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edna_gio's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Gun violence
jessthemess8112's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I really wanted this book to be good. It had so much hype surrounding it that I was prepared for some epic love story with a mafia boss and a touch her and die trope.
I guess, technically, this story could be considered that, but it tried WAY to hard and felt force all around. I was instantly pulled in from the moment Nero showed up on her balcony. I thought, "This is it! This is how you start a story!" I wanted them to sit on the couch and just laugh at the movie as if they were old friends and build a legit friendship. Her falling asleep with a total stranger on the run from the cops right next to her? It's not gonna happen. Yeh, right. L-7 WEENIE! The instant love/obsession was a bit ridiculous, and it took WAY too long in the book for any action to happen and when it does?? Disappointed isn't even a strong enough word to describe the letdown. The author shouldn't spent even a little bit of time building a friendship or literally any other reason for Nero to fall in love beside she was pretty and had a nightmare 🙄 and then get mad later because someone else calls her just "pretty." Dude had the ability, but the relationship is totally shallow, and that's hard to connect with.
I guess, technically, this story could be considered that, but it tried WAY to hard and felt force all around. I was instantly pulled in from the moment Nero showed up on her balcony. I thought, "This is it! This is how you start a story!" I wanted them to sit on the couch and just laugh at the movie as if they were old friends and build a legit friendship. Her falling asleep with a total stranger on the run from the cops right next to her? It's not gonna happen. Yeh, right. L-7 WEENIE! The instant love/obsession was a bit ridiculous, and it took WAY too long in the book for any action to happen and when it does?? Disappointed isn't even a strong enough word to describe the letdown. The author shouldn't spent even a little bit of time building a friendship or literally any other reason for Nero to fall in love beside she was pretty and had a nightmare 🙄 and then get mad later because someone else calls her just "pretty." Dude had the ability, but the relationship is totally shallow, and that's hard to connect with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Murder, Stalking, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Car accident, Medical content, Trafficking, and Torture
notamouse's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
4.75
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
70% plot
30% spice
70% plot
30% spice
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Violence
honeynwool's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
herbookarchives's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, and Violence
kailynpaig's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Stalking, Mental illness, Blood, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture and Kidnapping
r_oy_s's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Payton, who's in her late 20s, lives alone and works in a coffee shop. One day she left her balcony door open so that she could enjoy the stormy weather. And what did that stormy weather bring in?
A freaking guy who's hiding from the police and decided to take refuge in Payton's apartment by climbing her balcony. The man of the discussion was Nero, who's almost 40, a dark, brooding, well suited, albeit handsome guy who could shut Payton's trap with his smoldering looks. And that girl, who wasn't even scared for her life for a second actually fell asleep while in presence with a stranger, cause she was too exhausted to stay awake! ARE YOU SERIOUS??
Then moving forward, Nero became OBSESSED (yes, in caps) with Payton because of her innocence and the rose scented perfume he could smell from her. Crazy right? Hold on peeps. It gets more crazier. Then one day Payton frustrated with her life's hardships decided to feel better by giving away her virginity to that stranger. But, she didn't have any contact information about that said person. So what did our girl do? You won't believe it. She left her balcony door open...again...because she knew somehow that the stranger from the other night will definitely come to her aid whenever the need arises. And boy, he did!
A freaking guy who's hiding from the police and decided to take refuge in Payton's apartment by climbing her balcony. The man of the discussion was Nero, who's almost 40, a dark, brooding, well suited, albeit handsome guy who could shut Payton's trap with his smoldering looks. And that girl, who wasn't even scared for her life for a second actually fell asleep while in presence with a stranger, cause she was too exhausted to stay awake! ARE YOU SERIOUS??
Then moving forward, Nero became OBSESSED (yes, in caps) with Payton because of her innocence and the rose scented perfume he could smell from her. Crazy right? Hold on peeps. It gets more crazier. Then one day Payton frustrated with her life's hardships decided to feel better by giving away her virginity to that stranger. But, she didn't have any contact information about that said person. So what did our girl do? You won't believe it. She left her balcony door open...again...because she knew somehow that the stranger from the other night will definitely come to her aid whenever the need arises. And boy, he did!
After their first night together they both started acting like jealous couples even though they never discussed commitment. Even they move in together to protect Payton from potential danger. By Nero's command she was surrounded by security and was prohibited from leaving the house. Of course, she had to go and defy him by going for a coffee run with a bunch of body guards disregarding everyone's safety. And, yes, you have guessed it right, she got abducted by her boyfriend's rival. Which leads to Mission Rescuing Payton. Obviously the mission was successful and they had their happy ending.
Payton's character was portrayed as meek and naive, although there's a history behind, still it was irritating to see her extremely weak and spineless throughout the whole book and then acting like a total dumb-ass when she should have shown basic common sense. She had that damsel in distress vibe going on for reasons and Nero definitely stepped in to become her knight in shining armour, except he's more than that. Nero is a self proclaimed stalker, he's unbearably possessive, extremely controlling and an absolute creep. He simply broke into her apartment, watched movies while eating popcorn, rummaged through her belongings and stole her body wash. Whenever he took any of her belongings for keepsake he would leave a crisp 100$ bill for it, it didn't validate his obsession rather his disrespect towards Payton. The way he treated Payton playing with her insecurities and stoking her vulnerabilities, I seriously wanted to slap him. And when Payton reacted the way she was supposed to he got mad at her and decided to punish her....of course through sex! And while having sex he picked that moment to confess that he had many fuck buddies including the date from his party and they're nothing but whore in his eyes - it was meant to assure Payton and us readers that he values her more but the timing of this revelation and name calling other women weren't appreciated at all. Also, he never stopped himself for list ning Payton's repeated attempt to stop his confession about sexual history rather he kept going. Therefore, He's also an insufferable jackass.
Then comes the part which I disliked the most. During the first time they had sex Nero was unaware of Payton being a virgin; so when he realised that he looked down at his dick covered in blood and went ahead to swipe that blood on his fingers and licked it off. Then he MOANED. What the actual fuck?!
"I eye the blood on my fingertip, before shoving it into my mouth.
The moan that leaves me is bone deep. The coppery taste that floods my senses is my new addiction, and I don’t think, I just shove back inside her."
After that there was a time when they're having a stand off Nero claims that he knows Payton very well because -
After that there was a time when they're having a stand off Nero claims that he knows Payton very well because -
"I know what your virgin blood tastes like when it’s painted across my cock. We know each other."
This guy took deranged meaning to another level. And what the heck is this blood licking fetish? Is this a new kink I'm not aware of? Cause if it's actually a thing then probably I was living under a rock. Because I've read my fair share of romance books but I've never come across this kink until now. And reading about it literally made me gag. What surprised me more was that no one seemed to mention that in their reviews. Probably it isn't unusual for anyone except me. But that's okay, you learn so ething new everyday by existing on this earth.
Back to the discussion, Payton and Nero's relationship was at first insta-lust then it swif ly turned into insta-love. Knowing that Nero was stalking her and was secretive about his identity Payton didn't have any qualms before moving into his home. She happily let him boss her around and settled into the new cushy life. Then out of nowhere they started throwing L-bombs to each other. Mind you that besides having sex a handful of times they didn't have any proper relationship so the progression of it was basically non-existent. Hence this forced love fest slowly became a cringe fest. The plot isn't worthy of mentioning, it was a predictable one. The steamy scenes weren't steamy enough for me. Coupled with these annoying MCs were grating on my nerves. The wri ing was usually fast paced but it dragged oftentimes, short chapters, dual POV and bromance between Nero and his best friend King were the only saving grace I thought Hans was unhinged but Nero is Unhinged Pro Max. Overall it was an okay-ish read.
Back to the discussion, Payton and Nero's relationship was at first insta-lust then it swif ly turned into insta-love. Knowing that Nero was stalking her and was secretive about his identity Payton didn't have any qualms before moving into his home. She happily let him boss her around and settled into the new cushy life. Then out of nowhere they started throwing L-bombs to each other. Mind you that besides having sex a handful of times they didn't have any proper relationship so the progression of it was basically non-existent. Hence this forced love fest slowly became a cringe fest. The plot isn't worthy of mentioning, it was a predictable one. The steamy scenes weren't steamy enough for me. Coupled with these annoying MCs were grating on my nerves. The wri ing was usually fast paced but it dragged oftentimes, short chapters, dual POV and bromance between Nero and his best friend King were the only saving grace I thought Hans was unhinged but Nero is Unhinged Pro Max. Overall it was an okay-ish read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Rape
the_love_librarian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is only getting 3 stars because the last 30% was hilarious and a good time.
I definitely almost DNF’d when he licked her virgin blood off his fingers🤢🤢🤢. If I could scrub that from my mind, I would.
Classic deranged mafia hero who is obsessed with a heroine who had a rough life. Payton is a virgin wallflower who is turned on by the psycho that is Nero.
The writing wasn’t horrible and I’m intrigued enough by King to continue on in the series.
I definitely almost DNF’d when he licked her virgin blood off his fingers🤢🤢🤢. If I could scrub that from my mind, I would.
Classic deranged mafia hero who is obsessed with a heroine who had a rough life. Payton is a virgin wallflower who is turned on by the psycho that is Nero.
The writing wasn’t horrible and I’m intrigued enough by King to continue on in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Stalking
wanderingpages0718's review
dark
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Trafficking, Car accident, and Violence
andeng's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship