tofu. Sis going to horny jail.
- It made me REALLY uncomfortable how infantilized she was the ENTIRE book. I understand she was locked up for 18 years in a tower, but holy shit, it was creepy to read how childish she was.
Male Characters/Love Interests - Twins: Felix & Corvin Escura & Sonny Santorini
- 3/5 - a point for each guy xD. I did like Corvin the best, but it was like good cop (Felix), bad cop (Corvin), and angry cop (Sonny). They're all going to horny jail.
- Red Flag Rating - 4/5 - coercion, grooming, and conditioning Romina ain't it for me. Definitely not a turn on to take advantage of someone naïve like Romina.
Stupid Scale
- So Stupid
Trigger warning - A LOT - death of parents, trauma, murder, death, suicidal thoughts, disembowelments, dismembering, drowning, dubious consent, physical assault (not between MCs), bomb threat, mutilation, child abuse, neglect, Satanic worship, incestuous situation
Kinks - sexual asphyxiation, choking, unprotected sex, light degradation, blood play, knife play, eating period blood (ya'll need Purell), anal, double penetration, spit roast, MMF, MMMF

I'm going to preface this review by saying dark romance is PROBABLY not for me. I really tried to like this book because I liked what I saw on booktok. It's inspired by Hunchback of Notredame, so I was so in for this tory. I loved what people were saying about it and I was so here for all the spice. I also liked some of the SPICY SPICY quotes in this book. But man, oh man, I just cannot suffer a stupid, boring FMC. I can't do it. Romina was just so boring. The story also left me wanting.

The Good

MOST of the sex was good. I came for the smut. I stayed for the smut. So it delivered on that. I got what I came for. If you just want a book that is straight up smut, this book is for you.
The concept was good taking place in a dystopian world.
I do enjoy a reverse harem story.
Reesa was also the best character in this. I enjoyed all the scenes she was in. I wish she were the main character, to be honest.

The Bad

The Story - The story doesn't exist. It begins...it info dumps...and then eventually it ends. Majority of the book is Romina trying to get dick. I wish the beginning wasn't just an info dump of the characters and the dystopian world and it was developed more throughout the story. But I felt like I was just thrown all this info and then a resolution gets tacked on at the very end.
Romina - Romina reminded me of all those smutty josei manga I would read where the FMC had virtually no personality and she was just there to be a sleeve for the love interest. She would cry out "no no, oh no stop" the whoooole time. She got on my nerves. Not a fan of this kind of character.
- Romina starts off incredibly naive and infantilized. She never really grows out of this. The way she speaks is infantilized. Her wants, needs, and motivation don't exist other than to get dick. Sometimes she gets 1 dick. Sometimes she gets 2 dicks. SOMETIMES she gets 3 dicks. Her entire self discovery and journey as a character is her getting dick.
- I'm also not into romanticizing conditioning someone infantilized like Romina into sex. She's literally conditioned and groomed the same day the 3 Male MCs find her, and she has no idea what's happening. The guys tell her she can do what she wants, but how can she when she's been sheltered all her life, and the first experiences she has getting attention and affection is by being coerced into sex. It's not a kink for me. It was just very uncomfortable.
- Romina is also just incredibly co-dependent, and doesn't show any agency for herself. Instead she bases all her decisions on if it will please the guys. This goes as far as how she dresses. There's one scene where she's given the option to wear red, but because the guys all wear black and they dressed her like she walked out of a Hot Topic, all she wants to wear is black and fishnet stockings. Give me a break. When she's asked a question or her opinion she looks to the guys for approval first. So annoying.
UNHYGENIC FUCKERY - I don't know what it is about dark romance stories and these germy ass kinks. I wanted to be turned on not get my germaphobia triggered. I'm not a fan of bloodplay, but I understand some people like the idea of contracting hepatitis. Fine, cool. I can get behind that. BUT WHERE I DRAW THE LINE AT IS PERIOD BLOOD. If a character wants to bang during her period, good for her. Power to her. Personally, I'd probably want to die during my period, but hey, different folks. But my issue is the whole period blood licking, consuming, etc. That needs its own trigger warning. I was NOT PREPARED for when
Felix fingerbangs Romina and then sucks on her period blood and then smears it on a grave. Then he takes her hand and walks away.
Sir?! I hope you purelled your hands after! And bleached out your damn mouth. I wanted to gag. This ain't it, ya'll. That shit is so dirty and foul. I don't find it sexy for a guy to go "Mmm, that's good uterine lining you're shedding there, pet." I DRAW THE LINE!
Felix, Corvin, and Sonny, honestly, egh. I liked Corvin the best, but to be honest, there's not too much development except them opening up to letting Romina into their Satanic Mean Girls Club.

Was it painful for me to read this? Not really. I actually didn't hate read this until probably 68% of the way. I just think a lot of dark romance is not for me, and while I did enjoy most of the smut minus the period blood nonsense, I just don't like having to deal with stupid, bland ass characters like Romina. Girl gave me nothing. But if you love dark romance, I think you'll enjoy this. Like I said previously, most of the sex scenes are hot. You just need to suspend all your brain cells and carry some bleach with you.

Content Warnings

kearstenkeepsreading's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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kassmin08's review against another edition

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No stranger to dark romance. That being said, I can't handle sexual activities with partners so innocent (regardless of age) this book had promise if it wasn't for the sexual abuse and constant bullying of the female main lead due to her ignorance and innocence

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alice_w_greenfield's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Post-Apocalyptic Reverse Harem / Why choose Romance. Stand-Alone book.

I enjoyed the characters growth and learning about the world the writer created.
This book is dark in nature, please see author's note or website for trigger warnings. Not intended for readers under 18.

Loosely based on the legend of Notre Dame. Romina is a secret only Father Frollo knows about, and that's the way he wants to keep it. Romina has been raised in a bell tower at a private Christian college locked away from the world. Father Frollo is the leader of the university and church. When three men, Sonny, Corvin, and Felix show up at the college and buy the church she is locked away in, Frollo panics because if anyone were to find out about Romina, he could be ruined.

Sonny, Corvin, and Felix are next in line to lead the largest Satanic cult. They have been tasked with finding all of Frollo's secrets by the current Satanic Cult Leader. When they find Romina in their church, they think she has been placed there to spy on them for Frollo.

The story follows Romina, Sonny, Felix, and Corvin in their journey to finding each others secrets and their place in the world.

I enjoyed the story. There are definitely some parallels to things that are currently happening, but is extreme enough to make it not too real. There is lots of Spice.

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azapolya's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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