Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

White Rose Painted Red by Elena Lawson

4 reviews

r4reland's review

5.0
adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The scream I scrumpt at that cliffhanger!! I'm getting the next book now. 

The audio book was fantastic. All four of the narrators are now my favorite and they were all perfectly cast; I can't imagine anyone else doing these characters. I want to listen to this again just for Grayson Owens, Sean Masters, Devon Ryder and Lessa Lamb.

But then I'll have to listen a third time because the plot?? The chatacters?? The sex???????
5 stars across the board. I love Aurora, her evolution from victim to badass was written so so so well.
Seven, Elijah, and Atticus were perfectly unique from each other, but had such great chemistry together. I love how they interacted with each other and Aurora. 

Did I mention I loved this book?

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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

Holy. Crap. This book had me captivated from the first few lines. I couldn’t put it down! Devoured it in one day. The plot was incredible, full of mystery and revenge. The character development was beautiful. The spice was HAWT. And that ENDING!!! Screaming. Hanging on by a hangnail on that cliffhanger. I a thoroughly obsessed with these 5 (yes 5. I am including the dog Ellie- duh) 
Also, spinoff book for Ellie? Or a chapter from her POV? I wanna know what that dog sees and what she’s thinking. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Wow! I LOVED Aurora. And I LOVED Seven. Like, this book was pretty DARK and violent. The spice wasn’t constant like…i think there were three, but it was HOT. My brain’s all over the place after finishing this book. It was chaos in all the best ways. All the characters were pretty grey, which was different and fun for me. I loved watching the FMC accept her darker thoughts and feelings, and slowly come to terms with her more intense nature. She embraced the idea and actions of not having to be the perfect good-girl. And the MMC’s helped her with it, while they all dealt with their own issues. 


But holy cow batman. The cliffhanger 😭😭😭 can’t wait for book two already! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional funny 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: Yes

Seven— you’ve made it onto my book boyfriend list, and trust me, that’s not an easy feat.

But before I dive into why you need to read this, let’s get a couple of things out of the way that didn’t quite click for me.

First, the FMC's relationship with Elijah. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I found myself simultaneously rooting for them while feeling that something was… off. It was like the chemistry was almost there for me, but never fully ignited. Still, I couldn’t help but be invested in their twisted connection.

Second, the dynamic between the FMC and Atticus? It just felt forced. The sparks weren’t sparking for me (although the tension had me rooting for it!), and just didn’t land the way I hoped it would. Something about it left me cold.

Now, with that out of the way, let me tell you why you absolutely need to dive into this one.

Seven. Oh, Seven. The golden retriever of your darkest, most depraved fantasies. I’m feral for this man! From his heartbreaking backstory to his dark, almost dangerous devotion to the FMC and his family— he’s the perfect mix of sweet chaos and unrelenting obsession to keep those he loves safe. The psychopath with a heart of gold, the kind of man you know you shouldn’t want… but you can’t help yourself. 😮‍💨

Sure, I had my qualms about some of the relationships, but let me be clear: the authors absolutely kill it with character development! Every flaw, every twisted piece of these characters felt earned. They’re messy, broken, and just so damn real, even if it’s in the darkest way possible.

The plot? Original. Gripping. Action-packed from page one. And let’s not forget the banter. If you’re a fan of dark humor that hits right where it should, this book delivers in spades. Think: “Lights Out” but darker, sharper, and just a little more dangerous. The spice? Oh, the spice is there. Not overdone, but scorching with a burn that hurts so good.

This book checks all the boxes for us dark romance lovers:

- Touch her and die
- Who hurt you?
- I can fix him (spoiler: you really shouldn’t, but you’ll want to)
- FMC who takes back control (yes, queen!)
- Why choose? (because why should you?)
- Morally grey characters who make you question your own morals
- Villainous leads who you’ll love to hate
- A revenge plot that keeps you turning pages long past midnight (I stayed up all night with this book!)

And let’s talk about the characters because we get some of the best dark romance tropes:

- The psycho golden retriever (Seven, I’m looking at you)
- The OCD ex military hacker who knows how to push every button (Atticus or Daddicus if you will)
- The tortured artist who hides his pain to his pain, but cannot hide the scars (Elijah) and surprises you more than once.

This book isn’t just for dark romance lovers— it’s for anyone who enjoys complex characters, twisted relationships, and a plot that’s as intense as it is addictive. If you like your romance a little broken, your humor a lot dark, and your spice served raw, then trust me, you don’t want to miss this.



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