Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Hideaway by Penelope Douglas

15 reviews

shayrm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

Hideaway is the 2nd book in the Devil's Night series and you do want to read the 1st book 1st so you have the history this story builds on. 

This book is focused on Kai and his love interest, Banks. Each of the 4 MMCs in this series are coming to terms with the crimes that sent 3 of them to prison, the imprisonment and the events following their return to normal life. But Kai has another secret that he is trying to protect. Banks is the only one who can help them find the one estranged MMC and the one who knows the secret.

It becomes a cat and mouse game to see who can outsmart who and get the upper hand. All while Banks and Kai are steadily drawn together. He knows she has secrets of her own and she has made it clear her loyalty is to the other MMC. 

Penelope Douglas keeps you guessing throughout the book as to what will happen next. The story is also told through flashbacks of memories of from both Kai and Banks to reveal more of the story and motivations for each character.

There is good chemistry between our characters and I love the spice. The seduction leading to the spice raises the heat level 🥵

One of my favorite side characters is Alex. I love a woman, who is not afraid to go for what she wants and make absolutely no apologies for it!

I listened to this book performed by Tatiana Sokolov and Jeremy York. Both performers were able to bring me into the story and provide different voices for the characters. This is so important when listening so you don't get confused as to who is speaking when. My only issue is Jeremy doesn't have a good voice for female characters. (I guess he's too manly 😉)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Animal cruelty, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Child abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

princess413's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read the warning content first.  Very dark will have you thinking wtf but somehow you keep wondering what will happen next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Incest, Bullying, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship

booklloveer101's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

faith99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal cruelty

sshpurple1's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.0

Kai is the most balanced and obvious about his genuine feelings for Nikola Banks. Banks is a loyal, sarcastic, and lost young woman with much love to give. I do not understand her dislike of Rika. This book was not as intriguing as Corrupt, but we get more insight into the group. Even learning more about Damon and understanding why he is the way he is. I know that it states that these books are stand-alone, but I disagree. To fully understand what is happening with the group, you must read Corrupt first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Violence and Murder

bigbookslay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

KAI AND BANKS ARE THE LOML

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Incest, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Misogyny, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abandonment, Body shaming, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse

anyakdh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

1.75

mmh would have been 2 if I liked banks I did like the start of the book highlighting how much Kai has changed and then it was never addressed again the only thing that kept me gking was Damon I’m so interested in his character and WILLL he was so quiet I can’t wait to step into his mind but yeah no this book was boring 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Grief, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death of parent

angiew's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child abuse

ladylovestead's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This is the second book in the devil's night series. You do need to read the first book in the series to understand what is happening in this one. It helps to read the first one as well because Rika and Michael are in this one and you get to enjoy seeing their relationship develop a bit more. This romance focuses on Kai and Banks. Banks is one of the most interesting characters I've read about in a long time. I absolutely loved her and she is one of my top favorite characters of all time. Her transformation in this story was so wonderful, and this would have been a great book if that's all it was, but it was more than that. Not only did we see this wonderful character transformation in Banks, but we get to know Kai and see how he struggles with this inner battle between the dark and light parts of himself. The book also has thriller elements with the storyline about Damon that continues from the first book. This was a great read if you like dark romance and I'm excited to read book 3! I don't like to share triggers because some find them to be spoilers, but if you need to know triggers, do look them up before reading.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Stalking, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, and Murder

coligmueller's review against another edition

4.5

I am shocked at how much better this one is than the first. Kai still has issues with misogyny, but not nearly as bad as Michael or Damon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Lesbophobia and Gun violence