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A review by kathis_wonderland
Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark is the first book in the Brutal Birthright series. After Aida (accidentality) sets her family's rivalling family's library house on fire, she is forced to marry their eldest son Callum. Both hate each other's guts, but they have to play along to their fathers' wishes. The more time they spend together the more attracted they are to each other. But other families are pissed and they have to be cautious.
I received this book for free through an online read club and I desperately needed a quick read yesterday. Here, the book did not disappoint. I read it in one go. It was not a mafia story I expected. The ones I read previously, I did not enjoy at all. Usually they are just to brutal. Sophie Lark did a better job here. We had a lot of action, but there was no real harm done to the children of the mafia bosses from the families themselves. I loved Aida's brothers. They are quite the gang and would do anything for their siblings. The same goes for Aida. She is not some damsel in distress. She is quite a good fighter and knows what she is doing. I liked that about her. Callum's family is not my favourite. We don't read so much about them as we do with Aida's. Callum himself is not my type of guy either. But we will come to that. There were really steamy and sexy scenes. Callum's and Aida's chemistry was really good! But here comes my problem.
Callum kept talking about breaking Aida and making her submit to his rules and lifestyle. He kind of threw out most of her clothes, because he did not like how it was different from his standards. The first sex scene and another one later on were quite borderline. Especially the spanking scene - no consent, just some angry dominating scene. Those two scenes did not sit well with me.
The book was okay. It was not the mafia story I expected, but it was even better, because my previous experience with that trope did not go well. There were some scenes and character traits which I did not ilike at all. But it was not a bad read.
I received this book for free through an online read club and I desperately needed a quick read yesterday. Here, the book did not disappoint. I read it in one go. It was not a mafia story I expected. The ones I read previously, I did not enjoy at all. Usually they are just to brutal. Sophie Lark did a better job here. We had a lot of action, but there was no real harm done to the children of the mafia bosses from the families themselves. I loved Aida's brothers. They are quite the gang and would do anything for their siblings. The same goes for Aida. She is not some damsel in distress. She is quite a good fighter and knows what she is doing. I liked that about her. Callum's family is not my favourite. We don't read so much about them as we do with Aida's. Callum himself is not my type of guy either. But we will come to that. There were really steamy and sexy scenes. Callum's and Aida's chemistry was really good! But here comes my problem.
Callum kept talking about breaking Aida and making her submit to his rules and lifestyle. He kind of threw out most of her clothes, because he did not like how it was different from his standards. The first sex scene and another one later on were quite borderline. Especially the spanking scene - no consent, just some angry dominating scene. Those two scenes did not sit well with me.
The book was okay. It was not the mafia story I expected, but it was even better, because my previous experience with that trope did not go well. There were some scenes and character traits which I did not ilike at all. But it was not a bad read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol