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jessanicolesingh's Reviews (165)
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Second in the Never After series, Scarred is a loose reimagination of The Lion King, featuring Tristan (the SCARred prince) and King Michael Faasa, and fiancé of the latter, Sara. In an early 1900s royal court, the King is honestly doing a terrible job and revolution is on the horizon, with none other than his brother leading the rebellion. Simultaneously, his betrothed only agreed to be his bride as a means to plot revenge for the murder of her father. Both of these secret rivals are fighting the same fight, unbeknownst to each other, while also building a slow burn forbidden love.
The story and “twists” were predictable at times, but overall it was still a great read. There were some clever tie-ins to the original tale, but also a lot of cheesy parallels (like are you kidding me with Paul Wartheg 🤣)
The story and “twists” were predictable at times, but overall it was still a great read. There were some clever tie-ins to the original tale, but also a lot of cheesy parallels (like are you kidding me with Paul Wartheg 🤣)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Classism
Minor: Torture, Violence, Abortion, Abandonment
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went in with high hopes, I came out disappointed.
I almost DNFd this book so many times, but held on strong waiting for it to get better. I really tried to find something redeemable here, ultimately coming up empty handed. The characters were severely underdeveloped, the pacing was all over the place, the plot was repetitive (shoot up heroin, sex, murder, repeat), and the steamy scenes were overkill. Most infuriating of all, the “strangers” that stalked the FMC, who were her foster brothers, didn't do a single thing besides wearing masks to conceal their identities. They used the same obvious language and even called her the same nicknames, regardless of whether they were being themselves or in disguise. I normally love dark romance, all things dirty and taboo, but this just felt gross and flat.
I almost DNFd this book so many times, but held on strong waiting for it to get better. I really tried to find something redeemable here, ultimately coming up empty handed. The characters were severely underdeveloped, the pacing was all over the place, the plot was repetitive (shoot up heroin, sex, murder, repeat), and the steamy scenes were overkill. Most infuriating of all, the “strangers” that stalked the FMC, who were her foster brothers, didn't do a single thing besides wearing masks to conceal their identities. They used the same obvious language and even called her the same nicknames, regardless of whether they were being themselves or in disguise. I normally love dark romance, all things dirty and taboo, but this just felt gross and flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Minor: Trafficking
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ladies and gentlemen, meet my FAVORITE book of the year. This was the hottest book I think I’ve ever read, I felt like I was revving up to have a heart attack 🥵
We have three hot billionaire men, involved with each other in not just business but pleasure too, who are searching for a woman to add to their relationship to take the trio to a quad. They come across Lily who seems like the “perfect fit” for them, but she has buried secrets that threaten the dynamic and privacy of the group, and their overall safety. The first half of the book might have you thinking its straight smut, but I swear there is an actual plot, climax, twist and resolution outside of the poly relationship. The specifics of the spiciness might not be for everyone, but for me this book is the blueprint going forward 😉
We have three hot billionaire men, involved with each other in not just business but pleasure too, who are searching for a woman to add to their relationship to take the trio to a quad. They come across Lily who seems like the “perfect fit” for them, but she has buried secrets that threaten the dynamic and privacy of the group, and their overall safety. The first half of the book might have you thinking its straight smut, but I swear there is an actual plot, climax, twist and resolution outside of the poly relationship. The specifics of the spiciness might not be for everyone, but for me this book is the blueprint going forward 😉
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder
Minor: Pedophilia
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of War features Eli, a controlling and overworked sociopath, and Ava, a party-girl musician with psychosis. Their story has been teased at heavily throughout the series, and does NOT follow the same formula as the rest of the books. In fact, this timeline takes place a few years after we last saw these characters, starting with Ava waking up in the hospital after an accident to learn she has been married to Eli for the past 2 years with no memory of their relationship. I really enjoyed how this book brought some thriller elements as the mystery of her amnesia is unraveled, as well as some bonus HEA closure for the rest of the couples.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Murder, Gaslighting
Minor: Forced institutionalization
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of Fury features Brandon, an artist with an inferiority complex and borderline personality disorder, Nikolai, a golden retriever mafia prince with a craving for violence, and Kolya, Nikolai's very vocal and opinionated penis 😂 I smiled so much during this read, I loved how unapologetically cringey Niko was, and am always gushy for a gay awakening trope. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows however; while the other books had dark themes and outsider “bad guys”, this one looked deeper into mental health and internal sabotage. This rawness definitely won me over as my favorite of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of Ruin features Landon, a psychopathic sculptor, and Mia, a nonverbal mafia princess turned muse with a darkness of her own. This MMC has already had a very large presence in the series, not only as the lead instigator of the rivalry but the cause of bumps in the road for ALL of the other couples' relationships. He does however have somewhat of a redemption arc, helping Mia fight her way through her past trauma and regain her life. The third act reveal in this book didn’t quite land for me; it felt a little anticlimactic and didn’t blend in with the rest of the story as well as some of the other ones in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Kidnapping
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of Wrath features Jeremy, a mafia prince destined to inherit his father’s empire, and Cecily, the quiet and reserved mom-of-the-friend-group, sent to spy on him by his number one enemy. The two form an enemies with benefits relationship, kept secret from their respective sides. I found Cecily to be the most relatable FMC of the series, primal play kink aside. This book had the most crossover elements so far, as the timelines are all happening simultaneously, and I love how we get to see all of the different perspectives from the same events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking
Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Minor: Violence, Kidnapping, Murder
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of Pain features Creighton, a grumpy and quiet brute, gradually broken down by Annika, a happy-go-lucky mafia princess. I just love when these hard, savage men dish out pure violence and control, and then turn around to be the king of aftercare. This book truly is the embodiment of pain from cover to cover; through childhood trauma, forbidden love, betrayal, and via BDSM 😉In this second installment, we see much more tension built between the rivalries and some fiery action that emphasize the forbidden love aspect these couples face.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God of Malice features Killian, a legitimately morally black psychopath, and Glyndon, an artistic “good girl” who becomes somewhat of a calming muse to distract the former antisocial from his violent urges. What started as a seemingly freak meeting morphs into an obsession, with a twinge of mystery to their fated connection and bursting with spicy scenes. This book also establishes the dynamics of the respective friendship groups, introducing leads of the following Legacy of Gods books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt
Psychopath
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series has all of the things you would want in a dark romance; a mafia princess, a possessive bodyguard, an action packed war with a rival family, betrayal from a secret mole(s), twists and turns, trauma healing, rekindled love, and plenty of steamy scenes 🔥
The first book ends with a major cliffhanger, so you will definitely want to grab both editions of the duet to ride through the climax! This is not the end of the Cardinal series however, as the author is already working on the next chapter.
Added bonus, this series was written by a highschool friend of mine! Not only was I solidly impressed by her writing style, but I am IMMENSELY proud of her for taking this leap and following her publishing dreams ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, War