Reviews with content warning for Blood - Layla

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Layla by Colleen Hoover

21 reviews

hapalyn's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book is kind of a mindf-ck? Colleen Hoover needs to stop writing romance and just write thrillers like this one and Verity because it just seems to be her best works. She has a knack for writing interesting plots and captivating storylines, but her characters' romances are almost always toxic or inappropriate to some degree.

I don't think I need to nitpick every single toxic thing here, I think a normal person would see it (but I will mention the one scene where she's clearly not sober and he seems to be... and they.. yeah). I think this being a thriller of sorts makes it easier to just ignore the bad things that happen because the characters feel morally gray..ish. I think that part of the complication here is that when you finish the book, you're like "is Leeds toxic? was this the right way to resolve this? what about all the times he

thought Sable was Layla and did toxic things to her? What does that mean in terms of HIS ethics here??"

I think the paranormal aspect was intriguing, I think the resolution was somewhat forced to go perfectly (sister was a curveball...........). I think the only disservice Colleen does to herself most is she writes short, fast books. Which, naturally, those who hate long books would love this. I just felt like the suspense could've been way better if the details were drawn on more in the wayyy beginning to draw the connection between Sable and Leeds first before connecting the dots with Layla. If the reader had seen the toxicity in Sable, I think it would've been adding a nice element to the storyline. Just a lot of loose ends weren't tied up for me personally, but I can see why a casual reader would enjoy this.

Will also note, the sex scenes feel so out of place in this type of genre, so they're not "sexy" like they would be in a romance. They're just uncomfortable.

So overall, this would've been rated higher if it had just a little bit more. I think Colleen Hoover has potential in the thriller/paranormal/mystery genre. I hate that her talents are wasted on the romances she writes, they're just awful and toxic. I think this genre makes great use of her skills and you don't feel as guilty enjoying a toxic character.

Content Warnings

sldibened's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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lavendcr's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

gmbooks11_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

3.0

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taryn_g's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

withlivjones's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

A really interesting take on the supernatural genre, featuring a gripping plot packed with surprising twists. I thought that the mystery and the gradual reveal of information was very well done. Honestly, if Leeds (yes, he’s literally named after the city in England) was in any way a likeable character, I would have easily rated this book at least 4 stars, but he’s not even i likeable in a way that’s fun to read - he just makes terrible decisions out of selfishness and then sulks about them - and that really made it difficult to root for him and the romance in the novel.

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marigold82's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

My first COHO book. It was on kindle unlimited so I thought why not dive into someone so polarizing.
I think I picked the wrong first book. 😕 It had some intriguing moments but was also kind of slimey? I am sure I will give another one of her books a try because I hear this one isn't quite her usual material.

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