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starryaqua's review against another edition
CW: domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, rape, coercion, violence and uhh…. gross misogyny, etc, etc
I took a risk with this one. I thought this was gonna be a chill, turn-your-brain-off kind of romance. I can do dark romance without an issue. But this? Is truly something else.
The writing is extremely immature and barely edited. Way too shallow to handle content of this nature, even if it’s supposed to be mindless. I was catching blatant errors (like forgetting the character’s pov mid-chapter and having them accidentally say their own name in dialogue). Physical descriptions were giving teenage Wattpad fanfiction. Like filling a paragraph with the main character talking about her getting dressed. Ebony D’arkness Dementia Raven Way type of prose.
Speaking of, the fmc was THE most “not like other girls”, edgy and damaged and “tough” fmc I’ve ever read. The ~silver~ hair and piercings and tattoos and clunky boots. Not her calling herself a “rocker chick” as she put on a concert shirt for The Killers. I wish I was making this up. Just her and her bat and her overpowered skill to knock out four huge men against the world. She was bland, tired, and miserable to follow. I simply did not care about her and definitely didn’t care for the fact that we were told EVERYTHING about her. Like she was directly blabbing to the reader.
The other main characters (love interests? I guess) are equally insufferable and horrendously trope-y. All comically huge and tough and spewing the most constant stream of misogynistic vitriol it was actually gross to read. Their inner monologue was either annoying and boring or downright disturbing. All of them were insanely sexually charged at all times, some getting off on gratuitous displays of gore and violence. If any of them were supposed to be redeemable in the eyes of the reader or if their actions were justified, I didn’t care to keep reading. Nor could there ever be an excuse to their calling dibs on their new “property”, discussing raping her, and immediately sexually assaulting her, or threatening her with needless violence.
The plot was as thin as a tissue. Mafia made a deal with fmc’s dad, he falls through, they collect the debt by kidnapping his daughter to “own” her. Why? No reason. 2013 fanfiction was calling I guess. I didn’t read more to find out what happens, but I don’t need to to know that whatever sex occurs won’t be consensual. Dubious at best. Coercion isn’t consent. Threats aren’t consent. There’s nothing safe and sane about holding someone captive and immediately pushing your <i>actually</i> psychopathic murderous sadism on someone. That’s not how this works. It’s a shaky line of fantasies and actual harm in its portrayal, leaning hard on the incredibly unethical practices.
For the level of strength, sheer walls of muscle mass, and penitent for violence, it truly made no sense that the men were even human? Everything about them (especially Diesel) read like they were some sort of inhuman force. His lust for blood and biting at people’s skin (he ripped an earlobe off with his teeth?) was so unnatural for just a regular human dude. An extremely fucked up human, but still. Human. If this was fanfiction of some kind I wouldn’t be surprised.
TDLR: yikes. If you want to write unethically violent rape-y fantasies, at least get an editor with better eyes.
Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, Blood, Addiction, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
shellind75's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Incest
flora_fcrp's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
A perfect example of men that we love in book but not in real life !
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Trafficking, and Alcohol
bexxii00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm
chopsie_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Torture, Gun violence, and Self harm
Uh, I need holy watercaoimhe1410's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Torture
nailahm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Sexual violence, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual content
aannabakss's review against another edition
The four love interest’s (Ryder, Kenzo, Garret and Diesel) suck. I would say that somewhere along the way their brains stopped developing so that’s why whenever I read their POV’s they sound like 14-15 year olds (could even argue for 13). Only this can explain why they do too much throughout the book. Am I supposed to feel sorry for an incel or a rapist or a pyromaniac.
As for Roxy… girl stand up. It’s sad to say that I liked her character up until the point they kidnapped her. I truly wished that the four men she beat up in the beginning were the actual vipers but of course that can’t happen because as always the men are protected by plot armour. I’m tired of authors making the main character super badass and unbeatable until they come across their love interest and suddenly they’re the weakest person in the world and can’t even land a punch. It’s okay to allow the women to beat a man up.
I’m still trying to find the redeeming qualities in the men that she says makes her love them. All the male interest’s do is scream at her, degrade her, keep her prisoner and play with her but yet I’m supposed to agree that the men truly love her. Trying to find the romance in this book is harder than trying to find where’s Wally. It’s so obvious that she’s suffering from Stockholm syndrome because how else do you fall in love with psychopaths and sociopaths who consistently treat you as a toy for their pleasure. Also are we supposed to believe that Roxy has all the power in this book but in actuality how is she supposed to fight four steroid taking, over noxious and controlling men. Let’s not even start on the level of violence the men commit that can rival actual serial killers.
The sold to 1D by my father story’s on wattpad hit better than this.
Graphic: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Misogyny, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
smaxsell's review against another edition
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
rory_drake's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Blood, Sexual content, Torture, Sexual assault, Body horror, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Murder, Car accident, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Suicide, Deportation, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse