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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
From a psychological standpoint point, this book is SO far far fetched. BUT I could not stop reading.
MC just kept talking about how she avoided killing, over and over again. It felt like the book wasn't going anywhere at all. And it just got really uncomfortable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
Not for everyone, but loved this book! Yes, strong themes very graphically described but I thought it was fascinating. Really liked the changing perspectives - that made the book fly by, there’s first person past, first person past, and then a couple of other third person narratives. Combination of dexter, erotica, and ‘Dark Places.’
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death
A great premise with an intriguing main character.. unfortunately the author doesn’t allow for deep enough character development of who/why/how Deanna/Jessica is the way she is. The storyline begins strong but leads to an overall weak climax that doesn’t flesh out enough intrigue or mystery. You are expecting a big twist to come.. but it never arrives. Will I read book 2 in the series? Hmm.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I felt like a lot of focus was on her sex cam job and wanted to know more background of other characters. It felt super choppy and so unrealistic.
I got this on both ebook and audio, and wow--the two were vastly different. The audiobook had the chapters in different order, and sometimes had whole parts that were missing from the ebook. I got both from the library, so not sure what happened there, but given that the audiobook had a lot more content, I'd recommend that one.
I saw this described as 50 Shades meets Dexter, which is sort of apt except there’s no BDSM and the heroine is a sex worker. It had an interesting premise; the FMC is a reclusive cam-girl with a thirst for murder. She has a neighbor lock her in her apartment nightly, so she doesn’t give in to her urges. At some point, she finds herself in a situation in which giving in to them might mean saving someone (and delivering justice).
I wouldn’t categorize this as romance, although she does get involved with someone that continues into the next book. There’s quite a bit of sex-related content but it’s solo/cam-work or descriptions about her clients/what they like. Overall satisfying and I found it compelling enough to go on to the next book.
I saw this described as 50 Shades meets Dexter, which is sort of apt except there’s no BDSM and the heroine is a sex worker. It had an interesting premise; the FMC is a reclusive cam-girl with a thirst for murder. She has a neighbor lock her in her apartment nightly, so she doesn’t give in to her urges. At some point, she finds herself in a situation in which giving in to them might mean saving someone (and delivering justice).
I wouldn’t categorize this as romance, although she does get involved with someone that continues into the next book. There’s quite a bit of sex-related content but it’s solo/cam-work or descriptions about her clients/what they like. Overall satisfying and I found it compelling enough to go on to the next book.
I've never read a book quite like this one. Besides including more erotically graphic descriptions than I am used to, the combination of sex and violence was not a topic that I had currently come across before. The book was indeed gripping, and I loved the short chapters because it was super easy to read quickly (and I mean, the story was interesting anyways so that also made me want to read on).
The "daughter-murdering-her-mother" plot twist was creative but I think was a little obvious. (Well, to be fair I didn't realize it until the flashback was actually happening, but looking back it was pretty clear who Deanna's one kill was.) It definitely gave more clarity to the reasoning behind Deanna's voluntary imprisonment, so that definitely gave me more to think about in terms of her psychology.
I liked Jeremy's character, but thought he was a little contrived. Deanna literally says early on in the book that she will never be swept away by some boy (granted, she is mostly talking about her clients) and yet she's pretty smitten at the end with this random delivery boy who she's had like, two conversations with (one of them being the time when she almost murdered him). But whatever. I like romance so I was mostly okay with it.
I wish that Ralph/Michael's character was expanded a little more. We had a few chapters in the beginning from his POV, but after he captures Annie, he kind of disappears in terms of characterization. It would have been interesting to see his perspective while Deanna was on her way to the shed/rescuing Annie. Obviously I was cheering for Deanna as she fought with this pedophilic murderer, but I don't think I was as emotionally invested in his demise as I would have liked to have been.
Overall, I was extremely intrigued by the concept of this book (props to A.R. for discussing camming, seriously an interesting and seldom discussed topic) and think it was written fairly well. I'd recommend it to people who are interested in sex/murder mystery-type books, but it might not be for you if you find graphic descriptions of sexual pleasure vulgar. Interested to see what the rest of the series is like!
The "daughter-murdering-her-mother" plot twist was creative but I think was a little obvious. (Well, to be fair I didn't realize it until the flashback was actually happening, but looking back it was pretty clear who Deanna's one kill was.) It definitely gave more clarity to the reasoning behind Deanna's voluntary imprisonment, so that definitely gave me more to think about in terms of her psychology.
I liked Jeremy's character, but thought he was a little contrived. Deanna literally says early on in the book that she will never be swept away by some boy (granted, she is mostly talking about her clients) and yet she's pretty smitten at the end with this random delivery boy who she's had like, two conversations with (one of them being the time when she almost murdered him). But whatever. I like romance so I was mostly okay with it.
I wish that Ralph/Michael's character was expanded a little more. We had a few chapters in the beginning from his POV, but after he captures Annie, he kind of disappears in terms of characterization. It would have been interesting to see his perspective while Deanna was on her way to the shed/rescuing Annie. Obviously I was cheering for Deanna as she fought with this pedophilic murderer, but I don't think I was as emotionally invested in his demise as I would have liked to have been.
Overall, I was extremely intrigued by the concept of this book (props to A.R. for discussing camming, seriously an interesting and seldom discussed topic) and think it was written fairly well. I'd recommend it to people who are interested in sex/murder mystery-type books, but it might not be for you if you find graphic descriptions of sexual pleasure vulgar. Interested to see what the rest of the series is like!