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a_paintingpigeon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Grief
koistyfishy's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Spicy Level: š¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļø.5/5
There is nothing more disappointing than picking up a book that has been hyped by a few of your friends and it completely falls flat for you
This book follows Killian and (what the fuck is her name) - Glyndon. Glyndon is contemplating life and considering jumping off of a cliff because she is a little sad that her friend nosedived maybe accidentally on purpose or was forced over said cliff. Unbeknownst to her, she is stalked by Kill who is only mildly obsessed with her. He then forces her (while holding her over the cliff) to give him a blow job and then like any āchildā on a playground basically declares āweāre boyfriend and girlfriendā now (in his mind at least) much to the chagrin of Glyndon. Soon Glyndon finds her life completely revolving and absorbed in the life of Killian Carson.
I donāt know if itās because I am desensitised to dark romance or if Iāve just seen so much of it, but this just lacked everything I expected. I just expected more from Killian based on what I have seen about him and he just came across as a selfish petulant brat who is spoiled and has never been told no in his life. This is the main factor that makes up his personality so he just takes what he wants. I actually didnāt have much problem with him not really understanding the lines of consent (which is what I have seen is a lot of the reason people DNF). It was more that right from the start youāre shown his worst and he doesnāt really get darker from that point. Itās more of the same and much of a muchness all around him being a brat that I disliked. I like it when Iām constantly shocked and consistently see how darkness develops through a book if Iām reading a dark romance with a morally grey MMC. I was also multiple times contemplating throwing my kindle across the room if I had to read one more time about how he wanted to āfuck her virgin cuntāā¦. You know, if itās the only thing you say about her in your POV it starts to lose its āshockā factor and just becomes EXCEEDINGLY ANNOYING! What I did like about him though was the way that Rina Kent displayed his psychopathy. It was very ātextbookā but it aligned very well with what I understand a psychopath or sociopath would behave like and seeing that portrayed well on paper in a character was one of the plusses in this book.
Glendon was a definite weakness given that I struggled to remember her name. That just shows how little of an impression she made. She was completely overshadowed and overpowered by Killians personality and character. Now maybe this was done on purpose to show her as submissive and meek but as a results she felt dull, sad, moapy and boring. She only really became slightly exciting when she had her brains fucked out.
What kills me the most about this though is that there was so much potential with Devlinās death and the investigation around the mystery! I just wish that this was explored a little bit more. It was almost like that plot was pushed to the wayside and Glydon left Gareth to do all the hard work just because she was distracting his brother with her boobs. I wanted Devās death to be a little bit more because it was literally was bleeding potential on page.
From writing perspective this wasnāt bad. There is a definite ācatnipā feeling to the writing that is able to draw you in, entice you and keep you captivated. Those first few chapters of this book had me salivating, it was just the bits after it that took that same nosedive off the cliff that Glyn contemplated doing at the start of the book.
There is also the aspects of the secret society (aka cult) moonlighting as a fraternity and the rival schools but besides adding a little bit of Dark it was just a bunch of rich kids with too much money acting like they had power doing what ever they wanted in light-up purge masksā¦
The best thing about this book was the buddy read with my twin while we continue on our Journey of Depravity to find the best five star darkest Book.
Trope Summary:
I realised after writing them that there is a fucktonne of them!
ā¶ Dual POV
ā¶ Enemies to Lovers
ā¶ Collage Romance (Rival Schools)
ā¶ Mafia Vibes
ā¶ Obsessive, Possessive MMC
ā¶ Alphahole
ā¶ Touch Her You Die
ā¶ Forced Proximity
ā¶ Secret Society (Actually a ācultā vibes)
ā¶ NonCon and DubCon
ā¶ Masked Men
ā¶ Primal Play
ā¶ Mine
ā¶ Hand Necklaces
ā¶ Stalking
(Again given all of the ādark romanceā tropes I thought it would be a little heavier on dark šš)
I know I say a lot about how much I didnāt enjoy this, but I didnāt hate it. I am just more mad because so many people I know loved this and I wanted to love it too! This wonāt be my last Rina Kentā¦ I always give an author another chance so will see what God of Pain has to offer.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
nourghraizi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Death
reading_adventures's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Sexual violence
Minor: Car accident, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
emmadb766's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Blood, Violence, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Glyndon is just a sweetheart. I love how much she cares about everyone. And I hated that Devlin used her compassion and empathy for others against her. I'm so happy he got what was coming for him in the end.
I will say I think my favorite character so far in this series just from this book alone was Brandon. I can't wait to get to his book. But I'm also excited for all the other characters books as well.
I absolutely recommend this. And I'm excited to get into Creighton and Annika's book next. I really loved their interactions in this book, so I feel like theirs is gonna be a really fun one.
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicide, and Addiction
blissful_barker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
poupimali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I stopped within 30 pages and the chapter still remains an issue for me (I will explain below).
I tried again this time with the audiobook and it was a way better experience.
It is not quite an ennemies to lovers but we can relate.
Virgin and awakening FMC
Psychopath MMC
Secret societies (along with mafia vibes)
He falls first
Now I have two issues (big ones):
- the first āspice sceneā and how it is treated all along the book.
- the POV of two characters (one chapter each) that give no information whatsoever. These donāt add anything to the story or the other characters. It adds pages but nothing to the plot.
Nevertheless the narrators are really good. So thanks to them.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Torture
luna_lovelace's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
The author of the book did an excellent job in portraying the character of Killian as a psychopath, which was evident from the start of the book. The author's writing skills deserve appreciation for selling it so well.
However, there was a plot twist involving Devlin that left me furious.
The book had many characters, which made it a bit confusing to keep track of them all. Thankfully, the book came with a family chart, which helped me follow the plot.
Overall, the book had enough plot and character development, making it a bearable read. However, the book could have been shorter than its 400 pages.
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Physical abuse, Blood, Cursing, Grief, and Bullying
lbj1996's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Stalking, Mental illness, Blood, Toxic friendship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide