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mollyjeansutter's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, and Body horror
hoole95's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Rape
shinyfox's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.75
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
- 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
- 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
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
frantically's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Child death and War
lalysva's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
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.
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
- 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
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:
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
- 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
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
- 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
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
bluebearywitchy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book features morally gray characters, the god most of all, so don't jump in expecting the hero of the story to have a complete change of personality when the heroine appears.
Enosh is a god who's been "demoted" to a mere king and despises mankind for their treatment of him, therefore refusing to lay their dead to rest. He has the ability to control both the dead and living amongst other things and has a checks and balances system with his two brothers Eliam and Yarin. The god craves warmth but has lived the last 200 years in a cold, lonely, empty ass Pale Court since his last object of his affection betrayed him.
That is, until Ada, a midwife who's practically shunned by her people because she's "cursed" to have no kids gets dragged by her mule into his court and he decides to enslave her for his entertainment.
Their relationship is one you'd need to look at through very objective eyes because, remember, these are very morally gray characters. Enosh is a god able to control the flesh, so he makes Ada succumb to him against her will not just physically, but fucks with her emotions as well.
....“You did that.” She pressed a hand against her chest, but only until her blazing eyes snapped to mine. “So, it’s not enough to take the last bit of pride from me, but now you have to steal my rage?”
.
.
.
He rapes her, chains her to his throne, talks down to her, and breaks her legs anytime she tries to escape.
“You broke my legs.” “Twisted,” he corrected with a sigh of annoyance.
But because he dulls her pain, tends to her, and pleases her sexually (whether it's against her will or not) he doesn't see where the mistreatment lies, despite being told multiple times. He IS a god, after all, so being an arrogant bastard honestly comes with it. However, he does genuinely care for Ada and her devotions to her vows, something that makes her different from humans in his past. And unlike the humans, he's the only one who doesn't see her as defective for not bearing kids.
The ending of this book leaves off with Enosh saved from his torturers and questioning Ada's loyalty to him, meanwhile Ada is pregnant with his child and on the brink of death from getting fucking shanked.
I would have given this book a higher rating, but save for a few quotes, the dialogue was very lackluster to me. And downright cringy whenever Enosh spoke to her sexually. Their chemistry also was pretty nonexistent for, like, 65% of the book.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Torture, Rape, Violence, Death, and Infertility
Moderate: Child death