A review by virgo_reader
Reaper by A. Zavarelli
3.0
This book is right up my alley… it features a tortured hero singularly obsessed with a heroine, which is my catnip. But I felt this book was missing something.
I skipped book 1 so maybe that was an issue - but I do think standalone books need to be able to STAND alone on their own. We jumped into chapter 1 with the main character, Sasha, getting picked up by Blaine - an abusive boyfriend who works in the mafia. She works at a strip club. There’s a few abstract references to a guy watching her, who turned out to be Ronan. I was confused, because I didn’t realize Ronan = Reaper.
I think there had to just be a few paragraphs introducing the characters/concept for people who didn’t read book 1. We got a full monologue summary of the events from book 1 between Lachlan/Mack so I’m not sure why we couldn’t get a bit more set up of the hero/heroine.
The heroine’s mother is dying, her sister is on scholarship in California… she’s feeling alone. Unprotected. She’s also being abused and blackmailed by a different guy in the mafia. Basically, she has a lot to deal with.
Ronan is complex. His backstory was devastating. I completely understand him being traumatized because of his past and being stunted in some areas, but I would have hoped Lachlan would’ve tried to get him help? I know he isn’t really one for therapy but he clearly knows how to mirror people - so why couldn’t he get a bit more help… I don’t know, maybe I’m being unfair.
Ultimately, the seeds were there but I was missing a true emotional connection between the two of them. The physical aspect was there. The obsession was there. There were some really sweet moments - like him blushing when she talks to him, him being unable to talk to her most of the time, his embarrassment at her finding his secret stash… but they never really TALKED. About her mother’s death. About her abuse by ex-boyfriends. About his past. I feel like everything missing from this book was in Souls Unfractured by Tillie Cole.
CW: domestic abuse, blackmail, sexual assault (nothing done by her hero to heroine, but by others to heroine), child abuse (past) / torture / brainwashing, child molestation (attempted? past), violence / torture / murder, rape and torture (not to heroine)
I skipped book 1 so maybe that was an issue - but I do think standalone books need to be able to STAND alone on their own. We jumped into chapter 1 with the main character, Sasha, getting picked up by Blaine - an abusive boyfriend who works in the mafia. She works at a strip club. There’s a few abstract references to a guy watching her, who turned out to be Ronan. I was confused, because I didn’t realize Ronan = Reaper.
I think there had to just be a few paragraphs introducing the characters/concept for people who didn’t read book 1. We got a full monologue summary of the events from book 1 between Lachlan/Mack so I’m not sure why we couldn’t get a bit more set up of the hero/heroine.
The heroine’s mother is dying, her sister is on scholarship in California… she’s feeling alone. Unprotected. She’s also being abused and blackmailed by a different guy in the mafia. Basically, she has a lot to deal with.
Ronan is complex. His backstory was devastating. I completely understand him being traumatized because of his past and being stunted in some areas, but I would have hoped Lachlan would’ve tried to get him help? I know he isn’t really one for therapy but he clearly knows how to mirror people - so why couldn’t he get a bit more help… I don’t know, maybe I’m being unfair.
Ultimately, the seeds were there but I was missing a true emotional connection between the two of them. The physical aspect was there. The obsession was there. There were some really sweet moments - like him blushing when she talks to him, him being unable to talk to her most of the time, his embarrassment at her finding his secret stash… but they never really TALKED. About her mother’s death. About her abuse by ex-boyfriends. About his past. I feel like everything missing from this book was in Souls Unfractured by Tillie Cole.
CW: domestic abuse, blackmail, sexual assault (nothing done by her hero to heroine, but by others to heroine), child abuse (past) / torture / brainwashing, child molestation (attempted? past), violence / torture / murder, rape and torture (not to heroine)