ohkaereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Confinement, and Mental illness
dalmavatai's review against another edition
However, I think this book is just poorly executed. The characters and the relationships are not developed well enough for me to believe in them, and the dynamics of an abusive relationship are equally poorly written. It feels like the author read a blog post about Abuse 101 and clumsily inserted every point at random intervals throughout the story. Like, all the dynamics - Jonah gaslighting himself and his experience of abuse, Richard compensating with meaningless shopping sprees after something bad happens - feel disingenuous, insincere; I just wasn't convinced by the author that these characters and relationships are real. They feel very one-dimensional, pawns to illustrate the author's point but lacking in development and depth.
This is really my main issue with the story but I also wanted to mention that of course it's really important to shed light on how old men can coerce younger men into playing out their BDSM fantasies - but BDSM is not inherently abusive. I think Jonah's daddy issues stemming from his homophobic father and wanting to please both him and God in his deeply Christian family is really interesting and will no doubt resonate with a lot of people's experience, but I think it's important to note that wanting to be dominated in sex is not inherently 'pathological', and even if it stems from mommy/daddy issues, it's still a valid sexual preference and people can engage in BDSM and have it be a healthy dynamic (that doesn't mean that we can't or shouldn't interrogate cultural trends around daddy issues, but it does mean that we shouldn't pathologize individuals with these sexual preferences because that doesn't help anyone).
Also, if you still want to read this book, please please look into trigger warnings, this book covers very heavy subjects and all the things I listed under 'graphic' content warnings are indeed EXTREMELY graphic.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Confinement, Drug use, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, and Violence
foxmulders's review
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Incest
kwarnimont's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Kidnapping, Violence, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Confinement
Moderate: Classism
shereadytoread's review
1.5
First trigger warnings: this book is FILLED and very frequent sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse. I would estimate there was 1.5/10+ sexual scenes that were openly consensual. It is the premise of almost the entire story. There is also exploration of conversion therapy, homophobic families/churches and financial abuse.
Those trigger warnings are why this story being marketed as a "thriller" is completely wrong to me. This book very explicitly explores how a man uses financial abuse to entrap a man that has already been sexually abused in the past. Nothing about this is "thrilling". There are no plot twists. It is a straightforward horrific story. There was nothing I didn't expect and spent time trying to figure out, other than how this terrible abuse would be resolved. I'm not sure how any of this is "thrilling". It is compelling, gritty, and it is fast-paced. I read it in one sitting (partially because if I put it down, I doubt I would have picked it up again). It makes callbacks to #MeToo in some ways I won't really explain because they are spoilers, but I think it missed the mark.
Disclaimer: I received a free finished copy from the publisher.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Violence
jessicamarie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Confinement
bluehairedlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
With that said, this book is dark and traumatic, but the writing quality kept me reading despite the horrors on the page. Jonah is a compelling narrator and I sympathized with him while also thinking he was a complete idiot at times. The situations he got himself into could be excused by his naivete and Midwestern religious upbringing, but at the same time, he was incredibly naïve. He's also a very unreliable narrator, but I liked the framework that is revealed later on in the book. I thought it a bit strange for it suddenly to revolve around his non-relationship with a side character, and the ending felt strange and little forced.
I can't say I enjoyed this book, but I don't regret finishing it either. It's difficult and does not fall under the Gothic Horror trope at all. It's a difficult read, but a mostly well-written one.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Torture
lvluplevi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Drug use
enchantressreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia, Confinement, and Torture
Minor: Suicide
rachel_sf's review
4.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry