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kataylorgang's review against another edition
Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
jaymehunt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Gun violence, and Rape
Moderate: Racism
thelongroadtosanity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The spice was there, and though I heard a lot of people saying the book has the same scenes over and over again, I personally thought that they were not repetitive and had a decent variety. Just please make sure to read the trigger warnings before starting this book.
One of the things I didn't like was the timeline in the story. It felt that things were happening faster, only to reveal that 1 week had gone by. Definitely think the timeline could have been adjusted to fit the plot a lot better.
Speaking of which, the plot in this book is very minimal in my opinion. I could have done with more depth and more intrigue. I wanted more plot and less "I'm a badass" from Roxy. Halfway through the book it just feels like it switched directions completely and then focuses solely on her and her emotions and how she is finally accepting her role with the Vipers. I am there for the self-acceptance, but it was just constantly thrown at the reader to the point where it got very annoying towards the end. I also was NOT a fan of this epic battle/conclusion at like 65-70% of the way through the book with incredibly long and drawn out happy ending scenes.
The writing wasn't the worst I've read, but it definitely isn't the best. Towards the end, it really started to annoy me when Roxy begins to sound like an angsty teen. I also got really tired of hearing Roxy say repetitive things like "the vipers venom is in me" and "I am a badass viper queen". Just please stop, once was enough.
Despite these shortcomings, I do have to admit I was drawn in from the start of this. I liked the differences in the Vipers and their conflicting personalities. Their backstories were tragic (perhaps a little too tragic) but I liked how they mostly stayed in character and didn't change too terribly much after acknowledging their feelings. Towards the last 10% of the book I did mostly skim over the 'happy ending'. This book was wayyyy longer than it needed to be, and should have been stopped at 400 pages instead of about 600. (02/2024)
3 out of 5 stars
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Medical content, Body horror, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Gore, Stalking, Torture, and Sexual violence
woodsybookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, and Physical abuse
adelinetwalker's review against another edition
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, Torture, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Trafficking, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
bakenjanereads'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
1.75
The plot is flat and predicatable.
The characters are flat and predictable.
But if you empty your brain and release all reason, logic and morality you can *kind of* enjoy it? I think…
This isn’t a book I would suggest to anyone but if *dark* romance is your thing with steamy scenes every other page than go for it
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
katvou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Grief, Blood, Gun violence, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Medical content, Kidnapping, Vomit, Excrement, Car accident, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence, Drug use, War, Sexual assault, Child death, Bullying, Rape, and Cancer
mard3ytv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Confinement, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Rape, Torture, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Blood, Car accident, and Sexual violence
luxenarmy's review against another edition
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
And I was just reading the reviews that are on here and was shocked by what people actually didn't like and complained about compared to what I thought people wouldn't like. A lot of them talked about minimal plot and the book being too long as their reasons for not enjoying the book. Which if your going into this looking for plot I guess to others they don't think there's much of it, and to some extent I agree with them, even though I found the plot along with everything else quite enjoyable. So if you want more plot over spice then this probably isn't for you. But I thought the plot was good.
But what shocked me about the reviews the most was that people weren't mentioning the graphic sexual scenes in their reasonings for not enjoying the book. I thought those would be taken about more. But I guess it really just comes down to plot and book length for most people.
But aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I could not stop reading it. I just wanted to keep reading and see what would happen next. I was actually laughing a lot throughout this entire book. I found Diesel particularly hilarious. He's just that funny brand of crazy. I honestly don't know people hate on him so much(aside from the obvious torture and violence of his job and sex life) I found him very entertaining and enjoyable.
I love so the characters. Roxy is a badass and I love that she doesn't take anything from no one. The guys were just amazing. I loved each and every one of them. Diesel of course which I already talked about was just hilarious. I loved how crazy and obsessive he is. Kenzo was just a sweetheart most of the time. I loved how he just wanted to spoil Roxy especially knowing his and Ryder's past.
Ryder and Garrett both frustrated me a little bit, but their behavior is slightly understandable given their rough backgrounds. It doesn't excuse them but I understand them. What Garrett went through with his ex Daphne was brutal and heartbreaking. And I couldn't help but love Garrett despite his angry outbursts and violence towards Roxy. And it's the same with Ryder. The way he's always felt the need to protect Kenzo since they were kids from their father and then all of the guys and eventually Roxy. It was bound to get to him eventually. Despite the fact that they kidnapped her, I'm happy that she was able to help them overcome their fears and allow love in.
The chemistry in this group was just phenomenal. I love how they just gravitate to each other. And I loved the fact they ate breakfast together daily. It was just a sweet little thing that they made sure to do where everyone was together all at once.
I will say the end of the book after all the action doesn't really add much to the story plot wise. But I actually loved it. I haven't read a lot of books where there's a period after the climax of the story where we see the characters actually living life and being happy. Most books usually skip over all that detail. But I loved that there's actually several chapters of them recovering from everything and being happy or at least making progress towards being happy before there's the six month time jump at the end.
So overall, I absolutely loved this book. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to everyone. But if you really love dark gruesome stories with lots of spice this is for you. Definitely check the trigger warnings though.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Cursing, Kidnapping, Death, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, Grief, Car accident, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Deportation, Rape, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Alcoholism, and Cancer