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wickeddelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I could not for the life of me connect with our MMC, Tristan. For 99% of the book he was worse than the actual "villian" of the story, Michael. He delights in torture, he threatens to have a woman 'graped' by everyone of his followers (Not once, but twice!), tortures his best friend, the list goes on. The man can't keep his hands off of his joints (coincidentally enough, both of his joints are stored in his trousers) he was either lighting up, or getting hard while Sara our FMC was constantly thinking about stuff oozing from her pores, or describing how her emotions directly effected her stomach or throat.
Every time I thought that Tristan was getting more bearable as an FMC, or being less of a creep like he would do or say something just weird or awful WITHIN two pages, every time.
The setting itself felt confusing and inconsistent at times. The year it takes place is listed at the beginning of the book, but it just doesn't translate into how things are described. There is an old timey castle still lit by candles and sconces, and yet there is also automobiles and guns. The old world setting also translates into a phrase in the book as well when someone is described as being like a red-headed step child, but REALLY that is just mild when compared to the "C*m seeping out of her pores" line.
It just wasn't for me.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kiarra_s's review against another edition
- 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 really enjoyed this! I liked the love story between the main characters, and I loved all the loose similarities to The Lion King! This was well-written, and I can’t wait to try the other books in the series!
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Classism
things100'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent
jessanicolesingh'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
4.5
The story and “twists” were predictable at times, but overall it was still a great read. There were some clever tie-ins to the original tale, but also a lot of cheesy parallels (like are you kidding me with Paul Wartheg 🤣)
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Torture, Violence, Abortion, and Abandonment
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
filipa_maia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Once again, dark romance / smut is not my favorite genre but, after 'Hooked', I was willing to give it a go. After this book I don't know anymore. The characters are horribly written, the plot is terrible, and the pacing... Jesus... even if you only read this for the steamy, even that was the worst.
At least Hook had some (very few) redeeming qualities!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, and Classism
savage_book_review'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
3.5
However, the narrators were all wrong for the characters in my opinion. The biggest issue for me is that Tristan's narrator has a voice that sounds far too old for the character! When paired with the youthful, saccharine sweet voice of Sara's narrator, this alone detracts greatly from his character. It made it really hard to imagine him as a devastatingly handsome 26 year old dark Prince and kept giving me big age gap, overbearing letch vibes. Sara's voice is probably a bit closer to my expectations, but it felt like it was missing the core of steel that the character has - she almost has the opposite problem of sounding too young. There was also a lot of gasping for breath between sentences, which got on my nerves after a while.
As a whole, it does do a good job at bringing the story to life, and in some respects I think it probably does a better job than the paperback at conveying the build up. But it does also highlight some of the flaws in the writing (I didn't realise the amount of times a character 'tsks' until I listened to this!) which you probably don't notice as prominently when reading a physical copy.
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Abortion, Outing, and Alcohol
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
bgarske's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The twists!
Most importantly, the love is so, so beautifully written. Honestly, all the emotions are beautifully written.
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury
No rape