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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
4-4.5 stars
The kidnapping trope is something thats not that high up my list of favourites and ive read others that failed terribly so i was curious to see how this one was done since soooo many people had good reviews about this one. Overall i think it was done quite well and it made sense. I love the Falcone family so much compared to the rest of the mafia families, their dynamics and interactions are just so enjoyable to read about. Cant wait to read the next book but probably going to stop after as the last 2 books dont seem to have that great reviews :/
The kidnapping trope is something thats not that high up my list of favourites and ive read others that failed terribly so i was curious to see how this one was done since soooo many people had good reviews about this one. Overall i think it was done quite well and it made sense. I love the Falcone family so much compared to the rest of the mafia families, their dynamics and interactions are just so enjoyable to read about. Cant wait to read the next book but probably going to stop after as the last 2 books dont seem to have that great reviews :/
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
now, a disclaimer: im not in anyway shitting on people who enjoyed this book... but i really fucking loathed this book.
im glad you enjoyed it. but this book is one of my thirteen reasons why.
this book just wasn’t it. Remo Falcone just wasn’t it. all the Falcone men are trash— but not you Nino baby, ily.
the whole book made me sooooo uncomfortable. i read [b:Bound by the Past|43557121|Bound by the Past (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #7)|Cora Reilly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585921678l/43557121._SX50_.jpg|67762328] first so i knew the general gist of this book so it piqued my interest before id even started this series. and i wanted to see how things ACTUALLY went down between Serafina and Remo after reading everything from Dante’s POV first.
id assumed things weren’t what they seemed from Dante’s POV. but honestly it did just feel like Remo raped her and used small acts of kindness to manipulate her. he continuously threatens, objectifies and degrades her, and i honestly would have expected more trauma from a victim of kidnap, but i think that was the issue— Reilly didn’t even portray Serafina as a victim and glossed over the realities of someone being held captive. she just romanticises the entire traumatic ordeal to fit her storyline, so the whole thing was unrealistic in that sense.
(and i know these series’ are fabricated in the realm of the unrealistic, but some aspects, such as Kiara’s rape in the second book was handled really well, and i loved her and Nino. but the handling of Serafina’s abduction was just tactless and romanticised, when in reality the whole ordeal would be harrowing, heartbreaking and downright disturbing).
i didn’t believe she was in love with him, she just latched onto the small moments of normalcy between them and twisted them into something warped and mildly appealing to ease her discomfort with the situation and convince herself the situation wasn’t as awful as it was.
everything was just very Stockholm Syndrome-esque. Serafina clung to every nice thing he did (which was part of his plan to manipulate her), convincing herself he wasn’t as bad as people and he let on. which was just the author’s excuse to try to get the readers to like Remo if Serafina liked him. no amount of small kindnesses could convince me that Remo didn’t rape Serafina. saving her brother, letting her go for jogs with him etc, was all just part of his plan to get Serafina to trust him and thus manipulate her to sleep with him to ruin her image in the Outfit and tear apart her family.
after that, knowing what her kidnapping was doing to her family, i don’t understand how she could even consider being with him— her mother was distraught, constantly having breakdowns, her father and twin brother going against the Outfit and Dante to save her, her younger sister terrified she could be next. and im supposed to be rooting for them? this guy who’s ripped her family apart for mere sport and just because he can? no thank you. if from what we went by in the beginning of the book, Serafina’s family means everything to her and she seems to just ignore how much Remo ruined them all.
up until they actually *sleep together* (which i consider him raping her), the book made me mildly uncomfortable but i was hoping there would soon be a shift in the plot to make me have that ‘ohhhh I get it now’ moment and start truly rooting for the pair.
but it didn’t come.
instead, he just rapes her.
i don’t know how i was supposed to view that scene as consensual? she attempts to fight him off the second time around after realising what had happened, filled with shame and guilt, and Remo just revelled in it and it was disgusting.
and afterwards, when he finds her having a breakdown in the shower, i was expecting him to console her or something, but he just put the final nail in the coffin for me— ‘try to convince yourself i raped you if it makes you feel better.’
it truly tipped me over the edge, my god. it just added to the creep-factor, and sounded a lot like what someone who just raped someone else would say to try to make themselves feel better, like he was trying to convince himself he didn’t rape Serafina when in actuality he did and that admittance just proved it all the more.
*it’s also an author’s prerogative to write about whatever the fuck they want, right, but frame the content for what it is! don’t frame a non-con or dub-con scene as healthy, consensual sex. i wouldn’t have had an issue if it was portrayed as a non-con or a dub-con scene. at least take accountability for the content you include in your writing.*
i also got the impression she just slept with him because she knew eventually he would rape her. she even admits several times that he’d ‘have forced [her] eventually’ which is a massive red fucking flag.
im glad you enjoyed it. but this book is one of my thirteen reasons why.
this book just wasn’t it. Remo Falcone just wasn’t it. all the Falcone men are trash— but not you Nino baby, ily.
the whole book made me sooooo uncomfortable. i read [b:Bound by the Past|43557121|Bound by the Past (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles, #7)|Cora Reilly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585921678l/43557121._SX50_.jpg|67762328] first so i knew the general gist of this book so it piqued my interest before id even started this series. and i wanted to see how things ACTUALLY went down between Serafina and Remo after reading everything from Dante’s POV first.
id assumed things weren’t what they seemed from Dante’s POV. but honestly it did just feel like Remo raped her and used small acts of kindness to manipulate her. he continuously threatens, objectifies and degrades her, and i honestly would have expected more trauma from a victim of kidnap, but i think that was the issue— Reilly didn’t even portray Serafina as a victim and glossed over the realities of someone being held captive. she just romanticises the entire traumatic ordeal to fit her storyline, so the whole thing was unrealistic in that sense.
(and i know these series’ are fabricated in the realm of the unrealistic, but some aspects, such as Kiara’s rape in the second book was handled really well, and i loved her and Nino. but the handling of Serafina’s abduction was just tactless and romanticised, when in reality the whole ordeal would be harrowing, heartbreaking and downright disturbing).
i didn’t believe she was in love with him, she just latched onto the small moments of normalcy between them and twisted them into something warped and mildly appealing to ease her discomfort with the situation and convince herself the situation wasn’t as awful as it was.
everything was just very Stockholm Syndrome-esque. Serafina clung to every nice thing he did (which was part of his plan to manipulate her), convincing herself he wasn’t as bad as people and he let on. which was just the author’s excuse to try to get the readers to like Remo if Serafina liked him. no amount of small kindnesses could convince me that Remo didn’t rape Serafina. saving her brother, letting her go for jogs with him etc, was all just part of his plan to get Serafina to trust him and thus manipulate her to sleep with him to ruin her image in the Outfit and tear apart her family.
after that, knowing what her kidnapping was doing to her family, i don’t understand how she could even consider being with him— her mother was distraught, constantly having breakdowns, her father and twin brother going against the Outfit and Dante to save her, her younger sister terrified she could be next. and im supposed to be rooting for them? this guy who’s ripped her family apart for mere sport and just because he can? no thank you. if from what we went by in the beginning of the book, Serafina’s family means everything to her and she seems to just ignore how much Remo ruined them all.
up until they actually *sleep together* (which i consider him raping her), the book made me mildly uncomfortable but i was hoping there would soon be a shift in the plot to make me have that ‘ohhhh I get it now’ moment and start truly rooting for the pair.
but it didn’t come.
instead, he just rapes her.
i don’t know how i was supposed to view that scene as consensual? she attempts to fight him off the second time around after realising what had happened, filled with shame and guilt, and Remo just revelled in it and it was disgusting.
and afterwards, when he finds her having a breakdown in the shower, i was expecting him to console her or something, but he just put the final nail in the coffin for me— ‘try to convince yourself i raped you if it makes you feel better.’
it truly tipped me over the edge, my god. it just added to the creep-factor, and sounded a lot like what someone who just raped someone else would say to try to make themselves feel better, like he was trying to convince himself he didn’t rape Serafina when in actuality he did and that admittance just proved it all the more.
*it’s also an author’s prerogative to write about whatever the fuck they want, right, but frame the content for what it is! don’t frame a non-con or dub-con scene as healthy, consensual sex. i wouldn’t have had an issue if it was portrayed as a non-con or a dub-con scene. at least take accountability for the content you include in your writing.*
i also got the impression she just slept with him because she knew eventually he would rape her. she even admits several times that he’d ‘have forced [her] eventually’ which is a massive red fucking flag.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Reads like the fanfic of a 15 year old.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Method: ebook
Rating: 4/5 stars
H rating: 4/5 - Remo
h rating: 4.5/5 - Serafina
Drama: 4/5
Thoughts: Really loved this book, great read!