Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Hooked by Emily McIntire

35 reviews

gturner92's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Everyone was dumb and whiny. I couldn't get into it. Both main characters were just oblivious to everything around them. How people acted towards then told everything we needed to know and they were just delusional. It was an annoying book. Stockholm syndrome is real apparently.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Toxic friendship

xtinareally's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-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

3.75

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ I personally could have done without the graphic description of the violent gory details of the story that weren't even a part of any of the romance. The steamy scenes were hot hot hot. Emily McIntyre did a great job creating a loveable villain, and I was pleasantly surprised with the twists and turns and ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Drug use

emptzuu's review against another edition

DNF for the second time.

Wendy has terrible taste in friends. Angie keeps pressuring her to go clubbing and hang out with people who are clearly bad influences. It’s frustrating how Wendy can't stand up to these so-called friends, yet she can stand up to James—albeit only a little. Wendy’s personality is as bland and dry as stale bread. She's also incredibly naive and, frankly, comes across as quite stupid.

James, on the other hand, is a carbon copy of every dark romance guy I've ever read about—misogynistic to the core. When he said that subduing a woman is all about control, I threw this book out the window. He harasses Wendy and even has thoughts of raping her.

How can anyone read this and not think, this is abuse? It reads like poorly written torture porn with zero redeeming qualities. I don't mind toxic relationships or dark themes in books—bring on the obsessive, murderous men who say things like “good girl” and “get on your knees.” But when the abuse crosses the line so heavily, that's where I draw the line. The smut wasn't enough to make up for any of it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Rape

olivia22xxx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Stalking and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

babybatash's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mpass61's review against another edition

dark medium-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? No

1.0

Boooooo tomato tomato tomato I'm throwing tomatoes 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

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

angellike333's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Sexual violence, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

aelitareads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book made me question my morals. Hard core! 🤣 I had to stop a few times just to ask myself where I stood on kidnapping, torture, and murder all for the sake of love and trauma. You might see Hook and think this will be pirate based but make no mistake - its mafia through and through. Opposing families and a love story caught in the midst of a battle Wendy had no idea even existed. Hooked follows Wendy through the loss of her innocence in her journey into adulthood and Hook's journey to healing from his traumas and discovering new reasons to live.

Hooked has a medium pace with a fast build in the second half. There's spicy scenes scattered all throughout but a good chunk of the first half is setting up the major plot points and background for the story. It took me about 4 days to finish but had I not been interrupted by life I'm sure I could have got through it in 2. I loved reading through and seeing all the subtle (and not so subtle) nods to the original Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. 

Notable Tropes are mafia, found family, Touch her and die, and morally grey... everyone? 
Content Warnings that stood out to me - Kidnapping, Choking, Torture, Murder, Childhood SA, Abuse. 
The SA isn't graphically detailed but it is very much there. All the rest? Definitely graphic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship