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tia_leona's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
kappo's review against another edition
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
jesseonyoutube's review against another edition
3.0
Permission is about Echo, a 25 year old aspiring actress reeling from the loss of her father. In his absence, her household has collapsed, leaving her alone with her grief as her mother develops depressive symptoms. When a mysterious, enigmatic dominatrix - Ori - moves in next door, Echo allows herself to be swept into Ori's world of BDSM, consent, sex, and power.
Initially, I fell hard for the lyrical, but stark writing Vogel uses to create a sweeping narrative. I was immediately drawn into Echo's pain, her relationship with her father, and the themes of loss/parental abandonment. There seemed to be promise of commentary surrounding topics like "daddy issues" that I was deeply excited for. I fell in love with entire paragraphs of highly quotable and insightful sentences, and by halfway through the novel, I was certain it would be 5 stars.
Permission's weakness is it promises to explore various topics - BDSM, parental loss, personal development - but halfway through the story, the exploration sort of falls apart. Entire chapters will be devoted to Echo's time with Ori during which she won't so much as think of her family or mention them in the narrative. Then the next chapter will focus solely on her family with no mention of her life as a budding dominatrix. I found the odd isolation of these topics, the lack of intersection and cohesion, to be jarring and unrealistic. It felt overly-focused and ultimately, none of these topics were explored to their full potential.
Gorgeous writing and a fascinating premise. I will also add that I have issues with the stereotypical portrayal of the books only latinx/hispanic character. It didn't necessarily effect my rating of the story, but it was cringeworthy and poor representation.
Initially, I fell hard for the lyrical, but stark writing Vogel uses to create a sweeping narrative. I was immediately drawn into Echo's pain, her relationship with her father, and the themes of loss/parental abandonment. There seemed to be promise of commentary surrounding topics like "daddy issues" that I was deeply excited for. I fell in love with entire paragraphs of highly quotable and insightful sentences, and by halfway through the novel, I was certain it would be 5 stars.
Permission's weakness is it promises to explore various topics - BDSM, parental loss, personal development - but halfway through the story, the exploration sort of falls apart. Entire chapters will be devoted to Echo's time with Ori during which she won't so much as think of her family or mention them in the narrative. Then the next chapter will focus solely on her family with no mention of her life as a budding dominatrix. I found the odd isolation of these topics, the lack of intersection and cohesion, to be jarring and unrealistic. It felt overly-focused and ultimately, none of these topics were explored to their full potential.
Gorgeous writing and a fascinating premise. I will also add that I have issues with the stereotypical portrayal of the books only latinx/hispanic character. It didn't necessarily effect my rating of the story, but it was cringeworthy and poor representation.
marshmallowinjection's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
3.75
susannnochka's review against another edition
4.0
Lovely, lovely little book about grief and desire. Four and a half stars.
myohmy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
khopeisz's review against another edition
reflective
fast-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
3.5
amy_park's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.0
Writing style wasn't for me. I felt the pace was off at the start as it was very slow, taking me a while to grasp what was going on in the plot. I didn't like the continuous use of water imagery around the waves and the sea when looking at loss, I felt it was trying to make the novel something it wasn't and a bit on the nose with her dad being lost at sea.
I did think the themes of grief and adjusting after loss were interesting. I also liked the exploration of love but felt it wasn't looked into thoroughly enough for my liking which could have been due to the length of the book being just over 200 pages. This book personally wasn't for me and I think overall the story is quite forgettable, which is interesting considering the unusual themes of BDSM and doms. To be honest if it was any longer I think I would have DNF'd.
I did think the themes of grief and adjusting after loss were interesting. I also liked the exploration of love but felt it wasn't looked into thoroughly enough for my liking which could have been due to the length of the book being just over 200 pages. This book personally wasn't for me and I think overall the story is quite forgettable, which is interesting considering the unusual themes of BDSM and doms. To be honest if it was any longer I think I would have DNF'd.