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icezoot's review against another edition
1.75
Spoiler warning.
You know, I really was enjoying this book. At first. Hence the two stars instead of one. But by the time I’d reached the 50% my blood boiling.
You know, I really was enjoying this book. At first. Hence the two stars instead of one. But by the time I’d reached the 50% my blood boiling.
Get ready for a rant.
I’ve never quite felt as violated and disgusted as I did when reading this book, specifically, through the 45-60% portion. Usually there are so early warning signs and red flags that tell me that I’m not going to enjoy this book, or the male lead. But this time the author had hidden those red flag really fcking well, and I made it half-way through before I was so angry I was literally shaking.
Not only is this 30-year-old man viewing and treating his 20-year-old female student as a sextoy for him to play with. He also uses her attraction towards him to manipulate her into accepting his treatment, and then lets other JOIN IN ON TREATING HER THE SAME FCKING WAY.
He began to grope her during their yoga session and—when she was so worked up and so far gone to even think clearly— HE MADE THE FCKING YOGA INSTRUCTOR JOIN IN ON TOUCHING HER SEXUALLY.
Obviously, she felt extremely taken advantage of and disgusted afterwards. But when she confront him about this, her vile coach practically laughs in her face and calls her a “plaything”, and a “little doll”, and then mocks her how “you’re so easy to control, if I pushed you back on this seat right now, you’d spead your legs for me.”
Fcking. VILE.
🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪
He did this TWO DAYS BEFORE SHE WAS GOING TO COMPETE IN THE OLYMPICS.
I was hoping she’d slap the fck outta him.
At the very least, I wish she’d draw a parallel between what he and the yoga instructor did to her, and if she ever made him lay on the floor with her groping him and while her ex-boyfriend gave him a blowjob. I wonder how’d he feel about that after the lust had settled? Surely he’d feel no resentment for the female lead when she laughed in his face and mocked him, calling him a little boy-toy she could easily control.
Did she do that? Did she hit him? Yell at him? Tell him he was disgusting? Be angry that her coach is treating her like a wh*re? Did she at the VERY LEAST ignore him and give him the cold shoulder? Did she manage to conjure up a crumb of self-respect?
Or did she just continue to irrationally lust over this waste of fcking space? Place your bets.
… This girl is pathetic.
Despite that he TOLD HER TO HER FACE that he considered her a little fuckdoll, plaything, whatever, and that she was so easy to control, she continues to act JUST like that around him—like an easy wh*re.
Literally. He calls her easy. In his head. To her face.
And the next day, this is how this desperate b*tch acts during the event:
“He asked me questions as we danced and I mumbled replies, but my attention was on Erik—only Erik.”
“I nodded and spun around, trying to stay facing Erik. I watched him, wanting him to turn from the woman he was chatting with and lock eyes with me. I needed his gaze on my body, his attention on me, even just for a second.”
“Another coach walked up to chat with him and I sighed, fully aware that he was too busy to notice the fact that I was in the same room as him.”
“His hands tightened on my waist and I glanced over his shoulder again, helplessly drawn to Erik.”
“Erik was a foot away from me but he wouldn’t make eye contact, wouldn’t grace me with his gaze.”
BTCH SHUT THE FCK UP.
And all of this happens when he is being his usual manwh*re self and chatting up/touching other women.
“He could fuck her if he wanted to and the mere thought made my stomach turn. I wanted to march over there and lay some kind of claim to him; I wanted to scratch my hands down his chest and scar him so every woman that came after me would know he was mine.
When he finally turned to scan the room, I waited for him to find me.
I’m right here.”
“I needed to be closer to him, to catch his scent or hear his voice, something that would connect us. I walked right behind him and held my breath, expecting him to reach out and stop me, to call a fucking spade a spade.
He didn’t falter from his conversation, but one of the other coaches noticed me walking by and reached out to stop me.
“Oh, Erik! Isn’t this one yours?”
My back bristled as the group turned to asses me.
Yes. Tell them I’m yours, Erik.”
It gives… desperation.
It gives hoe behavior. It’s gives lack of self-respect.
I was so disgusted with her at this point, that I was ready to drop this fcking book. Fck the Olympics competition—you know the main fcking reason for why I even picked up this book to read in the first place, and the only reason I stuck around for as long as I did. I couldn’t stand the female and male lead for another damn second.
She is literally about to compete in the Olympics and become a gold medalist and she’s acting like a b*tch in heat for her no-name, despicable coach that gets off on treating her like she’s beneath him. Like this man has no medals or achievements under his belt.
Just why.
Why do you like him?
Why. The. Fck.
After the event—the same event where he humiliated her, ignored her, told her to go home early—he then proceeds to drag her into an alleyway and pushed her up against the wall and sexually assaults her. When she fights back, he mocks her and once again tells her that she is super easy.
She tells him to stop. He doesn’t, and forcefully continues to molest her.
“She was fighting me with her words, but she was rolling her hips against me. Even as she continued to push me away, she was getting herself off.”
“Such a good little doll.”
Not only does he force himself onto her, he does it in a manipulate way to make her think it’s consensual, EVEN AFTER SHE TRIED TO PUSH HIM OFF AND SAID NO!
He uses her lust against her to demean her. Mock her.
Vile, motherfcker.
"I'd been vulnerable and shaking, completely under his thumb. He was destroying me and he loved it.He wanted to rip my heart out for sport, to add it to his collection with all the others. I should have fought him more, but I liked it. I liked the way he ruined me."
"I'd been vulnerable and shaking, completely under his thumb. He was destroying me and he loved it.He wanted to rip my heart out for sport, to add it to his collection with all the others. I should have fought him more, but I liked it. I liked the way he ruined me."
And then, when she finally sees through his nature, and tries to stay away and hold him accountable for all of his past actions. This is all he had to say. This is his excuse. His
'apology'. And he says all of this with that stupid, self-serving smirk on his face. Like it's sooo funny to him.
"Fine, Brie. I'll play this game. You want me to beg?" His gaze dropped to my body slowly, then he dragged it back up. The mischief there was impossible to ignore. "You want me to chase you? Prove I'm serious about wanting you?"
At this point there isn't anything the author could make him do or say to redeem him or make me believe he loves her. Hell, he doesn't even care about her. He only cares about himself. His games. His amusement.
His abuse of power.
Through his entire sorry-excuse of a redemption arc he adopted a “I guess I’ll do it if I have to” mentality.
Through his entire sorry-excuse of a redemption arc he adopted a “I guess I’ll do it if I have to” mentality.
To him, her righteous anger is her “playing a game”.
“Here, I’ll sum it up for us: you’re in love with me. You have been for a while.” I narrowed my eyes as he continued. “For the last few days, you’ve been playing a game, too scared to give in to your feelings.” I blushed at how accurate his assessment was. “Am I getting close?”
“You left out the part about you being an unpredictable and selfish jerk.”
“I don’t want to be thought of as selfish,” he said as he pulled my panties down my thighs, up over my knees before tossing them off the side of the bed. Any strength to get up and leave disappeared along with them. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“I don’t want to be thought of as selfish,” he said as he pulled my panties down my thighs, up over my knees before tossing them off the side of the bed. Any strength to get up and leave disappeared along with them. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“No, you aren’t.”
He smirked. “You’re right.”
Wow! I’m glad that she finds his “assessment” regarding her little female anger-tantrum-game accurate! I’m also very glad that in the end, he admits to never being sorry at all!
“I wasn’t finished fighting him, and I knew he liked my resistance. It was more fun that way.”
Haha. Woman-female anger over bad treatment very funny!!!
I’m just… so tired of reading about men like these. I’m so tired of the author trying to romanticize them, and trying to make ME look past all of their horrific deeds because they’re hot.
I’m just so tired of picking up 100 books and 90 of them having a despicable male lead just like this one—but I’m supposed to let them redeem themself and come to love them. I’m so tired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment