Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

What Lies Beyond the Veil by Harper L. Woods

39 reviews

stephanieviolet's review

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By chapter 5 I was really exhausted by the repetition of: biting inside of her cheek, desperate to feel free, how dirty and worn thin her clothes are, the bruises and pain inflicted upon her by her abusers. Chapter. FIVE. It was intense. I felt like by then the plot should be moving forward but it just keep repeating the SAME PHRASES and SAME CIRCUMSTANCES to make you feel pity for the MC. By chapter five I wanted her to die to just end the novel. 

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liline163's review against another edition

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

2.25

Basically, the stupid fmc ends up with a toxic mmc.

A few things I didn’t like about the book were: (1)It was very obvious that Caelum was a Fae and Estrella’s mate when he was first introduced to the readers, (2) I hate how Caelum kept calling Estrella “Little One” and kept mentioning how much he wanted to have sex with her, (3) the plot twist was very obvious, and (4) I wish Melian wasn’t killed she had so much potential; given that she actually used her brain unlike Estrella.

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daniparvu's review against another edition

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

2.75

The storyline is intriuging; I genuinely wanted to know what would happen next, however: I think the amount of sex and the emphasis on the lust of the population in general made what was a really solid opportunity for killer world building fall flat. It was a bit disappointing.

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lisaloveslions's review against another edition

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adventurous dark

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nesta98's review

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

3.75

So many spelling mistakes? Also
I knew who Caelum was from the get go, it really could have been concealed better. I will say I enjoyed the reveal and the filth left me gobsmacked!

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sizeby's review

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adventurous dark
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

Mediocre writing, but I finished it

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bekkz27's review against another edition

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

1.0

If you love disgusting Male Main Characters that are a walking Red Flag, then this book is for you. I only read it all because I wanted to know if I had called the "huge reveal" only 23% of the way in. It is insane how predictable this book was. 

I haven't been this angry about a book for a long time. This book is a sad impression of the most popular books like ACOTAR or FBAA. TikTok needs to get their heads out of the dumpsters because that is exactly where this book emerged. 

List of Transgressions: 

1) Female Main Character = Mary Sue
She started this entire book as a really interesting character. Struggling through a very real grooming situation, she starts as a strong woman that refuses to take shit. Enter in a hot man. Just like that, she becomes a mewling idiot. Every bit of gumption and strength became a thing of the past as she turned into a doe-eyed schoolgirl in love with the first hottie to show her basic human kindness. *gag* The author attempts to hold onto the strong Estrella that shows up in the first 5 chapters by having her fight random people. It seems so out of context when you think about her upbringing in a very strict town. The logic is not logical here. 
That isn't even bringing into account the blind way she refuses to use her brain throughout. There are COUNTLESS situations that made me question Caelum. Why does she never question this man who shows up and does things that are a tad too perfect? He is magically super good with a sword. How is that? He refuses to talk about his family or his past. Why does she just accept that? He is instantly in love with her. Why? He knows nothing about her and yet, he is ready to take her to bed the minute they meet. That seems fishy. What do you think Estrella? Nope. Perfectly logic. Even other characters bring up his bad behavior and she refuses to look at the FACTS presented to her. I hate this trope of a woman becoming a damn idiot because they found a man. She is a cookie-cutter Female Main Character who has no traits outside of being a love interest the instant Caelum arrives.

2) The Writing Style
I understand that Harper Woods is trying to reach out to the "common folk" here with her writing, but the offhandish way that common curse words are thrown into this book is jarring. The restrictive life and village that Estrella is raised in would not give her the vocabulary that is used. Also, pussy? She is too embarrassed to undress in front of people. Why would she use that word to describe herself? It doesn't fit the background set out for the character. 
Let's talk about Caelum's nicknames for Estrella. "My star" passes the vibe check on this one because it speaks to an understanding of the true meaning of that name. I am a huge fan of nicknames. However, "little one" is a huge ick. He calls her it during sex and more than her actual name. That is not cute or sexy. It is the nickname for a child. I understand she is LIKE a child in her understanding of the world, but that does not make the nickname okay. It is really gross. 

3) Sex
This book uses sex when the author doesn't know what else to do. When stuck on what should happen next, sexual tension or sex in general is the only answer. I also hate that Caelum uses sex to avoid answering questions that Estrella asks him. Plus, the sex scene in the public bath cheapened the relationship. Estrella WAS a quiet and reserved girl due to her upbringing. I respected that. However, Caelum goes from not wanting a single man to even seeing her slightly naked or touching her to railing her in the public bath to make a statement. Gross and not necessary. 

4) (The biggest issue!) Caelum 
Walking red flag alert. Nothing about this guy screams sexy love interest. He spends the majority of the book being overly protective and possessive. She is a person, not a horse. Through his constant gaslighting and avoidance, I felt like the author was trying to force the reader to think he was a good person. NOPE! He does nothing but objectify the main character and tell her how he will have sex with her. He constantly talks about how she will be begging him to fuck her and pretends it is romantic. RED FLAG! He gaslights the main character into trusting him while he lies to her the entire time. Whenever others beg Estrella to question what she is being presented about him, he gets violent. Um, not sexy. That is abusive behavior. I understand that Estrella's love map is super messed up because she was groomed as a child, but this is something else. She happily skips into an abusive relationship with Caelum and thinks it is true love. Ew. I cannot say enough about how Caelum is this unrealistic guy. Slong is so long it hits his knees and apparently, he is tall enough for Estrella to comfortably rest her head against his stomach while they are both standing. Who is Caelum? Slenderman!? UNREALISTIC!

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merindahk's review against another edition

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

3.0

i think this really needs to be heavily edited. The conversational flow was all off.
I hated the way they threw the two main characters together and they fell in love within a week or two? cmon
i appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book but I don’t think they did enough. the sex scenes were so uncomfortable towards the end and just so violent. They really needed to do more character development. Why are women always so helpless and small. Also “little one”??? THATS WEIRD and unnecessary

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eventualghost's review

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A very slow beginning and pretty much clueless main character. We don't meet the love interest until Chapter 12, and even then it’s YA awkward. I am not a fan of the “little one” nickname for potential lovers. Unfortunately, this book is always on the edge of being good with plot points and characters.

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milliethekitt's review

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

1.0


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