theartsybookwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Trafficking, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Blood
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I am not a huge fan of 3rd POV. I wish this had been in 1st and dual POV, it would have been so much more interesting.
Morana is apparently a genius. I guess this is a case of book smart but not street smart. Seeing as she is a "certified genius" and Mafia daughter, she sure makes some very poor decisions. We are meant to see her a strong and fierce, but she really isn't.
Tristan's backstory is extremely horrific and that explains why is is the way he is. It would break most people, but it just turned him deadly. This could have made for very interesting character development, sadly he was petty one dimensional and boring. My take away is that he has beautiful blue eyes and whisky voice, as we are told 10000x.
I thought the idea behind the plot, with the code, was interesting. But it quickly fell to the side as so many other things were introduced and made the plot super messy.
I did like Dante and Amara and am interested in their book!
Tropes: Mafia, enemies-to-lovers, dark romance
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Torture, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
aepompu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I also had beef with the FMC. She’s supposed to be some super-smart genius, but honestly it felt like the author had that idea and never fleshed it out. Ok, so she can write program. But her decision making and problem solving throughout the book were completely incongruous with this concept of her being a “genius.” It was a bit unbelievable.
I was also so bored in some parts. I don’t need that much of the FMC’s thought processes. It was just too much at some points. And the MMC and FMC barely interacted.
I was hoping for more because I’ve seen such great reviews, but this one just didn’t do it for me.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Trafficking
readbyjaimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
So glad I jumped into this series!
After I read Gothikana I knew I had to read all of RuNyx’s work. And I’m so glad that I’ve started. I really enjoyed Morana and Tristan’s story, at least what we’ve seen of it so far. And of course I’ve loved meeting the other characters like Dante and the lovely Amara.
I also found the plot really compelling and I’m excited to see where the story takes me!
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Rape
nirellis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I just don’t understand how a book with this many grammatical errors and sloppy sentences (sorry) got published. It’s harsh but I felt myself continually getting frustrated with the sentence structure/ errors in writing and the repetitive sentence choices.
I swear if I see one more “a bead of sweat ran down her *insert body part*” or a “his muscles rippled beneath his suit”-
My main gripe is that the idea has potential but the execution is disappointing.
Now having said all that it is still a 3 star read to me regardless of my many frustrations with this book. Mainly because the plot is one of those plots that you just need to know what happens next and I’ll be reading the next book because it ends on a cliffhanger.
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Murder
asin26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Torture
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Confinement, Stalking, Child abuse, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
kitcatavo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Connecting dots was a bit haphazard and some repetitive descriptive phrases…felt sorta basic. Would I recommend it for the spice? Yeah. Do I think a bit more flourish could’ve made this that much better? Absolutely.
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood
cait_0310's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I was in a bit of a reading slump and nothing was helping. But then I found this book and I almost stayed up all night to finish it, it was that good!
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
shinyfox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Torture
Minor: Trafficking
Drug use - character has their drink tampered with