Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall

45 reviews

dezzella's review

dark emotional tense medium-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

3.5

I liked this dark romance, it was pretty good. This book is a stalker romance that deals a lot with religious trauma and revolves around our main character who is very involved in her church. The first part of the book grabbed my attention, I was curious where the story threads were going, however the last part is mostly spice/romance focused rather than the plot. The plot does get tied together at the end, but I think it got drowned out with the spice. This isn't necessarily bad, but I had wished the spice and plot had been balanced better in the latter half of the book.

Still our love interest here is very unhinged and completely obsessed with our main character, and takes delight in corrupting her. It's a fairly fun read for those who like dark romance and fast paced as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, and Murder

monica0309's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"Her understanding of love is entirely different from mine. Her lens, through which she sees the world around her is warped, in my opinion. But to her, my lens is a direct reflection of the pain I’ve yet to surrender. 'Some would call me broken... but I’ve never known anything other than the comfort of my pieces.'”

I didn’t know much about this story going into it. I read Hawke by the author & everyone raved about this one, so I picked it up. The duet audio performance was incredible in bringing these words to life! This is a dark one, like with a capital "D" but it’s also a beautiful one. Heartbreaking at times, edge-of-your-seat suspenseful at others, and always well-written. Fans of dark romance with a splash of crazy, some effed-up misogyny & an unhinged kind of “sik” love, then this is definitely the read for you!

“I don’t expect a simplistic love with Aero. It will never be normal, just as it shouldn’t. It’s complicated. It’s an abstract piece that’s painted with harsh strokes of pain, jarring splashes of deception, and obscene colors that scream in the face of injustice. I shouldn’t need to change him, and honestly, I don’t want to. But what I desire more than anything is an alignment of souls set in our own unbreakable bond.”

This was my darkest romance read thus far, but I knew I could trust Jescie’s beautiful writing. On the surface, this is a book about exploring desire, escaping oppression (mainly religious), and getting revenge. That’s completely true, this book contains the dark versions of all those themes. I mean it, this book is dark and true to its genre. But what I loved about Jescie’s writing were the layers of storytelling she gave us. There was mystery, a heist of sorts, assassin/hitman-style of revenge, a twisted love story, and discovering oneself.

And I have to say: if Chapters 54/55 of ACOMAF are the “ultimate, drop the mic” chapters for romantasy fans, then That Sik Luv’s Chapters 43/44 are the dark romance equivalent. Seriously! “Worth” and “Abstract Love” are poetic, tragic, emotional, beautiful, and unfortunately a representative experience for too many people. The audio performance during these chapters was incredible. And Jescie Hall's words are spectacular. Bravo! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Stalking

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Hate crime, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

This is a DARK book about taking down a religious cult society using dark methods. Please read the content warnings on the author's website or in the book itself.

bookabundance's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Murder

allymurphy's review against another edition

4.5

unexpectedly quick read, I finished over the course of two days. very enjoyable, not at all a literary masterpiece but delightful nonetheless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

klantz's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

ghostiechels's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Murder

jdeeyore's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting

carrieleaharris's review against another edition

DNF. 35% It goes too far. Even for me. Plot doesn't carry so you really need something to latch onto. Well the spice just went too far. It wasn't sexy, it was rape. He wasn't good to her in or out of bed. He's like, I'm not killing you, so now you're my slave for life. And he smells like sulfur? So he smells like rotten eggs? Eww. Every time he had her suck his tongue that's what I was thinking, and I couldn't get past it. There were certain things that reminded me of HA... the roses, the gun, the chase, but the book doesn't reach the same conclusion. Not hot, not fun. The only thing I liked was when she stabbed him. Every time. That shit was good. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment

adelagx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia

Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Pregnancy