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Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'
The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
10 reviews
attolis's review
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual violence
water_violin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
wilybooklover's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Ahhh, the Robin Hood references! I grew up about half an hour from Sherwood Forest and it’s always been one of my favourite legends, so I’m delighted to see the parallels in this story.
Rob’s blackmail letters to Marian soon turn into love letters, and his infatuation with her grows after she drugs him and ties him up only to ask for his help when she accidentally murders her husband. I just loved their dynamic; Rob’s laidback golden retriever nature versus Marian’s mean and prickly personality. He basically follows her around with heart eyes for the whole book (although briefly distracted by adorable kittens). Both Rob and Marian are bisexual disasters, and their interactions and relationship feel realistically queer.
There were some great nuanced conversations about ethics in this — about having money, about stealing money, about murder, about motherhood — but they didn’t feel intrusive or unnatural to the narrative. The dialogue is as witty and clever as it was in Kit Webb.
I will admit I was a bit weirded out at Rob being the half-brother of Marian’s daughter and the son of her deceased husband, especially since he kept that info from her for longer than he really should have. But it didn’t bother me enough to impact my enjoyment of the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Dementia
Moderate: Pregnancy and Confinement
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Blood, Dementia, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is officially vying with The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics to be my favorite historical romance.
Here are some general things that I enjoyed:
Here are some general things that I enjoyed:
- Bisexual Robin Hood
- Georgian setting (I’m getting really sick of most historical romances I read being Regency)
- Cat
- Kittens
- Discussions of privilege and money and how to use wealth for good
- Stealing from bad people
- Horses
- Classics
- Rob and Marian are very enjoyable characters and I very much enjoyed them together
Sex- and relationship-specific things that I liked:
- This is the first romance I’ve read between a cis man and a cis woman where PIV sex was not part of the equation
- And they had a LOT of sex of all sorts of varieties
- Rob’s general subbiness was fun
- I loved the way they negotiated consent and talked things through
- Great handling of both characters’ bisexuality but especially Rob’s
Things that I didn’t like as much:
- Does Rob inherently have a stepmom thing because of this book? Also what is he to Eliza because oh god the family situation is convoluted as fuck
- This book was really bad at locations. I felt like I never knew where the characters were until halfway through a scene and I’m not really sure what went wrong there
I liked this more than book one and would read more books featuring this band of chaotic queer highwaymen. If Betty doesn’t get her own book with a sapphic love interest I will riot (please Cat Sebastian, prove that you are capable of writing a full novel that’s sapphic. I believe in you and will like you less if you don’t).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Gun violence
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Blood
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Sexual violence
shaipanda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
4.25
This was cuteee I really enjoyed it
Neither of the books in this series are my absolute favorite thing or anything but they both were entertaining and enjoyable :)
Solid reads imo
im really really glad that despite it seeming like they’re gonna use the miscommunication trope and have a big third act break up they don’t really do that which was nice to see
Neither of the books in this series are my absolute favorite thing or anything but they both were entertaining and enjoyable :)
Solid reads imo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Dementia
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual violence
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Dementia
Moderate: Confinement and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization
elysekimberly's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was very okay. I may be tired of historical fiction, but I felt like this book leaned more heavily into the genre. There were a lot of words that may have been fitting for the time but made this a less immersive reading experience. Besides for that, I feel like the connections between characters were murky and odd. I had to physically draw out a family tree to remember how every character connected to each other. Besides for that, there were a lot of connections that felt uncomfortable to me.
Additionally, it felt like a book that wasn’t really suited to my taste. The main character has a daughter and that was an element I didn’t really appreciate. It felt like an unnecessary addition to be honest.
While it did have its flaws, there were a lot of things I liked. I appreciated how the power dynamic shifted in the relationship between the romantic leads. Despite the historical setting, Marian was portrayed as the strong, intense one. She also typically was portrayed as the leader of their relationship. This was refreshing to read about for a period in which this likely was not the norm. I liked that the author gave the male lead the ability to be soft-hearted.
Besides for that, I also liked the theme of this book. It explored the idea that people are composed of good and bad, and that we need to look deeper before we judge someone’s actions. This had a Robin Hood-esque element that I valued.
Additionally, it felt like a book that wasn’t really suited to my taste. The main character has a daughter and that was an element I didn’t really appreciate. It felt like an unnecessary addition to be honest.
While it did have its flaws, there were a lot of things I liked. I appreciated how the power dynamic shifted in the relationship between the romantic leads. Despite the historical setting, Marian was portrayed as the strong, intense one. She also typically was portrayed as the leader of their relationship. This was refreshing to read about for a period in which this likely was not the norm. I liked that the author gave the male lead the ability to be soft-hearted.
Besides for that, I also liked the theme of this book. It explored the idea that people are composed of good and bad, and that we need to look deeper before we judge someone’s actions. This had a Robin Hood-esque element that I valued.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Dementia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Sexual violence
penguinsquack's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Confinement, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
So, I accidentally-on-purpose read this book (#2 in the series) before The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (#1) … and I think I kinda liked it that way?
Unnecessarily long explanation: It was on purpose because I had the ARC for Marian Hayes (and Rob's) story and I read it even though I knew it was #2 in the series, but it was accidentally out of order because I didn't really intend to go back and read Kit Webb (and Percy's) story. But, as often happens in these cases, I liked #2 and decided to go back and read #1.
All of that to say that I was very happy to discover that I wasn't really "going back" and reading out of order — the stories take place concurrently, fitting together to give the whole story. I preferred this one overall. As you can imagine, it has a more satisfying, more completed feel to it. I'm also just quite fond of both Marian and Rob, those brilliant dummies, and the way their relationship works (specifically how consent is worked into this historical, where we don't often get it, and how non-penetrative sex is featured in this M/F relationship, where we don't often get it). So, yes, I'd rate this one just a little higher, but really I think the books are both best when taken together, no matter what order you happen to read them in.
Unnecessarily long explanation: It was on purpose because I had the ARC for Marian Hayes (and Rob's) story and I read it even though I knew it was #2 in the series, but it was accidentally out of order because I didn't really intend to go back and read Kit Webb (and Percy's) story. But, as often happens in these cases, I liked #2 and decided to go back and read #1.
All of that to say that I was very happy to discover that I wasn't really "going back" and reading out of order — the stories take place concurrently, fitting together to give the whole story. I preferred this one overall. As you can imagine, it has a more satisfying, more completed feel to it. I'm also just quite fond of both Marian and Rob, those brilliant dummies, and the way their relationship works (specifically how consent is worked into this historical, where we don't often get it, and how non-penetrative sex is featured in this M/F relationship, where we don't often get it). So, yes, I'd rate this one just a little higher, but really I think the books are both best when taken together, no matter what order you happen to read them in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Sexual content, and Dementia
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization
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