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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.
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.
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 infidelitynow_booking's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is good if you like dark romance because it’s dark-dark with dub-con, physical and sexual abuse, and all manner of mental health issues. Set in a sort of organised crime world, Posy is born into a disgraced family and tries to use sex to find the love and acceptance she was deprived of by her family. Psychopath, Dario, is enamored by Post and not sure why he fees the need to own her and keep her close, but he does. Sparks fly as these two broken people learn about love and acceptance while there’s a power struggle in their crime world.
For me, this was good. But I kind of felt that some of the dark, traumatic content was kind of maybe a little gratuitous in terms of violence. That said, I still thought this was really compelling and really well-constructed romance about someone with well-documented daddy issues and a psychopath falling in love and kind of underscoring the idea that everyone is deserving of love, not despite their issues, but even with their issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Grief, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Infidelity, Gore, Bullying, Sexism, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse
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