Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Welcome to the Dark Side by Giana Darling

9 reviews

readwithyesi's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Grief, Medical content, Violence, and Vomit

jellystorm's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I’m going to go ahead and say this book is not going to be for everyone. The age gap is significant and the fmc has known the mc since she was seven. There’s no romantic overtones until she says something at sixteen and he shuts that down immediately, but most of the book does take place while the fmc is seventeen. 

And the author is not shy about that. They lean into it pretty much the whole book, even giving them a daddy kink just to make it more obvious. 

And it’s still a good book. It’s a little heavy handed with the autism representation, but that’s not uncommon. 

LouLou is a serious brat and I’m here for it. She acts her age and doesn’t think shit through and pretends to be stronger than she is and just. She’s a badass. 

And Zeus tries so hard to be a good guy. He has a moral compass and a code he lives by, and LouLou just shreds it all to hell. 

It’s a tense ride through threats and dangers, but it’s fun and steamy asf.  I enjoyed it and intend to eventually read more in the series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, Grief, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Drug use, Dysphoria, and Ableism

isajidy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, and Cursing

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Grief, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Gun violence

kodafaith's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I started this series just for this book and OH MY HEART😭 how Gianna Darling makes the things Zeus thinks about Lou not be totally creepy when they should be is beyond me. This book was more emotional than I expected in a lot of ways but wow did I cry!
I love this guardian monster so much and I honestly was do shocked by Loulou’s personality but in a good way. Excited to continue this series but I don’t know if I’ll be able to like any of the books more than this one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Cancer, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury

cocpop_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

Zeus Garro and LouLou have my heart. I loved this book the first time I read it, and I love it even more the second time around.

This is taboo romance. Large age gap, and the FMC is 17. So if any of that is too much, I would not read this book.

I loved Lou from the start. I loved that she pushed herself, and chose to do things for herself. My heart broke for the parents she was given, and it really forced her to grow up fast. I can never say a bad thing about her. I think my favorite relationship besides her and Zeus, was her and Mute. They just had a pure connection, and this book broke me.

And ain’t nobody throwing down quite like Zeus. He was very aware of the optics of his relationship with Lou, but you could tell her never did anything to harm her. He loved his girl from the start, and while that may be off putting to some, their connection just made sense.

5/5 on the spicy scale. The mouth on Zeus, and the fact that Lou was just as dirty as him. My favorite scene will forever be her stripping for him. Just because of the confidence on her, and the determination to get what she wanted.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Classism, Grief, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Racial slurs

clairesneverland's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy

zabeishumanish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

I had to skip most of the sex scenes. I love a good forbidden romance, but this was too much, like terrifyingly too much.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Racism and Pregnancy

mrx99's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I started the first book of the series but couldn’t bring myself to read more than the first two chapters. But everyone kept raging about this book so I read it and I was not disappointed. This book was so good. Liked the storyline liked the characters. 

Zeus and lous relationship was cute and hot and just everything. The age gap sometimes made me a little uncomfortable because he said that he knew she was hers since she was seven so I thought oookay but it’s a book it’s fiction so yeah.
But I was not ready for the fucking heartbreak. Since the first Moment Mute was my absolute favourite and I was so excited for his book and then he fucking died.. what the fuck ? Not okay. Literally threw my book across the room.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

ananis98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Reread and ready to review. I gave this 4.5 stars mainly because Lou is in highschool. I mean ok, you write a 19 years age-gap romance but why make her in highschool? First year of college and I would’ve been fine.

Other than that, Daddy Z is my top ranking man out of The Fallen because he is just perfect in every way. The maturity that comes only with age and experience led him to understand where Lou was coming from in the decisions she made and how she processed stuff, also giving her a safe space to discover herself and integrate into the new family.

The plot was consistent and enticing you to read more and more, as well as wait on the edge of your seat for the next book and the cameos from King and Queenie were like an oil for my biker heart.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Cursing, and Adult/minor relationship