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bremcfarland's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Grief, and War
knl0819's review against another edition
3.0
I also didn’t really like how as the book progressed and the more Sara fell for Tristan the more weak she came across. For example, she finds out that she’s been lied to, but then automatically believes what that same person says after that which is weird to me because this man has lied to you for your whole life why on earth did you believe anything that comes out of his mouth! Also, after her and Tristan hook up for the first time all she talks about is that he did that because he cares about her. Which was very annoying because it was brought up like five times within like two chapters of them like fully hooking up. I was like stand up like what are you doing! Then towards the end all of her motivation for her behavior is gone and it’s just because it’s what he wants. She started out with like a lot of agency and then as the book went on, it felt like it got taken away from her and she just was following Tristan’s plans.
A little random criticism was that there was like three specific phrases that were used in this book that felt very Game of Thrones and I didn’t like that. The phrases blood of my blood and queen of the ashes were used in this book which felt kind of weird.
This book was entertaining, but just kind of lukewarm. There were definitely moments that I enjoyed like Sarah in the first half of the book, Tristan‘s backstory with his father and the twist at the end related to Sara being lied to we’re all very cool moments, but I definitely hit some lows in the story. Also, for those of you not aware, he pours wax on her when they hook up the first time which was not expected. They also had discussions of like her being his property towards the end, which got kind of crazy for me personally.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and War
ladybeez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book is based on Disney’s classic The Lion King which is a furry version of Hamlet. This book is a bastardization of both with gratuitous violence and death.
“But it’s a dark romance!,” you say. “It’s supposed to be fucked up!” You say.
There was no real romance to this. Tristan is pathetic and kills people to deal with it. Sara is a pawn who kills people because she thinks she’s going to get revenge.
But then after they murder everyone and sacrifice their followers that, at least Tristan, look down on in disgust, Tristan gives the thrown to Simon? In what world does that power hungry miserable sod give up a kingdom that he convinced everyone that he didn’t burn down.
Anyway, I’m all for a red flag hero, but good LORD, this man had no redeeming qualities. Apparently he was good at sec, but she was a virgin, so she doesn’t know.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Classism
jordyyy101's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
sg_is_reading's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
kenzie_simone456's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, and War
thepeculiarlibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Classism
iamsammie27'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and War
rainbowflamingos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, and War
readyforit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book is kind of a hamlet/lion king retelling but again for the never after series, it seems the author is mostly using names and places and vague plot lines. I’d say this plot more strictly adhered to hamlet than hooked did to Peter Pan though. I like this book but I definitely liked hooked better. It’s a slow burn historical romance (light on history, heavy on romance), so all the spice is within the last 40% of the book.
I really liked Tristan’s character, as he’s the kind of morally gray for a good cause that I can get behind! He’s the kind of man who would burn the world or cut off a man’s hand for touching his woman. He’s definitely very possessive. He’s the definition of no grave could hold me down, I’ll crawl home to her. I loved his audiobook narrator as well.
One of the main complaints I have that is I listened along to the audiobook while reading the KU ebook and there are some major differences between the two. Some are minor like sentence structure (which can happen if narrators/editors don’t catch them) but also the ebook completely eliminated 90% of the lion king nods. For example, Tristan calls Simon “little tiger” in the ebook but “little lion” in the audiobook. The very end conflict is COMPLETELY different between the two versions and I’m not sure why?
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
There’s a lotta death in this one