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aunbrey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
castairs's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The beginning was interesting, but it kind of went downhill from there. It had its moments and the overall premise kept me reading until the end, but I wasn't feeling much attachment to the characters. I was also expecting Beast to be wary of Laurent and that Laurent would need to work for it to earn his trust. It was a huge disappointment when Beast started lusting after Laurent and pursuing him mere hours after their first meeting.
These two didn't work well as a couple in my opinion. They were both too tangled up in their personal demons to treat each other with the care the other needed. Also, I can't get over a huge inconsistency towards the beginning of their relationship. Laurent and Beast spend a day at the mall, having and fun and forming a tentative connection. Beast, understandably eager to have some action after nearly ten years of celibacy, gets too far ahead of himself and makes a move on Laurent. When Laurent is hesitant to reciprocate Beast loses it and reacts with unwarranted vitrol. Laurent is put off by this behavior and calls Beast up on his bullshit. So far so good. Then there's a time jump to a week later and, inexplicably, Laurent is longing for Beast even though he hasn't been given anything close to an apology. They both kind of ignore that incident and for some reason Laurent is eager to have sex with Beast because...? I have no idea.
Despite Beast's bad behavior, I really felt for him. My problem is that this man needed to go to therapy, not get involved with a traumatized and confused man fourteen years his junior. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had embraced Beast's darkness and Laurent was into it or something. What I couldn't take is Beast being portrayed as a good and gentle man unfairly accused of violence when he did things like push a man to the floor for being slightly rude to Laurent, making Laurent change pants in front of him to see his ass like a creep or get pissy when Laurent changed his mind about wanting to have sex.
I feel like they were the worst possible match. Laurent's hesitations and worries about having penetrative sex and committing to being Beast's "property" only fueled Beast's insecurities, and Beast's own trauma made him selfish and unreasonable. It doesn't help that both Beast and Laurent weren't the brightest at communicating. Beast should know that he needed to explain the meaning of certain things to Laurent instead of putting him on the spot without clarification and getting pissed off when Laurent didn't like what he was hearing, and Laurent should ask for clarification instead of assuming he knows what's going on.
I don't think Laurent handled certain things so well either. Sometimes he was bratty and immature. I was tempted to DNF when he heard something he didn't like and he "pouted". Beast referred to him as "the boy" several times while they were having sex, which was incredibly off putting, also fixating on his beauty and his small size and innocence. All of it reeked of a stereotypical MF romance dynamic with the pronouns changed.
These two didn't work well as a couple in my opinion. They were both too tangled up in their personal demons to treat each other with the care the other needed. Also, I can't get over a huge inconsistency towards the beginning of their relationship. Laurent and Beast spend a day at the mall, having and fun and forming a tentative connection. Beast, understandably eager to have some action after nearly ten years of celibacy, gets too far ahead of himself and makes a move on Laurent. When Laurent is hesitant to reciprocate Beast loses it and reacts with unwarranted vitrol. Laurent is put off by this behavior and calls Beast up on his bullshit. So far so good. Then there's a time jump to a week later and, inexplicably, Laurent is longing for Beast even though he hasn't been given anything close to an apology. They both kind of ignore that incident and for some reason Laurent is eager to have sex with Beast because...? I have no idea.
Despite Beast's bad behavior, I really felt for him. My problem is that this man needed to go to therapy, not get involved with a traumatized and confused man fourteen years his junior. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the authors had embraced Beast's darkness and Laurent was into it or something. What I couldn't take is Beast being portrayed as a good and gentle man unfairly accused of violence when he did things like push a man to the floor for being slightly rude to Laurent, making Laurent change pants in front of him to see his ass like a creep or get pissy when Laurent changed his mind about wanting to have sex.
I feel like they were the worst possible match. Laurent's hesitations and worries about having penetrative sex and committing to being Beast's "property" only fueled Beast's insecurities, and Beast's own trauma made him selfish and unreasonable. It doesn't help that both Beast and Laurent weren't the brightest at communicating. Beast should know that he needed to explain the meaning of certain things to Laurent instead of putting him on the spot without clarification and getting pissed off when Laurent didn't like what he was hearing, and Laurent should ask for clarification instead of assuming he knows what's going on.
I don't think Laurent handled certain things so well either. Sometimes he was bratty and immature. I was tempted to DNF when he heard something he didn't like and he "pouted". Beast referred to him as "the boy" several times while they were having sex, which was incredibly off putting, also fixating on his beauty and his small size and innocence. All of it reeked of a stereotypical MF romance dynamic with the pronouns changed.
yona260's review
dark
funny
medium-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
4.0
tab_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
captainmango's review
1.0
DNF at 67%
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills... did the people leaving 5 star reviews read a different book? A different version?
Beast is horrendous, and I've read some morally grey characters in my life. Possible spoilers but honestly, if you're sensitive in anyway to sexual coercion and abuse you need to read this to know what you're getting into.
So first of all he throws a hissy fit when Laurent doesn't want to fuck him within 24 hours of meeting him, although his internal monologue lets us know that he understands that Laurent went through trauma. Let me reiterate, he takes him shopping for the day and then, within about 24 hours of the moment he found him, covered in blood, with his writs injured by being chained up, he wants to fuck him and when Laurent hesitates Beast insults him. Then, he continues to treat Laurent bad and freeze him out. That is the basics of sexual coercion. Men sulking and being verbally abusive when denied sex.
Then, theeeeen, they sort of make a kind of truce only for him to PHYSICALLY ASSAULT Laurent, by strangling him, because Laurent humiliated and inconvenienced him in front of other people. Do I even need to say that there's know excuse for this? Ever. That is not actually a red flag of abuse it IS abuse. Please please if someone puts their hands on you, leave and don't look back.
All this time, Beast's internal monologue is about how hot he finds Laurent, and occasionally about how he's cute and innocent and needs protecting. HOW IS THIS A LOVE STORY? Where is the love? What else does he like about Laurent except his beauty and innocence he wants to "pluck". What about his resilience? Resourcefulness? How fast he picks things up? How he moves through this world that is foreign to him? There is no admiration from Beast to any of his traits. Only lust and resentment for being denied sex, occasionally disguised in self pity.
So far I was kind of turned off but I had hoped things would get better. Spoiler alert, they don't. They again kind of make up only to end up in bed in like 5 minutes, with virtually no accountability for the physical assault. And then at some point Laurent wants to have penetrative sex, and right before they start, he asks Beast to stop. Do you want to know what our lovely main love interest does? Did he change from his earliest behaviour?
"He’d confirmed he wanted penetration.
He’d confirmed he wanted to go bare.
Beast knew he had to back off, but his whole body flooded with such bitter resentment he wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
Now, does this not sound like the the words that go through the mind of a rapist? Yeah sure, he stopped. But still THE second he doesn't get his way in bed, he's resentful. Not worried about his partner's comfort. It's all about Beast and the fact that Beast doesn't get to get his dick wet anymore. This is the kind of person that when you tell them "stop, it hurts" they still fuck you through the pain cause "you'd agreed to it". How is this book anything above a 1 star this is terrifying.
This chapter is where I dropped it. I read an enormous amount of romance, with a lot of kind of toxic male leads and possessive behaviour, but what is always there is respect for boundaries and admiration for their mate's personality and life choices. The lust is built upon a foundation of adoration and respect. Heck even a series that focuses on psychopaths like Onley James' Necessary Evils has more likeable, respectable protagonists.
Honestly this book turned my stomach and made my skin crawl. Specifically because it still tries to present Beast as some gentle giant, not a dangerous man child that uses physical and verbal abuse when things don't go his way.
Unreal.
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills... did the people leaving 5 star reviews read a different book? A different version?
Beast is horrendous, and I've read some morally grey characters in my life. Possible spoilers but honestly, if you're sensitive in anyway to sexual coercion and abuse you need to read this to know what you're getting into.
So first of all he throws a hissy fit when Laurent doesn't want to fuck him within 24 hours of meeting him, although his internal monologue lets us know that he understands that Laurent went through trauma. Let me reiterate, he takes him shopping for the day and then, within about 24 hours of the moment he found him, covered in blood, with his writs injured by being chained up, he wants to fuck him and when Laurent hesitates Beast insults him. Then, he continues to treat Laurent bad and freeze him out. That is the basics of sexual coercion. Men sulking and being verbally abusive when denied sex.
Then, theeeeen, they sort of make a kind of truce only for him to PHYSICALLY ASSAULT Laurent, by strangling him, because Laurent humiliated and inconvenienced him in front of other people. Do I even need to say that there's know excuse for this? Ever. That is not actually a red flag of abuse it IS abuse. Please please if someone puts their hands on you, leave and don't look back.
All this time, Beast's internal monologue is about how hot he finds Laurent, and occasionally about how he's cute and innocent and needs protecting. HOW IS THIS A LOVE STORY? Where is the love? What else does he like about Laurent except his beauty and innocence he wants to "pluck". What about his resilience? Resourcefulness? How fast he picks things up? How he moves through this world that is foreign to him? There is no admiration from Beast to any of his traits. Only lust and resentment for being denied sex, occasionally disguised in self pity.
So far I was kind of turned off but I had hoped things would get better. Spoiler alert, they don't. They again kind of make up only to end up in bed in like 5 minutes, with virtually no accountability for the physical assault. And then at some point Laurent wants to have penetrative sex, and right before they start, he asks Beast to stop. Do you want to know what our lovely main love interest does? Did he change from his earliest behaviour?
"He’d confirmed he wanted penetration.
He’d confirmed he wanted to go bare.
Beast knew he had to back off, but his whole body flooded with such bitter resentment he wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
Now, does this not sound like the the words that go through the mind of a rapist? Yeah sure, he stopped. But still THE second he doesn't get his way in bed, he's resentful. Not worried about his partner's comfort. It's all about Beast and the fact that Beast doesn't get to get his dick wet anymore. This is the kind of person that when you tell them "stop, it hurts" they still fuck you through the pain cause "you'd agreed to it". How is this book anything above a 1 star this is terrifying.
This chapter is where I dropped it. I read an enormous amount of romance, with a lot of kind of toxic male leads and possessive behaviour, but what is always there is respect for boundaries and admiration for their mate's personality and life choices. The lust is built upon a foundation of adoration and respect. Heck even a series that focuses on psychopaths like Onley James' Necessary Evils has more likeable, respectable protagonists.
Honestly this book turned my stomach and made my skin crawl. Specifically because it still tries to present Beast as some gentle giant, not a dangerous man child that uses physical and verbal abuse when things don't go his way.
Unreal.
catfoy's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the plot but Beast just really pissed me off at times. He acted like such an entitled dick at times and couldn’t seem to process that Laurent could possibly have a different perspective then him (it’s not like he comes from a time 200 years in the freaking past!!)
thebookedunicorn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
leahkarge's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism