Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Tryst Six Venom

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Tryst Six Venom by Penelope Douglas

40 reviews

booklovinmamas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’ve had Tryst Venom Six on my TBR since it was first released back in 2021. When Penelope Douglas announced it was getting published and getting a new cover, I had to make time to sneak this book into my reading schedule. This isn’t my first bully romance from Penelope Douglas, but it is my first FF Romance from them, and I devoured it just like I’ve done with their other books.

This book made me go through so many emotions while reading it, but I already expected it since it’s a bully romance. I also expected it since it’s a book written by Penelope Douglas, and they are always making my emotions go haywire. The bully in this book, Clay Collins, made me not like her at first because of how mean she was to Olivia ‘Liv’ Jaeger. Clay is the popular, good girl who does no wrong and gets everything she wants, while Liv is the girl on the opposite side of the track who just wants to graduate high school and leave Clay behind. I loved Liv because she dished back what Clay would do to her. Some of the scenes between Liv and Clay were brutal, though, especially when Clay’s so-called friends were involved, but Liv had her five brothers who were sometimes there to protect their sister. Liv could handle herself, though, and I loved how she wasn’t going to let the bully win.

I may not have liked Clay Collins at first, but she started growing on me after I found out what was going on with her internally while reading her POV. She has anger issues and is still dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. You would think her parents would be there for her and notice what’s going on with her, but they are dealing with their own issues. She also felt pressured to be someone she wasn’t and she saw Liv being her true self, not caring what people thought.

I loved Liv because she was the complete opposite of Clay, who knew what she wanted in life and didn’t hide herself. She was also determined, outspoken, and a fighter. She had lost loved ones, too, but she had a great support system with her five brothers, who I can’t believe our getting their book.

This is a slow-burn romance, so there’s a lot of angst and emotion before the two characters eventually get together, but I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation the whole time. I saw the signs of the two becoming something more, and these two were definitely meant to be together. Liv helped Clay find herself and even healed her through her grief and everything else that was happening in her life. Clay became a very likable character, especially at the end and what almost happened to Liv.

The beginning of the book did take me some time to get through, but the second part had me hooked. I needed Clay and Liv’s happily ever after, and Penelope did a phenomenal job with their story, especially in the epilogue.

I give this book four stars and can’t wait to read Liv’s brothers’ book. I can’t wait to read everything Penelope writes this year. =) They are one of my auto-buy authors.

If you enjoy reading a spicy, new adult, FF Bully Romance story, then this book is a must-read.

This book does have some challenging scenes regarding the bullying aspect, so it may not be for everyone, so I recommend checking the TW.

Trope(s)/Element(s):
✓High School Bully Romance
✓Enemies to Lovers
✓Opposite Sides of the Track

Content Warnings

lulusreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

2.0

It should be illegal to put an 18+ warning on a book that revolves around teenage characters. It should also be illegal to write a threesome that features two adult brothers and a teenage girl. Also this is definitely Riverdale fan fiction.

Content Warnings

lydialou419's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Let me start by saying I'm a pretty big fan of Penelope Douglas. While I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as some of her others!

I had a really hard time empathizing with the “bully” character in this bully romance. I do think Douglas did a great job illustrating some very real conflicts certain communities face and I loved that she did that!

Overall, it was a nice journey of self discovery. Would definitely recommend to a friend.

As always, check your trigger warnings before reading.

Happy Reading 😮‍💨📚

Content Warnings

thebookishb's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

rock_gnome's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

fierymoon's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

im ngl it felt like i was reading a wattpad fanfiction, but i finished it bc of my friend recommended it so um i'd say it was worth it at the end because unhinged absolutely head over heels in love lesbians <333

Content Warnings

weird_but_fucking_beautiful's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

“Thank you so much for reading Tryst Six Venom. This world will be forever hard for me to leave.”

Penelope Douglas

Oh God, me too Pen, me too.

Tryst Six Venom, Penelope Douglas’s sapphic enemies to lovers novel is the story of Clay and Olivia, high school girls from opposite sides of the tracks. navigating the trappings of society, propriety, and their undeniably strong attraction to one another.

Clay and Olivia (Liv), to coin a phrase from John Mayer, are sexual napalm together. I was so immersed in their love/hate relationship that at times I forgot to come up for air. Everything from the tension of being within one another’s space, to their longing, lust filled stares were done with me always wanting more. It never felt repetitive to me, the longing, the joining, the breaking. This by no means is a great award winning literary novel and doesn’t pretend to be. It does exactly what it sets out to do, which is to present a coming of tale with all the pitfalls and obstacles that first love encounters. This novel is what is considered a Bully Romance. I was not familiar with that term/genre so I was a little put off by Clay’s treatment of Liv in the beginning. I’m happy to have stuck with the novel because Clay’s character arc is one of its most gratifying aspects. I am a reader that envisions the settings and environments as a book progresses. I fell in love with this little slice of Florida that Ms. Douglas imagines….wait, who am I kidding, it could take place in a barnyard and I’d love it because of Clay and Liv. I am such a fangirl of this novel, but I feel I got everything I needed out of Clay and Liv’s story. I’m absolutely not opposed to a sequel, but am perfectly content with Clay and Liv living rent free in my head with my imagination.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes f/f romances that are wildly sexy with a twist of possessive dominance.

I love this so much I’m going to buy the Eternal Embers signed edition. Every bit of 5 stars for me.

Content Warnings

bookishchaos's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Ok so I've got VERY mixed feelings about this one. Really wanted to love it but this book had so many flaws.

First off, I get this was Penelope Douglas's first time writing a F/F love story but she wrote these female characters like alpha males (I've seen other reviews talking about this as well).

Spoilers ahead (very minor tho)

Some of the spicey scenes were icky and cringe. Like weirdly aggressive and forced? Not to mention the book started out with Olivia being underage which felt super unnecessary. Yuck.

Clay also treats Olivia like trash until like 70% into the book. I'm aware this was a bully-romance but the toxicity of this relationship was unrealistic and eye rolling.

Overall the book wasn't awful but wasn't fantastic. It had so much potential but too many flaws which is why I wouldn't recommend it.

Content Warnings

faithreadss's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

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