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A review by 2b00bsjohnson
Does It Hurt? by H.D. Carlton
Did not finish book.
I love the “enemies to lovers trope” weaved with a decent amount of smut, but this is much darker and not in a good way.
<SPOILER> I couldn’t finish this book, because after a “sex scene” that begins consensual and quickly turns into blatant rape, I couldn’t imagine how this man could ever redeem himself for the rest of the story. It makes me feel sick to think about a “rapist to lovers” story being this marketable for entertainment. For context, the male character was getting “Justice” against the female character who stole his identity after a hookup. For “Justice”, the MC lures the FC onto his boat, drives to the middle of the ocean, and what begins as consensual sex, quickly devolves into full-blown rape with simultaneous water-boarding. Idk what kind of Justice system recognizes rape as an adequate punishment for identity theft, but I can’t bring myself to find romance in that. <SPOILER>
<SPOILER> I couldn’t finish this book, because after a “sex scene” that begins consensual and quickly turns into blatant rape, I couldn’t imagine how this man could ever redeem himself for the rest of the story. It makes me feel sick to think about a “rapist to lovers” story being this marketable for entertainment. For context, the male character was getting “Justice” against the female character who stole his identity after a hookup. For “Justice”, the MC lures the FC onto his boat, drives to the middle of the ocean, and what begins as consensual sex, quickly devolves into full-blown rape with simultaneous water-boarding. Idk what kind of Justice system recognizes rape as an adequate punishment for identity theft, but I can’t bring myself to find romance in that. <SPOILER>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Domestic abuse