Scan barcode
lacowie's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Yikes????
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse
elizabeth_delozier's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
2.5
2.5 stars, which feels generous.
I initially bought this book because I had just finished reading the Beautiful Bastard series by Christina Lauren (which is a new adult series of stand-alone romances with character crossover, mostly office romance and heavy on the spice) and everywhere I looked, people recommended that if I liked that series that surely this book would be for me.
WRONG!
This book was nothing like that series. Different in every imaginable way. Even with multiple years in between reading the different books, this still left a sour feeling for me.
But, lets put that aside and talk about this book without the comparison to the previously mentioned series.
This story follows a young college student, Abby, who has fled her old life, which includes a gambling and emotionally abusive father. She then meets Travis, an underground fighter with a bad attitude. The two characters enter into a toxic friendship, followed by an even more toxic relationship. The two make a bet, leading to Abby living with Travis for a period of time and sharing one bed.
The characters are not loveable, at all. Both characters are extremely immature. Similarly, the narration of the audiobook portrays the characters as such - it feels childlike. The writing was subpar with horrible pacing, especially towards the end, and unnecessary plot points that distract from the book. Also, after reading the book I found that the author was simply not a good human.
Do not read this book if toxic relationships are not your thing in books, because that is all that this book is. So much gaslighting, emotional abuse, lack of communication, and just nonsense that in reality is never okay. However, if you enjoy that in your fiction, well, here you go.
Overall, I hated the characters, hated the toxicity (which, I often enjoy in stories, but this was not the one), hated the plot, and did not find the writing to be good in any way. This book is being made into a movie, however given the above information I do not recommend that medium either.
I initially bought this book because I had just finished reading the Beautiful Bastard series by Christina Lauren (which is a new adult series of stand-alone romances with character crossover, mostly office romance and heavy on the spice) and everywhere I looked, people recommended that if I liked that series that surely this book would be for me.
WRONG!
This book was nothing like that series. Different in every imaginable way. Even with multiple years in between reading the different books, this still left a sour feeling for me.
But, lets put that aside and talk about this book without the comparison to the previously mentioned series.
This story follows a young college student, Abby, who has fled her old life, which includes a gambling and emotionally abusive father. She then meets Travis, an underground fighter with a bad attitude. The two characters enter into a toxic friendship, followed by an even more toxic relationship. The two make a bet, leading to Abby living with Travis for a period of time and sharing one bed.
The characters are not loveable, at all. Both characters are extremely immature. Similarly, the narration of the audiobook portrays the characters as such - it feels childlike. The writing was subpar with horrible pacing, especially towards the end, and unnecessary plot points that distract from the book. Also, after reading the book I found that the author was simply not a good human.
Do not read this book if toxic relationships are not your thing in books, because that is all that this book is. So much gaslighting, emotional abuse, lack of communication, and just nonsense that in reality is never okay. However, if you enjoy that in your fiction, well, here you go.
Overall, I hated the characters, hated the toxicity (which, I often enjoy in stories, but this was not the one), hated the plot, and did not find the writing to be good in any way. This book is being made into a movie, however given the above information I do not recommend that medium either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
crystalgraces's review against another edition
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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
anoelle896's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
psyched_np's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lajjbuzz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Sexual content
bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, and Child abuse
2712_judi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Worst book I have ever read. If you thought the realtionship between Abby and Travis was cute, please look for help…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
bendersreads's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I'm typically okay with reading about toxic relationships, but their relationship is painted in a positive light especially in later books with Travis' brothers wanting a relationship like theirs. It's their ideal despite how toxic both characters are to each other, more so Travis than Abby. Abby makes a few comparisons between her emotionally abusive, heavy gambler father and Travis, pointing out how alike they are but... still choosing to stick with Travis, which made their relationship unlikable for me.
Travis also has violent tendencies such astrashing his entire room and practically most of his apartment because Abby won't see him anymore. I also don't understand how Travis has a six-pack when we never ever learn about his work-out routine, and I believe he said once that he doesn't go to the gym at all.
Yeah. The book wasn't for me.
Travis also has violent tendencies such as
Yeah. The book wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Alcohol and Violence
Constant slut-shaming. Constant.annpikul's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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
Graphic: Violence and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault