Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Cruel Beauty

I read this book when I was younger, around 11 or 12, it was very smutty from my memory when I read it on Kindle back then. I hadn't read all of it; mainly skimming through sections. Over all I loved it for being my first scandalous read. Now I've read much worse, but I decided to reread it for memories sake. I made sure to be thorough this time through. And u thoroughly enjoyed it.

I got about 180ish pages into it until last night I couldn't put it down. I decided to finish it so I would be able to move on to new books. But let me tell you I couldn't put it down for the last hundred pages. I was enthralled in the passion and whiplash of a finale.

I hope to read this again after a few more reads to get an even better grasp on the complex plot of this tale.

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sofiija's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

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kestrel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

2.5

I'd been actually pretty into the story for the first like 6 chapters. I could see the potential: a MC who is bitter and full of hate (my type of MCs), the promise of an enemies-to-lovers kind of relationship, the interesting cultural stuff woven into the story (I know there was a mashup of different things,but it wasn't bad).
Unfortunately, the characterization was inconsistent, the relationship had no build-up whatsoever (it went from 0 to 1000 too fast for me) and the plot became nonsensical after the middle.

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forthesanityof1's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Quarantine read! I picked this up in a used book shop and devoured it in two sittings. I'm so glad it stuck with the enemies-to-lovers trope as closely as it did. It was nice to see a narrator who isn't a good person get met step for step by the love interest without any hesitation on his part. While I wish Nyx had been a little more fleshed out, I really enjoyed the aspects the author included. I think she was realistic and acted her age in all the appropriate moments. I could see people finding her annoying at times, but I never felt irritated. I also loved her banter with Ignifex. It was freaking wonderful and literally made me laugh out loud a couple of times every time she tried something with him. Plot-wise, I think it was interesting as well. It kept me entertained and engaged. No twists seemed out of place or wonky and unpredictable based on the path of narrative leading up to major plot points. While I feel like the ending was a bit rushed, I appreciated that it stuck with a bittersweet, happy ending. I also loved that Astraia got some development as well, though I wish her character had been established a little more at the beginning of the story before Nyx left so her change was highlighted better. What my few criticisms boil down to is that I wish it had about 100 pages to play with the characters and plot a bit more, but I'm also used to reading adult and high fantasy so I've been spoiled by long book too often. Overall, I really, really enjoyed it and I hope to read more from the author in the future.

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