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A review by meowrie
The Sinner by Shantel Tessier
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Yikes
Sometimes I think a book can be trying to add too much darkness just to see how much we can take. Elli was sexually assaulted by every man in this book. Seriously. And she blames her high sex drive, which was only there because she was groomed by her stepfather and then raped her whole life. But anyway.
I couldn't really enjoy the spice because it was mostly rape.
The story was interesting though. There was a ton of stuff happening and the LORDS world is interesting enough. But Elli suffered so much that it was hard to get any enjoyment out of the book. I know this is a dark romance, and the majority of books I've listened to this year were labeled dark. My favorite was Under Your Scars. So I can deal with dark romance. But there has to be something redeeming going on. And Sin just wasn't a good guy anywhere. Not good enough, I guess. He was all "I'm a savior" but came in too late. He has cameras but only saw things after they happened. He didn't let her get revenge, he killed everyone. And then he tried to martyr himself like that makes it all better. But overall, it was a pretty good book.
The audio was barely tolerable though. Laurie West is great as always. She puts a lot of emotion into her work and it's needed in this role. But Peter Alden was not the voice I would have chosen for Sin. Like, at all. I won't be mean about it but this is not the voice of a hot, 20 year old killer. It's the voice of his accountant uncle.
Sometimes I think a book can be trying to add too much darkness just to see how much we can take. Elli was sexually assaulted by every man in this book. Seriously. And she blames her high sex drive, which was only there because she was groomed by her stepfather and then raped her whole life. But anyway.
I couldn't really enjoy the spice because it was mostly rape.
The story was interesting though. There was a ton of stuff happening and the LORDS world is interesting enough. But Elli suffered so much that it was hard to get any enjoyment out of the book. I know this is a dark romance, and the majority of books I've listened to this year were labeled dark. My favorite was Under Your Scars. So I can deal with dark romance. But there has to be something redeeming going on. And Sin just wasn't a good guy anywhere. Not good enough, I guess. He was all "I'm a savior" but came in too late. He has cameras but only saw things after they happened. He didn't let her get revenge, he killed everyone. And then he tried to martyr himself like that makes it all better. But overall, it was a pretty good book.
The audio was barely tolerable though. Laurie West is great as always. She puts a lot of emotion into her work and it's needed in this role. But Peter Alden was not the voice I would have chosen for Sin. Like, at all. I won't be mean about it but this is not the voice of a hot, 20 year old killer. It's the voice of his accountant uncle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol