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peeshy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Murder, Rape, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Vomit, Addiction, Car accident, Grief, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Blood
aubrieanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Blood, Chronic illness, and Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Animal death, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Animal cruelty
culzean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Stalking, Blood, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Torture, Suicide, Kidnapping, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and War
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
rizzykaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Cursing, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Toxic relationship
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
spicycronereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
When I finished the book I realized that Amazon has it labeled as a grumpy-sunshine which seems really far off the mark. Glyndon is not a sunshine character and Killian is psychotic, barely repressing serial unaliver urges. I did like the way the author wrote about his experience of emotions. In the middle of the book I also enjoyed the tension and banter between the two MCs but other parts of it were rough for me.
The plot of the book is set against the mystery of someone tormenting Glyndon about her friend who died by suicide a few months prior. The mystery has a pretty inconsistent place in the plot and only seems to surface when it is needed to move things in a certain direction. And it takes a turn that just seems too predictable.
There were other things about this book that negatively impacted my read. It is mostly dual POV from Glyndon and Killian but then there would be random chapters from their parents’ POV. It was a bit jarring. It turns out the author has written books about the parents so perhaps these are fun Easter eggs for those who have read her entire catalog. But as a new reader I found it distracting.
I also found that the author did a lot of telling instead of showing in the transformation of the MCs relationship dynamics. It felt rushed and again, jarring.
I don’t even know how to talk about the spice given all the other issues I had with the book. There is out and out SA at the beginning, by the MMC. Definitely some dark dynamics and you should heed the content warnings. I found some later parts enjoyable but others fell flat.
Secondary characters are interesting and have dimension- I suspect subsequent books are about them. I don’t recall much in the way of diverse representation- one tertiary character is bi.
I feel bad because I know this author and series are beloved among many dark romance readers. I like an occasional dark romance but this one had too many things that kept pulling me out of the narrative. I don’t typically dismiss an author after one book. If I get bored I might read more of the series to see if they improve but given that this is far from the author’s first book, I’m not too optimistic in that regard.
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Stalking
kimberrleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide and Toxic friendship
ephemeral_remi's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Drug use, Alcohol, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Toxic friendship, Torture, Cursing, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Grief, Violence, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual content, and Sexual violence