Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Scarred by Emily McIntire

62 reviews

sshpurple1's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-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

5.0

This is sort of a retelling of The ‘Lion King.’ Set in what I would guess is the late 1800s to early 1900s, it is a story of revenge and revolution. If you are looking for a Fractured fairy tale, slow-burn dark romance that is easy to read, this is for you.

Content Warnings

eliza_book_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

efetojhjhjhjhrffrfrfrfr⭐️ 4 stars

CAWPILE Rating System:

Characters = 8/10

Atmosphere = 7/10

Writing Style = 7/10

Plot = 7.5/10

Intrigue (drive to keep reading) = 8/10

Logic = 6.5/10

Enjoyment = 7/10

Trigger Warnings:

Severe - torture & violence
Moderate - sexual assault
Mild - child abuse (retrospective)

⛰ What It's About

Duel POV of two protagonists - the second-born prince & the rebel king, Tristan Faasa - & a high-born lady of a neighbouring kingdom & spy/assassin, Sara. When Sara is betrothed to the current King Michael Faasa, she travels to his kingdom with a secret agenda of assassinating all the Faasas. She finds herself bumping into Tristan and a dark connection starts to build, but this relationship may make them both question their goals and compromise their positions. It is also apparently inspired by an alternate ending of The Lion King.

🔍 How I Discovered It

This was my IRL book club’s choice for August.

🧠 Thoughts

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend checking trigger warnings before reading. I really felt the characters and I found it was easy to read and intriguing. The romance was dark and dirty and this was a new experience for me, I won’t say it is my favourite type of romance but I thought it was done well for the genre. The male love interest was dominant and yet, didn’t overshadow the female protagonist which I thought was masterfully done.

What I Liked About It

I thought the speed of the relationship between Sara & Tristan wasn’t insta-love & felt fairly believable.
Sarah as a character was portrayed as a very resourceful and strong female lead and having a relationship with Tristan didn’t change that about herself, which I respected. Tristan respected her strength and never tried to change her. Yes there were a lot of mild BDSM kinks, but this was clearly a sexual preference rather than a reduction of Sara’s strength and independence, as it done in many other novels.

What I Didn't Like About It

The ending felt a little too convenient and fast - how the protagonists managed to get themselves out of certain situations towards the climax of the story and the reader was given a vague description of how this occurred or not told at all. It made important scenes feel a little too convenient for my taste.
I didn’t exactly like that Michael’s mental health was demonised and seen as a weakness, even though it developed after he made some terrible decisions. He was sometimes referred to as mad and weak, which just didn’t sit too well with me. I personally felt that Michael wasn’t a terrible person and made cruel decisions because of how he was raised and who was whispering in his ear. I just felt so bad for Michael in this book, I’m not sure if this is a dislike aspect or maybe it was written well to make readers feel that way. It still hurt.

🥰 Who Would Like It?

If you like dark romance that isn’t too dark within the romance & you are okay with the trigger warnings.
If you like a touch of villain-gets-the-girl vibes.

Content Warnings

marblepancake's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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swolds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

After Hooked, I was expecting something more fast paced. The first 200 pages was hard to get through because of the slow burn and the plot being rather slow as well. But, once the plot got more serious and we got a clearer look at the characters’ relationships between each other as well as learning more about the past, the book was simply great.

One thing that made me push through this book was Tristan’s relationship with Simon and how he treats him like his own son. It was a lovable, beautiful ship between those two. Especially when Sara got to know and care more for Simon as well.

The book takes place in a fictional land, back into the 1900’s, so it is a dark romance that takes place in «way back in the days» to say the least. The mindset of women should stand at the man’s side and look pretty and give heirs contra the way our society is today.

Overall, after the first 200-250 pages where the book finally picked up, I didn’t want to put it down. It is a book for an aquired taste, but worth reading. There sure are good things to come as you read on.

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theemangomami's review against another edition

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I could only get into it to a certain point before it became a bit more torture porn-y for my taste.

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kerrythefire'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

3.75

Scar was one of my favorite villains when I was a kid, so I was biased going in. But glad the book didn't disappoint with it's reimagining! Honestly, the background plot was just as interesting as the love story and I sometimes forgot I wasn't just reading some adventure book.

Tristan was such a a compelling anti-hero because of all the social context surrounding his story and the greater plot, and his character development was believable. It didn't feel like anything ever just flipped on a dime... We got glimpses of his "goodness" with Simon early on so it wasn't like we hated him half the book and all of a sudden he changed so we'd like him the second half. I mean, he was brutal af throughout too.

But that scene with Tristan and Simon under the willow where Tristan is drawing the picture of Sara... 🥲 I did not expect to get choked up! My heart was not prepared for little Simon.

Sara was fierce in her own right. I really liked having two strong-willed MCs and that she pushed back on Tristan so hard and didn't just fall in instalove with him. Her character development was also super believable in the story which felt satisfying.

TW: there is a bit of explicit gory torture, described in detail (one scene in particular), in this book which... is just not my thing. (Although listening to it in audio format may have made it worse 😳) Honestly it's what made me mark the book down a little bit. Without it, it prob would have been 4⭐ for me.

Content Warnings