Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Not All Himbos Wear Capes by C. Rochelle

1 review

galleytrot's review

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

3.0

READ: Jan 2024 
FORMAT: Digital 
 
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3 / 5⭐ 
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.25 / 5⭐ 
FINAL – OVERALL: 3 / 5⭐ 
 
So I have a number of ~°♡opinions♡°~ about this book and the journey that I went on while I read it, though I might not recall all of the thoughts I had because I didn’t take my usual notes. The reason that I didn’t take notes is because I was very confident this book would be a DNF, and the only reason it wasn’t a DNF is because I needed to understand why the reviews for this book skewed so positive. The average rating did not mesh with the content I was reading, and I had to persist to see it for myself. 
 
The early vibe of this story felt like it was supposed to be Megamind PWP slash fanfiction, while leaning aggressively hard into an out-of-character insta-love/lust. Every other sentence appeared to be checking in with the characters’ states of arousal, constantly assuring us that they were obscenely well-endowed. Constant misunderstandings and a shocking lack of common sense prevents the characters (one of which supposedly has an above-average IQ) from ever connecting the dots over the other’s obvious identity. They’re both served all the context they need to make the logical leap, but every time and without fail, they react to it like, “Huh, that’s weird. That’s a superhuman trait. Well, moving on!” 
 
Then something actually happens a third of the way into the book, long after I’d given up on it as worth my time: the author finally takes the book past a raunchy little sexfest and lets us get an actual look at the world the characters are living in. Arguably, the setting and the rules of the world are usually among the primary foci of compelling superhero media. It’s at this point that the book’s tone and direction finally shift into something cohesive, with events important to the story occurring. Characters are assigned motivations, seeds of plot are planted, and the (rather unreasonable) attraction between the main characters is granted some sort of legitimacy (Surprise! It’s a superhero-flavoured Fated Mates book!). 
 
Now I will say that, having stuck the book out, I was surprised by a number of things (here’s looking at all of you matri/patricidal monsters and psycho/sociopaths with extremely worrisome turn-ons!), but ultimately, I remained unimpressed. The book thought it was being clever about its admittedly unique plot. It thought it was slowly weaving the threads of its tapestry, but the hints and the clues being dropped were all about as subtle as a bag of brick to the face. In the end, I resorted to speed-reading and skimming through most of the book, just to stubbornly finish it. Book two piques my interest only based on the circumstances of the character it features, but I haven’t decided quite yet if I'll ever read it. 
 
This book has representation for gays, bisexuals, and lesbians. Several characters are portrayed as non-white. 
 
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail. 
This book contains:
sociopathic/psychopathic thoughts and behaviour; blood, gore, injuries, death, murder, and violence; cadavers, body parts; toxic families; off-page animal death; and potentially others I might have missed because I didn’t take notes on content warnings, either.
 
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