Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Scarred

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!

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

lmhowell's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

caitlin_plotsandpints's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

melissanniereads's review against another edition

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dark relaxing 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

4.0

Knowing from the authors notes page at the beginning that this is a Dark Royalty romance aided in my enjoyment of Scarred. Like a lot of people I grew up with The Lion King, as well as having the privilege of seeing it on Broadway, there is a framed poster on my wall, Be Prepared as almost at the top of the track list out of the soundtrack. Scar is one of the great Disney Villains, and one of my favorites.

I was, not surprised but more amused at myself, that I really enjoyed this book. That it was easy to read and to follow was great, and as a bit of a slower reader this really only took me a few days to finish. As mentioned previously knowing that this was a Fall for the Villains type book, allowed me to sit back and just enjoy the ride that I was on. Most of the side characters I found endearing, or al least fun to read about. Timothy, Pete, and Simon are the true standouts. However I do wish that the more tragic or terrifying scenes left more of an impact on the characters than they did.

And yes this book was very nice and spicy, but it is a bit of a teasing slow burn! There's also wax and impact play!

I had such a great time with this, read the first few pages in Target, went home, and drove the 30 drive the next day back to get it and I'm so glad I did.

Now on to Twisted!

As with Dark Romances, please always heed the content warnings which are on the the authors website.

Content Warnings

ellaskrovset's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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