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laurachignall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
readinglawyer29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I'm not giving this book a 5 stars because there were some things that annoyed the hell outta me (for instances, almost the names of the characters suck, the worst being the MC... I'll never get over it), but the story is great, the pace is perfect, the twists surprised me and I LOVED how the author depicted Poppy's sexual awakening and first experience. Also that there was a strong focus on HER pleasure, which is refreshing. I loved seeing Poppy feeling more and more empowered throughout the book, she is a badass and I'm here for it.
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Misogyny
ayeitsdaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Violence, Body shaming, Death, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Grief
Minor: War and Death of parent
ipekcav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Child abuse
Scenes depicting child physical abuse that borders on sexual harassment. The abuse itself is not overtly sexual in nature, it is how other characters interact with it that makes it disturbing. It’s uncomfortable to read (as it should be). Details including spoilers here:vermontsnowboarder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The writing isn't great. In terms of the plot, there are a lot of plotholes—things that don't really make sense, and once you start to pull at one, the entire thing unravels and doesn't make any sense. Armentrout needs a better editor. There are A LOT of unnecessary moments and words. The FMC has so many inner monologues that it's exhausting and pointless. Her views and random thoughts do not add to the story; they take away from it by bogging the reader down.
The worldbuilding is lackluster. It's supposed to be grand and sweeping and yet, it's flat and blase. It's not just that things are waiting to be revealed; it's that there is a lack of description and connection to the world in which this story is set.
Another thing that really bothers me is the blatant racism. The FMC's "best friend" is a black woman named, I kid you not, Tawny. Are you ready for her role? She is the FMC's lady's maid. The MCC's best friend is a black man who can shift into a werewolf (wolven) named Kieran (which means black, in case you didn't know), who is bound to the MCC. So basically, both of them are servants. The main characters and those in power are all white.
Want a book with loads of sexual assault? This book has it in spades. The MCC hides his identity and uses his false one to get close to the FMC, proceeds to seduce her, take her virginity, and then gaslight her by telling her that it was "real". He knew full well that she never ever would have gone near him if she had known who he really was. After he takes her virginity, he continues invading her space and touching her despite her telling him no several times.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Racism
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Torture, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Confinement, Violence, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Child abuse and Alcohol
booksoversecondbreakfast's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, Emotional abuse, Genocide, and Trafficking
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Torture, and Abandonment
courtneylmal's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Child death
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
This book started out pretty shaky BUT I was won over by the amazing work of the narrator. She had a way of narrating things so that the banter and characters flowed in a way that the prose didn’t. I will also credit the book with the fact that Poppy felt like an 18-year-old girl scrabbling for control in her own life. The themes and exploration of them was interesting. Poppy’s character lent to these themes and it was fairly well done. Aside from that, the foreshadowing as fairly well done.
What really tanked this book for me was the last quarter of the book roughly. While it was declining slightly before the twist was revealed, that’s what destroyed the book for me. Everything about the characters and who they were felt like it vanished. Their actions stopped making sense and while I thought some changes after the reveal of the twist were well some, most didn’t. I stopped understanding Poppy and her actions. I found myself so frustrated with her and what she was doing that it tanked the book for me.
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Cursing, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Grief, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Confinement, Physical abuse, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, and Child abuse
cdoubet's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Genocide, Bullying, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Addiction, Death, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
lenklink's review against another edition
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment