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cheeserue's reviews
39 reviews
Rage by J.S. Cannon
dark
funny
fast-paced
1.5
if I read the word ☆c o c k☆ one more time, im going to hurt someone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Credence by Penelope Douglas
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
"One phone call, a coach seat, and four states later, it finally occurs to me . . . I don’t know these people."
I have mixed feelings about this one. it was entertaining enough to pull me in and want to finish reading, but also the characters made me want to scream.
Tiernan is a meekly little thing who's never felt the love of her parents, not because they weren't there, but because they are too far up each other's asses to care about the fact that they chose to have a child. this causes her to not develop a personality or any self survival skills. she ships herself off to her "uncle" whom she's never met and barely heard of.
the boys are a combination of a 40somthing year old 'step' uncle who fucks the 25 y/o neighborhood skanks, a who psychopathic mute who immediately tried to rape her upon meeting, and Noah who I kinda liked.
I will never understand why she chose keleb, they barely spend time together and when they are in the same room he has the most red flags out of all of them. you could play a drinking game with all the shitty things he does to her; but for some reason she forgives every little thing he's done the second she finds those books.
I'll give it to Penelope, she did have me feeling a bit for him while I was reading those 'journal' entries, however his trauma and inability to speak does not cancel out how toxic he was the whole book.
that threesome scene had me sweating like a sinner in church.
don't even get me started with the ending. automatic loss of star for pregnancy trope, not all stories need to end in a marriage and kids.
I have mixed feelings about this one. it was entertaining enough to pull me in and want to finish reading, but also the characters made me want to scream.
Tiernan is a meekly little thing who's never felt the love of her parents, not because they weren't there, but because they are too far up each other's asses to care about the fact that they chose to have a child. this causes her to not develop a personality or any self survival skills. she ships herself off to her "uncle" whom she's never met and barely heard of.
the boys are a combination of a 40somthing year old 'step' uncle who fucks the 25 y/o neighborhood skanks, a who psychopathic mute who immediately tried to rape her upon meeting, and Noah who I kinda liked.
I will never understand why she chose keleb, they barely spend time together and when they are in the same room he has the most red flags out of all of them. you could play a drinking game with all the shitty things he does to her; but for some reason she forgives every little thing he's done the second she finds those books.
I'll give it to Penelope, she did have me feeling a bit for him while I was reading those 'journal' entries, however his trauma and inability to speak does not cancel out how toxic he was the whole book.
that threesome scene had me sweating like a sinner in church.
don't even get me started with the ending. automatic loss of star for pregnancy trope, not all stories need to end in a marriage and kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
The Ritual by Shantel Tessier
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"I’d go to war for my wife. One man was nothing."
and go to war they did; just, not the kind he expected.
wtf was this book? why did they build up a good plot only for it to suck so bad in the end? WHY DID SHE KEEP TAKE THE DRUGS WILLINGLY?! why did they take (approximately) 1000 showers?
force sex fantasy and CNC but not one conversation about limits or safe words, GHB fed to her every 5 seconds, fucking next to dead bodies, secret society plotline barely touched, FMC having just about no personality, obsessed ex bf who didn't want her when they were together but now wants her because his enemy has her, random elopement so she doesnt have to be forced into marriage to said ex bf. it just keeps going.
I love dark romances, especially CNC/FSF but this wasn't it. this book didn't need to be 600 pages.
and go to war they did; just, not the kind he expected.
wtf was this book? why did they build up a good plot only for it to suck so bad in the end? WHY DID SHE KEEP TAKE THE DRUGS WILLINGLY?! why did they take (approximately) 1000 showers?
force sex fantasy and CNC but not one conversation about limits or safe words, GHB fed to her every 5 seconds, fucking next to dead bodies, secret society plotline barely touched, FMC having just about no personality, obsessed ex bf who didn't want her when they were together but now wants her because his enemy has her, random elopement so she doesnt have to be forced into marriage to said ex bf. it just keeps going.
I love dark romances, especially CNC/FSF but this wasn't it. this book didn't need to be 600 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death and Abandonment
A Welcome Reunion: A Short Story by Lucinda Berry
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
after I finished reading, I learned that this is actually #1.5 in the series. I will now be reading book #1
“She was a rabid dog, Christopher, and I put her down.”
that was absolutely crazy.Hope Janie is the definition of the tragic "child can't be helped" story. sometimes no matter how hard you or anyone else tries you can't reform everyone. some people are truly evil.
Hannah's actions blow my mind. maybe I'm incapable of understanding because I'm not a mother; but I'd never even think ofactually killing someone I completely understand wanting to keep your child safe and I also understand how post partum can completely change who you are; I just couldn't fathom.
the ending left me with more questions than answers. what happens next?
that was absolutely crazy.
Hannah's actions blow my mind. maybe I'm incapable of understanding because I'm not a mother; but I'd never even think of
the ending left me with more questions than answers. what happens next?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Murder
Broken Dolls by Mique Watson
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
0.0
hello, fbi? this one right here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
No One Rides for Free by Judith Sonnet
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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? N/A
1.5
"I hope I succeeded, in that respect, in ruining your day."
you did. you ruined my day, night and probably the next month of my life until my brain forces me to forget that I read this book.
"This book is supposed to make you feel shitty, and bad, and like you need a shower."
yeah, that tracks. definitely felt like you just wanted us to hate ourselves after reading it.
this was really just a spoon full of extreme forced incest. I'm concerned for the authors mental health (as well as my own.)
at least two of them made it out alive. (and got to kill him, good on you jodi for biting his dick off) although I'm not sure what kind of relationship they could ever have again.
you did. you ruined my day, night and probably the next month of my life until my brain forces me to forget that I read this book.
"This book is supposed to make you feel shitty, and bad, and like you need a shower."
yeah, that tracks. definitely felt like you just wanted us to hate ourselves after reading it.
this was really just a spoon full of extreme forced incest. I'm concerned for the authors mental health (as well as my own.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
"run, little stranger"
This book was an absolute rollercoaster. It's one of the more disturbing stories I've read.
Putting aside the brother-sister thing (I know they're not actually related), they both have absolutely no character. Malachis' whole personality is that he has an ASPD diagnosis. He's the "dark and mysterious" mute that wears black, has shaggy hair & probably wears too much eyeliner. Don't even get me started on Olivia. She has even less personality than her "brother." She does anything and everything that anyone tells her to do, especially her parents. She goes through four (maybe five) betrothals throughout the whole thing (including going along with her mother selling her virginity.) she makes me want to rip my hair out.
I'll gloss over the fact that they fucked raw-dog on top of their fathers beeding out body and then at the end her father (for some unknown and unwritten reason) completely flipped his script and was okay with his daughter running away from her wedding with her brother.
“Go,” Dad says, kissing my cheek. “We’ll deal with them. Be happy, angel."
Like WHAT THE FUCK?!
That ending was absolutely horrible. It felt rushed, like they were tired of writing and wanted to wrap it up.
This book was an absolute rollercoaster. It's one of the more disturbing stories I've read.
I'll gloss over the fact that they fucked raw-dog on top of their fathers beeding out body and then at the end her father (for some unknown and unwritten reason) completely flipped his script and was okay with his daughter running away from her wedding with her brother.
“Go,” Dad says, kissing my cheek. “We’ll deal with them. Be happy, angel."
Like WHAT THE FUCK?!
That ending was absolutely horrible. It felt rushed, like they were tired of writing and wanted to wrap it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Stalking
Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Unhinged by Vera Valentine
"If I hadn't already been made of wood, I'd be stiff as a board at the sight."
that was a wild ride. at no point did I know what was coming next. don't pay attention to the fact that I read this. it's a private affair
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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? No
3.0
that was a wild ride. at no point did I know what was coming next. don't pay attention to the fact that I read this. it's a private affair
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Sexual violence and Murder
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
this hurt my heart to read, but im so happy for Carrie, she deserves all the love. as heartbreaking as this was to read, im very happy with how it ended
as soon as she said that the doctor blamed her for not being able to get pregnant, I knew it was her husband who had the problems.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Infertility