Split on this. It is way too long. The main character is just such a typical annoying white woman that you want to tear your hair out. Too many characSplit on this. It is way too long. The main character is just such a typical annoying white woman that you want to tear your hair out. Too many characters, could not keep they straight. Felt shallow. I did appreciate the ending. ...more
I could barely get through the prologue. What a disaster. The pacing is atrocious. OTT and stupid cringe. Mostly just porn. To be fair the premise is I could barely get through the prologue. What a disaster. The pacing is atrocious. OTT and stupid cringe. Mostly just porn. To be fair the premise is compelling, but it only works as a full length novel.
The 1 star is for the virgin sex scene. Realistic and well done....more
This book is a hot mess. Wait no, it's just a mess.
Basically no steam. I will give kudos to the author for the two sex scenes. They felt authenticallyThis book is a hot mess. Wait no, it's just a mess.
Basically no steam. I will give kudos to the author for the two sex scenes. They felt authentically teen (uncomfortable, guy comes, over quickly, no sensuality).
I was excited for this since Daria was supposed to be the "mean girl." She was not mean. She was pathetic.
I wouldn't call this book a dumpster fire, but it is certainly a dumpster. The author threw everything into this book. It was so fucking ridiculous. At about 70% it became so painfully cringe due to the tropes, it physically hurt me to read this.
This book contains CSA. Instead of leveraging it for its darkness, the author PGs it. She PGs like everything for the MCs (Penn is not a cheater). But she loves to abuse the side characters. Ugh, and this reminds me of another lost opportunity. Via lived with a crazy religious cult for years, but is magically unaffected and well-adjusted. Ugh.
The characters felt flakey. At first I really liked the h. I was not convinced of her manipulation. It felt more like she had a persoA disappointment.
The characters felt flakey. At first I really liked the h. I was not convinced of her manipulation. It felt more like she had a personality change. Considering how long this book is, I'm surprised her "flip" was done so poorly. The H is made to come off as a psycho, but I really didn't get psycho vibes. He saved her and he had genuine deep sympathy for her mother's cancer.
A lot of the plot felt tool-y. The h has a job, but it really only functions as plot devices for two incidents. The h's mom has cancer, and once it serves its purpose the incurable cancer magically goes away.
It also features the hymen myth. This book takes place in the 2010's. The hymen myth has no place in this decade....more
I am SO ANGRY. Through chapter 9 this book was just EXCELLENT! I was expecting to rate this 4 stars and add it to my favs. It had some compelliDNF 37%
I am SO ANGRY. Through chapter 9 this book was just EXCELLENT! I was expecting to rate this 4 stars and add it to my favs. It had some compelling mystery elements and dynamic between the H and h was just *chefs kiss*. Then chapter 11 happened...
h - Except for her name, I adored Lake. A lot of reviewers trash her as TSTL, but she fought him every step of the way. She was strong. She thrived in her circumstances. The author did the h dirty.
H - The author also did the H dirty. He really wasn't a bad guy. Yes, there are two incidences of sexual assault (bj and fingering). He used threats of SA and violence to control her. He's 100% a bully after all. It was written to be part of a bigger picture. I did not see him actually going through with the rape. You could see the jealousy/pain he had when he couldn't connect with her/receive her genuine affection.
Chapter 11 features a blatant rape scene. The author goes with the "my body betrays me" angle to reframe it as dubcon. No. It's noncon 100%. I really don't understand why the author did this. She has the foundation of mutual childhood crushes gone wrong!
There's usually 3 outcomes with rape: the h breaks and the H becomes regretful, the h shuts herself off and the H becomes regretful, or the h takes so much emotional damage she becomes submissive/manipulated by the H. I was not optimistic option 1 or option 2 was gonna happen, and I just couldn't stomach watching the slow ruin of the h....more
It kills me to DNF this one, 37% (plus some skimming).
There's a lot of suspension of disbelief and plot holes to deal with. The Italian prince thing It kills me to DNF this one, 37% (plus some skimming).
There's a lot of suspension of disbelief and plot holes to deal with. The Italian prince thing was a bit too much for me. I didn't like the threesome. These kids are in high school, jfc.
There's like 5 chapters with Hunter's POV and it really pissed me off. Either give me consistent dual POV or don't do it.
What Hunter did to Riley at the party was unforgivable. This is where I DNFed. I had no interest in seeing that forgiven. A total breech of trust and intimacy.
I mostly liked Riley. I didn't want to see her forgive him for the party. She treated Anderson really poorly, and I didn't really care for that.
Big disappointment for this because it started off so well!...more
Fuck. This is just a *chefs kiss* kind of story. Zoey has got to be my favorite h of all time. She is just so strong and level headed.
I wish the CSA wFuck. This is just a *chefs kiss* kind of story. Zoey has got to be my favorite h of all time. She is just so strong and level headed.
I wish the CSA wasn't included but it worked. I also wish this wasn't a High School story, some of the characters felt more college aged, but it worked.
This is a very hard book to read. It is not a nice book. You can better appreciate what is going on here if you approach the book with the understanding that Carter is unknowingly into very hardcore D/S. Most of what takes place are scenes with bad BDSM etiquette. Zoey figures this out, discovers she has similar tastes, and makes it work.
My only complaint is the hiring of a nanny at the end. It felt out of character....more
Closer to little play than daddy play. Logan is AMAZING. Finally, a realistic character living in actual poverty. What an honest portrayal. Docking onCloser to little play than daddy play. Logan is AMAZING. Finally, a realistic character living in actual poverty. What an honest portrayal. Docking one-star for Caleb. I'm not convinced an 18/19 yo is that thoroughly knowledgeable of daddy dom play. But maybe it makes sense since his home life was lonely and unstable? Probably won't read the next one given the reviews. I would like to know more about Ellis and Walker....more
The ending was surprising. I was thinking there might be a message about cops and/or violence (think Do the Right Thing crossed with Logan's Run), butThe ending was surprising. I was thinking there might be a message about cops and/or violence (think Do the Right Thing crossed with Logan's Run), but there really wasn't any socioeconomic or cultural themes here. Just two average teens being average teens. I guess the author really wanted to push the message that living outside your comfort zone was the key to living?
A light but tragic read. There's a good of bits of philosophy here. Nothing too deep, but rather nice and sweet. I was teary eyed through most of the book. There's also a touch of romance. It's not exactly instalove-y given the circumstances, and I was quite convinced. But still, I think I would have preferred it to not have romance. ...more
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