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maddykreed's review against another edition
1.5
this book was terrible, but i talk shit about people who leave one star reviews so oh well.
listen, all i’ll say is, for the love of christ at least make your characters 18 at a MINIMUM. how hard is it to put the character in college instead of high school? come on man.
listen, all i’ll say is, for the love of christ at least make your characters 18 at a MINIMUM. how hard is it to put the character in college instead of high school? come on man.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
caitsreadingcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.25
I very much loved the writing style in this book. The plot was engaging, the imagery and metaphors were beautiful and well written but there were a few things that I didn’t care much forthe way Callie was essentially groomed by Des at a young age but I did respect that he waited for her to mature and was at least somewhat aware of all of the torment and abuse she had endured. It is obvious that he cares deeply for her and loves her .
The romance was well written. I typically don’t go for such toxic relationship tropes but I did still enjoy it. I thought the world building was nice though it could have been better. I was not at all pleased with the stereotypes forced on her POC best friend Temper and it’s too cringey to elaborate on. There are a lot of unanswered questions but that just means I’ll have to keep reading!
The other thing that disturbed me wasCallie’s changed physical appearance. I don’t think she deserved anything else to hate about herself, to make her feel tainted and vulnerable. She had endured enough before that. Overall, a good read.
The romance was well written. I typically don’t go for such toxic relationship tropes but I did still enjoy it. I thought the world building was nice though it could have been better. I was not at all pleased with the stereotypes forced on her POC best friend Temper and it’s too cringey to elaborate on. There are a lot of unanswered questions but that just means I’ll have to keep reading!
The other thing that disturbed me was
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Alcohol, Rape, and Sexual assault
jenni_catherine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
2.5
Just couldn't vibe with the writing style at all. It gripped me at the start but found it was a slog to get through. Single pov. Lots of triggers that need to be checked before reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Sexual content, and Slavery
onlyone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This isn't a bad book at all, don't think of my rating that way. I'm very impressed with the world building but the FL and 2FL are the best fleshed out characters. The smut was forgettable.
The book didn't spend much time fleshing out the big bad. It was a bit confusing with how quickly the book reached its climax and ended.
But I enjoyed this book and I'm going to read the sequel. I'm hoping to care about the ML more because he has a lot of potential.
I went in with no expectations and this is a decent read.
The book didn't spend much time fleshing out the big bad. It was a bit confusing with how quickly the book reached its climax and ended.
But I enjoyed this book and I'm going to read the sequel. I'm hoping to care about the ML more because he has a lot of potential.
I went in with no expectations and this is a decent read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Gore, Pregnancy, Murder, and Sexual violence
ali_sun's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual assault, Blood, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Torture, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, and Vomit
verk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Torture, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Vomit
shelbylynnn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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
2.5
This book was....not what I expected. I was excited about an intriguing mystery set in a dark fantasy world, and the concept of the Bargainer seemed interesting. Disappointingly, this book ended up being very thinly-veiled smut for the most part with very little of the book even dedicated to the mystery described in the synopsis. The writing was also very simplistic and read like YA but the content was pretty graphic which was very confusing. Not sure who the audience is for this, but it was not me!
Overall a quick read and kept me entertained for the most part but there were many eye-roll moments and the dialogue was so cringe-y, juvenile, and one-note, it felt like I was reading fanfic. The book definitely focused on the romance, which I found unfortunate because the mystery that was set up in the beginning was actually interesting and could've made for an exciting read but it was never even explored. The characters only think about sex, and even the very few moments where something else is going on, the plot feels like background to the characters' central focus of lust. The mc's best friend is portrayed as such an unfortunate racial stereotype and adds absolutely nothing to the story. I also found it uncomfortable that the protagonist was 16 when the relationship began...the Bargainer's age is never revealed but with him being an assumably immortal supernatural being, he is clearly significantly older than she is and makes reference several times to her being a minor.
The plot finally picked up in the very last quarter of the book but it was so poorly written and rushed through in favor of the characters once again being intimate with each other. The final battle scene was a huge letdown and left me feeling very unsatisfied with this book as a whole. This series has high ratings so I guess I'm in the minority here but this book somehow felt very juvenile despite being so dark and romance-heavy. If it had focused on the plot and fleshed out the characters a bit more I think this could've been a much more enjoyable read for me.
Overall a quick read and kept me entertained for the most part but there were many eye-roll moments and the dialogue was so cringe-y, juvenile, and one-note, it felt like I was reading fanfic. The book definitely focused on the romance, which I found unfortunate because the mystery that was set up in the beginning was actually interesting and could've made for an exciting read but it was never even explored. The characters only think about sex, and even the very few moments where something else is going on, the plot feels like background to the characters' central focus of lust. The mc's best friend is portrayed as such an unfortunate racial stereotype and adds absolutely nothing to the story. I also found it uncomfortable that the protagonist was 16 when the relationship began...the Bargainer's age is never revealed but with him being an assumably immortal supernatural being, he is clearly significantly older than she is and makes reference several times to her being a minor.
The plot finally picked up in the very last quarter of the book but it was so poorly written and rushed through in favor of the characters once again being intimate with each other. The final battle scene was a huge letdown and left me feeling very unsatisfied with this book as a whole. This series has high ratings so I guess I'm in the minority here but this book somehow felt very juvenile despite being so dark and romance-heavy. If it had focused on the plot and fleshed out the characters a bit more I think this could've been a much more enjoyable read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, and Violence
maddierandolph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Gore, Vomit, and Addiction
samdreckman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Slavery, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Rape, Cursing, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Body horror, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
witcheep's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book presents a mystery to solve, but it's quite superficial - almost like an afterthought - in the plot. The plot focuses more on the FMC Callypso' and the Bargainer Desmond's relationship both in the past and the present. The premise of this book is interesting, but the plot and character relationships fall a little short to give room for smut. Some additional editing to strengthen the plot would have make the story more impactful.
Callypso has been through some seriously hard times in the past. Desmond helped her through it then, but then left her for years. Callypso was left heartbroken and alone, to put her life back together again and to cope with hardships. One of her not-so-healthy coping mechanisms is to avoid any meaningful romantic relationships.She gets over that unhealthy habit in a heartbeat, though, when "the right person" comes around talking about soulmates.
Callypso has been through some seriously hard times in the past. Desmond helped her through it then, but then left her for years. Callypso was left heartbroken and alone, to put her life back together again and to cope with hardships. One of her not-so-healthy coping mechanisms is to avoid any meaningful romantic relationships.
Mate business? Mate business? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
The protagonist and her best friend both see red flags in the Bargainer's current actions,
All this giving on my end, all this taking on his. This isn't what healthy relationships are made of.
I would have hoped to se Callypso be more strong-willed than her lusty siren side, but maybe she'll get to spread her own wings more in the sequels. Maybe I'll even continue reading this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Kidnapping
Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death, Pregnancy, Incest, and Alcohol