Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

King of Pride by Ana Huang

2 reviews

bookfulthoughts's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

Super cute, paasionate, and full of love 🩵

“Just knowing you existed somewhere in this world was enough.”

 I loved Kai and Isabella! I felt their love was so genuine and beautiful. I like that the forbidden aspect of their relationship leads to them having a genuine dating experience. We got to see them fall for one another in the most realistic way possible. Their chemistry 😮‍💨! I loved that Kai stood up for Isabella! He is such a man for that 🥹. I’ve read other popular books (I won’t name names… iykyk) that the ML fumbles/hurts the FL because the family opposes or thinks differently! It’s such a pet peeve for me when that happens because usually it's never followed up by proper character development. We all need a Kai in our lives 🩵. In the beginning, I did not think that I was going to love him as much as I did. He knows what he wants, knows how to actively listen, is a man of honor, cherishes and respects women, and loves hard!

I loved Isabella’s character and I could relate to her in a lot of ways. I loved that she was unashamedly herself and didn’t change for anyone. Her struggles were real and her determination was admirable. I’m happy that things worked out for her even if it seemed hopeless up until the very end. I loved that…

Kai lost and that Isabella didn’t finish in time! Even tho Kai did eventually get the position he seriously deserved it. He didn’t stoop low to win and his reaction throughout the entire ordeal was honest and honorable; Isabella not finishing the book when her brother gave her the deadline and going through the emotions, made her grow into a better version of herself. Both of them had great development.

I liked this book a lot! I didn’t have anything bad to say about it. It was a Soild read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

thatokiebird's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.0

King of Pride is the second book in this loose series that can be read as standalones or in order. This is not my normal type of book I tend to read, but my partner surprised me with this book from the bookstore after I said I was craving a romance novel. This is technically a romance novel, but is so much darker and not at all fluffy than the kind of romance I’m typically drawn to.

I liked this one less than the first book in the series. Kai and Isabella, while on the surface seem like more interesting characters than Dante and Vivian, but they're just not written as well. The writing is okay, still very clunky during descriptive scenes or when the characters engaged in small talk which happens a lot more in this one. It was a lot less steamy than the first too, like the author was told to tone it down or something?

I will probably not be reading the rest of the series, unless I check them out from the library or something, and looking for a more fluffy romance instead. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship