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taleofabibliophile's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Self harm
Moderate: Murder, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
Minor: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Drug use, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Blood
sarcrawsh's review against another edition
2.0
Really slogged through this one. Seemed so unnecessarily drawn out. And Nikki annoyed the crap out of me during the first half of the book with her constant whining
booksandlifewithandrea's review against another edition
5.0
"Fuck my billions, Miss Fairchild. All I care about is you"
Best book of the lot I think loved Nikki and Damien loved this series
Best book of the lot I think loved Nikki and Damien loved this series
doc_k55's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't realize it was possible to have that much sex.
Or to be so aggressive and be unbruised
Or to eat so much and still be skinny.
Ha ha
I read this because I read the first 2 Stark novels which were really 50 Shades fan fiction. In this book we follow Damien through his murder "trial" and all the subsequent events, down to stalkers and kinky sex. It was ok. Just ok. Yes, the sex was kinky. Yes, Damien and Nikki seem like a surprisingly well-matched pair. But no, this will not go down in the annals of memorable novels. (Romance or otherwise)
Or to be so aggressive and be unbruised
Or to eat so much and still be skinny.
Ha ha
I read this because I read the first 2 Stark novels which were really 50 Shades fan fiction. In this book we follow Damien through his murder "trial" and all the subsequent events, down to stalkers and kinky sex. It was ok. Just ok. Yes, the sex was kinky. Yes, Damien and Nikki seem like a surprisingly well-matched pair. But no, this will not go down in the annals of memorable novels. (Romance or otherwise)
babeyreneess's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even finish the book I skipped to the end to see if what I was expecting happened and it happened.
Complete waste of time. I could have read another wayyyyyyyyy better trilogy instead of this shit... Not sorry
Sex,blah blah sex, blah, riding expensive car, sex, blah, tiny drama, sex, I SKIPPED, they married.
Wtf??
Also I read few pages backward curious and I saw that they had broken up before but the reason why was annoying Nikki was annoying and the book was annoying, I'll never rec this trilogy to someone unless you're extremely bored, horny and have low expectation.
Damien stark isn't a man I'd like to marry he's not sexy as Nikki describe it.
Nikki don't let me start about this main character completely dull, weak, stupid, uninteresting, weak. She can't even voice her opinion.
I never once felt connected to the character.
She didn't evolve her cutting issues dragged during the entire trilogy I don't see any progress shes always daydreaming about the sharp blade like an addict. no
Looks like sex is the only thing in their relationship. At what point did they fell in love? I don't remember. (maybe between two sex scenes idk)
One star because ugh it sucks
Complete waste of time. I could have read another wayyyyyyyyy better trilogy instead of this shit... Not sorry
Sex,blah blah sex, blah, riding expensive car, sex, blah, tiny drama, sex, I SKIPPED, they married.
Wtf??
Also I read few pages backward curious and I saw that they had broken up before but the reason why was annoying Nikki was annoying and the book was annoying, I'll never rec this trilogy to someone unless you're extremely bored, horny and have low expectation.
Damien stark isn't a man I'd like to marry he's not sexy as Nikki describe it.
Nikki don't let me start about this main character completely dull, weak, stupid, uninteresting, weak. She can't even voice her opinion.
I never once felt connected to the character.
She didn't evolve her cutting issues dragged during the entire trilogy I don't see any progress shes always daydreaming about the sharp blade like an addict. no
Looks like sex is the only thing in their relationship. At what point did they fell in love? I don't remember. (maybe between two sex scenes idk)
One star because ugh it sucks
usualk's review against another edition
2.0
Ending was abrupt. Overall a better version of 50 Shades.
suzy76's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved books 1&2 and whilst there were still some parts in book 3 that I loved something was missing. I'm not sure what it was but that special something from Claim Me and Release Me just wasn't there. The ending felt a little rushed, and if I'm honest there was maybe a little too much sex (shocker!) I'm really glad I read the series though because Mr Stark is pretty fecking awesome :) I'm going to miss Damien & Nikki.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
2.0
Quick review for a much longer read than I anticipated. I'm struggling to put into words what I thought of this book. It wasn't that I thought it was bad, but underwhelming to me. Admittedly, it's been a while since I've visited this series, but when I realized that this "trilogy" wasn't really a trilogy anymore and ended up getting the latter books in the series, I came back to it to have context in terms of what to expect in the latter books.
This book picks up where "Claim Me" left off, with Damien Stark in Germany undergoing the trial with Nikki at his side. Both of them are dealing with their respective issues - particularly noting Damien's tormented past - while still exploring their relationship with each other. There are plenty of steamy and bluntly explicit scenes in this story, but the come across as repetitious and plodding for many places in the story, really not building upon the dynamic that the two share. Add in the very thin plot of a mysterious person that threatens Nikki by sending her ominous messages and you get something that's mimicking tension and conflict rather than something that has more palpable weight. (Also, if you've guessed the perpetrator like I did within the first third of the book, your guess is likely right. I felt the mystery really dropped the ball and had not much pull in the heart of this installment.) This book does touch on conflicts of self-harm and mental issues of the characters within, but the way the narrative throws them together really didn't do justice for the plot or characterizations. I could tell they had weight for the characters, but I didn't feel them because they would only be introduced during moments that were meant to be tense for the characters, but then taken away when the sensual scenes came about. And much of it was the two using each other as ways to work in denial of their pain, so...there's that.
I think if this were truly the final book in the series with the way the book rushed its ending, I would've been more disappointed. I like parts of J. Kenner's writing, and I've read books in her latter bibliography that actually work a bit better for pacing, but this to me didn't showcase as much of a compelling story or interest in the characters as it aimed to portray. I got the intention, but the execution didn't grip me.
I definitely plan to read the rest of the books in this series since I have them, and there were a few side characters that I liked reading about, but unfortunately there wasn't really much in the way to develop or showcase them more here. I'm probably not likely to return to the first three books in this set and just look at either the latter books or the spin-off series instead.
Overall score: 1.5/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
This book picks up where "Claim Me" left off, with Damien Stark in Germany undergoing the trial with Nikki at his side. Both of them are dealing with their respective issues - particularly noting Damien's tormented past - while still exploring their relationship with each other. There are plenty of steamy and bluntly explicit scenes in this story, but the come across as repetitious and plodding for many places in the story, really not building upon the dynamic that the two share. Add in the very thin plot of a mysterious person that threatens Nikki by sending her ominous messages and you get something that's mimicking tension and conflict rather than something that has more palpable weight. (Also, if you've guessed the perpetrator like I did within the first third of the book, your guess is likely right. I felt the mystery really dropped the ball and had not much pull in the heart of this installment.) This book does touch on conflicts of self-harm and mental issues of the characters within, but the way the narrative throws them together really didn't do justice for the plot or characterizations. I could tell they had weight for the characters, but I didn't feel them because they would only be introduced during moments that were meant to be tense for the characters, but then taken away when the sensual scenes came about. And much of it was the two using each other as ways to work in denial of their pain, so...there's that.
I think if this were truly the final book in the series with the way the book rushed its ending, I would've been more disappointed. I like parts of J. Kenner's writing, and I've read books in her latter bibliography that actually work a bit better for pacing, but this to me didn't showcase as much of a compelling story or interest in the characters as it aimed to portray. I got the intention, but the execution didn't grip me.
I definitely plan to read the rest of the books in this series since I have them, and there were a few side characters that I liked reading about, but unfortunately there wasn't really much in the way to develop or showcase them more here. I'm probably not likely to return to the first three books in this set and just look at either the latter books or the spin-off series instead.
Overall score: 1.5/5 stars.
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
shn808's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75