Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Hooked by Emily McIntire

49 reviews

filipa_maia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

So, this was my first dark romance / smut read, and although this is not my preferred genre, I did appreciate this book.

The characters are complex, with a background that really explains where they are now, they have good arcs, and overall this book has a decent plot. I predicted part of the final plot, but not all, so I still got surprised.

Mostly, I liked the fact that Wendy wasn't completely removed from managing her own life - okay, maybe after what happened she didn't have much of a choice, but still.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity and Vomit

kylasmv15's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Vomit, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

sleeping_unicorn's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

galleytrot's review against another edition

• 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

4.25

READ: Mar 2024 

FORMAT: Digital 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5⭐ 

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.25 / 5⭐ 

FINAL – OVERALL: 4.25 / 5⭐ 

In this book, Wendy is feeling a little lost in her father’s apparent lack of interest in either hers or her brother’s lives, and a rebellious night out with her coworkers has her stumbling into the arms of a very dangerous man. As she sets foot in the doors of the Jolly Roger, James recognizes Wendy immediately as the daughter of the man who ruined his life, and while it surprises him that Peter is in the area, unfettered access to his daughter – famously his pride and joy – is fortuitous beyond expectations. Revenge all too sweet is finally within his grasp, and it would be made all the sweeter with Wendy broken and used up by his side. 

Fairy tale reimaginings are something I need more of in my life, and who doesn’t like to root for the heinous, irredeemable villain every once in a while? When my friend proposed this as our next buddy-read, it felt like a good choice, mixing flavours of fantasy, crime, romance, and drama – something for each of us. I might not claim that this story is especially original or clever, but because I don’t stray from my normal genre all that often it was very much new and novel. Some things felt well-thought-out while others felt a bit silly or ham-fisted. I liked that the author wasn’t precious about sticking to the motivations and relationships of the characters from the original works, although plenty of recognizable winks and nods were given to keep the reader looking for them. 

One thing my friend and I agreed on is that towards the end of the book, at the reveal of the even eviller villain, while adequately set up throughout the story, didn’t come with a very satisfying explanation. We were both left with far too many questions regarding their motivations and their ability to orchestrate the events of this book, with so much dependence on random chance. The stars wound up aligning so perfectly to set off a specific set of events, and the idea that the villain would wait in the shadows for as long as they did doesn’t honestly make much sense to me. These notes aside, the book still captivated the both of us completely, and was likely made better as a shared experience. We had a good time, and we are likely to continue on with the series over time. 

This book has at least one character who is portrayed as non-white; there is otherwise little else in the way of diversity. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains:

death, murder, torture, violence; blood, injuries, gore; weapon violence (knives, guns); alcohol use; implication of past incestuous sexual assault of a minor; past physical abuses of a minor; past parent deaths (car accident, plane crash); drug trafficking; mentions of bullying; kidnapping, confinement; fire/arson; mentions of drug addiction; animal abuse; drug abuse; mention of past infidelity; and, vomiting.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Abandonment

graciegru's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.0

If you like smut in between gruesome torture and murder then this is the book for you. It’s not my cuppa tea, but to each their own. I felt like most of the book was sex. I wish there was more development from when Hook/James started to fall for Wendy. It felt like he switched  from wanting her for  revenge then loving her… just a little odd. 

 The end was nice and heartwarming, though so there’s a plus

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Stalking

emileical's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

mollyamalia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

cristina_reading24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Car accident and Pregnancy

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

xabbeylongx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Spoilers Ahead: 

I was so excited to read this book. I literally thought of nothing else, and when I saw that it was on Kindle Unlimited, I was over the moon! I couldn’t believe my luck. Let’s just say, I heard a lot of things about this book, and yet I still was not expecting what I read. 

This novel is based off Peter Pan, in that instead of falling in love with the hero, the protagonist falls in love with a villain. 

We follow Wendy throughout her life. Her friend, Angie, wants her to go out with her and Maria. Now, Maria has never really liked Wendy, so she doesn’t want to go, but after a snideful comment from her, she decides she will show her that Maria doesn’t get her down, and goes out with them. 

They travel to the Jolly Roger, where they talk about this mysterious guy - named ‘Hook’ who owns the bar… Marie has a crush on him, and often waits for him to arrive. 

Maria bumps into someone called James, and he flirts with her, and he won’t take no for an answer. He finds her at her coffee shop, where she works, and then finds her at the Jolly Roger again. From the look on Maria’s face, she knows that James is actually Hook, and he gets them free drinks and she agrees to go on a date with him. He’s an attractive man, and she’s excited, but little does she know that he is uninterested in her, and he is using her to get back at her father. 

Peter Michaels is a very well-known business, and one that’s very powerful too. James - Hook - was on one of his flights - NevAirLand - and everyone passed but him. He has no family, and has spent his life seeking revenge. And he decides to use his daughter to get at him. 

Little does he know, however, that Wendy is sick of her father putting everyone else before them. She enrols Jon, her brother, into boarding school, taking away one of the people she’s closest to. He’s never given Jon the love he deserves, and since he’s never around, Wendy harbours a little resentment for him. 

James takes her on a date, and he ends up taking her virginity. When he finds his business partner and father-figure tied up to a tree, brutally gutted, he thinks it must be Wendy’s fault. He thinks that she is in cahoots with her father, and so he threatens her, and puts her in a cell. 

He parades her about after kidnapping her like a dog on a leash and he shows her off to her father, who tries to warn Wendy against him. As he spots the rivalry between the two, James realises that Wendy had nothing to do with it, and whilst he’s falling for her, he’s terrified that she will never forgive him for what he’s done to her. Eventually she does forgive him, and he lets her free, and they both decide to pursue things romantically. 

Wendy is called to their house after Jon is back home, her father saying he has something important to tell them. When she gets there, though, she knows it’s a trap. Tina, her father’s assistant and ‘little bitch’, attacks her, and then she gets knocked out. Before too late, James realises that he has been betrayed by one of his own. Moira, whom he used to use for his, ahem, desires, thought he treated everyone like shit, and she was working with someone called Croc. She tells him that Croc has Wendy, and he goes to find her. 

He finds her tied to a chair, and he finds out that Smee, his first mate and also the person who he brought in from the streets when he was a child, is the one behind it. They are cousins! His father - James’s Uncle - was abusive, and James killed him. In front of Smee, apparently, and he’s all been seeking revenge. Peter Michaels shoots Smee, although they very quickly find out that he would have sacrificed Wendy to keep himself okay. 

Turns out, Jon wasn’t Peter’s, and that’s why he had James’s family killed. James and Jon are half brothers, as they share the same dad. Wendy manages to kill her father and Tina, before moving on to have a family with James. 

So this book wasn’t actually the greatest book I’d ever read, unfortunately. It was the sheer amount of sex and, essentially, pornographic visuals that were created. I can’t stand books where the relationships are built solely off of lust, control and extreme stupidity, and it feels like this book defined exactly that. I’m all for a bit of rough and tumble, but this was excessive, and it was pages and pages and pages, and it contributed nothing to the plot. And if James mentioned his boner one more time, I was going to scream; there are other personality traits to have other than being horny! And Wendy, darling, what are you doing? This man held you captive, held a knife to your throat? I can get behind a little rough stuff, but there’s rough stuff and then there’s attempted murder. Come on, babe, you’re better than that. In this regard, I feel like Wendy is no better than every other Disney princess who expects someone to come and save them. Although maybe McIntire was going for that vibe, replicating Wendy just how she was in the movie/book, and if that’s the case, it’s very clever, and I hold my hat up to her (my pirate hat, ooh-argh). 

The ending was a bit too cutsie-pie for me, also. Everything tied up in a neat bow, and I hate it when that happens - it’s just so unrealistic! All of a sudden Maria is nice to Wendy, Angie gives her her job backhand she starts dating James - and all is forgiven! This guy tried to kill you! Why are you so easily accepting of this life and the crime that comes with it? If someone came up to me, admitted to not only Killy people, but torturing them as well, I don’t think the door will even have started to close by the time I ran out. Wendy Michaels just seems really, sincerely stupid, and I wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. The only mildly good character is Jon, and we don’t hear about him at all for the most of it. Maria and Angie are proper bitchy, giving off mean girl vibes, and James is just insane and sexually driven - it’s mad! 

I did predict that Smee was somehow involved, but Moira got me, I’ll admit. Especially with the new tattoo bit, I thought that was insanely clever. And with the names as well, like the Jolly Roger and, especially, NevAirLand… I thought that was brilliant. See the thing is I get it was supposed to be a smutty book, but also if the sex scenes had been dialled down, merely hinted at, I think the book would have rated so much higher for me. If you take out the sex scenes, not much of the book remains. You could have added so much more to the plot, which was already incredible. Maybe we could have had more flashbacks, see more into James’s past, see more as to why he was like the way he was, so we could bond with him more as a character. I don’t know. I just think it had so much potential, but it was a little bit ruined by the toxicity of the relationship, unfortunately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Grief