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A review by h4e1bemily
Innocence Taken by Victoria M. Patton
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Compelling mystery overshadowed by poorly developed characters, unnecessary smut, and fanfare.
I did enjoy the main plot of the book, and found the mystery part intriguing. However, I was disappointed in the overall editing, pace and characters.
The characters:
The author's own prejudices show in every description of the female characters, especially when writing in the male voice. The descriptions of the two female leads is always praising their bodies and how their breasts are the perfect size, large. They are always "shaking their a**es" when they walk. The two male leads seem unable to look at a female without having sexual thoughts. While I did find the backstories of Damien and Dillon intriguing, a lot of it felt made up as the story went along. Things that would've come into play sooner seemed hastily added as extra emotional push later. I also felt that the tension between Damien and Dillon at the beginning was forced, and didn't really make sense, instead it seemed added to claim the "enemies to lovers" tag.
Editing:
A lot of the story was poorly edited. There were several grammatical mistakes. There were several instances where commas or periods were missed, causing confusion.
Pace:
The dialogue between characters often felt choppy and interrupted, and could've flowed smoother with some simple fine-tuning. There also were several unnecessary or cliché dialogue tags.
While I know many readers enjoy smut, I felt like the scenes in this book were unnecessary, and actually detracted from the main plot. They felt like an interruption and honestly happened at unrealistic times. There was also no mention of protection. The scenes seemed added in just for fanfare.
Final thoughts:
This is a story with a compelling main mystery plot that had me intrigued, but the undeveloped secondary plots between characters, unneeded smut, and editing mistakes interrupted the main plot to the point that it came close to being a dnf.
I did enjoy the main plot of the book, and found the mystery part intriguing. However, I was disappointed in the overall editing, pace and characters.
The characters:
The author's own prejudices show in every description of the female characters, especially when writing in the male voice. The descriptions of the two female leads is always praising their bodies and how their breasts are the perfect size, large. They are always "shaking their a**es" when they walk. The two male leads seem unable to look at a female without having sexual thoughts. While I did find the backstories of Damien and Dillon intriguing, a lot of it felt made up as the story went along. Things that would've come into play sooner seemed hastily added as extra emotional push later. I also felt that the tension between Damien and Dillon at the beginning was forced, and didn't really make sense, instead it seemed added to claim the "enemies to lovers" tag.
Editing:
A lot of the story was poorly edited. There were several grammatical mistakes. There were several instances where commas or periods were missed, causing confusion.
Pace:
The dialogue between characters often felt choppy and interrupted, and could've flowed smoother with some simple fine-tuning. There also were several unnecessary or cliché dialogue tags.
While I know many readers enjoy smut, I felt like the scenes in this book were unnecessary, and actually detracted from the main plot. They felt like an interruption and honestly happened at unrealistic times. There was also no mention of protection. The scenes seemed added in just for fanfare.
Final thoughts:
This is a story with a compelling main mystery plot that had me intrigued, but the undeveloped secondary plots between characters, unneeded smut, and editing mistakes interrupted the main plot to the point that it came close to being a dnf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault