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so_many_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
List of TWs: homophobia, racism, blood, violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking, emotional manipulation, gaslighting, toxic relationships
And I don't even think it's the full list.
Well, this wasn't exactly what I expected. While it's entirely my fault because I didn't look into any reviews, I simply wasn't really interested in the story.
I picked up this book because I loved Josh Lanyon's Secrets & Scrabble cosy mystery series. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this series is not cosy, so a lot of things took me by surprise.
The mystery was a bit easy to solve even though the author really tried to mix it up with lots of side tracks and clues that didn't lead anywhere.
About the characters... I didn't really fall in love with them. For me, it's really important to have some kinda connection to the characters to commit to a series. And here, it didn't really happen. Adrien was just straight up silly the whole time. And I don't know what that was at the end, but it was pretty freaking dark. WTF?
The love interest is a cop, Riordan, who is simply and ass in the majority of the book. The attraction at the end kinda came out of nowhere because we barely saw anything of him. There is no relationship development at all.
What bothered me the most was the sheer amount of casual homophobia and F-bombs (the homophobic kind).I checked the author's website but couldn't find a trigger warning list, but it should exist. The dark aspects of this book came out of nowhere to me.
I get that this was first published in 2000, and that was a different world, but wow. Nope.
I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. I think I'm used to queer books now being way more progressive so I have no desire to dip back into a world where internalised homophobia is a normal thing and f*g is a casual expression for gay folks. Nah. No way.
This book wouldn't be popular if published today. I'd say the author would even be scrutinised for writing about queer people like this.
I started reading this review with 3 stars in my mind, but by the time I'm typing this, I actually put 1 star as my final review. There is not one thing I liked about this book.
And I don't even think it's the full list.
Well, this wasn't exactly what I expected. While it's entirely my fault because I didn't look into any reviews, I simply wasn't really interested in the story.
I picked up this book because I loved Josh Lanyon's Secrets & Scrabble cosy mystery series. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this series is not cosy, so a lot of things took me by surprise.
The mystery was a bit easy to solve even though the author really tried to mix it up with lots of side tracks and clues that didn't lead anywhere.
About the characters... I didn't really fall in love with them. For me, it's really important to have some kinda connection to the characters to commit to a series. And here, it didn't really happen. Adrien was just straight up silly the whole time. And I don't know what that was at the end, but it was pretty freaking dark. WTF?
The love interest is a cop, Riordan, who is simply and ass in the majority of the book. The attraction at the end kinda came out of nowhere because we barely saw anything of him. There is no relationship development at all.
What bothered me the most was the sheer amount of casual homophobia and F-bombs (the homophobic kind).I checked the author's website but couldn't find a trigger warning list, but it should exist. The dark aspects of this book came out of nowhere to me.
I get that this was first published in 2000, and that was a different world, but wow. Nope.
I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all. I think I'm used to queer books now being way more progressive so I have no desire to dip back into a world where internalised homophobia is a normal thing and f*g is a casual expression for gay folks. Nah. No way.
This book wouldn't be popular if published today. I'd say the author would even be scrutinised for writing about queer people like this.
I started reading this review with 3 stars in my mind, but by the time I'm typing this, I actually put 1 star as my final review. There is not one thing I liked about this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Stalking, Death, Murder, Animal cruelty, Blood, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, and Racism
Minor: Vomit, Xenophobia, and Miscarriage
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