Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Lilac

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Lilac by B.B. Reid

17 reviews

bookwxrmvictoria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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tianabooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

I had a complicated journey with this book. I picked this up because I've been in a big RH binge and, even more so, rockstar romances tend to almost always work for me.

The beginning was anticipated and I immediately appreciated how headstrong Braxton was; the clash between her and the guys brought a lot of tension and created interesting banter. I mean, the dudes were awful to her at first but we all know this was going to change eventually. Although there seemed to be an 'insta-lust' component, it didn't really bother me. The more mature scenes were done well; a lot of steam and multiple explicit scenes. I liked the synesthetic part - it was an interesting take on the condition and the descriptions were done well. The significance of the title was pretty sweet as well as well as the epilogue! An epilogue after some time, beautiful.

The issues for me were more dynamic and structure based. Even though there are three (3) guys, emphasis seemed to be primarily on one of them, with the other two feeling more like extra features instead of solid parts of the 'harem' dynamic. For example, the large conflict at the later part of the book revolved around that guy. On top of it, we got the backstory of one of the guys at the 90% point of the book, AFTER the resolution of the twist/main issue. It didn't feel as significant at that point, which is a sad thing to say because it was pretty serious. There was SO much miscommunication, lack of willingness to discuss anything, tantrums thrown by multiple characters. It became a tad bit 'too much'.
I would've also liked to see more of the concert atmosphere, the audience vibes, the adrenaline rush since it is a rockstar-romance book. But that is a more personal preference.

In general, the writing was good and I know there are people who loved this, which is absolutely fine! I just had some issues with it. :)

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bbygirl21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow this was a pretty heavy book. Each one of the characters had something happen in their past which makes them somewhat "broken" in a way. Which I think makes them connect on a deeper level.

I really enjoyed seeing the ups and down of all their relationships and seeing the three guys start connecting again. I think Braxton is just what Houston, Loren, and Jericho (Rich) needed to make them come together again as friends.

Braxton is a very strong independent and badass woman who took none of the crap the guys through at her. She gave as good as she got. And I guess that could stem from the past abuse she got from her parents and their church.

I'm glad Braxton was able to get out of that life once she had come of age where she didn't have to listen to her parents anymore.

The ending of this story couldn't have been more perfect. This was a very beautiful and sexy read. I highly enjoyed it.

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sultrytartreviews's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wow this book was a very different read than anything I've tried in the past. I wasn't sure a 4 star rating was warranted, but I couldn't put the book down and I was really driven to finish. So I couldn't justify giving it a lower rating. Short answer is yes, I believe this was worth the read and I would try other books from this author. There were some parts I wish had been handled better, especially since this was such a long book-honestly, we had time for it all. I liked the band and travel aspect of the story. And I'm always down for some dirty talking and dominance in the steamy scenes.

I wish we would have unraveled the character's pasts and personalities a little more. The majority of the past issues our MCs face didn't show up until later and I would have preferred to have at least had insight added more evenly along the way to allow for more character development and understanding. Speaking of development...I did like our male MCs...but they went from being total jerks to flipping on their feelings and deciding to fight for a real relationship with Braxton really quickly (like whiplash fast). I wanted to see their growth and understanding of one another unfolded instead of being plopped down. This story had a lot of extreme plot added towards the end, which was kinda ridiculous seeing as how the majority of the book is just MCs fighting and f*cking. Not a lot of serious conversations are had and when they do finally happen towards the end, we don't get to sit in on them, they're just recapped. I really didn't need the

Emily comes back

plot at all. I was also a bit disappointed in the immaturity displayed by the MCs throughout the book. It wasn't something I'd harp on-and remember, Braxton IS ONLY 22-but it did start to grate towards the end. No one in this group of four people could just sit down and have an honest conversation. Lastly, I really wanted there to be a better foundation and dive into

Loren and Rich's relationship dynamic and history

. You can't introduce this and then leave it there like a poorly seasoned hummus that everyone at the table was excited for, but quickly realized would only lead to empty calories.

CW: emotional abuse and bullying (both from MC's past and from MC to MC). Multiple sexual partners (MMMF) including male/male sexual scenes, threesome scenes, and sharing of partners.

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