Reviews with content warning for Murder - Does It Hurt?

Interesting idea for a book. Much spicey spice. Enzo could get it 🥵. I wanted more growth from Sawyer than I felt like I got. Some of the plot with the island and Sylvester was drawn out and obvious.

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cfunte's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

Other people might like this book, but not for me

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amoreli's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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sardientje's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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luna_98's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.75

i’m so torn with the rating for this one.
did i finish it and was entertained while reading? yes.
would i recommend or read again? most likely no.

for the spice, i felt like for a dark romance there was a good balance of smut and plot. the spice had potential to be hot, and sometimes it was! other times, it came across assault-y/rape-y which i can’t get behind.

the main characters were both layered and complicated. there was some trauma-bonding for sure.

i feel like there was potential for them to both grow but lowkey they didn’t? sawyer didn’t really learn her lesson and was never given justice?? yes she was a victim (and that shit was horrible like incest and assault? damn she needs therapy) but that doesn’t justify also being a criminal and she got away with it. enzo didn’t grow either, he was still a domineering asshole who assaulted her as well! okay he ends up loving her but i don’t feel like he understood the gravity of what he’d done.

the horror aspects were wild but felt rushed and glossed over in a lot of ways. i wish we had learned more about the crazy family.
idk if the HEA was earned and/or was wrapped up so quickly that it surprised me.

there was a few editing errors in my copy but overall the writing was good and super readable.
i don’t regret reading it but i'm feeling like this type of dark romance isn’t my thing.

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mookayla's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Spooky lighthouse? ✔
Creepy lighthouse keeper? ✔
Scary sharks? ✔
Shocking Twists & Turns? ✔
True Enemies-to-Lovers? ✔
This book was such a delight! It had everything I could possibly want and more. I honestly think it's my favorite by H.D. Carlton so far (with only 1 book left that I have not read). My only complaint is that I just want more of this book specifically 🥺😭 Give me more creepy lighthouses, give me more enemies-to-lovers that would have me crying if a man spoke to me that way, give me more of whatever-the-heck that shark scene was- I want it all!! 👏🏻

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