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A review by lostlenore_
Splintered by A.G. Howard
3.0
This book would be a guilty pleasure when I was 16, 17 or 18 but now that I'm a more socially aware reader, I cannot but comment on the mistreatment of the heroine throughout the book but both romance interests: Jeb and Morpheus. The constant sugarcoating and gaslighting the heroine has to go through because she's either seen as a sexualized teen girl (by Jeb) or as a sexualized preteen girl (by Morpheus) is something on which the author rests on creating the romance tropes and the character arcs.
The writing is good and it makes sense for the heroine to be more of a fairytale heroine that discovers along the way sexuality too. But, the issue comes with the depiction of the heroine within relationships in the story and how she is perceived by her male interests.
The book is a bit sexy too and promises this type of sexiness between the MC and the male interests in the next storylines as well. It does give Morpheus a good character arc based on the worldbuilding while Jeb is also somehow justified, I guess, but really, Splintered would have been better if it weren't for the cringy dialogue when Morpheus calls the heroine little blossom or butterfly and other expressions.
It'd have been better if Jeb didn't look at the heroine like he would have sexually attacked her when she was dancing intoxicated.
You CAN make straight males in books bad boys. The issue occurs when you use the male gaze and objectification of teen girls as your starting point.
The writing is good and it makes sense for the heroine to be more of a fairytale heroine that discovers along the way sexuality too. But, the issue comes with the depiction of the heroine within relationships in the story and how she is perceived by her male interests.
The book is a bit sexy too and promises this type of sexiness between the MC and the male interests in the next storylines as well. It does give Morpheus a good character arc based on the worldbuilding while Jeb is also somehow justified, I guess, but really, Splintered would have been better if it weren't for the cringy dialogue when Morpheus calls the heroine little blossom or butterfly and other expressions.
It'd have been better if Jeb didn't look at the heroine like he would have sexually attacked her when she was dancing intoxicated.
You CAN make straight males in books bad boys. The issue occurs when you use the male gaze and objectification of teen girls as your starting point.