Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert

6 reviews

puffins57's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is hot. I very much enjoyed the scenes and the content (although definitely triggering please check TW before reading this book). That being said, the dub-con early on was very much plainly rapey and even though it later more clearly developed  into cnc, some of the earlier moments were slightly hard to read (Although the first hallway scene was incredibly hot and did leave me immediately searching for my boyfriend…). I very much enjoyed the character intros/cross-overs for those who will be stepping into the spotlight for the later books; I thought this was very well done and adds a slight sense of continuity between books despite the shift in main characters that I know is going to hook me and keep me wanting to continue the series. I also thought it was also really cool how the author incorporated various emblemas of Aladdin and character names while also completely changing the story.
I loved the way Jafar emphasized the importance of a safe word and aftercare for those he was with- while there were many questionable parts of this book I always love seeing those things incorporated. The Underworld was also something I wasn’t expecting to find so hot yet very much did. Oh and Meg- more specifically Jasmines attraction to Meg and everyone’s enthusiasm to have a threesome was lovely to see. One of the only real major issues I had that took me out of the book a little bit was the way jasmine calls and jafar requests to be referred to as “Daddy”. Now I loved how he called her “Baby girl” and honorifics aren’t usually a turn off for me by any means but the way they used Daddy was a bit much for me and just seemed odd and a bit out of place. 
My absolute favorite thing about this book is how Jasmine is able to finally step into her own power all by herself. As wonderful as it is to have someone search for you and defend you and come to your rescue, I love seeing the character growth and see the woman finally get the power she deserves. Also the fact that she can be so powerful yet also be Jaguars sub was a lovely inclusion :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Classism, Cursing, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

3.0

Sexy reimagining of Aladdin, wherein Jasmine and Jafar have a thing for one another and Aladdin is the “bad guy”. I liked the spice. I liked the story. There were several glaring spelling/grammatical errors and a rush to the wrap up at the end that made me drop the rating slightly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Vomit, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jjreads331's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

It's fanfiction. It had what felt like wildly under-negotiated kink, but it helped get me out of a short slump.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Confinement

Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

katherineguild35's review

dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Bullying, and Physical abuse

cluckieduck's review

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.75

Over-hyped fan-fiction

As I'm branching out in my romance/erotica reads, I guess this would count as my first 'enemies-to-lovers' trope...maybe?? Because there really isn't anything that points to 'love' in this novel. This is just pages upon pages of sex in what's known as 'consenting non-consent' situations. Don't get me wrong, they were hot & steamy (could have done with a few less Daddy's / baby girl's), but I didn't find that either character was really fleshed out beyond their bedroom romps, interspersed with redundant inner dialogues. 

Especially if part of your book blurb mentions that the MFC wants to "rise to his challenge and win [her] fortune back" I wanna see some plot points, and that's where the story really, really fell flat. There's just nothing but a loose story that goes from A to B, with a quick wrap-up that really made no sense.
 
The whole Jasmine/Jafar angle is completely nonsensical, and IMO is the only reason this series got the hype it did. Pure clickbait. This is the 2nd Katee Robert's story I've read now, and I'm not fully on the bandwagon. It makes me really hesitant to read Neon Gods. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Death of parent

madnats's review

adventurous dark slow-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? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Murder