Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Initiation by Nikki Sloane

6 reviews

whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I did not do my research before I picked this book up...

I genuinely thought this was contemporary romance and I was SO SO wrong. I don't normally check for trigger warnings as I fortunately don't find most anything triggering. However, I wish I had just maybe read the blurb of this book or some reviews before I started because it was a lot, and if I had gone in with the expectation that there were going to be some pretty dark moments, I wouldn't of had such a visceral reaction to it. 

Anyway, that being said, I didn't dislike the book, in fact it kind of has me hooked - now that I know what I'm reading, I'm much more on board with the direction of the plot. I think it is a testament to Nikki Sloane's writing and storytelling, that I reacted so strongly to the scene (Not going to spoil anything here, but if you've read it you know what I mean.) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

darknesslighttt's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.0

🐚 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐚

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: arranged marriage, enemies to lovers

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: toxic relationships, emotional abuse, misogyni, s*xual assault 

At first I thought I would like the book.  There was something about it that caught my curiosity, but everything took a turn when I got to the initiation part. Until that part, I really thought it was interesting, still hoping that Marist will fight back. When I got to that part, let's say that it wasn't for me and made me feel grossed out. And after that until the last pages, with my last hope that something will change for the better, it was shattered.

Although I read dark things, this book was not for me. I don't think I will continue this series. I gave the 3 stars for the sole fact that I liked the first part of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

tinktayl's review against another edition

fast-paced

• 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

lilypilly's review against another edition

dark

this book was on another level of weirdness like wtf is happening with Macalister and the ending like girl. And what was the initiation all about, like I'm sorry but my husband would not be participating in sexual activities with another girl even if it meant losing his job.

AND ALICE AND VINCE BEING TOGETHER

I can't even say that this book was good, the only reason i stuck around was that i wanted to finish it and because i knew what the initiation was i just wanted to see how it was written. 
I didn't like the characters, i thought Marist was vapid and i thought Royce complained too much. Macalister was a creep, there's no way around that one literally, he would've been a pedo if she was younger. it was just so random and there felt like there was no thought to the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

myboooksandme's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

vereads221b's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

 I will come back to write a full review later, but if I'm being honest the content in this book has haunted me since I read it a few days ago. The fact that I couldn't find trigger warnings anywhere shows me how little the author cares about their readers. I don't recommend this book to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content

Moderate: Rape

It's very clear that the MC is having stuff done to her that she "consents" to but doesn't actually want to do. After said events, the MC has a trauma response from what happened to her. Shortly after, she is sold by her love interest to his father who has been looking at her and talking to her in sexual ways that she is clearly uncomfortable with and even says so. I want to make myself clear. This is not an "I hate I'm attracted to you" or "I hate you but we can have hot sex" thing. This is an "I hate you and you scare me and I'm begging not to be sold to you because I'm scared for my safety." The dude she is with before she gets sold to his father doesn't care that she's begging or scared. He cares about how much money he is going to get. All of this content was insanely triggering to read about. I kept waiting for "I secretly loved the way he looked at me with hunger", "he was terrifying, but I longed for him regardless" about the father but it never came. What's even more so concerning in my opinion is that the author decided not to give trigger warnings at the beginning of this book or anywhere for that matter. I even double-checked to make sure I wasn't missing anything. This was an extremely careless and harmful choice the author made. Because of this, I will not be reading any of their books ever again.