Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Hooked by Emily McIntire

16 reviews

galleytrot's review against another edition

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

4.25

READ: Mar 2024 

FORMAT: Digital 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 4.5 / 5⭐ 

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4.25 / 5⭐ 

FINAL – OVERALL: 4.25 / 5⭐ 

In this book, Wendy is feeling a little lost in her father’s apparent lack of interest in either hers or her brother’s lives, and a rebellious night out with her coworkers has her stumbling into the arms of a very dangerous man. As she sets foot in the doors of the Jolly Roger, James recognizes Wendy immediately as the daughter of the man who ruined his life, and while it surprises him that Peter is in the area, unfettered access to his daughter – famously his pride and joy – is fortuitous beyond expectations. Revenge all too sweet is finally within his grasp, and it would be made all the sweeter with Wendy broken and used up by his side. 

Fairy tale reimaginings are something I need more of in my life, and who doesn’t like to root for the heinous, irredeemable villain every once in a while? When my friend proposed this as our next buddy-read, it felt like a good choice, mixing flavours of fantasy, crime, romance, and drama – something for each of us. I might not claim that this story is especially original or clever, but because I don’t stray from my normal genre all that often it was very much new and novel. Some things felt well-thought-out while others felt a bit silly or ham-fisted. I liked that the author wasn’t precious about sticking to the motivations and relationships of the characters from the original works, although plenty of recognizable winks and nods were given to keep the reader looking for them. 

One thing my friend and I agreed on is that towards the end of the book, at the reveal of the even eviller villain, while adequately set up throughout the story, didn’t come with a very satisfying explanation. We were both left with far too many questions regarding their motivations and their ability to orchestrate the events of this book, with so much dependence on random chance. The stars wound up aligning so perfectly to set off a specific set of events, and the idea that the villain would wait in the shadows for as long as they did doesn’t honestly make much sense to me. These notes aside, the book still captivated the both of us completely, and was likely made better as a shared experience. We had a good time, and we are likely to continue on with the series over time. 

This book has at least one character who is portrayed as non-white; there is otherwise little else in the way of diversity. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains:

death, murder, torture, violence; blood, injuries, gore; weapon violence (knives, guns); alcohol use; implication of past incestuous sexual assault of a minor; past physical abuses of a minor; past parent deaths (car accident, plane crash); drug trafficking; mentions of bullying; kidnapping, confinement; fire/arson; mentions of drug addiction; animal abuse; drug abuse; mention of past infidelity; and, vomiting.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Confinement, Trafficking, Vomit, Alcohol, Cursing, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Incest, Pedophilia, Car accident, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse

rbjennings's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ALL OF THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. It’s a good book but VERY GRAPHIC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Drug use

readyforit's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

4⭐️4🌶️
The author really gets your hopes up and then you have a moment of WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!! There are lots of twists, some of which I predicted as the book went on. I also listened along with the audiobook and I’d say that’s the superior way to read this book, since there are 2 narrators. I do wish they did duet narration where the FMC and MMC are speaking to each other back and forth like a dialogue, rather than have the FMC chapters narrated by the woman and MMC narrated by the man. I also wish we got more Jon! Wendy and Jon and James and Jon. I also read the extended epilogue that is free on the author’s website and it’s a nice wrap up 10 years later, along with character profiles for Wendy and James. 

I liked both the FMC and MMC but I wished for more character development from Wendy. She doesn’t have a huge personality in the movie either but I feel like maybe she could’ve had some more development than “finding her voice” (barely). James is a complex morally gray character that often makes terrible decisions because he’s blinded by his trauma. I could see so many times in the book where I was like CANT YOU SEE THE ANSWER IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! And he would just continue blaming his enemies from his past.

If you’re hesitant to pick this book up, I’d lookup the trigger warnings. There is mention of

child abuse/pedophilia

but nothing graphic. Also just because this is a Peter Pan “retelling” doesn’t mean hook and Wendy have an age gap, they’re both consenting adults in their 20s. It’s more like the author uses elements of the story like names and places, as she calls it a fractured fairytale.  I liked the book and there was plenty of spice, but I wished it was longer for more fluff and maybe more backstory. I probably won’t be rereading it unless I forget the plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Rape, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit

mentions of child sexual assault are all done through flashbacks and are not graphic

amber_rmyoung's review

dark tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Gore, Death, Sexual content, Murder, Kidnapping, Cursing, Confinement, and Animal cruelty

hchaus21's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Gun violence, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Death of parent

elledanie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Sexual content, Gore, and Death

Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and Torture

Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, and Drug use

mitrosec's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Anyone who looks at this man and unironically wants someone like him needs psychiatric help. 
With that said, I understand he is a villain and thoroughly enjoyed the book. Although, as a lesbian reading about his perceptions of women made me sick to my stomach. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Sexism

booksalacarte's review

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

2.75+⭐️ 3.75🌶️

A dark contemporary romance using elements of Peter Pan woven into the story. It was a quick read. I found myself more excited about finding all the Easter eggs than the plot itself. It was pretty unbelievable and leaned heavily on both MC’s trauma to define them. The plot was fine, but left a lot of holes that could have been easily addressed and tied up.  The dialogue was really repetitive and a lot of discussions that could have built on the characters took place off page. 

Insta-lust
Grumpy/sunshine
Crime lord
Enemies to lovers
“Burn the world for you”


Definitely check your trigger warnings on this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Drug use, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

alilbitofeveryth1ng's review

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse

myinvinciblesummer's review

dark medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Incest, Alcohol, and Bullying

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Cancer, Confinement, Pregnancy, Torture, Alcohol, Bullying, Medical content, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Drug abuse