Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Brutal Prince by Sophie Lark

6 reviews

witchleaves's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

Terrible book. Awful characters, and dry writing. The plot was interesting but the story itself left nothing in me to want more of the story. Every character sucks.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Stalking, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

linnea_tornblom's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Blood, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Death, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder

booksalacarte's review against another edition

tense 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

2.0

Brutal Prince- 2⭐️ 3.25🌶️

Mafia Romance

Dual POV

Arranged marriage

True Enemies to lovers

Forced proximity

Bully moments

Age gap (10 years)

After a public incident between their children, 2 mafia fathers make a deal to have them marry to unite rival families.

I didn’t love the FMC. She came off as an immature and childish character for most of the book. My biggest issue was the strawberry allergy incident. Having a kid with a food allergy, I am very against allergies being used as a prank. Who the hell doesn’t take food allergies seriously?! The girl would have never been forgiven by me… And it’s on the cover? So is this the big draw to the book? Nope. That’s not tomboy/hellcat behavior. That attempted murder. And she doesn’t even think of the implications her actions would have on her family… ever.

Honestly the MMC wasn’t any better. He came off chauvinistic and depreciated the FMC, and women he dated in general… it was gross. Also, he was a 30 year old, living at home having his every thought taken care of by a housekeeper, chef and his parents.

This book wasn’t very lovey-Dovey. It was more enemies than lovers… well except that there were 4+ spicy scenes. So there was a bunch of lust.

There wasn’t and true character development. Nothing to show any growth. The main characters just stayed pretty flat while the plot raced through a bunch of quickly concluded plot points. 

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks bloom books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Classism, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Gore

readwithames's review against another edition

dark funny fast-paced

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

3.0

The writing gave off wattpad vibes which isn’t always a bad thing but it felt immature as did the dialogue at some point. Aida is a brat but she’s hilarious and a fiery mc which I admired. Cal is your typical brooding, “dark” man which I would usually love but he was just so bland? Boring? I’m not sure what it was about him that wasn’t clicking for me. 

The typical forced marriage x mafia romance x hate to love trope here was executed poorly in my opinion. I know these tropes are overdone but if done right, it can be enjoyable! The only thing that kept me going was the snarky comments and that the book is really an easy read. 

I love the sibling’s relationships between the aida and her brothers!! Sebastian holds a special place in my heart. That’s the only reason why I’m rating it a little higher than actually and that the mc’s did have some cute, thoughtful moments/thoughts.

Around i think ~50-60% is when they f*ck and that’s when i felt cal realizes the marriage isn’t too bad??? Because of her body?? That’s the vibe I got which gave me the ick completely. It was all sexual and it wasn’t until ~70-80% is when we start to see their relationship develop into something deeper and even then, I was thinking where is the build up and why/how did we get here? I understand it’s just one book and they’re “enemies” but ugh! I just feel like the execution of these two would have been better?? They had some  cute moments but I felt no chemistry or anything between the two!:( 

I’m not sure if i’ll continue this series if the writing continues like this? Maybe in the future if my tbr goes down and i have time? At the moment, i’m pausing this series altogether.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Stalking

zc2's review against another edition

dark emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The big evil guys death felt rushed. I hated Oliver guy was clinically insane. Imogene and the rest of the family had big roles in the beginning but then they kinda dissipated into like grains of salt here and there kinda forgot they existed. The first half is definitely worth it but toward the end I was kinda like hmmm not great. Overall if you want enemies to lovers go for it but as far as strong plot through and through I wouldn’t recommend.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Cursing, Genocide, Body horror, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse

nura_aga's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence