Reviews tagging 'Violence'

This duology is one of the staple book suggestions for dark romance or bully romances. It's kind of popular. I don't see people go nuts over it as much as some others but it is still highly suggested so I wanted to give the book a chance and I will say this one was hard to get into. I only realized the novella was out there and needed to be read before this book as I was starting the Halloween scene. Even though I struggled getting into this book I think the best way to read the duology is to start the first book until you get to the time skip/graduating high school then go back and read the novella then go back to the main book. I really liked seeing how things change between them. When she left for college she was the it girl, the queen bee, head of the popular crowd meanwhile Manson was an outcast and got kicked out of school right before graduation! It was intense and plays into the sterotypical roles but the guys don't just forgive her when she appears again. When she first comes back these guys are still considered outcasts but the party made it seem like they had more friends, at least Manson was closer to the inner crowd so I don't know why we kind of lose that again after Jess comes back. Things escalate around them as the outside world intervenes in their relationship. Not only was it unconventional but they live in this small town who tried to pull Jess back into the box they made for her. It caused a lot more tension when she rebelled against it not just for the guys but also because she wanted to work not just get married and be like her mom. This one also ends in a cliffhanger but we get an HEA at the end of the next book and I really like what they end up being even if the trip there gets bumpy sometimes.

Content Warnings

readbyjaimes's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

Oh my god???? Where has this book been all my life?

I LOVED this book! I totally didn't see this coming. I've known about Harley Laroux for about 3 years now and just never felt the itch until I was randomly in Barnes and decided to pick this book up. (And yes I came home and read The Dare in preparation do not fear) But I couldn't have predicted how much I was going to adore every single one of these characters. Seriously I was in the end pages of this book and while reading, ordering book 2.

I feel like I made a bunch of new friends and found a safe space with them, that's how this book made me feel. And while yes the smut was AMAZING Laroux did not skip out on the meaningful and emotional side of these characters. Like "keep chasing sunrises", ARE YOU KIDDING?????? I'm honestly not a very emotional person but that had me choking up. It made my heart feel so warm to see all of them so happy together and then slowly softening and opening up to Jessica made me so so happy. I'm literally checking the shipping every day on book 2 I'm so serious. I strongly believe that book 2 could be a 5 or STRONG 4.75 ⭐️

Content Warnings

fnicholee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

Content Warnings

discardeddustjacket's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful slow-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

4.0

I think it’s a testament to Laroux’s writing that, despite bully romances very much not being my thing, and despite degradation/humiliation very much not being my thing, I still loved this book.

The same can be said for the fact that although initially I was skeptical of the high page count, this book didn’t feel overwritten, and it held my attention from beginning to end.

Being the wet blanket that I am, there were a couple instances where I found myself proclaiming aloud: “that’s not entirely safe,” but all-around, I thought that the depictions of BDSM and its guidelines were handled well.

As a side note: at first when the negotiation of Jess’s servitude in payment for her car repairs was floated, it was presented as this very “you give us consent to do whatever we want, when we want,” situation, which was raising all sorts of red flags. [For the record, that’s not how consent works; you cannot give consent carte blanche like that without any parameters or discussion of boundaries. And if anyone asks you to, you should run.] But thankfully, that’s not where the conversation ended in this case, and they did go on to have a healthy discussion of hard and soft limits, safewords, etc. I really appreciated that. BDSM, for all the stigma that surrounds it, is a community incredibly preoccupied with safety, consent, and respect.

Content Warnings

fangirljeanne's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

unicornofthesea's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful tense fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

chilivanilli28's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

Content Warnings

bbygirl21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this book and the characters in it.

I love how the boys get Jess out of her comfort zone and show her what it's like to actually be cared for. I love that she's finally finding where she belongs and who truly has her back. I do wish we had seen more of her best friend Ashley. It seems Ashley is really the only one of Jess's friends that won't judge or abandon her. So I'm looking forward to seeing whether she makes more of an appearance in part 2.

I'm enjoying seeing all the characters pasts and what got them where theyIare. And I loved seeing how differently they cope with everything that's happened to them.

I surprisingly love all the guys. I wasn't sure if I'd like all of them or not from some things other people have said about them. But I'm loving all of them so far and I don't see that changing with the second book.

I'm excited to get into part 2 and to see what happens with their relationship as a whole and the individual relationships between all of them. I'm also looking forward to seeing what happens with Manson's dad being back and the trouble he already seems to be causing and even Alex and any revenge he may want to take on the group as well for what happened in the end of this book.

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