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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
I’m going to spoil the fuck out of this so be warned.
MM Romance
Opposites Attract/Revenge Dark Romance
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ Attempted Sexual Assault between main characters
1.5 Stars for the first 25%
Soooo, I like dark romance and I’ve read a ton of fucked up shit this year that I’ve loved but this is not one of them. I liked it at first but it went to shit.
Shane gets out of prison after serving 10 years for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s going to make politician Ed Beck, the man who framed him pay no matter what and Shane’s going to use his son, Rosen, to do it.
Rosen is a college student majoring in art forced to stay in the closet and join a frat in exchange for his dickhead father paying his tuition. He’s a virgin, innocent and has stars in his eyes when he meets Shane.
Shane brings Rosen drugs one night to sell at the frat. His plan is to call the cops and get him arrested but once he sees how pretty he is, he decides to use him instead. They have sex and it’s out of this world for both men. Shane is dazzled by Rosen and actually likes spending time with him.
A bunch of drama happens involving a dead frat member, moving a body, hitting a dog with a car etc etc and ends with a fight between the main characters. Shane decides Rosen isn’t the sweet boy he thought he was and puts his revenge plan in motion. He lures Rosen to his home and into a shipping container he’s set up with a mattress and video camera. Once in there, Shane attempts to rape Rosen on camera to blackmail the dad. But Rosen fights back and once Shane sees his tears he can’t go through with hurting him and lets Rosen go.
—This was unforgivable and ruined the whole book for me. I dont know why Rosen would want to forgive him. He sexually assaulted him FFS
MM Romance
Opposites Attract/Revenge Dark Romance
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ Attempted Sexual Assault between main characters
1.5 Stars for the first 25%
Soooo, I like dark romance and I’ve read a ton of fucked up shit this year that I’ve loved but this is not one of them. I liked it at first but it went to shit.
Shane gets out of prison after serving 10 years for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s going to make politician Ed Beck, the man who framed him pay no matter what and Shane’s going to use his son, Rosen, to do it.
Rosen is a college student majoring in art forced to stay in the closet and join a frat in exchange for his dickhead father paying his tuition. He’s a virgin, innocent and has stars in his eyes when he meets Shane.
Shane brings Rosen drugs one night to sell at the frat. His plan is to call the cops and get him arrested but once he sees how pretty he is, he decides to use him instead. They have sex and it’s out of this world for both men. Shane is dazzled by Rosen and actually likes spending time with him.
A bunch of drama happens involving a dead frat member, moving a body, hitting a dog with a car etc etc and ends with a fight between the main characters. Shane decides Rosen isn’t the sweet boy he thought he was and puts his revenge plan in motion. He lures Rosen to his home and into a shipping container he’s set up with a mattress and video camera. Once in there, Shane attempts to rape Rosen on camera to blackmail the dad. But Rosen fights back and once Shane sees his tears he can’t go through with hurting him and lets Rosen go.
—This was unforgivable and ruined the whole book for me. I dont know why Rosen would want to forgive him. He sexually assaulted him FFS
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was suspiciously wholesome all things considered.
Lots of found family, a good grovel, even a dog. The smut wasn’t like over the top but there was enough and good (and very consensual if you’re worried).
I will say that it’s super hard to have strong feelings about anyone other than Jag because what the actual fuck? Just gonna drop that character into a book as if that’s a normal expectation???
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestamente esta historia no me gustó tanto, soy fan de lo que escriben K.A Merikan pero esta novela la encontré muy “meh”, los personajes no los sentí desarrollados por completo y la trama pudo resultar interesante pero se quedó a medias, no creí en ningún momento que el gran plan que ejecutaría Shane fuese buena idea, incluso cuando todo pareció irse abajo, lo que resultó de ello no me encantó y puedo decir que encontré bastante problemática la relación entre ellos (y lo digo siendo fan del dark romance
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Super solid four stars. Merikan does dark-lite so well, and Shane’s tortured soul in counterpoint to Ros’s innocence was * chef’s kiss * I somehow missed it was a loose Hades and Persephone retelling and enjoyed even without that knowledge. (I kind of read this just so I could read Primal, but it’s very good on its own.)
dark
fast-paced
It was ok but it's pretty hard to fully come back from that scene after Thanksgiving sexual assault / almot rape + intention and it could have been a lot of worse if we didn't have both POV because here we could at least see that he was justifiably disgusted with himself. But it's a fast paced book so everything goes quickly and it might make it seem too easy/quick with how things are fixed between them. Still was nice to see karma hit the dad in the face.
3.75 Stars
A good start to the new series by these authors. While this was good and I enjoyed it, it didn't have the same punch as some of their other stories. It just felt at a different pace, a bit slower.
I do like the fact that these authors use morally ambiguous characters who do not apologize for who they are or change who they are. Shane the ex-con had a real chip on his shoulder and had a plan of attack that went sideways pretty quickly. He had every right to want to get revenge on Ed Beck after what he did, I just wanted to see him suffer not Rosen. I enjoyed his interactions with his junk yard family.
I loved Rosen and felt for him when it all went pear shaped. He stood on his own and by his principles to create a new life for himself. Not a great life, but he just kept at it. I did like that he made Shane work to get back together and established himself as a partner not just someone that needed to be taken care of.
I loved Jag and can't wait to read his story
***Arc provided by GRR. This is my honest and voluntary review ***
A good start to the new series by these authors. While this was good and I enjoyed it, it didn't have the same punch as some of their other stories. It just felt at a different pace, a bit slower.
I do like the fact that these authors use morally ambiguous characters who do not apologize for who they are or change who they are. Shane the ex-con had a real chip on his shoulder and had a plan of attack that went sideways pretty quickly. He had every right to want to get revenge on Ed Beck after what he did, I just wanted to see him suffer not Rosen. I enjoyed his interactions with his junk yard family.
I loved Rosen and felt for him when it all went pear shaped. He stood on his own and by his principles to create a new life for himself. Not a great life, but he just kept at it. I did like that he made Shane work to get back together and established himself as a partner not just someone that needed to be taken care of.
I loved Jag and can't wait to read his story
***Arc provided by GRR. This is my honest and voluntary review ***