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lydia_books's review
medium-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny
1quillb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The thing that authors really need to get right when writing enemies-to-lovers is the transition from enemy to lover—it needs to be made clear to the reader why, exactly, they fall in love with each other. But here, the author fails completely. There is no transition, there’s just Shazi hating Khalid to her saying she wants to kiss him and is in love with him (I’m not tagging a spoiler here because it’s the whole premise of the book). There’s literally zero explanation as to why she has suddenly become enamoured with Khalid. I really like the general idea of the book, especially as a 1001 Nights rewrite, but the relationship aspect falls flat without the journey of actually falling in love with someone who is supposedly evil. Had the author included a more transitionary period with their relationship I probably would have rated this much higher, but I couldn’t stand Shazi constantly waxing poetic about a man she hardly knew anything about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Infidelity
truegrit's review
Really gross set up - like an enemies to lovers situation but he's a murderer and rapist? Could not abide by the story line or characters, really yucky.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Rape, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
veganecurrywurst's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Teilweise muss ich gestehen, dass ich die Prämisse etwas sehr verückt und verstörend. Dennoch waren die Charaktere sehr interessant und ich fand es spannend mehr über sie herausfinden. Im Gegensatz zum Hauptcharakter ist es mir nicht gelungen nur ein wenig über die vielen Frauen hinwegzusehen, die ermordet wurden. Deswegen konnte ich die "Liebesgeschichte" nicht so wirklich genießen. Trotzdem will ich unbedingt wissen wie es weiter geht.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Rape
madarauchiha's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
0.25
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️
@ teenagers I am so sorry people are trying to make you think pedophilia is normal and ok. None of this is good. If you've been groomed and/or harmed by adults I am wishing you the kindest future ahead of you.
The romance feels pretty shallow on the side of the mc. like her reasons are <spoilers>he murdered her best female friend so she went undercover as his wide to murder him.</spoilers> And yet shes getting indecisive from the get go. Which isn't my complaint, murder is very difficult for anyone and for any reason. It's the romance that's the issue.
The entire book plotline is just: pedophilia is ok, grooming and abuse of power is great, femicide? no problem! go ahead and murder women! Hell maybe that's why he spared the main character: she's a child, not a woman.
content warnings:
minor: ableist c slur, pregnancy,
medium: diseases, whorephobic language, slavery,
major: femicide, murder, animal death, violence, pedophilia, csa, suicide, medium stillbirths, toxic relationships, gore, violence, sexual harassment, animal hunting, femicide,
▪ “I’m sixteen.” She cut her eyes. “And I don’t see why it matters.”
This is the main character's canon age.
<spoilers>
▪ My first wife. I married her not long after I turned seventeen. It was an arranged marriage. One I arranged to avoid what I considered a far worse fate. How wrong I was.”
▪ A boy-king of eighteen. A cold, unfeeling bastard...
</spoilers>
So he's absolutely not seventeen anymore. He is an 18 yo adult as of the present timeline in this plot. It's literally one year later, and all his femicide domestic abuse is quite literally daily news for the entire city.
Why the fuck didnt the author make the girl also eighteen? Not that it's any better but like. At least theres a veneer of acceptability for them to be adults.
▪ When she married Khalid’s father and became his second wife, she was young—only fifteen years old. I came along with her to Rey, at her insistence. She was very headstrong. Unfortunately, it was not an easy marriage. Her husband was a good deal older than she, and he had clearly loved his first wife very much. Leila did not appreciate the constant comparisons. I tried hard to rein in her tantrums and bouts of despair, but the disparity between them in age and interests was oftentimes too difficult to breach. It was no one’s fault, really. Khalid’s father was quite set in his ways. And Leila was a spirited young woman.”
No wonder this child bride was throwing tantrums. shes literally a child! Why the fuck is pedophilia so normalized? And don't tell me some islamophobic, racist excuse!
▪ She captivated him in the way she always did, with unguarded beauty and unassuming grace. Her hair rippled behind her in shimmering waves of ebony, and her pointed chin was turned high and proud in the rays of sun streaming from above. The light gold of her mantle cloaked the deep emerald of the silk beneath it. Woven into the myriad colors of her eyes, Khalid saw the same mixture of reticence and defiance as always.
Again, she is sixteen and a grown adult man is thinking this. Disgusting.
By the way? The adult male romantic interest repeatedly emotionally abuses the sixteen year old wife and makes her apologize for saying mean things to him. Which she has every right to do as a victim and as someone susceptible to his ongoing femicide. Only after this does he apologize to her.
<spoilers>▪ Since the summer I turned twelve.” Her voice broke.
He clenched ...</spoilers>
So he finds out that a literal 12 yo has a crush. It's so incredibly fucked up that he's mad any female girl child has romantic interest ever. This is so gross.
<spoilers>▪ Shahrzad leaned forward and took his lower lip between hers. She trapped his jaw between her palms and swept her tongue into sun-laved honey. </spoilers>
THIS IS A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD. A CHILD. AND THIS EIGHTEEN YO MAN RAPES HER AFTER THIS.
@ teenagers I am so sorry people are trying to make you think pedophilia is normal and ok. None of this is good. If you've been groomed and/or harmed by adults I am wishing you the kindest future ahead of you.
The romance feels pretty shallow on the side of the mc. like her reasons are <spoilers>he murdered her best female friend so she went undercover as his wide to murder him.</spoilers> And yet shes getting indecisive from the get go. Which isn't my complaint, murder is very difficult for anyone and for any reason. It's the romance that's the issue.
The entire book plotline is just: pedophilia is ok, grooming and abuse of power is great, femicide? no problem! go ahead and murder women! Hell maybe that's why he spared the main character: she's a child, not a woman.
content warnings:
minor: ableist c slur, pregnancy,
medium: diseases, whorephobic language, slavery,
major: femicide, murder, animal death, violence, pedophilia, csa, suicide, medium stillbirths, toxic relationships, gore, violence, sexual harassment, animal hunting, femicide,
▪ “I’m sixteen.” She cut her eyes. “And I don’t see why it matters.”
This is the main character's canon age.
<spoilers>
▪ My first wife. I married her not long after I turned seventeen. It was an arranged marriage. One I arranged to avoid what I considered a far worse fate. How wrong I was.”
▪ A boy-king of eighteen. A cold, unfeeling bastard...
</spoilers>
So he's absolutely not seventeen anymore. He is an 18 yo adult as of the present timeline in this plot. It's literally one year later, and all his femicide domestic abuse is quite literally daily news for the entire city.
Why the fuck didnt the author make the girl also eighteen? Not that it's any better but like. At least theres a veneer of acceptability for them to be adults.
▪ When she married Khalid’s father and became his second wife, she was young—only fifteen years old. I came along with her to Rey, at her insistence. She was very headstrong. Unfortunately, it was not an easy marriage. Her husband was a good deal older than she, and he had clearly loved his first wife very much. Leila did not appreciate the constant comparisons. I tried hard to rein in her tantrums and bouts of despair, but the disparity between them in age and interests was oftentimes too difficult to breach. It was no one’s fault, really. Khalid’s father was quite set in his ways. And Leila was a spirited young woman.”
No wonder this child bride was throwing tantrums. shes literally a child! Why the fuck is pedophilia so normalized? And don't tell me some islamophobic, racist excuse!
▪ She captivated him in the way she always did, with unguarded beauty and unassuming grace. Her hair rippled behind her in shimmering waves of ebony, and her pointed chin was turned high and proud in the rays of sun streaming from above. The light gold of her mantle cloaked the deep emerald of the silk beneath it. Woven into the myriad colors of her eyes, Khalid saw the same mixture of reticence and defiance as always.
Again, she is sixteen and a grown adult man is thinking this. Disgusting.
By the way? The adult male romantic interest repeatedly emotionally abuses the sixteen year old wife and makes her apologize for saying mean things to him. Which she has every right to do as a victim and as someone susceptible to his ongoing femicide. Only after this does he apologize to her.
<spoilers>▪ Since the summer I turned twelve.” Her voice broke.
He clenched ...</spoilers>
So he finds out that a literal 12 yo has a crush. It's so incredibly fucked up that he's mad any female girl child has romantic interest ever. This is so gross.
<spoilers>▪ Shahrzad leaned forward and took his lower lip between hers. She trapped his jaw between her palms and swept her tongue into sun-laved honey. </spoilers>
THIS IS A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD. A CHILD. AND THIS EIGHTEEN YO MAN RAPES HER AFTER THIS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Pregnancy
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