Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Mit dem Herz durch die Wand by Mariana Zapata

41 reviews

libellumartinae's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I am not going to lie, I do feel a bit cheated by this book. it had so much potential and I was utterly thriving at the tropes used alongside the banter that we were first shown between the characters and although Aiden did not fully buy me over, I enjoyed Vanessa. Then the second part started and oh gods... it just felt too cheesy. Although this was supposedly a romance to me it just felt too swift especially as it created a kind of detachment between the two narrative parts of the book, that had me feeling utterly disappointed in my expectations.

I also feel like the fmc's backstory at some point was ridiculous instead of being hopeful and inspiring, especially as it lacked depth. I do feel like Aiden's own explanation behind his behavior of not being 'made for relationship' was extremely shallow and never deepened.

I also dreaded the involvement of themes of domestic violence, especially when they were just treated poorly and without an explanation that went longer than a few lines. especially when Aiden, himself, seemed a victim of domestic violence so it'd have been interesting to see something.

finally, another huge flaw, at least according to me, of this book is the fact that the harassment that Aiden faces from his fans is just ridiculed while it could have made for a good plot line, but instead Vanessa - a woman that supposedly like/love him - just ridicules him although he is clearly at unease.

I am honestly so very saddened by the disappointment of this book as it had, in the first, part all the cards to be genuinely interesting and wholesome but I felt like the romance wasn't just very good and neither the whole side characters and backstory.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment

intensej's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Vanessa "Van" Mazur has worked as a personal assistant for Aiden Graves, award winning defensive end for the National Football Organization, for two years. Aiden has never shown any interest in being friendly with Vanessa, and she is ready to move on and focus on her graphic design business. After he humiliates her and doesn't stand up for her, she quits on the spot. Aiden finds her after several weeks and asks her to come back to work for him. When Van learns that Aiden's work visa is about to expire, she jokingly suggests that he find someone to marry in order to obtain his green card. Aiden seizes on her idea and claims that he likes her as much as he likes anyone. Can Van set aside her crush on Aiden and keep to the rules of the business relationship they have established? 

I loved the premise of this book. Aiden was a really charming and realistic character. I liked seeing Val's loving relationship with Aiden's roommate, another professional football player, Zac. Zapata really drags things out in this book, and the slow burn was almost too much. I felt like there should have been more sex scenes in this book for how slow the relationship moved. I found the constant references to Van's abusive childhood to be too intense for a contemporary romance. I wish there was another book that followed Zac's story, but this appears to be a standalone. Fans of sports romance and marriage of convenience tropes will love this book. 

Content: mentions of child abuse, some swearing, some fighting, sex 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Violence

Minor: Sexual harassment

sebradley29's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Deportation, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Cursing

hapalyn's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Bullying, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Sexual content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship and Sexual harassment

kirstenpod_'s review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Body shaming, and Death

kponturo's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment

hecksbecks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• 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

I have never felt more seen as a reader. I know, I know, there are A-LOT of authors out there that are able to conjure a character that looks like us all and reminds us of ourselves. HOWEVER, Van was just this perfect little combination of every niche imaginable and I loved her. As always with these kitschy romance novels the ending felt rushed but in this case it was okay because we were teased with a slow burn the whole damn time. The characters mesh well with one another and the prose is easy to read, I’d recommend it to someone who was a fan of these kinds of books for sure. I also see myself reading more from Zapata in the near future. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders

xennial_reader's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

2.0

I’m so disappointed in this book, I had such high hopes. I’ve seen so many people rave about it and the new cover is freaking adorable. But this easily could’ve been 100-150 pages shorter. 

The traumatic backstories for both main characters was over the top and with not much payoff for suffering through reading about it. 

There were so many opportunities for the main characters to connect and realize their feelings for each other but then we’d get a cut scene and then it would suddenly be a week later with no progress in their relationship. It also felt like “wait until marriage” was the underlying message here, even though that’s never outwardly said. 

There’s also only so much broody-ness I can handle. Aiden is a complete emotional wall. I mean, I get he’s the wall of Winnipeg but this was a lot. He gives absolutely nothing to Vanessa until she’s threatened or encroached upon in some way and even then he’s rounding it out by telling her to “shut up”. 

I wish I had known more about this so I could’ve DNF’d, but then I had gotten too far and had to see it through to figure out what all the hype was about. I still don’t get it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

readingwithaddi's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual harassment

joey_paige's review against another edition

relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Violence, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Deportation, Grief, and Sexual harassment