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worldofv33's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, and Death of parent
thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fall down the BookSmutTok hole where 50 Shades meets old money senior school at Lancaster Prep, where enemies turn to hardcore lovers despite their families' objections.
Dark with darker sub-storylines, Monica Murphy builds the characters quite slowly as they show themselves to each other. Lots of adult themes and situations that are quite unrealistic yet fantastical to read and daydream about.
Dark with darker sub-storylines, Monica Murphy builds the characters quite slowly as they show themselves to each other. Lots of adult themes and situations that are quite unrealistic yet fantastical to read and daydream about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Incest, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Classism
Minor: Death, Murder, Drug use, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
heyyyyitskatelyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Incest
glden13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
It tooks forever to read it.
I would have stopped in the middle, it’s very long.
I would have stopped in the middle, it’s very long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Death
Minor: Chronic illness and Death
melbuj's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Rape
msimpson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Bullying, and Drug use
Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual assault
ecravens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
mia_jojo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
NOTE: The first part of this review is cautionary, and the reason I gave it only 4 out of 5 stars is further below.
WARNING: Know what you're getting into, people. This book is not a joke.
So the whole book-- (this is from the hater's point of view and also partially true)-- is actually a degradation kink. Trigger warning for that. If you can't deal with the degradation kink then do yourself a favour and spare yourself this book. You will not survive.
I'm going to just say 1 crucially important thing. This book is definitely not for everyone. The reason for that is evident. It's not your typical comfort read. This book is for those looking for a bit of a challenge to read-- Clear as day in the length of it, with a little bit of everything (emotion, angst, smut are the main elements.) And it's meant to be pure fiction. *Ahem* Let me re-emphasise. PURE FICTION. Can be VERY triggering at times, watch out for the inner feminist in you, cause she will die at some point in this book, or, at the very least, be wounded severely.
So the guy in this book-- Treats the girl like absolute shit for the first part of the book, but that's... I mean, that's a given. It's a BULLY ROMANCE after all. He's supposed to treat her the way he treats her for the most part of it. The girl, who has a bit of a submission kink and is also an apparent masochist- kind of.. Maybe enjoys(??) the way he treats her-- The point is, he's supposed to be that way, and she's also supposed to be that way. And I can see how the girl comes off as a complete push-over for the entire book- like all throughout until, like, the last 60-70 pages. And that's a long time to remain a weakling-- The book's long AF. (Forgive my use of casual language in such an important matter, but it seemed only fitting.) The guy is a complete douche. "Cold and beautiful as the statues," Summer describes him as. I have to say I agree with her. He's the kind of guy you suspect to have a block of ice or stone where their heart was supposed to be.
Now here's the thing. I actually enjoyed the book. It's because of the dynamic between the ML and FL-- The romance in the book-- It's there but just barely there. I-- It's like a slow burn but only for the emotional part-- like the characters have each other's bodies but don't have their hearts till the end. If you like that, then this book will have been worth it. If you think you won't survive the horridness of ML's behaviour, then it's TOTALLY OKAY. I get it. Like I said earlier, it's not for everyone. But it is definitely for me.
Again, I completely understand how the book can be really, really, really anti-female at times in Summer's case, but there's-- So you gotta really be patient with Whit. That's-- ML's name. Whit. (Whom I keep mistaking with the name "Will" which is why I haven't mentioned ML's name until now, when the fog in my brain cleared up).
Yeah, so anyway, gotta be PATIENT. He starts to show emotion-- to his inner self-- not to Summer-- and starts to sort of figure stuff out for himself after, like, the first 100-150 pages of the book. (I think.)-- Oh yeah!! That reminds me!! If you're someone who's a sucker for a redemption arc or character development on the ML's side, then this book has that too. Lots of it. I mean its whole principle is literally redeeming the "BULLY" and making him go from Summer's life's Villain to Summer's life's Hero. Did I spoil the book? I don't think so...
Anyway-- READ if you:
-Like Redemption/Character Development
-Can HANDLE degradation/Like degradation
-Can handle/like intense smut
-Can stick with long books and finish them (you're going to need just a little determination and patience and empathy to get through the first 300 pages.)
-Sucker for the "Good girl_X_Bad boy" trope.
-Can HANDLE Bullies. Like big, big bullies.
-Looking for some darkness to spice up your life.
AND DON'T Read if you:
-Hate anti-feminism vibes
-Need strong FL
-Need kind ML
-Need some light in your life at the moment
-Can't stand "doormat FL."
-Can't handle smut.
So yeah. Those are my complete thoughts and feelings related to this 604-page monster-book. Honestly- I think the author did a great job of redeeming Whit, and I'mma add one more thing. I connected way more to the ML than the FL-- simply because I felt that the ML had so much more depth to him and was overall constructed as a better character. So.. that's there too. Just wished the FL was written as a more badass character and not a complete doormat/submissive. That kind of bummed me out a bit, hence the 4.5 out of 5 start rating. Just that connecting to the FL was a little hard.
Holy shit-- This is getting really long. Well-- A long book deserves a long review, no? To wrap it up, for me, this was a solid 4-star read. Enjoyable, and I'll also say that there are certain moments in the book where the ML-- I just find him so cute at times (Yeah, yeah, kill me for it-- I can understand if you don't share the same opinion.)
So I'm going to end now, have a great day, and also-- If you read this much of my review then-- Wow... I mean... You really need some help getting into this book, huh?
Anyway-- Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
WARNING: Know what you're getting into, people. This book is not a joke.
So the whole book-- (this is from the hater's point of view and also partially true)-- is actually a degradation kink. Trigger warning for that. If you can't deal with the degradation kink then do yourself a favour and spare yourself this book. You will not survive.
I'm going to just say 1 crucially important thing. This book is definitely not for everyone. The reason for that is evident. It's not your typical comfort read. This book is for those looking for a bit of a challenge to read-- Clear as day in the length of it, with a little bit of everything (emotion, angst, smut are the main elements.) And it's meant to be pure fiction. *Ahem* Let me re-emphasise. PURE FICTION. Can be VERY triggering at times, watch out for the inner feminist in you, cause she will die at some point in this book, or, at the very least, be wounded severely.
So the guy in this book-- Treats the girl like absolute shit for the first part of the book, but that's... I mean, that's a given. It's a BULLY ROMANCE after all. He's supposed to treat her the way he treats her for the most part of it. The girl, who has a bit of a submission kink and is also an apparent masochist- kind of.. Maybe enjoys(??) the way he treats her-- The point is, he's supposed to be that way, and she's also supposed to be that way. And I can see how the girl comes off as a complete push-over for the entire book- like all throughout until, like, the last 60-70 pages. And that's a long time to remain a weakling-- The book's long AF. (Forgive my use of casual language in such an important matter, but it seemed only fitting.) The guy is a complete douche. "Cold and beautiful as the statues," Summer describes him as. I have to say I agree with her. He's the kind of guy you suspect to have a block of ice or stone where their heart was supposed to be.
Now here's the thing. I actually enjoyed the book. It's because of the dynamic between the ML and FL-- The romance in the book-- It's there but just barely there. I-- It's like a slow burn but only for the emotional part-- like the characters have each other's bodies but don't have their hearts till the end. If you like that, then this book will have been worth it. If you think you won't survive the horridness of ML's behaviour, then it's TOTALLY OKAY. I get it. Like I said earlier, it's not for everyone. But it is definitely for me.
Again, I completely understand how the book can be really, really, really anti-female at times in Summer's case, but there's-- So you gotta really be patient with Whit. That's-- ML's name. Whit. (Whom I keep mistaking with the name "Will" which is why I haven't mentioned ML's name until now, when the fog in my brain cleared up).
Yeah, so anyway, gotta be PATIENT. He starts to show emotion-- to his inner self-- not to Summer-- and starts to sort of figure stuff out for himself after, like, the first 100-150 pages of the book. (I think.)-- Oh yeah!! That reminds me!! If you're someone who's a sucker for a redemption arc or character development on the ML's side, then this book has that too. Lots of it. I mean its whole principle is literally redeeming the "BULLY" and making him go from Summer's life's Villain to Summer's life's Hero. Did I spoil the book? I don't think so...
Anyway-- READ if you:
-Like Redemption/Character Development
-Can HANDLE degradation/Like degradation
-Can handle/like intense smut
-Can stick with long books and finish them (you're going to need just a little determination and patience and empathy to get through the first 300 pages.)
-Sucker for the "Good girl_X_Bad boy" trope.
-Can HANDLE Bullies. Like big, big bullies.
-Looking for some darkness to spice up your life.
AND DON'T Read if you:
-Hate anti-feminism vibes
-Need strong FL
-Need kind ML
-Need some light in your life at the moment
-Can't stand "doormat FL."
-Can't handle smut.
So yeah. Those are my complete thoughts and feelings related to this 604-page monster-book. Honestly- I think the author did a great job of redeeming Whit, and I'mma add one more thing. I connected way more to the ML than the FL-- simply because I felt that the ML had so much more depth to him and was overall constructed as a better character. So.. that's there too. Just wished the FL was written as a more badass character and not a complete doormat/submissive. That kind of bummed me out a bit, hence the 4.5 out of 5 start rating. Just that connecting to the FL was a little hard.
Holy shit-- This is getting really long. Well-- A long book deserves a long review, no? To wrap it up, for me, this was a solid 4-star read. Enjoyable, and I'll also say that there are certain moments in the book where the ML-- I just find him so cute at times (Yeah, yeah, kill me for it-- I can understand if you don't share the same opinion.)
So I'm going to end now, have a great day, and also-- If you read this much of my review then-- Wow... I mean... You really need some help getting into this book, huh?
Anyway-- Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
ohkaythen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
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