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cait's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
acreatureofbooksandtea's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a hard book for me to rate. On the one hand I loved Chase, and when the story was about him plotting revenge and discovering his powers, it was glorious and everything I needed. On the other hand I truly hated all of the other characters, who are basically a combination of every psychopathic murderer and abusive ex trope that you find in other romance novels, except the main character isn't saved by the hero(es) in this case because there are simply none here.
Even though I read the blurb, it didn't prepare me for just how horrifying Chase's ordeal would be. Two of the harem members—Cyrus and Cameron—Chase has only known a few years, since highschool.
But the two other harem members he's known since he was a kid.
Alex dates him while being in love with Chase's (female) best friend and just waiting around for her to be the vessel of his ultimate goddess love, while constantly ignoring and emotionally manipulating Chase aside from the times he selfishly uses him for sex (including taking his virginity) while not being decent enough to care about Chase's pleasure even in that. All while knowing that Chase is hopelessly in love with him.
Sam is even worse, believe it or not. He's been best friends with Chase since they were kids. They literally grew up together, knew each other's families, had nicknames they only used for each other.
And every single one of them were complicit in using Chase as a living sacrifice to try and summon their goddess. Alex lures him to an abandoned area, where they strap him down while he's pleading for his life, asking them why they're doing this to him, and then look him in the eyes as they stab him in the heart and murder him. They then cover up the knife wound and dump his body in the local morgue as a John Doe. They saw him as nothing but a tool, and even in death they treated him like a worthless piece of garbage.
It was just absolutely horrifying, and I'm still upset even recalling that level of callous betrayal from people that Chase loved and trusted completely. Especially considering way too much of the rest of the book is about those same murdering assholes trying to figure out how to kill and remove his spirit so their goddess can have full control of his body.
If this had been a story about Chase discovering his powers, finding his confidence, and taking revenge on the evil people that murdered him for their own selfish purposes while finding true love with people who see his worth and support him, it would be a 5-star read for me without question.
As it is, a story about a guy who has been betrayed in the worst ways possible and then treated like nothing but an inconvenience for not just dying and letting his body be used as a skin suit for the insane goddess that his murdering, betraying, so-called friends/boyfriend are obsessed with, it's so damn frustrating.
For whatever reason, I know the author is going to write Chase into an HEA relationship with his abusers/murders and I just am never going to be okay with that happening. It's bad enough that Chase ispregnant due to those pieces of garbage.
So in terms of ratings, I'm just going with the middle ground. 5-stars for the MC, the writing which was technically excellent and had great flow that made it gripping to read and hard to put down, and a story that had tremendous potential as a revenge tale. 1-star for some of the most garbage and irredeemable male leads I've ever read, and the fact that it's going to be another story where a victim ends up in a romantic relationship with their toxic abuser(s).
Even though I read the blurb, it didn't prepare me for just how horrifying Chase's ordeal would be. Two of the harem members—Cyrus and Cameron—Chase has only known a few years, since highschool.
But the two other harem members he's known since he was a kid.
Alex dates him while being in love with Chase's (female) best friend and just waiting around for her to be the vessel of his ultimate goddess love, while constantly ignoring and emotionally manipulating Chase aside from the times he selfishly uses him for sex (including taking his virginity) while not being decent enough to care about Chase's pleasure even in that. All while knowing that Chase is hopelessly in love with him.
Sam is even worse, believe it or not. He's been best friends with Chase since they were kids. They literally grew up together, knew each other's families, had nicknames they only used for each other.
And every single one of them were complicit in using Chase as a living sacrifice to try and summon their goddess. Alex lures him to an abandoned area, where they strap him down while he's pleading for his life, asking them why they're doing this to him, and then look him in the eyes as they stab him in the heart and murder him. They then cover up the knife wound and dump his body in the local morgue as a John Doe. They saw him as nothing but a tool, and even in death they treated him like a worthless piece of garbage.
It was just absolutely horrifying, and I'm still upset even recalling that level of callous betrayal from people that Chase loved and trusted completely. Especially considering way too much of the rest of the book is about those same murdering assholes trying to figure out how to kill and remove his spirit so their goddess can have full control of his body.
If this had been a story about Chase discovering his powers, finding his confidence, and taking revenge on the evil people that murdered him for their own selfish purposes while finding true love with people who see his worth and support him, it would be a 5-star read for me without question.
As it is, a story about a guy who has been betrayed in the worst ways possible and then treated like nothing but an inconvenience for not just dying and letting his body be used as a skin suit for the insane goddess that his murdering, betraying, so-called friends/boyfriend are obsessed with, it's so damn frustrating.
For whatever reason, I know the author is going to write Chase into an HEA relationship with his abusers/murders and I just am never going to be okay with that happening. It's bad enough that Chase is
So in terms of ratings, I'm just going with the middle ground. 5-stars for the MC, the writing which was technically excellent and had great flow that made it gripping to read and hard to put down, and a story that had tremendous potential as a revenge tale. 1-star for some of the most garbage and irredeemable male leads I've ever read, and the fact that it's going to be another story where a victim ends up in a romantic relationship with their toxic abuser(s).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Violence, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Pregnancy
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