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leena_reads's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
1.0
I am truly sad to say this book was absolutely terrible.
I knew I was going to get a dark romance, except that there wasn't any romance whatsoever. This story had no point other than to show abuse and try to cover it as dark romance.
The main character was naive, and stupid but we were supposed to think she was completely clueless for 23 years? Her pov was awful to read, just jumbled thoughts, no point to anything. She made comments about her past, making us think that we'd get to know to understand but we'd just be left in the dark, not understanding her or her reactions. I thought there'd be some kind of growth in the end, where she does take back her life, just so the story actually had something going. But no. We just had to read over 200 pages of a victim locked in a hell of abuse.
As for the, if we can even call him that, "love interest", what even was his personality? His goal? He supposedly killed Robert, the one thing pushing him throughout this book, and we're just told "oh yeah btw I killed him"? So completely anticlimactic. We also don't understand his feelings for Elen. Sure he hates her cause she's associated but why is he "struggling" to get rid of her? Nothing in their "relationship" developed for him to have those feelings.
And that bleep of a plot with Sergei and her mother? What was that even for? Nothing was explored.
And Briar at the end? Useless.
The description gives a completely false expectation of this story. This is just trauma over and over and over again with no end goal. And no conclusion.
Very saddened by how much I despised this book and I cannot for the life of me understand how it's even above 3 stars.
I knew I was going to get a dark romance, except that there wasn't any romance whatsoever. This story had no point other than to show abuse and try to cover it as dark romance.
The main character was naive, and stupid but we were supposed to think she was completely clueless for 23 years? Her pov was awful to read, just jumbled thoughts, no point to anything. She made comments about her past, making us think that we'd get to know to understand but we'd just be left in the dark, not understanding her or her reactions. I thought there'd be some kind of growth in the end, where she does take back her life, just so the story actually had something going. But no. We just had to read over 200 pages of a victim locked in a hell of abuse.
As for the, if we can even call him that, "love interest", what even was his personality? His goal? He supposedly killed Robert, the one thing pushing him throughout this book, and we're just told "oh yeah btw I killed him"? So completely anticlimactic. We also don't understand his feelings for Elen. Sure he hates her cause she's associated but why is he "struggling" to get rid of her? Nothing in their "relationship" developed for him to have those feelings.
And that bleep of a plot with Sergei and her mother? What was that even for? Nothing was explored.
And Briar at the end? Useless.
The description gives a completely false expectation of this story. This is just trauma over and over and over again with no end goal. And no conclusion.
Very saddened by how much I despised this book and I cannot for the life of me understand how it's even above 3 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Body horror, Bullying, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Murder
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