Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Scarred by Emily McIntire

46 reviews

angelofthetardis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

All I knew about this one going in was that it was supposed to be a dark "retelling" of Hamlet. But I couldn't figure out how it would work, as no-one gets a happily ever after in the original! So I was drawn into this from page one.

Honestly, if I hadn't been given the heads up I would never have put two and two together. It's only when I'm thinking about it after the fact I can start to see the resemblance, and recognise that this version isn't being told from 'Hamlet's' point of view, which I think is what threw me off. Instead, our lead character, Tristan, takes the part of Claudius; the dark, embittered younger brother with designs on the Crown and all that comes with it. His character is mesmerising, and something straight out of bad boy central casting. He's not my usual visualisation for an MMC, but in this case from the first description of him I could only picture Tom Hiddleston playing him. Which meant that his older brother, King Michael, was of course 'played' by Chris Hemsworth...

The contrast between the FMC, Sara, in this and Wendy in 'Hooked' is quite stark. As mentioned in my review of that book, I found Wendy to be lacking in depth, but that's definitely not the case with Sara. Although ultimately under the influence of various men, she is strong enough to stand as equals amongst them, has her own agency and brings her own ruthlessness to the story. There's no wondering how she can stand by someone with such a dark streak; she matches him perfectly.

With the Never After series comes smut, and these scenes match the tone of the rest of the book. The 'action' is not for the faint-hearted, but sadly I don't think the writing is quite hard-hitting enough to properly convey the dynamics of this part of the relationship. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it's missing something that I can't quite identify that would take it from 'it's a bit warm in here...' to supernova.

However, outside of that the writing and story is as engaging and clever as 'Hooked', if a little more restricted by the setting. Princesses and balls don't quite allow the same scope for exploration of space and character that the seedy underworld of a big city does. But there are some beautiful moments where the author really does weave a spell with her words; particularly in those quiet moments between two characters, whether it be our protagonists, father and son, Prince and pauper. That's where her real skill lies; she allows the chinks of light in a dark character burn bright, and by doing so gives them the humanity they need for the reader to root for them.

And once again there's an extra epilogue for those who subscribe to the author's mailing list! Again, it doesn't really add a whole lot, it's just an excuse for a bit more of the same and the author's way of showing that's she's kept her promise to give the villain his happily ever after, but there's nothing wrong with an extra freebie!

On to the next one!

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chainsiren's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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eliza_book_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

efetojhjhjhjhrffrfrfrfr⭐️ 4 stars

CAWPILE Rating System:

Characters = 8/10

Atmosphere = 7/10

Writing Style = 7/10

Plot = 7.5/10

Intrigue (drive to keep reading) = 8/10

Logic = 6.5/10

Enjoyment = 7/10

Trigger Warnings:

Severe - torture & violence
Moderate - sexual assault
Mild - child abuse (retrospective)

⛰ What It's About

Duel POV of two protagonists - the second-born prince & the rebel king, Tristan Faasa - & a high-born lady of a neighbouring kingdom & spy/assassin, Sara. When Sara is betrothed to the current King Michael Faasa, she travels to his kingdom with a secret agenda of assassinating all the Faasas. She finds herself bumping into Tristan and a dark connection starts to build, but this relationship may make them both question their goals and compromise their positions. It is also apparently inspired by an alternate ending of The Lion King.

🔍 How I Discovered It

This was my IRL book club’s choice for August.

🧠 Thoughts

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend checking trigger warnings before reading. I really felt the characters and I found it was easy to read and intriguing. The romance was dark and dirty and this was a new experience for me, I won’t say it is my favourite type of romance but I thought it was done well for the genre. The male love interest was dominant and yet, didn’t overshadow the female protagonist which I thought was masterfully done.

What I Liked About It

I thought the speed of the relationship between Sara & Tristan wasn’t insta-love & felt fairly believable.
Sarah as a character was portrayed as a very resourceful and strong female lead and having a relationship with Tristan didn’t change that about herself, which I respected. Tristan respected her strength and never tried to change her. Yes there were a lot of mild BDSM kinks, but this was clearly a sexual preference rather than a reduction of Sara’s strength and independence, as it done in many other novels.

What I Didn't Like About It

The ending felt a little too convenient and fast - how the protagonists managed to get themselves out of certain situations towards the climax of the story and the reader was given a vague description of how this occurred or not told at all. It made important scenes feel a little too convenient for my taste.
I didn’t exactly like that Michael’s mental health was demonised and seen as a weakness, even though it developed after he made some terrible decisions. He was sometimes referred to as mad and weak, which just didn’t sit too well with me. I personally felt that Michael wasn’t a terrible person and made cruel decisions because of how he was raised and who was whispering in his ear. I just felt so bad for Michael in this book, I’m not sure if this is a dislike aspect or maybe it was written well to make readers feel that way. It still hurt.

🥰 Who Would Like It?

If you like dark romance that isn’t too dark within the romance & you are okay with the trigger warnings.
If you like a touch of villain-gets-the-girl vibes.

Content Warnings

mxcoyote's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.75

You know why I'm here (🌶️🌶️)

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myderymana's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

the_caffeinated_book_dragon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

What to say about this book? I enjoyed the storyline and loved all the subtle hints toward the story of The Lion King. It was like finding Easter eggs throughout the book. I liked Sarah's character overall, I had love-hate feelings toward Tristan.

It was a fairly violent book which is not really my thing but it didn't stop me from reading it. I also felt the spice overwhelmed the story at times. I enjoy spice, believe me, but I don't enjoy when it completely overshadows the story or makes up half of the plot unnecessarily.

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theemangomami's review against another edition

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I could only get into it to a certain point before it became a bit more torture porn-y for my taste.

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meganbytes's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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lila_heart's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dutch translation could've probably have been better. Would've also scorred higher if there weren't wierd kinks

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mitrosec's review against another edition

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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

3.5

Better than hooked when it comes to the romance. He is DEVOTED to her. I eat it up. Sex is worse though. Plot is solid but the setting was odd. Why is she wearing a corset in the 1920’s?

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