Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells

4 reviews

nineinchnails's review

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? Yes

4.0

i love cate's writing style so much that even when i'm not a huge fan of the story or even the characters it's still a very enjoyable read but this was exactly what i've been wanting recently. i think the pacing of it threw me off but in a good way, since it's far from formulaic - it never got boring. this author really has a gift when it comes to writing complex/layered characters without a huge amount of exposition dumping, so it always feels natural. her prose is good, it seems like her books in general are edited really well (or maybe she's just that talented) and she has a pretty varied backlog spanning across a few subgenres so i think there's something there for everyone!

it's a dark romance (check TWs) but it didn't feel super dark so i can see people who ordinarily wouldn't care for DR enjoying this book. there isn't explicit noncon (i think there is dubcon, though) and the darkest content is outside of their relationship. i don't know how she does it but her writing always manages to give me butterflies like i just went on one of those rides where you drop from like 7459834 meters in the air it's so good! i would recommend this if you're in a rut or just want to read a romance that's a little different because i don't wanna spoil too much but this doesn't read like most romances so i found it really refreshing. the mmc is more of an antihero though, which isn't for everyone.

this is technically a second chance romance but it never felt like the fun part was already done with off page, which is how i usually feel about them. i think it's hard to keep it interesting with this trope but she manages since i was still intrigued in the last 10% which is rare for me. what i loved so much about this was the characterisation and the character development, this author seems to really excel here from the books of hers i've read. it doesn't hurt that i love her writing anyway. i'm really tempted to just binge cate's backlog after this i forgot how much i love her prose and how witty her dialogue is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Blood, Stalking, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Bullying, Torture, Grief, Cancer, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

childbirth, revenge porn, false accusations of infidelity

kerrythefire's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This was my first true mafia romance and honestly, it was alright. Neither of the MCs should be likeable on paper, but somehow I just kept rooting for them. The book was an interesting exploration of each of their characters, specifically because they were so flawed. And their character progression felt realistic... enough for the story to get us to a HEA, but not too much that it felt like they all of a sudden just became different characters. 

Toxic? I mean, totally. Did I still get on board with this love story? Yep.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Blood

Moderate: Murder, Torture, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent and Physical abuse

threeundertwopnw's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Very dark,  but I loved this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Stalking

jerusha's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy

As a note, most of the rape is sex under duress and while in an abusive relationship. It is not between the main couple, though there is some slight dubcon between them at first, and references to when they were first together and she would have sex with him when she "wasn't in the mood".

Revenge porn is a heavy feature in the plot. It is a video of the heroine having sex she obviously does not enjoy or want.

Sexism and misogyny references that most of the men in the story partake in slut shaming language (heavy use of the word whore, specifically used against the mc), and just an overall misogynistic view of women. (The H does use some of this language at the beginning of the book)

There is a pregnancy at the end of the book. Nothing bad happens to the baby