bibliominx's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Torture, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming and Terminal illness
shanaetheflyest's review
- 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
There are so many characters in the novel that you have to keep up with, and to be honest, Elle Kayson does a fabulous job at making them all equally entertaining, intriguing, and the events of their lives are interesting...but then there are a million others mentioned at the end of the novel and your head is left spinning as you try to keep up with who's who. I mean, even the FMC, Dream, gets a new name...Baby?
That said, I wish Kayson had bothered to extend the novel by another two or three hundred pages to give us more insight into the lives of the children at then, even if only Kam/Kalylah.
Spoiler
The story fast forwards 10 years, a significant time, and we don't know how the FMC or MMC get along as new parents, newlyweds, or what they do for work - does Demon keep killing? Is Dream still washing drug money?I'm left with more questions than answers and that's soooo unfulfilling after reading 750+ pages.
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Stalking, Death, Abortion, Addiction, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Blood, Confinement, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence
bibliofritz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Torture, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence
shakehreereads's review
- 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
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
- 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
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
thisreadingcorner's review against another edition
- 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
Spoiler
The handling of Dream’s pregnancy was a hard no from me. I hate that Dayana went behind her back, and I really hate that Damien didn’t choose that moment to be vulnerable with her instead of asserting property rights and telling her she could just be his incubator. I have strong feelings about pregnancy and abortion and that messaging was ugly, especially considering how much of pregnancy she sat in that stress and discomfort. This man didn’t make it right until she was a month out from labor… not cute.I also think the exact foiling of their lives was a bit of a cop out, they could have chosen different paths, especially with Smoke’s family dynamic being so different from Damien’s, and I would love to see more romances embrace non-traditional happily ever afters. I didn’t feel much from the epilogue and tbh I wouldn’t read a follow up, but I will remember the high of the majority of the book. I was giggling and kicking my feet, so although the end took me out, it’s still a solid 4.
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
_limahz's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction and Violence
now_booking's review
- 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
The premise is that Dream is her crime family’s 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. Dream’s sister, Dayana, also features heavily in this as a subplot with Demon’s only friend, Smoke, Dayana’s foolish ex-fiancée, 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. There’s on-page violence, assault, torture, child abuse, murder, gun violence, the list goes on. I don’t 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.
In all, I enjoyed this author’s writing. It’s 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 don’t 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 you’re checking this out. I recommend this for the right reader- the one who is willing to “just go with it” and read some deeply problematic people who’ve been through a lot of trauma find love even amidst murder, mayhem, brutal violence and craziness. Nobody in this book is alright and it’s so compelling!
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
bigbuttandabook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Mental illness
Spoiler
This contain a situation where the main female character is coerced into not terminating a pregnancyj_themoodreader's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Stalking
Minor: Abortion