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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
tw: rape
2,5/5 stars
hmmmmmmm. fair warning, spoilery rant ahead.
@dreamfever
see. there is one thing i don't appreciate a book doing, in particular. it is forcing something down my throat while disguising it and trying to make me accept it as some sort of brilliant brainstormed idea.
this is what i consider rape as plot device to be: lazy fucking writing.
you can fight me on this, but it is what it is. when you put your characters through rape for the sake of having them 'become stronger', there are no others words for it.
when you use gangrape and try to tell me it was the only thing that could advance your story, i call bullshit.
you know what: yes, okay. do this. but treat the subject /right/. don't make your character face constant remarks and reminders, rape jokes. don't normalize this behavior. you know what that's called? cleverly hidden hints of rape culture. and it is very present in this book.
to be very fucking honest, i had to fight all of my morals to continue dreamfever. i was morbidly fascinated and i hated myself for every second of it. i felt dirty. i felt sad. i was attached enough to mac to want to know what happens to her. and then she became stronger and i was on the high of it. while she was never completely helpless in the previous books, seeing her use some of her abilities and bring her inner darkness out was a joy to me. i kept trying to forget how she achieved that; all because the book was trying to do it for me. there was no ptsd. there was very light mentions of trauma, but no actual repercussions. i know she was pri-ya, but why did she regain her memories of what jericho did, and had the fallout of it engraved in her memories, in her reactions (to him), yet nothing of what led her to that point was brought up, exactly? i know miss moning loves writing long descriptives of mac's narrative for other heavy subjects (like grief or even torture), so this.. the lack of them. it was depressing.
what was even more disgusting was how everyone treated the issue. mac kept repeating how rape changed her, how traumatic it was, yet everyone basically told her to "suck it up, buttercup"
dani made it seem like being raped was /cool/. cool. fucking cool. because mac got a power of resistance out of it. are you fucking kidding me. i can only imagine how hurtful this would be to an actual rape victim. seeing their experience used for the sake of furthering the plot, normalized, almost glamorized. barrons fucking JOKING about it. BRINGING IT UP AT EVERY TURN. YEAH THANKS FOR THE REMINDER. I'M SURE MAC KNOWS SHE WAS RAPED.
listen, i know he isn't your typical male character. i know he isn't gentle; not remorseful (enough); not a good guy. but using mac's rape against her in arguments? that's low. very fucking low. while i've always had a love hate relationship with his character, i'm definitely steering toward hate now. i hate how he never takes mac seriously. he keeps all of the cards to himself and when it finally crashes and burns (=she makes a mistake because she is left to stumble in the dark), MAC BLAMES HERSELF. WHEN SHE WASN'T IN THE WRONG PER SE. why should've she trusted barrons, when he never gave her any fucking answers.. there is no comfort in being saved without knowing the how and the why. no.
*mac
mac and barrons have a very dysfunctional relationship. they lowkey bring out the worst in each other; by provoking, using weaknesses... but they're never on equal ground and that's what disturbs me the most. mac has to claw her way into jericho's mind to dig up a secret while he seems to be aware of everything when it concerns her. he has the advantage of being older, more knowledgeable, more cunning, it is easier for him to read people... as soon as mac gains some sort of control over the situation, she loses it because barrons discovers that she is keeping secrets from him (which, to be fair, is ironic). he manipulates, he blackmails... i don't know how much more i could take. i hate ms moning for writing him as this enigma. WE NEVER GET ANY FUCKING ANSWERS. JUST MORE QUESTIONS. it is frustrating. at this point i'm reading to solve the mysteries and the fucking cliffhangers instead of being actually invested in what happens to the core of the books -- the characters.
this was SUCH a good series so far. i could've even go past the fecking in every few fucking paragraphs and dani being an annoying brat (she's thirteen blablabla, yeah i know)... but this just makes me want to cry. i'm sad at the wasted potential! i'm angry at myself for enjoying this book as much as i did despite the things i cited above. will i read this series past book 5? i'm not so sure anymore.
2,5/5 stars
hmmmmmmm. fair warning, spoilery rant ahead.
@dreamfever
see. there is one thing i don't appreciate a book doing, in particular. it is forcing something down my throat while disguising it and trying to make me accept it as some sort of brilliant brainstormed idea.
this is what i consider rape as plot device to be: lazy fucking writing.
you can fight me on this, but it is what it is. when you put your characters through rape for the sake of having them 'become stronger', there are no others words for it.
when you use gangrape and try to tell me it was the only thing that could advance your story, i call bullshit.
you know what: yes, okay. do this. but treat the subject /right/. don't make your character face constant remarks and reminders, rape jokes. don't normalize this behavior. you know what that's called? cleverly hidden hints of rape culture. and it is very present in this book.
“She spiked the Orb. She flirted with a Seelie Prince. She was asking for it. Fae and human don’t mix. That’s the whole point of our order—we keep the races apart. She got what she was asking for.”
to be very fucking honest, i had to fight all of my morals to continue dreamfever. i was morbidly fascinated and i hated myself for every second of it. i felt dirty. i felt sad. i was attached enough to mac to want to know what happens to her. and then she became stronger and i was on the high of it. while she was never completely helpless in the previous books, seeing her use some of her abilities and bring her inner darkness out was a joy to me. i kept trying to forget how she achieved that; all because the book was trying to do it for me. there was no ptsd. there was very light mentions of trauma, but no actual repercussions. i know she was pri-ya, but why did she regain her memories of what jericho did, and had the fallout of it engraved in her memories, in her reactions (to him), yet nothing of what led her to that point was brought up, exactly? i know miss moning loves writing long descriptives of mac's narrative for other heavy subjects (like grief or even torture), so this.. the lack of them. it was depressing.
“See how you look at me. Fuck. I understand why they do it.”
“Who does what?”
“The Fae. Turn women Pri-ya.”
what was even more disgusting was how everyone treated the issue. mac kept repeating how rape changed her, how traumatic it was, yet everyone basically told her to "suck it up, buttercup"
Spoiler
(with an addition of "like you sucked me when we were fucking while you were not in control of your body, miss lane" from barrons)."I had no awareness. No choice.” I searched for words to drive my point home. “It was every bit as much rape as what the Unseelie Princes did to me.”
His glittering gaze went flat black, opaque as mud, the images died. Beneath his left eye, a tiny muscle contracted, smoothed, contracted again. That minute betrayal was Barrons’ equivalent of a normal person having a hissy fit. “Rape isn’t something—”
“You walk away from,” I cut him off. “I know. I get it now. Okay?”
“You crawl. You were crawling when I found you.”
“Your point?”
“You walked away from me. Stronger for it.”
dani made it seem like being raped was /cool/. cool. fucking cool. because mac got a power of resistance out of it. are you fucking kidding me. i can only imagine how hurtful this would be to an actual rape victim. seeing their experience used for the sake of furthering the plot, normalized, almost glamorized. barrons fucking JOKING about it. BRINGING IT UP AT EVERY TURN. YEAH THANKS FOR THE REMINDER. I'M SURE MAC KNOWS SHE WAS RAPED.
"I wouldn’t so blithely offer up my eyeteeth. You never know when you might need them. For a woman who was gang-raped recently, you certainly seem blasé."
listen, i know he isn't your typical male character. i know he isn't gentle; not remorseful (enough); not a good guy. but using mac's rape against her in arguments? that's low. very fucking low. while i've always had a love hate relationship with his character, i'm definitely steering toward hate now. i hate how he never takes mac seriously. he keeps all of the cards to himself and when it finally crashes and burns (=she makes a mistake because she is left to stumble in the dark), MAC BLAMES HERSELF. WHEN SHE WASN'T IN THE WRONG PER SE. why should've she trusted barrons, when he never gave her any fucking answers.. there is no comfort in being saved without knowing the how and the why. no.
I felt like a child plucking daisy petals: I trust him, I trust him not, I trust him, I trust him not.
*mac
mac and barrons have a very dysfunctional relationship. they lowkey bring out the worst in each other; by provoking, using weaknesses... but they're never on equal ground and that's what disturbs me the most. mac has to claw her way into jericho's mind to dig up a secret while he seems to be aware of everything when it concerns her. he has the advantage of being older, more knowledgeable, more cunning, it is easier for him to read people... as soon as mac gains some sort of control over the situation, she loses it because barrons discovers that she is keeping secrets from him (which, to be fair, is ironic). he manipulates, he blackmails... i don't know how much more i could take. i hate ms moning for writing him as this enigma. WE NEVER GET ANY FUCKING ANSWERS. JUST MORE QUESTIONS. it is frustrating. at this point i'm reading to solve the mysteries and the fucking cliffhangers instead of being actually invested in what happens to the core of the books -- the characters.
this was SUCH a good series so far. i could've even go past the fecking in every few fucking paragraphs and dani being an annoying brat (she's thirteen blablabla, yeah i know)... but this just makes me want to cry. i'm sad at the wasted potential! i'm angry at myself for enjoying this book as much as i did despite the things i cited above. will i read this series past book 5? i'm not so sure anymore.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
OMG OMG I was supposed to stop before reading the next one because I have too many books I am currently reading but that ending!!! It was impossible to wait. I am glad I started reading this when all the books were out I would have had an heart attack
SPOILER ALERT!!!! This review might contain some spoilers due to the readers sudden and uncontrollable burst of emotion. XD
Okay…. so after reading the last book, I’ve been angry at Ms. Moning. How dare she allow the Unseeliee princes to rape and turn our precious Mac into a Pri ya? It’s unacceptable.
And, now, I know the reason why it happened.
It made her stronger, tougher.
When Barrons helped Mac become herself again, I was shouting and jumping and laughing because of happiness. Then, Mac began to feel very angry at Barrons that my mood began to slope down.
Here, we will see a much improve, more hostile MacKayla Lane. And it will also tell us a little about her heritage. Let us ponder a little about what would happen next.
And the scenes with V’lane and Barrons… Gosh. I don’t know who I like better (during those time, okay? I am certainly rooting for Barrons.) between the two. I mean, V’lane being really nice to Mac that you could see his sincerity in keeping her safe, hidden agenda (if any) be damned. Especially that night, when he took her to her parent’s house! Shocks! If there’s any doubt in my mind if I will like his character or not, it was eradicated during that moment. I love him! just a little more and I will love that character as much as I love barrons. Unfortunately for him, he only appeared a few more times, then vanished totally in the story.
And Barrons, gods… when Mac was getting ready to go back to her parents house to save them, and Barrons offering his Bookstore and a couple of cars to Mac so she’ll go back there alive… *sniffs*.
But then, things happened, their plans, destroyed, and now, Mac was trapped in an unknown place… Then, Ryodan coming in and trying to get her back to Dublin when her protector appeared and they got into this battle…
I’m silently begging Mac to stop the fight and try to soothe her protector.
Then, she did the exact opposite of what I’m praying she’ll do and stabbed it.
I almost cry during that scene. I don’t know why. It’s just, I’ve been attached to that little monster since it kept on saving her again and again… and she helped kill it!
I swear, I’ve been harboring a small grudge at our heroine since then.
Then… it began to transform and it just kept me all night, wondering who her beast turned into.
V’lane? Her sister, Alina? A friend?
*sighs*
Okay…. now that I told you what will happen to the story (my apologies :D), and my reactions to this magnificent work, I’m going to end this review.
A teary eyed four point five stars (the tears are for her beast), and thanks for reading. :D
Okay…. so after reading the last book, I’ve been angry at Ms. Moning. How dare she allow the Unseeliee princes to rape and turn our precious Mac into a Pri ya? It’s unacceptable.
And, now, I know the reason why it happened.
It made her stronger, tougher.
When Barrons helped Mac become herself again, I was shouting and jumping and laughing because of happiness. Then, Mac began to feel very angry at Barrons that my mood began to slope down.
Here, we will see a much improve, more hostile MacKayla Lane. And it will also tell us a little about her heritage. Let us ponder a little about what would happen next.
And the scenes with V’lane and Barrons… Gosh. I don’t know who I like better (during those time, okay? I am certainly rooting for Barrons.) between the two. I mean, V’lane being really nice to Mac that you could see his sincerity in keeping her safe, hidden agenda (if any) be damned. Especially that night, when he took her to her parent’s house! Shocks! If there’s any doubt in my mind if I will like his character or not, it was eradicated during that moment. I love him! just a little more and I will love that character as much as I love barrons. Unfortunately for him, he only appeared a few more times, then vanished totally in the story.
And Barrons, gods… when Mac was getting ready to go back to her parents house to save them, and Barrons offering his Bookstore and a couple of cars to Mac so she’ll go back there alive… *sniffs*.
But then, things happened, their plans, destroyed, and now, Mac was trapped in an unknown place… Then, Ryodan coming in and trying to get her back to Dublin when her protector appeared and they got into this battle…
I’m silently begging Mac to stop the fight and try to soothe her protector.
Then, she did the exact opposite of what I’m praying she’ll do and stabbed it.
I almost cry during that scene. I don’t know why. It’s just, I’ve been attached to that little monster since it kept on saving her again and again… and she helped kill it!
I swear, I’ve been harboring a small grudge at our heroine since then.
Then… it began to transform and it just kept me all night, wondering who her beast turned into.
V’lane? Her sister, Alina? A friend?
*sighs*
Okay…. now that I told you what will happen to the story (my apologies :D), and my reactions to this magnificent work, I’m going to end this review.
A teary eyed four point five stars (the tears are for her beast), and thanks for reading. :D
Very few series get better as they go - luckily for me, this is one of them.
I thought the cliffhanger for the last book was bad...this one was worse. I’m glad the series is complete or I would be so mad.
I notice the price of the last book is $9 too! It almost feels like I’ve been emotionally blackmailed into spending more money on a book than I normally would lol
This book was good, but it just felt like filler in between books if that makes sense...nothing REALLY happened and no questions were really answered. It was still as gripping as the rest of them and I don’t regret reading it but I’m glad the next book is said to conclude Mac’s story. All the unanswered questions and her constantly getting her ass handed to her is getting exhausting.
I normally read books with HEAs and where everything works out in the end and is all wrapped up in a neat package. This series has been an emotional roller coaster for me and it hasn’t all been pleasant. I’m happy I read it since it is recommended constantly in reading groups, but man I don’t know if I would have willingly picked it up if I’d know all Mac would be put through.
I do hope she gains some sort of power over her own life in the next installment...it’s getting tiresome seeing her at the mercy of so many big, powerful, manipulative men. And it’s getting slightly irksome that she is forever needing rescue. I love that she isn’t a Mary Sue, but surely after four books she should have SOME skills that could help her save herself.
I notice the price of the last book is $9 too! It almost feels like I’ve been emotionally blackmailed into spending more money on a book than I normally would lol
This book was good, but it just felt like filler in between books if that makes sense...nothing REALLY happened and no questions were really answered. It was still as gripping as the rest of them and I don’t regret reading it but I’m glad the next book is said to conclude Mac’s story. All the unanswered questions and her constantly getting her ass handed to her is getting exhausting.
I normally read books with HEAs and where everything works out in the end and is all wrapped up in a neat package. This series has been an emotional roller coaster for me and it hasn’t all been pleasant. I’m happy I read it since it is recommended constantly in reading groups, but man I don’t know if I would have willingly picked it up if I’d know all Mac would be put through.
I do hope she gains some sort of power over her own life in the next installment...it’s getting tiresome seeing her at the mercy of so many big, powerful, manipulative men. And it’s getting slightly irksome that she is forever needing rescue. I love that she isn’t a Mary Sue, but surely after four books she should have SOME skills that could help her save herself.
I was really thinking I was able to work with the series and I could move on from the highly questionable things throughout the series so far.
I already had icks over parts in the previous books. Thought I could over look all the flaws of this series cause it “will get better.” I don’t get why so many people were recommending this series, at least give some trigger warnings.
After the first book I tried to shift my expectations and just not take it seriously. But the sexism, sexual assault, and abuse, seriously wtf it wasn’t necessary. Take all of it out and the series would fine, better even.
There are so many questionable things said throughout this entire series consistently.
After Mac she was gang raped, to get her back to normal Barrons essentially rapes her “for her own good” *vomit* when she is not of sound mind. Apparently it was the only way to bring Mac to back to her senses. Then he throws it back in her face afterward. He literally threatened to rape her once. Why is everyone downplaying what happened to her and moving on quickly over what happened. Like it’s all okay be cause she’s “stronger” now. Fuck off.
I wanted growth in Mac’s character, just not in this way thank you very much.
At least when she came back to her senses Mac recognized what has been done with her. Sad that that was the bare minimum. But then she did nothing about it, it’s all back to normal! V’lane and Barrons disgust me, the vast majority of men in this series do.
And please let’s not sexualize children. Dani is only 13 keep it in your pants.
There is no romance or actual spice, even though the whole story in centered around sex and mystery. The main reason I started this and I got neither. The lack there of consent ruined a lot for me.
I don’t know how oblivious I was. I just really wished I was warned about everything so I would have approached this in a different way or not at all. Continuing the story, makes me feel really icky and I can’t really enjoy the small things I had liked before.
I really feel like I just wasted so much of my time and energy. I didn’t cared that much for the plot beforehand and I didn’t bother to pay attention to it anymore.
This beginning of this book was the tipping point for me.
I just need to get through this and move on.