Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Sweetest Oblivion

okay, it was decent.

I have mixed feelings about it for many reasons.

the writing was actually very nice and descriptive. the smut wasn't too much and it wasn't very fade-to-black which can be appreciated, and the storyline was there throughout it all. I also really appreciated how well the relationship between the two main characters went from enemies to lovers in a very smooth way. It was slow burn, but the tension built perfectly. (although at the end it seems like the tension just immediately jumped to love and I was a little confused bc it almost like switched on suddenly with no buildup. the beginning tension contrasted well with the ending but the buildup near the end was not good.) My main issues with this book are about the characters and the general feel of the story.

The presence of misogyny, racism, and homophobia was way too strong for my liking. I understand it's a mafia romance which means "men, men, men!" basically, but the subtle racist and homophobic insults were too much. Also, the whole idea of the "Sweet Abelli" thing being based off of men and how the main character was too sweet and innocent that men couldn't control themselves was really an annoyance.

I got very annoyed with the miscommunication, but then again that's normal for a mafia romance (btw, not a really big fan of mafia romances to begin with). I do think the characters could have brought a little bit more, and I wish we could have seen more of the reactions of everyone to basically the whole story.

Although it wasn't my favorite book, it really was hard to put down. I did enjoy how the story just pulled me in.

would most likely reread it, but not definitely ☑️

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sophiejo_'s review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

🤎 slighhtt spoilers

ok there’s an issue with this book loll. with all mafia romances they come with the disclaimer that there’s likely going to be misogyny and some version of sexual assault or alpha males or arranged marriages, etc. but the reason i can still read them is because by the end of the book these problems are resolved, at least for the main characters.

BUT NNOOO

tbh i liked the characters well enough; Elena wasn’t a wimp and it was so cute watching Nico let out his sweet side. howeverrrrr this enemies to friends to friends with benefits to spouses to lovers DIDNT GIVE WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING.

by the end of the book i was just cringing at the sex and their lack of communication (yes there was freaking miscommunication ofcc) and ALSO during the middle of the book i thought they could work out their issues but NO. the book ends with a sweet but anticlimactic “plot twist” and then once they’ve attempted to communicate but actually just had sex… Nico is still possessive and rough and misogynistic and Elena just TAKES IT bc she feels bad for doing something that could’ve easily been resolved had she just talked to the man she was LITERALLY LYING IN BED WITH.

it’s annoying because I had high hopes but it just didn’t perform like it shouldve. ntm the “connections” throughout the book that seemed less like metaphors and more like “how do we make this meaningful? ADD A FCKING CAROSUEL”

2 stars 😤

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