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saff10's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Was slow getting through it and the way Winter and Damon’s relationship developed wasn’t great but overall an ok read. All of the description and retelling of Damon’s past was very graphic and not sure if there are enough warnings when it comes to this book. He is by far the most interesting character and has the best character development of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
lilydoyle6's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
3-4? Can't decide. But, this book definitely didn't need to be 500 pages. Everyone says it's their favorite of the series and idk about that. Overall it was good and not as romance heavy as the others. I think Damon did a nice 180 by the end. And can't speak to the blind representation and whether or not that was problematic/accurate. But glad I can keep crossing these off my list. Feel like I need to do my due diligence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping
hyacinthus__'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Self harm, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
anna_m16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol
noveltay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
I’ll be honest… This series gets better with every book. I do think Damon has the best character development out of all of them, and it really is strange falling in love with him. I like the flashbacks, the “ghost”, and a lot of their relationship, but I will say- Winter is really annoying. I know her memory was vague about her past with Damon, but I don’t get why she was so adamant about hating him. I enjoyed this book the most out of the first 3 of the series, excited to read Will’s story, but I’m really unsure how it will get any better than Damon being sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Bullying and Car accident
Rape was talked about heavily in this book. It was hard to read at times, if you are a victim I’d advise you to proceed with caution.oliviaskye's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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 book was definitely very intense. Damon, one of the main characters, has a lot of trauma which we get to learn more about in this book. Winter, the other main character, also has trauma from her childhood, and it was interesting to read how both of their past experiences fit in with the other.
I do HATE the trope where the love interest is to marry the main character's sister, especially when it's clear he doesn't care for the sister at all but is only doing it for a reaction from the MC. It frustrates me way too much and the whole time I'm practically ripping my hair out, but, I really did enjoy Damon and Winter's relationship. I mean, the scene where he goes to Winter's house after he learns that the video has been leaked and she figures out who he really is and she's pissed but Damon just says that he just wanted to hold her one last time...yeah, that lives rent-free in my mind. I only recommend this book if you are comfortable with dark romances and have checked out the TW's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
kaitrenwick's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
5 beautiful stars
at first i did NOT expect this to be a 5 star read but the next thing i know i’m sobbing because i sympathize with damon and because i fell in love with his and winter’s relationship
”I’d changed her forever. I’d bent and twisted and broken everything that made her the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.”
“‘You taught me how to survive that day,” he said. “You taught me how to be strong and how to get to the next minute.”
”And instead of sticking to the plan and making her hate that she wanted me, I hated that I still wanted her. None of it was a lie, except my name. It was real, and I wanted it again. I fucking loved her.”
TW: sexual abuse (2 flashbacks), thoughts of suicide, self harm, assault, pedophilia, incest
DAMON TORRENCE
let me tell you... i fucking hated this man up until this book. and once i hate a character its very hard for me to like them again or believe in their redemption; p douglas you fucking did it girl. i absolutely fell in love with damon. he is so broken and thinks that he doesn’t deserve anything good in this world and that just broke my heart. whenever he was in danger or someone said something hurtful to him i was literally fuming i mean don’t get me wrong, what he did in the last two books was god awful and it would take a long time for someone to forgive him for what he did, but must reading everything that was going on in his head was truly heartbreaking and it made me want the absolute best for him. i love love love how he didn’t inherit any of his fathers money and he started his own building and design company; like what.... THE DEVELOPMENT!!!! is he a new book boyfriend????? no. but damon’s character has some of the best character development i have ever seen, and he will always hold a special place in my heart EDIT damon is now my ultimate book boyfriend, even months later i find myself thinking about him and anytime i see a man with dark hair i immediately fancast them as d, so idk wtf i was thinkin when i said he wasnt a new book boyfriend
THE ROMANCE
winter girl, lets be besties. so idk if i wasn’t paying that much attention but we readers fine out that winter is blind around the 15% mark and i was like holy shit, i have never read a book with a blind character this is going to be very intriguing and it really was! i’m not blind but i think p douglas did a very good job describing the struggles and how winter has to adapt after she became blind. it was so beautiful and quite eye opening. i was just thinking like she hasn’t seen what damon looks like since she was 8 years old, and some people might say damon has an ugly personality and this girl still fell in love with him after everything he put her through. it was all basically just damon not communicating his feelings. it honestly felt like he didn’t want the world to know who he really was, and how he could love a woman and not treat her like total garbage. this romance is now very high on my list of favorite book ships. these two are just fkn adorable. im writing this after reading Conclave so i already read about them and their son and lemme just say i was shedding some tears because damon is going to be the best dad. ANYWAY um yeah this romance is beautiful. winter and damon have my heart and deserve the world.
omg the ✨threesome✨ scene i forgot about it; yeah i was like cringing and making disgusted faced bc i was quite scared. winter, damon and will; aka lets have will join bc he is traumatized from almost drowning... again and he needs to get warm and feel better. NO NO NO NO, never ever didni expect damon to be okay with SHARING winter but then again he did jack will off in the beginning of the book so anything is expected from damon
OVERALL
first 5 star read snd favorite for me in 2021 and i am so happy. this book brought me so much sadness but happiness at the same time??? it’s a rollercoaster of emotions ya’ll. i also wanted to mention that i loved the side characters in the book (they all have their own books as well; minus alex) they all played an important and relevant part in this book and i just really enjoyed that. we also see Misha and Ryen from Punk 57 in this book!! this series is LOADED with darkness but if you’re into dark romance i definitely recommend! corrupt (michael & rika) is my least fav so far and hideaway (kai & banks) was super good!! go pick these up!
at first i did NOT expect this to be a 5 star read but the next thing i know i’m sobbing because i sympathize with damon and because i fell in love with his and winter’s relationship
”I’d changed her forever. I’d bent and twisted and broken everything that made her the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.”
“‘You taught me how to survive that day,” he said. “You taught me how to be strong and how to get to the next minute.”
”And instead of sticking to the plan and making her hate that she wanted me, I hated that I still wanted her. None of it was a lie, except my name. It was real, and I wanted it again. I fucking loved her.”
TW: sexual abuse (2 flashbacks), thoughts of suicide, self harm, assault, pedophilia, incest
DAMON TORRENCE
let me tell you... i fucking hated this man up until this book. and once i hate a character its very hard for me to like them again or believe in their redemption; p douglas you fucking did it girl. i absolutely fell in love with damon. he is so broken and thinks that he doesn’t deserve anything good in this world and that just broke my heart. whenever he was in danger or someone said something hurtful to him i was literally fuming i mean don’t get me wrong, what he did in the last two books was god awful and it would take a long time for someone to forgive him for what he did, but must reading everything that was going on in his head was truly heartbreaking and it made me want the absolute best for him. i love love love how he didn’t inherit any of his fathers money and he started his own building and design company; like what.... THE DEVELOPMENT!!!! is he a new book boyfriend????? no. but damon’s character has some of the best character development i have ever seen, and he will always hold a special place in my heart EDIT damon is now my ultimate book boyfriend, even months later i find myself thinking about him and anytime i see a man with dark hair i immediately fancast them as d, so idk wtf i was thinkin when i said he wasnt a new book boyfriend
THE ROMANCE
winter girl, lets be besties. so idk if i wasn’t paying that much attention but we readers fine out that winter is blind around the 15% mark and i was like holy shit, i have never read a book with a blind character this is going to be very intriguing and it really was! i’m not blind but i think p douglas did a very good job describing the struggles and how winter has to adapt after she became blind. it was so beautiful and quite eye opening. i was just thinking like she hasn’t seen what damon looks like since she was 8 years old, and some people might say damon has an ugly personality and this girl still fell in love with him after everything he put her through. it was all basically just damon not communicating his feelings. it honestly felt like he didn’t want the world to know who he really was, and how he could love a woman and not treat her like total garbage. this romance is now very high on my list of favorite book ships. these two are just fkn adorable. im writing this after reading Conclave so i already read about them and their son and lemme just say i was shedding some tears because damon is going to be the best dad. ANYWAY um yeah this romance is beautiful. winter and damon have my heart and deserve the world.
omg the ✨threesome✨ scene i forgot about it; yeah i was like cringing and making disgusted faced bc i was quite scared. winter, damon and will; aka lets have will join bc he is traumatized from almost drowning... again and he needs to get warm and feel better. NO NO NO NO, never ever didni expect damon to be okay with SHARING winter but then again he did jack will off in the beginning of the book so anything is expected from damon
OVERALL
first 5 star read snd favorite for me in 2021 and i am so happy. this book brought me so much sadness but happiness at the same time??? it’s a rollercoaster of emotions ya’ll. i also wanted to mention that i loved the side characters in the book (they all have their own books as well; minus alex) they all played an important and relevant part in this book and i just really enjoyed that. we also see Misha and Ryen from Punk 57 in this book!! this series is LOADED with darkness but if you’re into dark romance i definitely recommend! corrupt (michael & rika) is my least fav so far and hideaway (kai & banks) was super good!! go pick these up!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
k8thegr8's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Incest, Rape, and Pedophilia
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
sierrachenee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Somehow this series presented me with Damon, a convicted felon, attempted murderer, and just all around screwed up character who terrorized everyone including the girl he loved and by the end of this I am in love with him.
This book is confusing for my brain but I loved it. I don’t know how some things got redeemed but this book really does make you think. It’s very morally gray in a lot of areas and extremely dark so I would not recommend for everyone. It was so heartbreaking every step of the way.
Some parts were a bit too much or out of character or tied up too nicely but the good out balances the bad.
Winter is also my favorite lead women in this series so far. She is blind and I liked that Damon didn’t coddle her like a lot of others did. She was very determined, smart, strong, but also very caring. Their relationship was extremely messed up but they worked so well together. His relationship with Will too is my favorite.
If there wasn’t more in a series this book would provide me with a major book hangover and I’d be wandering around for a week or two trying to figure out what to read.
This book is confusing for my brain but I loved it. I don’t know how some things got redeemed but this book really does make you think. It’s very morally gray in a lot of areas and extremely dark so I would not recommend for everyone. It was so heartbreaking every step of the way.
Some parts were a bit too much or out of character or tied up too nicely but the good out balances the bad.
Winter is also my favorite lead women in this series so far. She is blind and I liked that Damon didn’t coddle her like a lot of others did. She was very determined, smart, strong, but also very caring. Their relationship was extremely messed up but they worked so well together. His relationship with Will too is my favorite.
If there wasn’t more in a series this book would provide me with a major book hangover and I’d be wandering around for a week or two trying to figure out what to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Rape, Murder, Gun violence, Bullying, Pedophilia, Incest, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use
maliha's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Pedophilia