trashpanda_7 's review for:

Asher Black by Parker S. Huntington

1.0

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Ugh. All the stereotypes shoved into one book. Writing was meh at best. I think the thing that bothers me most is the alpha male stereotype. The minute she gets with him she is isolated from her ONE friend, and he's ultra controlling and possessive (and unwilling to explain his actions- really though, you can have a male character who is able and willing to VERBALIZE not only their thought process/actions but also their emotions). The toxic masculinity abounds in this one. Just once I would like to read a romance novel where the male lead is not the "alpha male" (violent, dark, possessive, and controlling), but an actual person, you know the kind that is complex and has some depth and maybe just maybe not steeped in toxic masculinity?

Actually the same could be said for the female lead...tragic backstory does not make a well defined, complex character- it makes a sad stereotype, a cartoon of what a real woman is.