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A review by mallorypen
Silk & Steel by Ariana Nash
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book took on the idea of “trashy romance novel” and just dialed it up to eleven, because this … this was trash. No nutritional value, ‘what the fuck am I reading,’ can’t quite look away from the dumpster fire trash.
And sometimes I might say a book is trash with affection and respect. Not so much for this one - the amount of gratuitous violence (mostly sexual) is certainly meant to titillate, but fell short of the mark in so many ways. The Yearning™️ that was meant to come from the many close calls of “oh no, he’s dead” swinging wildly to “oh wait, he’s alive” and back to “but alas, I have killed him unknowingly” never showed up. The explanation for why Lysander was so drawn to Erowan was practically nonexistent beyond “oh no, he’s hot.” The bond they forged over one campfire night was comically strong, and the squickiness of all the other sexual abuse made it hard to really engage with the romance plot line.
Am I gonna read the other books? Maybe … they’re already downloaded. But I also sense a DNF in the offing if the same kind of crap continues.
And sometimes I might say a book is trash with affection and respect. Not so much for this one - the amount of gratuitous violence (mostly sexual) is certainly meant to titillate, but fell short of the mark in so many ways. The Yearning™️ that was meant to come from the many close calls of “oh no, he’s dead” swinging wildly to “oh wait, he’s alive” and back to “but alas, I have killed him unknowingly” never showed up. The explanation for why Lysander was so drawn to Erowan was practically nonexistent beyond “oh no, he’s hot.” The bond they forged over one campfire night was comically strong, and the squickiness of all the other sexual abuse made it hard to really engage with the romance plot line.
Am I gonna read the other books? Maybe … they’re already downloaded. But I also sense a DNF in the offing if the same kind of crap continues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and War