Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall

6 reviews

dezzella's review against another edition

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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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enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

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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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sunray_sunburn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ok, what to say about this book.. This was a journey that I was not necessarily prepared to go on but I am glad that I did. The content is very dark and also very real. The experiences of members in high control religions were depicted in a perfect and gut wrenching way. The story was built over time in an interesting and entertaining arch that kept me guessing along with Briony. 

To address everyone who is upset that Aero isn't Zade. Your are absolutely right! He is not Zade and that is the point!! I think you missed the entire arch of his character. The trauma that Aero works through in this book is eons worse than what Zade has to go through in HA. To me, Aero's story was so complex and layered that it made him an even more dimensional MMC. Also it is kind of weird that we are comparing two very bad men to one another... They are both walking red flags who stalk the FMC and force themselves on her (that being said, I enjoyed both TSL and HA because I am also a messed up sick person, lol). 

This book healed and broke me in ways that I was not prepared for. The audio was amazing. It is hands down the best audio experience I have had with a book. Joe Arden had to make rent and he did!! I loved the pure raw emotion that he brought to the character. I am not sure what deep place that came from, but I hope that he is ok, haha! 

Read the trigger warnings and listen to them (unlike me). It was intense in the best way possible. It is definitely a contender for the darkest book I have read. Also I am excited to get my physical copy because that is how much I loved this book. 

Book Boyfriend Rating: 9.1/10 

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bbygirl21's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. The pacing was slow, but perfect for this story. Aero was amazing, I loved that he took his time revealing everything to Briony letting her figure things out on her own. Briony was a badass. I loved that she paved a way for herself even when people tried to tear her down and stop her progress. And I loved how Aero broke Briony to make her stronger. And she definitely rose to her potential.

I will say I was disappointed when it came to Saint. I was rooting for him to not be one of the bad guys. And while he may not have been as bad as his father the bishop and the governor, Saint still ended up not being who I was hoping. I grew to like him over the course of the book. And then got severely disappointed by his true character. I am glad he did receive the same fate as his father, the bishop, and the governor. Saint deserves to live with his actions of blindly following his father.

That epilogue was fire though. I loved the exchange of power between Aero and Briony. I loved how Briony took Aero for herself and "cleansed" him of his past the same way Aero cleansed her. I love that he finally surrenders his complete self to her. I don't think this book could've ended any better. It was phenomenal.

I would absolutely recommend this book. But definitely pay attention to those triggers. This books won't be for everyone.

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book_cryptid99's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0


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daisynz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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

4.25


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