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danycx'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? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, and Alcohol
elizabeth_delozier'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
2.5
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.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
anoelle896's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
elizabrown's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault, Death, and Child abuse
gailbird'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
1.5
The logic was severely lacking and the whole book could have ended satisfactorily so many times, but no, it had to drag on, repeating the same patterns of toxic behaviour (on both sides, I might add) and completely reverting to things we thought (naively) that we had moved on from. In the end, the characters were caricatures who hadn’t really learned anything or arrived at anywhere different in their relationship than they had already been three times during the course of the book, giving us no hope whatsoever that they will continue on any differently. Yay.
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
hammergirl7878's review against another edition
4.25
He has changed his behavior and ways for her, but he’s far from perfect. Feelings become complicated as Abby promised herself that she wouldn’t fall for anyone like her father and Travis seems like a bad guy. He’s smart but he has a lot of tattoos and drives recklessly fast on his motorcycle. Will he be able to show Abby that he can be the guy she deserves? Will Abby realize he isn’t anything like her dad?
The book seems a bit repetitive towards the end like they flip between on and off a lot. The constant battle of should we be together can get a bit annoying. However, the spicy sex scenes and language aren’t for the faint of heart. The novel has se cute moments and some sad moments ultimately it was a great novel. I mean I’m typing this review up at 1 am as i just finished the novel
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury