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A review by r1vana
Taming Seraphine by Gigi Styx
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I can't tell if I am taming Seraphine, or if she is taming me.
Tropes?
-Age gap: F21; M38
-Duo PoV
-"Forced proximity"
-Victim/'killer' FL
-"touch her and die"
-Revenge & dark romance plot
-Morally Grey ML
-'Knife to the throat'
-Mafiaish
PSA: please read the triggers before proceeding. It has a whole grocery list of it.
This book is dark and again has triggers that may be for everyone, but it does have some sprinkles of lovey dovey love story here and there.
This was an easy read but with heavy content.
Let's say that both Seraphine and Leroi are a side of a coin, opposite, similar, but together. They are both killers/assassins. One was trained through heavy child trauma and the other trained to be a coldhearted, succinct and poised murderer.
“No one will ever hurt you. I will burn down the entire state before anyone lays a finger on you."
When Leroi saves Seraphine from the unknown hellhole she has been through, he never expected her to be the complete opposite of what she is. At first, he was in denial, but the more he sees and hears from her, the more he realizes that he underestimated her.
She is insane and unstable. Even through all her chaotic actions and her "i don't think before i do" something, Leroi see the good in her. Except her basically eating her 'victims' penis as a sandwich...
For Seraphine, Leroi is a man. And her whole life has been her not trusting them. But when he shows respect and care; something she never felt, she wants more to the point she also want to bleed him to death and fuck him:
Leroi truly accepts all of me, including the parts that are twisted and dark.
I'm no longer alone. I finally belong.
The storyline has kept on edge. There were twists that had sometimes second guessing the plot.
The tension, the descriptive gore and vengeance; all combined brought a satisfying ending. Thus, the four stars.
The plot? Seraphine has an extreme traumatic descriptive childhood. She was imprisoned for five years and unfortunately used her age and mentality as a way to seduce and kill her assignments. I mean they were any better either.
One day, while Leroi is on his own mission to kill, he discovers a severely abused girl chained up. The only sane thing to do is to save her; and he did. Obviously, she isn't what she seems: a lethal, psychotic young woman. How will they endure each other? Killing? Torture? Or smoochy smooch? Probably all the above.
Some may say that Leroi resembles Zade from Haunting Adeline. I do agree. But they are very different; maybe in the smut element:
chase/play; knife play; crawling; dom/sub/ spanking; BDSM; degrading; somnophilia; voyeurism
"I'm a monster, not a mentor."
"Then teach me to be a better monster.”
tw/cw: rape; abuse; death; torture; gore; cannibalism; castration; mental illness; sexual assault; trafficking; violence; grief
Thank you Gigi Styx for this ARC
Tropes?
-Age gap: F21; M38
-Duo PoV
-"Forced proximity"
-Victim/'killer' FL
-"touch her and die"
-Revenge & dark romance plot
-Morally Grey ML
-'Knife to the throat'
-Mafiaish
PSA: please read the triggers before proceeding. It has a whole grocery list of it.
This book is dark and again has triggers that may be for everyone, but it does have some sprinkles of lovey dovey love story here and there.
This was an easy read but with heavy content.
Let's say that both Seraphine and Leroi are a side of a coin, opposite, similar, but together. They are both killers/assassins. One was trained through heavy child trauma and the other trained to be a coldhearted, succinct and poised murderer.
“No one will ever hurt you. I will burn down the entire state before anyone lays a finger on you."
When Leroi saves Seraphine from the unknown hellhole she has been through, he never expected her to be the complete opposite of what she is. At first, he was in denial, but the more he sees and hears from her, the more he realizes that he underestimated her.
She is insane and unstable. Even through all her chaotic actions and her "i don't think before i do" something, Leroi see the good in her. Except her basically eating her 'victims' penis as a sandwich...
For Seraphine, Leroi is a man. And her whole life has been her not trusting them. But when he shows respect and care; something she never felt, she wants more to the point she also want to bleed him to death and fuck him:
Leroi truly accepts all of me, including the parts that are twisted and dark.
I'm no longer alone. I finally belong.
The storyline has kept on edge. There were twists that had sometimes second guessing the plot.
The tension, the descriptive gore and vengeance; all combined brought a satisfying ending. Thus, the four stars.
The plot? Seraphine has an extreme traumatic descriptive childhood. She was imprisoned for five years and unfortunately used her age and mentality as a way to seduce and kill her assignments. I mean they were any better either.
One day, while Leroi is on his own mission to kill, he discovers a severely abused girl chained up. The only sane thing to do is to save her; and he did. Obviously, she isn't what she seems: a lethal, psychotic young woman. How will they endure each other? Killing? Torture? Or smoochy smooch? Probably all the above.
Some may say that Leroi resembles Zade from Haunting Adeline. I do agree. But they are very different; maybe in the smut element:
"I'm a monster, not a mentor."
"Then teach me to be a better monster.”
tw/cw: rape; abuse; death; torture; gore; cannibalism; castration; mental illness; sexual assault; trafficking; violence; grief
Thank you Gigi Styx for this ARC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Rape, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault