Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Gleam by Raven Kennedy

91 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

The pace picks up a bit and there's more plot but considering the page count, it feels like we should be seeing a lot more action. We finally get some smut though! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, and Torture

dealfea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Gleam might be my favourite book in the series. The banter between Auren and Slade is so fun. I love Auren standing up to Midas, fighting back any way she can.

The absolut heartbreak of her realising just how thoroughly he used and abused her. I hate Midas so fucking much. Auren's death for him was surely painful but it should have been even worse. The scene of Auren loosing her ribbons still tears out my heart and made me sob.

This woman deserves all the happiness she can get and I hate that she still has to suffer through so much more 😞 I really do love this series and the characters in it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

hmb86's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Pregnancy and War

byeolbun's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Blood

bangiebangs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Yes, this book finally delivers. You get all the steamy spice, the romance, the tension, and the twists. That, but heed the CNs again - where the last one was tamer, this one is pretty heavy, especially if you're sensitive to drug use and abuse. Spice, would say 4/5!

I read this one in one sitting again, and I feel like the story keeps picking up steam! The romance between Auren and Slade blossoms into steamy sex (dare I say: finally the slow burn is over!), and the first big story arc feels wrapped up. The book still ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but the main arcs are finished. 

There are a couple pretty intense themes in this one.

For me, the drug abuse - especially the scenes where Auren gets drugged - were pretty intense. This, along with the physical and psychological abuse is a severe mix.

Overall really good! I'm beginning to think you can skip book 1 (and maybe read a synopsis, or not), and just start with book 2. This could have been a duology. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Slavery and Torture

crystal689's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Torture

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Trafficking

Minor: Confinement, Rape, and Murder

midnacine's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is absolutely my favorite book in the series, it wrenches my heart out every fucking time. Not a big fan of the narrators' performances in this one- I don't think Blake Lockhart reads women's voices well, so that took me out of the smut, and Zara Eden's inflection and pronunciation choices were strange at best. Narration I'd probably give a 3.75/5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Trafficking, Stalking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, and War

mandi7mm's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

_charliesbookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Physical abuse, Torture, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

redsrecs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was a whole ass ride!

It spoke to so much of my personal trauma but was done so respectfully you can’t not love this book.

Raven Kennedy writes gold, pun intended.

It’s dark, but we get so much character development. The world building as it has been in previous books, is perfection; the plot is amazing, the pace is perfect.

There is a lot of abuse between Auren and Midas and he becomes completely unhinged so definitely keep that in mind.

On the bright side, we have some real romance and spice and I squealed. This was the most amazing slow burn, it pained me in the best way every step of the way. 

This book had me sharing in Auren’s emotions every step of the way and I’m ready for more. Here to willingly drown in the gold that is this series!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Murder