Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Gleam by Raven Kennedy

65 reviews

eleek0609's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Drug use, Sexual content, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Infidelity, Cursing, Death of parent, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Trafficking

taylormaria's review

adventurous dark slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

i liked glint but after gleam , i’m hooked on this series. i 10/10 recommend!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Trafficking

lydiasturges's review

dark emotional 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

4.25

Thank the lord that Auren is finally seeing the light when it comes to Midas!! I just wish she didn’t have to be used and abused as much before she realized her worth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Child death, War, and Violence

dealfea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Vomit, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Gore, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

feuchtitive's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.5

Just meh. But I’ve invested. Why am I still here?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Kidnapping

monica0309's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

scarlett_f's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexual content, Gore, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Pregnancy, War, Alcohol, Murder, and Trafficking

bangiebangs's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

Yes, this book finally delivers. You get all the steamy spice, the romance, the tension, and the twists. That, but heed the CNs again - where the last one was tamer, this one is pretty heavy, especially if you're sensitive to drug use and abuse. Spice, would say 4/5!

I read this one in one sitting again, and I feel like the story keeps picking up steam! The romance between Auren and Slade blossoms into steamy sex (dare I say: finally the slow burn is over!), and the first big story arc feels wrapped up. The book still ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the main arcs are finished. 

There are a couple pretty intense themes in this one.

For me, the drug abuse - especially the scenes where Auren gets drugged - were pretty intense. This, along with the physical and psychological abuse is a severe mix.

Overall really good! I'm beginning to think you can skip book 1 (and maybe read a synopsis, or not), and just start with book 2. This could have been a duology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexism, Addiction, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Torture and Slavery

crystal689's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Torture

Moderate: Sexual violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Rape, Confinement, and Murder

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

This is absolutely my favorite book in the series, it wrenches my heart out every fucking time. Not a big fan of the narrators' performances in this one- I don't think Blake Lockhart reads women's voices well, so that took me out of the smut, and Zara Eden's inflection and pronunciation choices were strange at best. Narration I'd probably give a 3.75/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Torture, Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexism, Confinement, Stalking, Pregnancy, and Trafficking

Minor: Infidelity, War, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, and Grief