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sterwilliger's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death
bangiebangs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a really hard one to review. It is dark, like all the CWs apply here. It does contain sexual assault and rape in pretty much all its forms. And yes, I agree with another review that it really reminds me of Laura Thalassa's Pestilence as well.
Are there redeeming qualities? Not if you don't want to read about SA. Skip this book, truly. For me, it was the first one that really went there, but I still liked the story overall. It doesnt break any ground (monstrous MMC, an FMC who is dropped into his clutches, and slow enemies to lovers, the tortured man rescued by a kind woman, etc).
The reason I can still enjoy the book is probably that the rape scenes aren't truly fleshed out - we get the mechanics, we don't get a lot of description of how it feels (beyond "my ass still hurts") or the fallout (ie. how does Ada feel afterwards, what physical and mental effects are there). This doesn't diminish what happens, of course, but it does make it much easier to focus on the slow process of her seeing more of him and gaining some understanding. (Fwiw, the worst part for me was her reaction to him "twisting" her legs - so much more palpable, and gave me more of a visceral reaction).
In order for this all to work I think you have to understand that people (especially women) do have rape fantasies, and that that is ok. To be clear, it is *not* ok to actually rape someone, but fantasizing about that is just something that many people do. (I'm explicitly excluding cis men or people who actually want to sexually assault somebody and talking about a sexual fantasy here). I think it's legitimate to suspend disbelief and enjoy the book for what it is: an enemies to lovers rape fantasy, even if it is not something I'd want to read uncritically (meaning without acknowledging the rape, and accepting that this can still be a turn on... as a fantasy.) And because it is a fantasy, a dark one at that, it's acceptable that this is not CNC but actual non con.
With that out of the way: the pacing is pretty good, though feels a tad hurried at times (it's not a long book). The dialogue... eh. His blunt way of talking about fucking her sometimes took me out of the story a little, mainly because he otherwise talks like a being that has lost touch with humanity and isn't particularly modern. But ok.
The world-building was great, super interesting take! Also enough mystery left for book 2.I'm curious about the brothers... like, the god of whispers seems as horrible as the MMC .
Recommended if you liked Pestilence, dark romance, rape fantasy and dont mind gore and violence. Explicitly not for you if you mind any of that and/or graphic descriptions of death and decay (incl children) or violent child death - though that's the cliffhanger so not sure how that will actually work out .
Are there redeeming qualities? Not if you don't want to read about SA. Skip this book, truly. For me, it was the first one that really went there, but I still liked the story overall. It doesnt break any ground (monstrous MMC, an FMC who is dropped into his clutches, and slow enemies to lovers, the tortured man rescued by a kind woman, etc).
The reason I can still enjoy the book is probably that the rape scenes aren't truly fleshed out - we get the mechanics, we don't get a lot of description of how it feels (beyond "my ass still hurts") or the fallout (ie. how does Ada feel afterwards, what physical and mental effects are there). This doesn't diminish what happens, of course, but it does make it much easier to focus on the slow process of her seeing more of him and gaining some understanding. (Fwiw, the worst part for me was her reaction to him "twisting" her legs - so much more palpable, and gave me more of a visceral reaction).
In order for this all to work I think you have to understand that people (especially women) do have rape fantasies, and that that is ok. To be clear, it is *not* ok to actually rape someone, but fantasizing about that is just something that many people do. (I'm explicitly excluding cis men or people who actually want to sexually assault somebody and talking about a sexual fantasy here). I think it's legitimate to suspend disbelief and enjoy the book for what it is: an enemies to lovers rape fantasy, even if it is not something I'd want to read uncritically (meaning without acknowledging the rape, and accepting that this can still be a turn on... as a fantasy.) And because it is a fantasy, a dark one at that, it's acceptable that this is not CNC but actual non con.
With that out of the way: the pacing is pretty good, though feels a tad hurried at times (it's not a long book). The dialogue... eh. His blunt way of talking about fucking her sometimes took me out of the story a little, mainly because he otherwise talks like a being that has lost touch with humanity and isn't particularly modern. But ok.
The world-building was great, super interesting take! Also enough mystery left for book 2.
Recommended if you liked Pestilence, dark romance, rape fantasy and dont mind gore and violence. Explicitly not for you if you mind any of that and/or graphic descriptions of death and decay (incl children)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Religious bigotry
malisac16's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Infertility, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Rape, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Domestic abuse
mollyjeansutter's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, and Body horror
shinyfox's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, War, and Suicide
Minor: Animal death
Dubcon/noncon, child birthgillian0231's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
2.0
Genuinely what the fuck was that??? I'm just going to make a list of everything bad about this book because I don't feel like this book deserves the energy that it would take to write a full, thought-out review
- RAPE!!! The MMC literally rapes the FMC the entire story. I understand dub-con, have read it in a few dark romances, and do enjoy it if done right, but that was not was what this was. He has to use his mind control powers to get her to fuck him and to get wet.
- The main characters literally have zero chemistry. She doesn't really end up liking him until the last ~20% of the book. No character development and it really feels like she develops Stockholm Syndrome that's how little chemistry there is
- Bad writing. Everything felt disjointed, there was no character development, time would suddenly pass or we would suddenly be in a new location. It was just chaotic
- Personal preference, but it was all kinda just too gross for me. Like enough about the rotting corpses. I know he's the king of the dead but it was a bit excessive
- Smut scenes didn't do it for me. I think it was a bit of a combination of personal taste (so much anal, which he used as a scare tactic/threat) and just plain bad writing. Also I think it started way too quickly in the book, but again that goes back to Enosh just straight up raping Ada
- SHE CALLED HER CLIT HER "NYMPH"!!!!!!!!! WHY?????????
- Why did Enosh have some morals ("I despise pain, Ada. But not as much as I despise those who inflict it without mercy") but was fine with raping her? Does the author not know what consent is?
- So much doesn't get explained, like why doesn't Enosh allow the dead to rest? Why did he abandon his duty? And this was a really big plot point, it definitely should have been explained
- It gets too close to the victim blaming territory with Njala (just like in A Soul to Keep)
- Honestly Ada's only personality trait is wanting to be a mother but not being able to and being a good wife to her abusive husbands. What a role model
Honestly this probably deserves less than a 2 star rating but the author did put time and effort into this and I hate giving someone's hard work such a bad score. 2 is usually the lowest I'll go. I always did think the world-building had potential and was interesting, it just wasn't executed great and was put on the back-burner to the rape
I don't usually put trigger warnings in my reviews because I believe there are better resources out there, but I will for this one, especially because the beginning of the book does a horrendous job of doing so
- RAPE!!! The MMC literally rapes the FMC the entire story. I understand dub-con, have read it in a few dark romances, and do enjoy it if done right, but that was not was what this was. He has to use his mind control powers to get her to fuck him and to get wet.
- The main characters literally have zero chemistry. She doesn't really end up liking him until the last ~20% of the book. No character development and it really feels like she develops Stockholm Syndrome that's how little chemistry there is
- Bad writing. Everything felt disjointed, there was no character development, time would suddenly pass or we would suddenly be in a new location. It was just chaotic
- Personal preference, but it was all kinda just too gross for me. Like enough about the rotting corpses. I know he's the king of the dead but it was a bit excessive
- Smut scenes didn't do it for me. I think it was a bit of a combination of personal taste (so much anal, which he used as a scare tactic/threat) and just plain bad writing. Also I think it started way too quickly in the book, but again that goes back to Enosh just straight up raping Ada
- SHE CALLED HER CLIT HER "NYMPH"!!!!!!!!! WHY?????????
- Why did Enosh have some morals ("I despise pain, Ada. But not as much as I despise those who inflict it without mercy") but was fine with raping her? Does the author not know what consent is?
- So much doesn't get explained, like why doesn't Enosh allow the dead to rest? Why did he abandon his duty? And this was a really big plot point, it definitely should have been explained
- It gets too close to the victim blaming territory with Njala (just like in A Soul to Keep)
- Honestly Ada's only personality trait is wanting to be a mother but not being able to and being a good wife to her abusive husbands. What a role model
Honestly this probably deserves less than a 2 star rating but the author did put time and effort into this and I hate giving someone's hard work such a bad score. 2 is usually the lowest I'll go. I always did think the world-building had potential and was interesting, it just wasn't executed great and was put on the back-burner to the rape
I don't usually put trigger warnings in my reviews because I believe there are better resources out there, but I will for this one, especially because the beginning of the book does a horrendous job of doing so
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
lalysva's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Wow this was bad.
Now, I'm not squeamish and I don't have triggers. I love dark fantasy and horror. And I don't mind reading about sensitive topics.
But this was just disgusting and uncomfortable to read.
The content warning said dub-con, but this is plain old abuse and r*pe.
Enosh literally uses Ada's body like a marionette puppet to pleasure himself. But it's okay, because she actually likes it, even though she struggles to resist? Hard pass from me
You can include r*pe in stories and do it well, but this is just romanticizing a r*pist. After the first sex scene I lost all hope for the couple. Why would I cheer for a douchebag that forces himself on Ada? The only hope I'd have would be for her to kill him and find someone worthy.
I DNF'ed at 25% as this is the worst book I've read in years.
The only good thing I can say is that the world building with the zombies and Enosh' role is quite interesting, and I would have loved to read more of that if the characters weren't so awful.
The writing was okay, but the dirty talk was cringe worthy with some really poor word choices (seed anybody?).
Unless you're into r*pe erotica don't bother with this book.
Now, I'm not squeamish and I don't have triggers. I love dark fantasy and horror. And I don't mind reading about sensitive topics.
But this was just disgusting and uncomfortable to read.
The content warning said dub-con, but this is plain old abuse and r*pe.
Enosh literally uses Ada's body like a marionette puppet to pleasure himself. But it's okay, because she actually likes it, even though she struggles to resist? Hard pass from me
You can include r*pe in stories and do it well, but this is just romanticizing a r*pist. After the first sex scene I lost all hope for the couple. Why would I cheer for a douchebag that forces himself on Ada? The only hope I'd have would be for her to kill him and find someone worthy.
I DNF'ed at 25% as this is the worst book I've read in years.
The only good thing I can say is that the world building with the zombies and Enosh' role is quite interesting, and I would have loved to read more of that if the characters weren't so awful.
The writing was okay, but the dirty talk was cringe worthy with some really poor word choices (seed anybody?).
Unless you're into r*pe erotica don't bother with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture
elizabeth_delozier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
2.75
The first in a dark fantasy romance duology. Please mind the extensive trigger warnings, listed below.
Ada is a human struggling with grieving the death of her husband and fitting into a society that looks down on her for being unable to bear a child. She finds herself accidentally dragged into the Pale Court and at the mercy of a merciless god. The King of Flesh and Bone, the ruler of the Pale Court (think Hades and the Underworld, but with a dark fantasy twist), who can control flesh or bone - rot corpses, raise a dead army, break the bones of the living at will, distort ones flesh to either age or remain young, etc. The story primarily follows the dynamics of their relationship and the King of Flesh and Bone's role outside of the Pale Court.
I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have not read many dark fantasy romance stories, so I am not sure if the content of this book is typical for the genre or if the dark elements are not aligned with what the genre is meant to be. I do plan on reading more dark fantasy romance in the future, so I may revisit this review following additional reference points.
---I do not guarantee that the review / TWs are not spoiler free, read with this in mind. ---
Be advised that this story is about a villain. Not a hero. There is no redemption. There is no good. Just a dark and distorted god and a lot of smut (including quite a bit of peach play, in case you were interested).The villain has a strong disdain for the living, with a complicated past involving another human woman. So much so that he has isolated himself in the Pale Court. When Ada is dragged into his presence, he takes this disdain out on her in the form of nonconsensual sexual punishment, as he strongly desires her warmth. The entirety of their relationship is nonconsensual sex - where he not only physically forces her into acts, but also uses his abilities to force her flesh and bone to comply with his demands. Towards the end of the book, Ada begins to feel conflicted by her body's arousal response to these acts and distorts this natural bodily response to assault for real building emotions of affection towards the King. This portrayal of a traumatic response as affection did not sit well with me and played a large role in me wanting to hate this book.
That aside, the writing is nothing outstanding and there is no plot (and what little plot does exist feels forced). The pacing is fast, very fast. The explanation of the King, his brothers, and their entire existence/purpose/boundaries of their powers is very underdeveloped. Also, it ends on a cliffhanger, which is neither here nor there.
Like I said, I wanted to hate this book, but I didn't...I enjoyed it. If you are okay with the dark elements/TWs and are looking for a quick read with little investment in world building with dirty/dark smut, then this book may be for you.
The second book however....well, see my review of that book for more information. Overall, I would have recommended this book, but the second book in the series was enough for me to say that I will not be recommending this book.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.
TWs:sexual content, sexual violence, repeated on page rape between the main characters, repeated on page sexual assault between the main characters, confinement, violence, gore, fire/injury, blood, body horror, death, murder, animal death, physical abuse, emotional abuse, gaslighting, discussions of infertility, grief, terminal illness, toxic relationship.
Ada is a human struggling with grieving the death of her husband and fitting into a society that looks down on her for being unable to bear a child. She finds herself accidentally dragged into the Pale Court and at the mercy of a merciless god. The King of Flesh and Bone, the ruler of the Pale Court (think Hades and the Underworld, but with a dark fantasy twist), who can control flesh or bone - rot corpses, raise a dead army, break the bones of the living at will, distort ones flesh to either age or remain young, etc. The story primarily follows the dynamics of their relationship and the King of Flesh and Bone's role outside of the Pale Court.
I would like to preface this review with the fact that I have not read many dark fantasy romance stories, so I am not sure if the content of this book is typical for the genre or if the dark elements are not aligned with what the genre is meant to be. I do plan on reading more dark fantasy romance in the future, so I may revisit this review following additional reference points.
---I do not guarantee that the review / TWs are not spoiler free, read with this in mind. ---
Be advised that this story is about a villain. Not a hero. There is no redemption. There is no good. Just a dark and distorted god and a lot of smut (including quite a bit of peach play, in case you were interested).
That aside, the writing is nothing outstanding and there is no plot (and what little plot does exist feels forced). The pacing is fast, very fast. The explanation of the King, his brothers, and their entire existence/purpose/boundaries of their powers is very underdeveloped. Also, it ends on a cliffhanger, which is neither here nor there.
Like I said, I wanted to hate this book, but I didn't...I enjoyed it. If you are okay with the dark elements/TWs and are looking for a quick read with little investment in world building with dirty/dark smut, then this book may be for you.
The second book however....well, see my review of that book for more information. Overall, I would have recommended this book, but the second book in the series was enough for me to say that I will not be recommending this book.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Auri Alden and Gregory Salinas, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.
TWs:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
reverieparacosm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Gaslighting, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
gnlee26's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Infertility, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail