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A review by eloharay
God of Malice by Rina Kent
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this book as part of our “traveling book club” - some of the gals loved it (no judgement) and the author is upfront this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I am not her target audience, but I was asked to review it so here we go!
(Some spoiler-ish elements below)
From almost the first page, I hated this book. Its list of trigger warnings is as long as my arm and I’ll cover most of them here. Glyndon (FMC) and Killian (MMC) attend competing colleges on a small island off the coast of England. He’s an American sociopath with a virgin kink; she’s a British art student with an inferiority complex. It’s a match made in the depths of hell.
The opening scene (meet not-at-all-cute?) is S.A at the scene of an acquaintance’s suicide. (I won’t refer to this scene as non-con or a cutesy name - it was assault through coercion). They return to school where he stalks her when he’s not indulging in raucous parties, secret societies, and underground fighting. He obsesses over her being a virgin. When they get down to it, it’s rough and dirty. I don’t have a problem with that but I do take issue with a lack of conversation around limits, safe words, and other practices to ensure a safe & healthy environment.
Naturally, they fall madly in love; she meets his parents and vice versa. They become engaged - he planned it all during some back door fun time - and they obviously lived happily ever after!
Things I liked: the annotations of the book club
Things I disliked: everything else
I bumped this up to 3 stars from my original 2 star review because someone who likes deep dark romance with young characters may enjoy it. The author is good at writing spice, and I could have enjoyed parts of the book if only the MMC wasn't such a tool.
(Some spoiler-ish elements below)
From almost the first page, I hated this book. Its list of trigger warnings is as long as my arm and I’ll cover most of them here. Glyndon (FMC) and Killian (MMC) attend competing colleges on a small island off the coast of England. He’s an American sociopath with a virgin kink; she’s a British art student with an inferiority complex. It’s a match made in the depths of hell.
The opening scene (meet not-at-all-cute?) is S.A at the scene of an acquaintance’s suicide. (I won’t refer to this scene as non-con or a cutesy name - it was assault through coercion). They return to school where he stalks her when he’s not indulging in raucous parties, secret societies, and underground fighting. He obsesses over her being a virgin. When they get down to it, it’s rough and dirty. I don’t have a problem with that but I do take issue with a lack of conversation around limits, safe words, and other practices to ensure a safe & healthy environment.
Naturally, they fall madly in love; she meets his parents and vice versa. They become engaged - he planned it all during some back door fun time - and they obviously lived happily ever after!
Things I liked: the annotations of the book club
Things I disliked: everything else
I bumped this up to 3 stars from my original 2 star review because someone who likes deep dark romance with young characters may enjoy it. The author is good at writing spice, and I could have enjoyed parts of the book if only the MMC wasn't such a tool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Suicide