Reviews with content warning for Violence - Does It Hurt?

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton

167 reviews

emeraldmachireads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

“There's a place in the ocean, so deep, where not a single point of light penetrates through it. And for so long, I've been trapped there, unable to breathe. When I met you, you lifted me out of that darkness, and it was the first time I came up for air. You've become my oxygen, and I can no longer breathe without you.” ೃ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

ᯓ★ Rating.
⤿ Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5
⤿ Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 5.0

› Genre: Dark Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Suspense
› Tropes: Enemies To Lovers, One Room/Bed, Forced Proximity
› Slow-Paced, Dual POV

ೃ — I decided to have a young adult fiction hiatus and just focus on dark romance, that's why I read this, and it did not disappoint me. The story follows Sawyer, who's on the run and escapes to Australia, when she neets Enzo, a sexy Italian who'll make you swoon so hard and you'll never have a chance to catch your breath. Sawyer steals his identity and the man sees red since.

H.D. Carlton did it again! I don't know how many times I forgot to breathe while reading this book. It was an amazing type of slow, dark romance with touch of suspense. For me, the concept was as dark as the Cat and Mouse Duet and this book definitely gave me chills. Also, the spice was phenomenal. Enzo was too much to handle. Sawyer was also a likeable character despite the fact that she was an identity thief. Yes, some parts in the story were a bit confusing, but I get to understand them as I continue reading. Everything in this book was perfectly written and it's definitely worth it.

Note: The story contains trigerring contents, so please check trigger/content warnings and read at your own risk.

› Finished: October 03, 2023

Content Warnings

raes_reading_nook's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

rchulin1's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Not sure how the author was able to fit so much into a relatively short book but she did it. Such an interesting concept this book I very much enjoyed it

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gabbymm1003's review

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dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story and went in very blind, but had a fun time. I guessed pretty much all of the twists and reveals from the beginning but the way it played out was entertaining and kept me involved in the story. I finished the book very fast and could barely put it down. The audiobook performers also did a great job bringing the characters to life. While some of the events of the book seemed unrealistic, it was overall a fun read and had very good spice scenes.

Content Warnings

sockubus's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

kelleymiller13's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-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

2.25

Read this book for my book club read of the month. This type of book - and the relationships developed in it - aren’t my thing. I saw the relationship between Sawyer and Enzo as very unhealthy all throughout the book and had a hard time seeing many of their actions being labeled as “loving” actions. It was more about obsession, fixation, and dominance - nothing about partnerships, love, and mutual respect.
The story line was also pretty weak. If it was going to be part "thriller", it failed. It was completely predictable, with no surprises, twists or turns. It honestly felt like the "plot" on the island was worked in as a way to just try to bring the two main characters closer together - albeit in a weird and unhealthy way - and have a LOT of sex...most of which was where he was mean to her either during it or immediately afterwards.

Content Warnings

imskylow's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

1.75

I would like to go on record and say that the only reason I finished listening to this audiobook was because of Troy Duran’s voice acting and narrating skills. Shmexy-ass voice if you ask me. As for the content of the book… well, I vibed with it initially but it’s highkey garbage. It’s a very dark romance. And by romance I mean erotica. And by erotica I mean this is the dictionary entry for sadomasochism. I’m not kink shaming though! I like reading rough romance as much as the next smut addict. At one point, though, it’s taken a too far and becomes very dubious/non-consenual and the FMC, Sawyer, legitimately fears for her life. Enzo was getting revenge for identity theft so I sort of let it slide. (Yikes, I know). Eventually he apologizes and govels and tries to work for her forgiveness. However, at one point he wants to help her get over the trauma of said dubious consent experience and instead of building trust, he forces her into a similarly traumatizing situation and has her life at his mercy while he’s railing her. Not to mention, this second sexual encounter is right after both of them were threatened at the end of a shotgun. I kinda don’t think anyone would be in the mood for sex after their lives are threatened. The conclusion of the story just doesn’t make much sense. There’s too many plot holes for it to have worked out so perfectly. It’s garbage. I probably should have DNFed at 30% but I needed Troy Duran to continue talking to me in Italian.

Content Warnings

coraliep97's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

huitthuitt's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

2.0

Came for the dark romance, stayed for the lighthouse mystery.
Not the best dark romance I’ve read. There were some elements that were confusing or pointless.

Content Warnings

megsssss_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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