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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
That's human history. Darker than midnight. Why do you think we fled underground?
Dynamic: Prisoner x Captain of the Prison Guard
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Touch Her and Die, Political Intruige, Learning how to fight, Found Family, Slow Burn, Banter
Setting: Underground Prison, Post-apocalyptic
Genre: Dystopia, Post-apocalyptic, Romance
Spice: Open Door;One interrupted make out session between MCs; explicit threats and attempted sexual assault by another guard
TW:Third party sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Discussions of suicidal ideation, Mass Murder/Shooting
This might be the first time in a while that I have loved a booktok recommendation. After the author kept popping up on my fyp I decided to give it a read and finished the entire thing in one sitting. And man was it worth it.
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Touch Her and Die, Political Intruige, Learning how to fight, Found Family, Slow Burn, Banter
Setting: Underground Prison, Post-apocalyptic
Genre: Dystopia, Post-apocalyptic, Romance
Spice: Open Door;
TW:
This might be the first time in a while that I have loved a booktok recommendation. After the author kept popping up on my fyp I decided to give it a read and finished the entire thing in one sitting. And man was it worth it.
Plot
Khalani is falsely imprisoned in an underground prison, Braderhelm Prison. Being locked up here means you might as well be dead and no one thinks she will last long, especially when early on one of the strongest women in the prison has an issue with her, and she ends up mouthing off to the Captain of the Prison guard.
But as Khalani finds her place and her people, she ends up settling in rather well. Still, between abusive guards, the Governor of Apollo with a strange interest in Khalani, the crazy librarian who teaches Khalani about free thinking through art and the Captain, who keeps getting wrapped up with her... She is far from safe.
But as Khalani finds her place and her people, she ends up settling in rather well. Still, between abusive guards, the Governor of Apollo with a strange interest in Khalani, the crazy librarian who teaches Khalani about free thinking through art and the Captain, who keeps getting wrapped up with her... She is far from safe.
Characters
Khalani was an interesting character to follow. She has little regard for her own safety and regularly gets herself into trouble because of it. She lets herself be guided by her emotions, but throughout the book she slowly learns restraint. In the beginning she questioned very little, but slowly as she talks to people, reads and listens to music she begins to develop beyond what the system told her to be.
She also learns to trust again, going into prison with the additude that loved ones are a risk, and by the end of the book she has built herself her own chosen family.
She also learns to trust again, going into prison with the additude that loved ones are a risk, and by the end of the book she has built herself her own chosen family.
"You have trouble written all over you, Kanes."
"Well, maybe you're wrong."
"I'm never wrong."
Khalani hated men. Especially the ones with muscles. They couldn't be trusted.
Takeshi starts out as a pretty generic enemies to lovers esque MMC, who is strangely obsessed and always watching from afar but also threatens her when they speak. But he morphes into something better pretty quickly, and he has some interesting perspectives on captivity and also life. He protects her when she is threatened/attacked and lets just say the slow burn made me squeal with delight. By the end he kind of reminded me of Four from the Divergent movies, he is grumpy and in charge/has seniority but is also kind of a lapdog for the woman he loves.
"Love transcends space and time. It holds no bounds or limits. Dear girl, love is stronger than death because if you love someone, they can never truly die."
The tension and desire between them was palpable and the slow burn had me squealing when their pinkies touched. His protective nature had me on my knees, ngl.
And when she says she liked flowers despite never having seen any and he answers with "I'll find some flowers for you." AAAAAAAH. I died. Him ignoring being summoned by the warden because they're making out? I am swooning.
I know I shouldn't say this, but your beauty is so overwhelming that is makes me ache. It's more than physical. It's who you are as a person.
Conclusion
The writing was quite poetic and I have not highlighted this many quotes as I did in this book in a long time. The slow burn was perfect, the tension too. I noticed some MINOR plot holes or stuff that didn't make all that much sense, but this was overall a great story. My favourite read this year so far, definitely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Mass/school shootings
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Takeshi deserves better 🤷🏻♀️ Khalani was lowkey a bitch towards the end
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would like to say if we are basing on the technical side of writing , it's digestible and I think this is one of those entry books you tend to read venturing into sci-fi/dystopian genre. The plot is not too complex given that these stories should have strong political intrigue. Maybe I was expecting more because there are a lot of instances where information didn't coincide with each other. Pretty interesting enough to keep reading unto the next installment.
I was kind of expecting something more like the vibes of savage lands when they’re in the prison; but instead it was a lot of talk about poetry and just wasn’t for me
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No