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eelka's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Rape, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual assault
athenian_frog's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
2.25
Okay I'm gonna need you to understand that two of these stars are for the actual sex that happens between the two leads and the .25 is for the kinda cute sibling dynamic for the King Family. I think the author really tried to make the sex enjoyable/detailed, and didn't just sprint through the whole thing. Props.
My main issue with this book was the writing/internal monologue. Let me tell you, there were some moments that convinced me the author wrote this at 3AM one night and THOUGHT leaving it like that was fine:
"...unperturbed, calm, and completely unaffected by the
lick of danger and the lust for the thrill that hangs in the air like splashes of
magenta on turquoise blue."
"Demons I didn’t know existed flood my bloodstream, and pressure forms
behind my eyes."
"...he suddenly wraps his hand around my nape, near the hairs I constantly
assault."
"His eyes spark like a tropical forest before he clears his throat."
"The overwhelming mixture [of smells] flows and floods my senses like a chaotic
swirl of colors that blend and throttle each pigment until they settle on
unassuming gray.
"Barbarians. The lot of them. Hopeless, outrageous savages with no
grace whatsoever.
But then again, what to expect from mafia people?"
I understand that Brandon does art, but some of these descriptions took me out of the book while trying to understand what the author was trying to communicate. There's already a lot of "Telling, Not Showing" going on especially in Brandon's first chapters; for a min I couldn't believe I was sitting here listening to him recite his peers opinions of him, or how his brain was differently connected from other ppl's joy...he was sounding a little "not like other girls" Q.Q
It was also really surprising that Nikolai, someone who gets around, never seems to use any kind of greenlight/safeword/form of checking in when he has sex with people? Reading in his POV got kind of irritating, because he seemed to care very little for the safety of anyone he slept with until Brandon.
---> on a similar note, why didnt the suggestion of a system like that come up when Nikolai was worrying about how flighty/uptight Brandon is about sex?? It just seemed like a no-brainer to me but that's my opinion.
There's also brief discussion about the possibility of one of the MC's being ace/on the ace spectrum. But it felt very very surface level. Not saying you have to decide on a label, but since the author brought in the idea of feeling "broken" bc you don't experience sexual attraction very much, I expected more than just a cameo of the term LMAO.
The self harm discussions were also lacking, personally. But I can't discuss that in detail without spoiling. !!Please check the content warnings out below!!
The dynamic these two had was...good-ish. The "will they-wont they" started to drag, and Nikolai was getting a bit too pushy of Brandon's personal space sometimes for my comfort. The relationship ;later was sweeter and more acknowledging of boundaries but still.
Lastly, the newly introduced female characters were pretty flat. I gave a pass to some of the women from earlier in the series, but the original ones played antagonist roles only and weren't interesting, at all. :( this is an unfortunate trend I've been seeing in the M/M stories Ive read but I'm hoping for better.
as far as the spoilery issue I have with this book:
Let me set the stage:
You have a partner with serious issues regarding self esteem and intimacy. You are one of the few who knows they have a history of self harm.
You receive a video on your phone, and you open it. In the first few moments, it's clear that this is a video of your partner, as a minor, being approached by a much older woman. You can hear the dialogue and recognize the body language well enough to know that this is a recording of a child being molested.
What do you do? Do you:
A) Pause the video immediately and go tell your partner, stat.
B) Pause the video immediately and decide to discuss this with your partner at a later date.
C) Stop and tell your partner about the video in a private conversation away from their family, but send the video to the police together. Ask your partner about what they want you to do to support them.
or, D) Continue to watch the video, with the volume on high. Then, after your partner is sent to the hospital, allow everyone else in their family to watch the video, without your partner's consent.
Yeah...I really wasn't a fan of this narrative decision. I think that's an understatement, actually. I don't care if it was to let Nikolai and Lan bond through killing or whatever. Seemed very inconsiderate to go around showing the video willy-nilly, given it was significantly graphic and VERY traumatizing to Brandon. Boundaries who??
The woman who committed the rape was very hard to take seriously, by the way. Comically so, why would anyone distribute recorded evidence of their crime? Much less to someone who already doesn't like you? Ugh. Flat as cardboard.
My main issue with this book was the writing/internal monologue. Let me tell you, there were some moments that convinced me the author wrote this at 3AM one night and THOUGHT leaving it like that was fine:
"...unperturbed, calm, and completely unaffected by the
lick of danger and the lust for the thrill that hangs in the air like splashes of
magenta on turquoise blue."
"Demons I didn’t know existed flood my bloodstream, and pressure forms
behind my eyes."
"...he suddenly wraps his hand around my nape, near the hairs I constantly
assault."
"His eyes spark like a tropical forest before he clears his throat."
"The overwhelming mixture [of smells] flows and floods my senses like a chaotic
swirl of colors that blend and throttle each pigment until they settle on
unassuming gray.
"Barbarians. The lot of them. Hopeless, outrageous savages with no
grace whatsoever.
But then again, what to expect from mafia people?"
I understand that Brandon does art, but some of these descriptions took me out of the book while trying to understand what the author was trying to communicate. There's already a lot of "Telling, Not Showing" going on especially in Brandon's first chapters; for a min I couldn't believe I was sitting here listening to him recite his peers opinions of him, or how his brain was differently connected from other ppl's joy...he was sounding a little "not like other girls" Q.Q
It was also really surprising that Nikolai, someone who gets around, never seems to use any kind of greenlight/safeword/form of checking in when he has sex with people? Reading in his POV got kind of irritating, because he seemed to care very little for the safety of anyone he slept with until Brandon.
---> on a similar note, why didnt the suggestion of a system like that come up when Nikolai was worrying about how flighty/uptight Brandon is about sex?? It just seemed like a no-brainer to me but that's my opinion.
There's also brief discussion about the possibility of one of the MC's being ace/on the ace spectrum. But it felt very very surface level. Not saying you have to decide on a label, but since the author brought in the idea of feeling "broken" bc you don't experience sexual attraction very much, I expected more than just a cameo of the term LMAO.
The self harm discussions were also lacking, personally. But I can't discuss that in detail without spoiling. !!Please check the content warnings out below!!
The dynamic these two had was...good-ish. The "will they-wont they" started to drag, and Nikolai was getting a bit too pushy of Brandon's personal space sometimes for my comfort. The relationship ;later was sweeter and more acknowledging of boundaries but still.
Lastly, the newly introduced female characters were pretty flat. I gave a pass to some of the women from earlier in the series, but the original ones played antagonist roles only and weren't interesting, at all. :( this is an unfortunate trend I've been seeing in the M/M stories Ive read but I'm hoping for better.
as far as the spoilery issue I have with this book:
You have a partner with serious issues regarding self esteem and intimacy. You are one of the few who knows they have a history of self harm.
You receive a video on your phone, and you open it. In the first few moments, it's clear that this is a video of your partner, as a minor, being approached by a much older woman. You can hear the dialogue and recognize the body language well enough to know that this is a recording of a child being molested.
What do you do? Do you:
A) Pause the video immediately and go tell your partner, stat.
B) Pause the video immediately and decide to discuss this with your partner at a later date.
C) Stop and tell your partner about the video in a private conversation away from their family, but send the video to the police together. Ask your partner about what they want you to do to support them.
or, D) Continue to watch the video, with the volume on high. Then, after your partner is sent to the hospital, allow everyone else in their family to watch the video, without your partner's consent.
Yeah...I really wasn't a fan of this narrative decision. I think that's an understatement, actually. I don't care if it was to let Nikolai and Lan bond through killing or whatever. Seemed very inconsiderate to go around showing the video willy-nilly, given it was significantly graphic and VERY traumatizing to Brandon. Boundaries who??
The woman who committed the rape was very hard to take seriously, by the way. Comically so, why would anyone distribute recorded evidence of their crime? Much less to someone who already doesn't like you? Ugh. Flat as cardboard.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Body horror
Minor: Medical trauma, Death, and Blood
(Fairly descriptive) Last 25% of book:
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