Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Electric Idol by Katee Robert

103 reviews

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
Well, I liked this second book better than the first. Though I can say a lot of that probably comes down to my own personal preferences for reading types of romance and sex, rather than any major difference in the writing itself. 
 
Persephone’s younger sister, Psyche, is center stage for this book. After a throwaway meet-cute (on her end, anyways) with Eros that is caught on camera and posted on tabloids, Aphrodite’s well-known jealousy comes out and she sends Ero (her son and fixer) to “take care of” Psyche. Instead, he hatches the only plan he can come up with to save her from his mother’s wrath: a fake marriage. Faced with no other options, Psyche says yes. But their ploy takes some major turns with they start to develop real feelings for each other, from sexual pull to the protectiveness born of love, they throw everything on the line to protect each other from Aphrodite’s wrath and cold-hearted parenting and revenge. 
 
I enjoyed seeing the world of Olympus developed more here, with cameos from some first-book-favs (looking at you Hermes), as well as greater development of some other side characters, like Demeter and Aphrodite and the new Zeus. Plus, the overall inter-god/goddess machinations, a central part of Greek mythology, are all strong here. 
 
The romance itself though was much more insular, as the effects of the relationship this time were more intra-family, as opposed to having effects on the whole of the “world” (as Hades and Persephone’s did). This book is hyper-focused on the internal struggles of Psyche and Eros – their transition into the limelight with “non-traditional” beauty and being raised by the cold and emotionally-manipulative Aphrodite, respectively – and how they have to work through those issues, separately and together, to make their connection work. I do love a “he falls first and harder” story, so that was really sweetly done here. And some combo of that type of relationship and their personalities more broadly, but this was just overall a more light/wholesome romance vibe. That being said, the steaminess factor was still high AF, and so good. Not really any kinks here, just more straightforward sex, but well-written and (once we got there) a lot of it. 
 
There are some attempts so far to be inclusive in these romances. Some are less impressive to me, like the bit mentions of previous non-hetero relationships/attractions that feel more like checking a box. And some are more pervasive, like Psyche’s plus-size figure, in this case. Not sure how successful the overall impression is, and I recognize the work. 
 
Very solid second book – quick and sexy and a little bit sweet here – exactly the vacay vibes I needed. And now I’m on the long hold-list for the third book. Cool.  

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dancers_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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moodreadmoonchild's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book is perfect. i have nothing else to say. read it. then reread it. then schedule to reread it again once a season for the rest of you life. If you need a little more convincing (which you shouldn’t) see below:

✨enemies to lovers
✨forced proximity 
✨fake dating
✨marriage of convenience
✨morality chain
✨plus-sized FMC
✨he falls first and he falls harder
✨i was sent to kill you but you make me 😍 
✨touch her and die
✨that’s my wife

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jessiereads98's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Good, not great, but still worth reading. I really enjoyed the further exploration of Olympus politics which is what brought me back to this series. Eros and Psyche are likeable characters, especially Eros, even if they are a bit straight forward archetypes. Katee Robert’s writing is at times too simplistic and they have a tendency to repeatedly beat points over your head unnecessarily, rather than writing them in a way that feels natural. There’s also some places where there’s excessive or unnecessary detail such as every outfit a character wears, and every single thing they do including the car that gets them from point A to B. Overall, a compelling story with good fat representation that I think could’ve been crafted a bit better. I’ll continue with the series because Robert’s world building and concept of the city of Olympus and it’s politics is fascinating and well done. 

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skyleon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Curvy outspoken female lead and classically beautiful male lead, modern telling of greek mythology

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sebradley29's review against another edition

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5.0


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vivivi's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was so sweet. Gotta love a good marriage sham turned real. Half the time it felt like my heart was being kicked because of how the characters thought they either weren't loved or didn't deserve love. They're so adorable.

The ending was excellent. I didn't see it coming at first, but once I knew what was happening, I watched it unfold with glee.

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grace33's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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kb33's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

1.0

This was wild. Eros is his mother’s “fixer,” ruining reputations, exiling, and unaliving people at her whim. He is ordered to cut out Psyche’s heart, and fully plans to go through with it until nearly the last moment, when he has a change of heart. He saves her and falls for her, and that’s literally the only redeeming thing he does. Psyche shrugs off all of his murders and atrocities, and all is well. WTF? “Even monsters deserve love.” This book just wasn’t for me. Serial killers don’t deserve love. This was fucking weird. It doesn’t even say he’s out of the business of killing people, it just HEA and ends. 

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bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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