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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book finally gets into who created the drugs that killed Hayden’s mom and was used on Callie. Thankfully Callie’s dad was in on it so she was okay that Hayden killed her dad. So many red flags.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Gosh, I took a few days between the first book and this one to try and reset my brain not to dislike these characters so much but, wow. I really don’t have any positive feeling towards these characters or this plot. I still 100% feel like this is 70% 50 shades regurgitated.
Also, Hayden? Ick.
What woman wouldn’t want a man who constantly scolds her for cursing?
And the “stop biting your lip” “you know what I said about biting your lip.” Okay, Christian Grey. Also never read a dark romance where someone was so obsessed yet withheld their “I love you” for so long 😅
And the “stop biting your lip” “you know what I said about biting your lip.” Okay, Christian Grey. Also never read a dark romance where someone was so obsessed yet withheld their “I love you” for so long 😅
Okay, rant over. Done with this series.
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
slow-paced
As I said in my review for [b:Once You're Mine|199244880|Once You're Mine (Possessing Her, #1)|Morgan Bridges|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1696151071l/199244880._SX50_.jpg|203243361], this book should’ve been the second half of the first one. It really did not feel like the plot had progressed much from the first book.
What brought this down in ratings for me was the birth control non-consent trope. So be warned. I’m sure it was listed in the trigger warnings (which, full disclosure, I did not read), but I’m not a big fan of it. It wasn’t an absolute deal breaker for me, but what I didn’t like (besides the obvious) is that it wasn’t at all necessary to the story.
I also thought the book ended too soon. I wish we had gotten two more chapters of denouement or an epilogue.
What brought this down in ratings for me was the birth control non-consent trope. So be warned. I’m sure it was listed in the trigger warnings (which, full disclosure, I did not read), but I’m not a big fan of it. It wasn’t an absolute deal breaker for me, but what I didn’t like (besides the obvious) is that it wasn’t at all necessary to the story.
Spoiler
Calista, as far as we know, never realizes that Hayden swapped her birth control injection for saline solution. The story would’ve been just as good if she had gotten pregnant accidentally instead of through Hayden’s deception.I also thought the book ended too soon.
Spoiler
Calista worries a fair amount about the pregnancy and how Hayden will react and then we don’t really get to see that.
What the actual fuck? This is straight up abuse dressed up as a love story with a HEA. I honestly don’t know any redeeming qualities of Hayden, like he:
- convinced/coerced a doctor to commit medical malpractice
(and this was never addressed) - Wouldn’t respect any decisions Calista made
- Kidnapped her?!
- Has a huge age and financial gap that creates a power dynamic that’s not addressed
Harper ended up being all bark and no bite
I honestly don’t know what the takeaway from this is. Like the FDA is good but can be exploited by politicians? Rich people are evil? Life doesn’t matter past punishing sex and financial security? Like I guess this could be a fantasy about not worrying about food/housing/education, but at such a high cost?
So cringe and unrealistic that I couldn't get passed it.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated