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A review by matillie
Falling for the Villain by Rachel Van Dyken, M. Robinson
1.0
I thought my week couldn't get any worse because Good Girls was cancelled until I read this book
I either didn’t like the characters or didn’t care about them at all. The heroine is an idiot, the hero has no personality, and the side characters are irrelevant. I found the inner monologues and dialogue to be super cringey. This is definitely a dark read, as it was advertised, but it was so dark that I couldn’t like the hero at all.
Donovan (H)
Donovan is a slave trainer. He basically takes kidnapped women and breaks them down using BDSM to make them completely submissive to their “master”. Donovan kidnaps Juliet (h), a mafia princess, and is trying to train her to be his slave.
In the first few chapters he whips her to the point of blood being drawn, he cuts her hair and dyes it because he “prefers blondes”
He allows another slave trainer (and business partner) to take her to use for himself. In the process he whips her and if Donovan didn’t interrupt, she would have been raped. He claims to “love her” yet allows this guy to toy with him???
A speck of dust has more personality than Donovan and I honestly don't need to write anything else on him because what's written speaks for itself.
Juliet (h)
I genuinely keep bad for this girl because she’s insanely naïve and blinded by Donovan’s dick. This guy kidnaps her, whips her, and sexually assaults her yet she refuses to acknowledge how wrong this is. In fact, she likes it.
She ignores what her therapist is telling her and then tries to justify Donovan's actions by saying it’s “because of his past”, PUH-LEASE. She also acts like her existence doesn’t matter unless it’s with him
exhibit a)
exhibit b)
Juliet also spews some shit about him “saving her”? From what?!?! She claims that her family keeps her prisoner or something, but I never read any context supporting this and on top of that, isn’t Donovan ACTUALLY keeping her prisoner??? He kidnapped and doesn’t allow her to leave the house and in the beginning, locked her in her room for days without food until she submitted to him.
Hold on this is the best part. Juliet offers to help Donovan with his business by taking care of other slaves. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HER?! THESE WOMEN ARE BEING KIDNAPPED AND SEX TRAFFICKED, SAME WAY SHE WAS, AND SHE WANTS TO HELP THEM STAY IN THAT SITUATION?! Oh my god this made me so mad especially because these other women won't be as lucky as her dumbass because the fuckers purchasing these women are evil, evil people.
Master/pet
Donovan calling her pet and Juliet calling him Master made me so uncomfy. I mean this is probably a me thing, but here are some example of this...
I either didn’t like the characters or didn’t care about them at all. The heroine is an idiot, the hero has no personality, and the side characters are irrelevant. I found the inner monologues and dialogue to be super cringey. This is definitely a dark read, as it was advertised, but it was so dark that I couldn’t like the hero at all.
Donovan (H)
Donovan is a slave trainer. He basically takes kidnapped women and breaks them down using BDSM to make them completely submissive to their “master”. Donovan kidnaps Juliet (h), a mafia princess, and is trying to train her to be his slave.
In the first few chapters he whips her to the point of blood being drawn, he cuts her hair and dyes it because he “prefers blondes”
He allows another slave trainer (and business partner) to take her to use for himself. In the process he whips her and if Donovan didn’t interrupt, she would have been raped. He claims to “love her” yet allows this guy to toy with him???
A speck of dust has more personality than Donovan and I honestly don't need to write anything else on him because what's written speaks for itself.
Juliet (h)
I genuinely keep bad for this girl because she’s insanely naïve and blinded by Donovan’s dick. This guy kidnaps her, whips her, and sexually assaults her yet she refuses to acknowledge how wrong this is. In fact, she likes it.
My therapist said it was Stockholm Syndrome that I was experiencing. I told her to eat shit and stopped going to her the very next day. I didn’t need anyone to tell me what I was going through. They didn’t know one damn thing about Donovan and what he’d been through.
She ignores what her therapist is telling her and then tries to justify Donovan's actions by saying it’s “because of his past”, PUH-LEASE. She also acts like her existence doesn’t matter unless it’s with him
exhibit a)
I wasn’t me.
I was his.
Owned.
exhibit b)
“What if he doesn’t want me, though? What if he turns me away?”
“What if he does?” Mom asked. “Then what?”
“Then…” I sobbed. “My life is over.”
Juliet also spews some shit about him “saving her”? From what?!?! She claims that her family keeps her prisoner or something, but I never read any context supporting this and on top of that, isn’t Donovan ACTUALLY keeping her prisoner??? He kidnapped and doesn’t allow her to leave the house and in the beginning, locked her in her room for days without food until she submitted to him.
Hold on this is the best part. Juliet offers to help Donovan with his business by taking care of other slaves. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH HER?! THESE WOMEN ARE BEING KIDNAPPED AND SEX TRAFFICKED, SAME WAY SHE WAS, AND SHE WANTS TO HELP THEM STAY IN THAT SITUATION?! Oh my god this made me so mad especially because these other women won't be as lucky as her dumbass because the fuckers purchasing these women are evil, evil people.
Master/pet
Donovan calling her pet and Juliet calling him Master made me so uncomfy. I mean this is probably a me thing, but here are some example of this...
"You can undress me, Juliet."
"Pet."
"Excuse me?"
"I like it when you call me pet."
"I am your fucking home. I'll kill you before I let you forget it, so what is your punishment, pet?"
Because in my books? Heroes can go screw themselves.
Give me war.
Give me destruction.
Give me sweet death.
Give me Donovan.
My master for eternity.