Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Initiation by Nikki Sloane

20 reviews

lilypilly's review against another edition

dark

this book was on another level of weirdness like wtf is happening with Macalister and the ending like girl. And what was the initiation all about, like I'm sorry but my husband would not be participating in sexual activities with another girl even if it meant losing his job.

AND ALICE AND VINCE BEING TOGETHER

I can't even say that this book was good, the only reason i stuck around was that i wanted to finish it and because i knew what the initiation was i just wanted to see how it was written. 
I didn't like the characters, i thought Marist was vapid and i thought Royce complained too much. Macalister was a creep, there's no way around that one literally, he would've been a pedo if she was younger. it was just so random and there felt like there was no thought to the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

cjblates's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy

emily_k's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Fast paced and interesting plot. Definitely a messed up story but i loved it!!! Cant wait to read the next book to see what happens next!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

kaitybabez's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual violence

reinareads's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Infidelity and Rape

eicart_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

This book contains a LOT of manipulative behavior and deception. It's like a big soap opera. There is one scene (the initiation referred to in the title) that could be very problematic:

a graphic description of a woman consenting to being held down, naked, on a table while multiple, powerful, older men take turns performing oral sex on her. She then has penetrative sex with her boyfriend while they all watch. Again, she technically consents and has the power to stop them at any time, but it's essentially sexual assault and should be avoided by any reader who would be triggered by that. She can say no, but is manipulated into the situation because it's the best of many poor options.

barbie9090's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

vereads221b's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

 I will come back to write a full review later, but if I'm being honest the content in this book has haunted me since I read it a few days ago. The fact that I couldn't find trigger warnings anywhere shows me how little the author cares about their readers. I don't recommend this book to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape

It's very clear that the MC is having stuff done to her that she "consents" to but doesn't actually want to do. After said events, the MC has a trauma response from what happened to her. Shortly after, she is sold by her love interest to his father who has been looking at her and talking to her in sexual ways that she is clearly uncomfortable with and even says so. I want to make myself clear. This is not an "I hate I'm attracted to you" or "I hate you but we can have hot sex" thing. This is an "I hate you and you scare me and I'm begging not to be sold to you because I'm scared for my safety." The dude she is with before she gets sold to his father doesn't care that she's begging or scared. He cares about how much money he is going to get. All of this content was insanely triggering to read about. I kept waiting for "I secretly loved the way he looked at me with hunger", "he was terrifying, but I longed for him regardless" about the father but it never came. What's even more so concerning in my opinion is that the author decided not to give trigger warnings at the beginning of this book or anywhere for that matter. I even double-checked to make sure I wasn't missing anything. This was an extremely careless and harmful choice the author made. Because of this, I will not be reading any of their books ever again.

bookishrealm's review

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

Who told Nikki Sloane that this book was okay to write? I want to have a conversation with them.

The cover, the title, the begining of this book ARE ALL MISLEADING. I was going through my Hoopla and I saw Nikki Sloane's name and decided to pick this book up randomnly after hearing Izzy say that Sloane could do no wrong. When I listened to the first part of this book I was convinced that it was going to be the stereotypical "girl falls in love with a bad guy that's a lowkey bully." But then *insert dramatic music* I discovered the meaning of the title The Initiation. This book was absolutely wild.

If I'm being completely honest, this rating is coming from a place of pure enjoyment and shock value. I still believe that the beginning of the story is slow and I really wasn't interested in hearing about two rich kids deciding whether they were in love while they banged it out. But as this story progresses and secrets are revealed it becomes clear that Nikki Sloane did not come to play. She came to snatch wigs and drop jaws. This novel is definitely in the arena of plot over character development. In my opinion, the characters weren't unique. I've seen them before in other novels, the same character type. HOWEVER, this plot makes up and takes over for the underwhelming personalities (except for Macalister -- this crazy, yet alluring man). This goes beyond the boundaries of what I thought some ficticious wealthy people would do to amuse themselves.

As a beginner in the arena of dark romance, I will proudly say that I don't think that this book is going to be for everyone. That final scene is probably not going to align with everyone's personal taste; however, I found it intriguing and it was particularly interesting the way Nikki Sloane wrote it. I found it to be a scene where both the reader and the heroine had the opportunity to be comfortable without the fear of this particular situation turning into something more extreme. But I will reiterate that it isn't for the faint of heart.

Overall, I thought that it was an enjoyable book. There is a mixture of mythology that plays an interesting role in how the heroine views the world around her that I found interesting. As stated before, I wouldn't pick this book up looking for mind blowing character development or a cute contemporary romance. It definitely is a hot plot driven novel that will make you question yourself on why you enjoyed it so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

cupidities's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship