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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
3.5 Stars.
I supermuch enjoyed the reading of this book, I really did. I like Sam Mariano's writing and I generally enjoy her darker heroes from an it's-just-fiction perspective, but this one left me with a bit of a "Have we gone too far with the dark romance?" hangover. I also felt like it was wrapped up a little too smoothly for the... level of dark that it delved into.
I supermuch enjoyed the reading of this book, I really did. I like Sam Mariano's writing and I generally enjoy her darker heroes from an it's-just-fiction perspective, but this one left me with a bit of a "Have we gone too far with the dark romance?" hangover. I also felt like it was wrapped up a little too smoothly for the... level of dark that it delved into.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Few things here.
1. No
2. No
3. Also no.
For starters, I went into this without realizing it was a bully romance. And I haven’t been a big fan of those as of recent. Second, what the actual fuck. There was no character arc, no hero redemption. And what the hell was up with the whole Hannah thing? At the very least, she could’ve been thrown a damn bone. The ending was boring too.
1. No
2. No
3. Also no.
For starters, I went into this without realizing it was a bully romance. And I haven’t been a big fan of those as of recent. Second, what the actual fuck. There was no character arc, no hero redemption. And what the hell was up with the whole Hannah thing? At the very least, she could’ve been thrown a damn bone. The ending was boring too.
This book was actually crazy.
I loved the characters in this book. Even the fucked up ones because the author does such an amazing job at writing psycho, manipulative people.
Dare was so fucked up, like he was an actual psychopath with no redeeming qualities. He was so manipulative and knew exactly what to do to make Aubrey like him. Anae was also one crazy bitch!! I really liked Hannah. I thought she was an amazing friend to Aubrey.
I think the reason this was 4 stars instead of 5 is that I liked the relationships more in Sam Mariano’s other books. For example, in Untouchable but the end I definitely felt like Carter (whose my favourite of SM men) loved Zoey and they had a real connection. Even Calvin in Descent cared for Hallie in a fucked up way and just wanted to look after her. But I didn’t feel the love between Dare and Aubrey. I truly feel like he didn’t give a fuck about her accept he wanted her to be his toy. There were no emotional moments between them and by the end nothing made me think that Dare cared for Aubrey. Yes, I know he did shit to people who did her wrong which I loved but it didn’t feel the same as when the other men did it. I also HATED the fact that Dare’s scheming with Anae to take Aubrey down lasted so long. Even by the end after Anae did a really really fucked us thing to Aubrey Dare still said after that that he fucking liked her!?! I’m sorry but Carter and Calvin would have obliterated that bitch if she did what she did to their women.
Also what didn’t work for me as well was Aubrey was also a real pushover. I don’t mean to keep comparing this book to SM other books but when I’m reading a bully romance I need the heroine to fight back. Zoey fought back and knew exactly how Carter’s brain worked. Hallie fought back a little less but she still realised what Calvin was doing to her was fucked up. Aubrey however seemed to completely gloss over how Dare was manipulating her the whole time and all of the terrible things he did it her. Like he literally raped her in her sleep and she had no real reaction too it. Although you could say that it’s because Dare manipulated her so well and she has Stockholm syndrome or something but I didn’t like it.
I of course will continue to read this series because I will now read whatever this author releases and I really want Hannah’s story.
I loved the characters in this book. Even the fucked up ones because the author does such an amazing job at writing psycho, manipulative people.
Dare was so fucked up, like he was an actual psychopath with no redeeming qualities. He was so manipulative and knew exactly what to do to make Aubrey like him. Anae was also one crazy bitch!! I really liked Hannah. I thought she was an amazing friend to Aubrey.
I think the reason this was 4 stars instead of 5 is that I liked the relationships more in Sam Mariano’s other books. For example, in Untouchable but the end I definitely felt like Carter (whose my favourite of SM men) loved Zoey and they had a real connection. Even Calvin in Descent cared for Hallie in a fucked up way and just wanted to look after her. But I didn’t feel the love between Dare and Aubrey. I truly feel like he didn’t give a fuck about her accept he wanted her to be his toy. There were no emotional moments between them and by the end nothing made me think that Dare cared for Aubrey. Yes, I know he did shit to people who did her wrong which I loved but it didn’t feel the same as when the other men did it. I also HATED the fact that Dare’s scheming with Anae to take Aubrey down lasted so long. Even by the end after Anae did a really really fucked us thing to Aubrey Dare still said after that that he fucking liked her!?! I’m sorry but Carter and Calvin would have obliterated that bitch if she did what she did to their women.
Also what didn’t work for me as well was Aubrey was also a real pushover. I don’t mean to keep comparing this book to SM other books but when I’m reading a bully romance I need the heroine to fight back. Zoey fought back and knew exactly how Carter’s brain worked. Hallie fought back a little less but she still realised what Calvin was doing to her was fucked up. Aubrey however seemed to completely gloss over how Dare was manipulating her the whole time and all of the terrible things he did it her. Like he literally raped her in her sleep and she had no real reaction too it. Although you could say that it’s because Dare manipulated her so well and she has Stockholm syndrome or something but I didn’t like it.
I of course will continue to read this series because I will now read whatever this author releases and I really want Hannah’s story.
3.5 stars
This was some dark shit where the antihero/villain isn’t redeemable (he is a true psychopath) and the heroine stays with him out of love and fear.
There were some questions that weren’t answered, one blaring one was what that one nightmare was that terrified him enough to be vulnerable. (UPDATE: apparently according to the author in a spoiler group page, the nightmare was an act). But then the next big question is why did he take a picture of Hannah. I’m guessing to show Anae so she will torture Hannah when she returns.
I do agree with others where there still remains an imbalance and their story still seems a bit open.
This was some dark shit where the antihero/villain isn’t redeemable (he is a true psychopath) and the heroine stays with him out of love and fear.
There were some questions that weren’t answered, one blaring one was what that one nightmare was that terrified him enough to be vulnerable. (UPDATE: apparently according to the author in a spoiler group page, the nightmare was an act). But then the next big question is why did he take a picture of Hannah. I’m guessing to show Anae so she will torture Hannah when she returns.
I do agree with others where there still remains an imbalance and their story still seems a bit open.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I kind of hated both Aubrey and Dare and didn't even really believe in their romance, but I still couldn't put this one down.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
How? How does Sam Mariano continue to push the absolute limit of human nature and still get me to love the story by the end. This was incredibly dark and if you’re looking for a redemption story with groveling, you won’t find it here. That being said, I was invested in this story from the very start. There’s something very interesting about the amount of things that can be pushed under the rug in the name of love.