Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Vicious by L.J. Shen

29 reviews

once_upon_a_storybook's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I actually enjoyed this even though bully romances aren’t my thing. I do like that this isn’t as extreme as some bully romances are, yes he was horrible to her but at least he didn’t put his hands on her. And he actually kind of made up for all the BS he put her through and he actually had some character development and I started actually rooting for them.

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codicheyenne's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and I'm so excited to have received an ARC for the re-publication of it! I appreciated the pacing of the book and how the characters remained true to themselves even while growing. Millie was so easy to love and feel for. Her heart is so genuine and I really felt for her and how unable to be anything other than her kind, selfless self she was - even to her own detriment. Vicious was a "villain" I love to say suffered from the "he's just a boy" syndrome. (Other examples include Draco Malfoy, Jacks, Damon Torrance.) What I mean by that is he's a total jerk, hands down, but under that huge, standoffish persona, he's also a hurt little boy inside who needed an ounce of affection. I loved that while he was indeed a total jerk he was still lovable. I did find myself wishing he would just let himself cry every once in awhile though lol, I think it would help. I loved that there was no clear indication of the switch between enemies and lovers. It ebbed and flowed through time, distance and circumstance. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timeline aspect as well. I'm excited to see what book 2 brings for Dean & Rosie.

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alaynapaige's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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sienasummerrreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

“It was always us and you know it.”

It’s 10 years in the future, and Emilia is living paycheck to paycheck trying to support her sister while working two jobs in New York. On a night shift waitressing she comes across a man that haunted her past. His family had control over hers and she was run out of the town… 

When I tell you the MMC Vicious is a massive alpha hole and at the start, you question everything when reading. Wondering how it will turn around for you to fall for the MMC. This man is the biggest red flag walking but when you dig through the layers and brick walls the FMC Emilia starts uncovering a dark past and his true feelings. I am a sucker for a broken man and the grovelling at the end was delicious. She is his addiction but so is he to her. It’s a very toxic relationship and environment due to their past and present. I did enjoy this, but I did struggle with Vicious and his ways at times. I love how strong Emilia is in the present to put up with his behaviour over and over again and started to put her foot down against him. 
The plot was great, excited to read about the other friends in the coming book. I’m so ready for Rosie and Dean. The audiobook is great and would recommend it.  

If you love: 

🔹Hate To Love 
🔹Billionaire 
🔹Past And Present 
🔹Dark Past 
🔹Secret Pining 
🔹Perfect Amount Of Spice 

Genre/Type: Romance 18+
APK: Kindle / Audiobook 
Pages: 372
Audiobook Length: 10hrs 4mins
Narrators: Savannah Peachwood and Christian Rummel - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spice: 🌶️🌶.5
Series or Stand Alone: Book One in The Sinners Of Saint Series 
Tropes or Themes: Hate To Love, Workplace, Billionaire, Forced Proximity, Secret Pining, Slow Burn, Bullying, Good Girl Bad Boy Vibes, MMC Alphahole, Possessive, FMC Personal Assistant, FMC Artist, Past and Present, Blackmail, Letters, Scars, Grovelling, Mine, Cursing, Playlist, Sexual Content, Praise, Dirty Talk, Tattoo Parlour Scene and Office Scene
Mentions: Past Child Abuse 
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫 

Kind Regards
All Round Romance Reader 
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫


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thebookishmel's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Idk man, this was a wild, dark, AND JUST NOT MY VIBE for romance lol. You have to go in knowing that this is just the style of the book, but like WOOF was it a lot of possessiveness and wild revenge. 

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a_melville's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Vicious is a dark romance novel and it's the perfect mix of smut, romance, and plot. I absolutely adore Vicious.  This book is about childhood enemies Vicious and Emilia, who turned into adults who hate each other. 

Emilia is the FMC who grew up as the "Help" because her parents worked for Vicious's family. She grows up and goes to New York with her sister and works a few jobs to support herself and her sick sister. After not seeing Vicious for years, she runs into him and he gives her an offer she would be stupid to refuse. She is stubborn, smart, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Especially when it comes to Vicious. 

Vicious is the MMC and he is dark, twisted, and full of childhood trauma. He is a childhood bully who grows up to become a lawyer. He hates the "Help" from the first time they met, and he is not afraid to let her know that. However he still can't seem to let her get away from him, and he might just need her help. 

The banter is simply to die for. The plot is interesting and tells a great story, and the world-building is good. It is easy to get invested early in the story. This book is medium-paced. I would say the spice is a three out of five. Love, love, love this book!

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csantos's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

1.0

I usually like dark, angsty romance books with loads of pining and morally grey characters and this book had all of that but it just wasn’t for me. The MMC is abusive and immature. The FMC is strong-willed and smart until she gets around the MMC. He treated her like crap and I didn’t think his explanations and apologizes are realistically forgivable. I feel like this book romanticizes control and abuse. The side characters, the MMC’s so-called friends are awful, misogynistic, and just as cruel as the MMC. No redemption to be found for any character. I don’t think villainous characters necessarily need to be redeemed all the time, but it was clear that’s what the author was trying to do, and it just fell flat. 
This is supposed to be a stand alone with other interconnected novels, but it doesn’t read as a stand alone. The author kept referring to things that happened in the prequel or that will happen in previous novels that makes it so you have to read the other novels to understand what’s happening in this one. That’s not what an interconnected standalone is. I shouldn’t have to read all the others to understand one of them. I don’t care enough for this work to even bother with the other books but I kept having to check that I was reading the first book in the series because so many things confused me. If you want to give this a chance, maybe read the prequel first. I feel like it will clear up the confusion, though I am not invested enough in these trash characters to care. 

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rachelmichelson's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.0

Our Hero (H) is mean d-bag, as a result of childhood trauma and wealth and our Heroine (h) is the quirky  new girl/artist that grabs his attention . The story bounces between present day and 10 years prior, from both POVS. 
They hate each other but quickly discover they love each other more.

It's a quick read with some on page spice. It drags in the 3rd act when our H has to win the girl back. The various threads of the story are a bit unnecessary and don't move it further. 

Entire series is available on KU 

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lillypad5455's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Very clever book, very crude at times, but great story development. The details follow through, it's very well planned out book, didn't feel predictable at all. Very very erotic, almost too much at times.

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tguccione's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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