Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Ruthless People

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Ruthless People by J.J. McAvoy

9 reviews

johannaag's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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zia_c's review against another edition

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dark fast-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

To be concise, a potential story utterly ruined.

To be wordy: The protagonists, in their delusional grandeur, are on a perpetual power trip. The male lead, a duplicitous snake, displays hypocrisy of epic proportions. "Family is everything," he declares, all the while repeatedly betraying his own. His antics, driven purely by lust, reveal him as a petulant child masquerading as a man. He’s entirely charmless and witless; he swears like an adolescent sailor—high IQ, indeed. lmao.

The female lead initially seemed promising, basking in her intelligence and martial prowess, until she inexplicably decides to shoot a pregnant woman. 🙄

I'm not some raging pro-lifer, but seriously, why do that just because you can? There are countless ways to get answers quickly. Smh.

Also, my disdain for "body betrayal syndrome" is profound and unwavering.

One would assume that such a powerful woman would be beyond the throes of lust, yet she proves otherwise. Every time she contemplates flinging herself at her soon-to-be husband, I find myself stabbing my screen with a stylus. Some boss. Tch!

Achluophobia, it seems, is her well-kept secret.

The mass slaughter of innocents never makes sense throughout the story. Are we to believe that two minor Mafia factions are more malevolent and powerful than our politicians? Nonsense! In any believable tale, meddling with a politician and his city results in retribution tenfold, even in fiction.

The female lead is a hypocrite too, and harbours a subtle misogyny. Her derisive thoughts about other women, particularly a charitable character, are infuriating. She's far from a girl's girl. I've encountered formidable female characters who never needed to denigrate others to validate their worth, especially to family. In hindsight, her solitary slap was a mercy. She needed more of that growing up. The baby, I daresay, will fare better in a slum than with parents like these.

My loathing for this tale is boundless. How I managed to finish this book is a mystery even to me.

Neal, Declan, and their wives deserve far better than the indignity of being treated as third-class citizens within their own homes. Declan, in particular, needs to get his act together.

The female lead, I fervently hope, gets a thorough thrashing from her mother. A murderer of innocents who peddles drugs to children warrants no sympathy. She eradicates families with a nonchalance that is truly abhorrent. 😒 I can’t with that. No.

This narrative is a travesty, and I lament the squandered potential. (And my precious time💔)

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