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annaarcher08'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Murder, and Alcohol
zc2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kittym0nster's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
leasasaa's review against another edition
- 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
The main characters weren't likeable to me but I can see how they could be to other people.
Blake was such a bland character that i had to go back and look up her name for this because I forgot it. She was just there to be used and gaslit and yeah that's the point of the book but that was literally her only purpose.
Ryat was an asshole but at least he respected her opinion sometimes. (only after he started liking her so still an asshole)
Also the book isn't by far a good BDSM representation.
I didn't quite like it but it was very captivating and hard to put down.
Also take a shot every time boobs bounce when she gasps and its not anatomically possible.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
lauraschuhmann'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
rainyautumnreads'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
blackcatreads's review against another edition
- 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
Writing - 6/10
Plot - 9/10
Characters - 8/10
I absolutely loved this book. I had purchased it a while back and still hadn't gotten around to it, but I was hooked from the get go. I never wanted to put the book down.
Plot - I loved the plot. It was super intense, and I never knew what to expect next.
Characters - All the characters are completely toxic, and I am here for it. I loved that Blakely finally stepped up midway through the book, and it made everything even more interesting.
Writing - This wasn't too bad. It was fairly average, but much better than a lot of dark romance books I've read.
Overall, this book was right up my alley. It's not everyone's favorite, but it might be one of my favorite dark romance books I've read.
Trigger Warnings:
Graphic Violence
Non/Dub con
Branding
Forced-sex Fantasy
Drug/Alcohol Use
Masks
Breath Play
Bondage
Kidnapping
Anal
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
storieswithbee'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
naaytaashreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a 3 star for me. It could have been a 4 if not for the slow burn for like 50% of the read in the beginning.
I enjoyed the concept of the plotline of secret societies, Lords and Lady's. BDSM, thriller and all.
However, for most of the first half of the book, I was utterly confused.
Like so many things were happening, but nothing was really happening other than the nonstop sex fest.
I guess the first half of the read was focused on the sexual tension, chemistry and build-up of Ryat and Blakely.
We get to see the crazy side of Ryat. In a way, some sneak emotions of how he feels towards her and his loyalty to the Lords and his responsibility.
While Blakely in the first half was on a journey of trying to understand her love for all her kinks, this new world it introduced her.
The plot threw some plotline of secrets, betrayal, family arrangements etc.
Later on, in the second half of the book was where we see all the plotline strings together.
Of the secret all these people were hiding, which, let me tell you, is a lot. I can't bloody hell trust anybody.
The plotline picks up with more adrenaline and action.
However, sometimes the plot can be quite confusing and predictable.
Yes, Ryat is a huge possessive alpha, but I love we get to see his emotions and fluffy scenes of him and Blakely.
I see little character growth for Blakely in terms of individual, but I guess her character development focused was more towards her trust and loyalty to Ryat.
The author has a push and pull in, making me hook to her plotline.
I definitely would love to read her other works.
Hoping she writes a story for Ty.
"I wanted to fight for him. For us. In a world full of smoke and mirrors, he's something real. We got here by chance, but we're still together by choice."
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
romancejunkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Likes:
• Ryat is obsessed with her. An OTT, crazed hero who refused to share her with anyone.
• He was a bad man, but he had honor. Rape was off the table, and we saw that immediately.
• The exploration of Blake’s sexual fantasies. I loved how he reassured her and allowed her to explore without judgement.
• How he called her his good girl. UNF.
Dislikes:
• Ryat is an OTT, possessive hero. He took it too far, IMO, his actions turning abusive in some situations. Some authors walk the line of possessiveness and can’t live without them vibes without teetering into abuse. This author did not manage that.
• The drama. Sweet Christ, the drama. The twists and turns and BS coming out of left field. It was a fucking soap opera.
• Wtf was with all the flashbacks? Why TF couldn’t she actually put those IN the current timeline. Zero reason as far as I could tell except for lazy storytelling.
• She wrote an engaging story—I’ll say that—but her actual writing leaves something to be desired. She needed an editor. Badly. And someone needs to break her exclamation key.
• The amount of violence. It was grotesque, unnecessary, and overkill.
• The sex scenes got repetitive and boring. Yeah, I said it. But I can only read the same things so many times before I start skimming.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail