shakehreereads's review
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
đ”: More Than Enough by Alina NarazÂ
Baby the plot was plotting. My heart rate spiked several times with this book. I wonder if weâre gonna get Kam and Kaylahâs story.Â
Damien âDemonâ Montana was a complex character I had trouble feeling for, but as the story progresses you âgetâ him. Then I really started rooting for him. His character development was excellent. And when he did speak (of course he was man of few words), he was is funny af.Â
Dream Dior Castle did get on my nerves a bit, but my girl grew up and got her happy ending.Â
Smoke. My man, my man, my man. Now listen! It was Smoke and Dayana for me the whole book. I couldnât get enough of them. And that wedding scene. All he said was, âCome here.â I could have passed smooth out.Â
Bruh. Dream and Dayana didnât care about other dudes lives at all. Like please stop involving these other men in their impending deaths.Â
Kam had me tearing up though. It be the kids that get me every time.Â
Them deadbeat daddies was downright despicable and deserved their demises. (Say that 5x fast as you can đ)Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Abortion, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
thesloreader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
now_booking's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
4.0
I have a lot of thoughts about the way this dark, mafia romance was presented. On the one hand. Iâm in awe of this authorâs ability to stretch this story out for over 750 pages and have action on every single page and not let it drag for one minute. On the other hand, I donât think this book needed that many pages to tell this story as well. Indeed, to me, it could have benefited from being split into 2 books by character/plot line. As it was, sometimes it felt like we were getting very single characterâs POV and I donât think that was needed I did appreciate the authorâs ability to weave together the almost separate storylines and POVâs of the two protagonist sistersâ coming of age plots in a violent, organised crime context.
The premise is that Dream is her crime familyâs fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dreamâs sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demonâs only friend, Smoke, Dayanaâs foolish ex-fiancĂ©e, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. Thereâs on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I donât think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.Â
In all, I enjoyed this authorâs writing. Itâs my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I donât mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if youâre checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to âjust go with itâ and read some deeply problematic people whoâve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and itâs so compelling!
The premise is that Dream is her crime familyâs fixer and after her brother offends the biggest crime boss in the area by eloping with his daughter, she is forced to sacrifice herself entering into a 1-month arranged situation with the closed-off, intrinsically-damaged from a traumatic childhood, cold-as-ice, Damien/Demon (the brother of the crime boss her family offended). Sparks fly as the two clash in every way in that one month where family and safety are on the line, and violence and murder are the order of the day. Dreamâs sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demonâs only friend, Smoke, Dayanaâs foolish ex-fiancĂ©e, and an assorted cast of bodyguards, villains, cute kids, and broken people.
Overall, I liked this as a dark mafia romance. It is VERY dark and not for the faint of heart. Thereâs on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I donât think it needed to be quite as gratuitous as it was, but within the context of being a darker romance, it was good. The length of the book really allowed you to follow the characters on their journey of growth so that you felt part of their character trajectory. This solid character development was probably my favourite part of the book. I also enjoyed the adorable epilogue. This book is inherently problematic in the way of dark, mafia romance. The characters do and say awful things and deeper issues are brought up but never dealt with responsibly. E.g. the abortion plot angle.Â
In all, I enjoyed this authorâs writing. Itâs my first book by them and I thought they did a wonderful job keeping this ticking along and to blending an ensemble cast of characters and giving us different POVs without getting lost. Personally, I donât mind a dark, mafia romance but this is representative of the very dark side of that sun-genre, so you may want to keep that in consideration if youâre checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to âjust go with itâ and read some deeply problematic people whoâve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and itâs so compelling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pedophilia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Abortion, Child abuse, Rape, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, and Infidelity
Minor: Classism, Trafficking, and Body shaming
j_themoodreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this book. I was hesitant to read it because of the page count but those pages flew so fast it didn't even matter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Stalking
Minor: Abortion
bookswhitme's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Mind blowing! It was dark, it was wild, it wasn't what I expected, but damn was it good. Two urban/dark romances wrapped in one? Genius. there were so many twists and turns that it was hard to keep up. I loved that though. It was also very hot and yâall know I love a spicy read. I just couldnât put this down. Smoke and Demon were definitely unhinged, but they loved their women and would burn the world down for them. Thatâs just how I like my fictional men. Over 700 pages for a romance? Yeah I thought it was crazy, but actually it was WORTH EVERY PAGE!Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pedophilia
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