Reviews

It Ain't Me, Babe by Tillie Cole

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

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4.0

Alors ça y est, j'ai enfin lu ce livre que j'évite comme la peste depuis plus d'un an. La réputation sulfureuse de ce bouquin m'a toujours fait peur, mais j'ai fini par prendre mon courage à deux mains, et me voilà donc en train d'écrire mon avis ...

Est-ce que j'ai aimé ce livre ? Sincèrement, je ne sais pas. Est-ce que la romance m'a touchée ? Non. Non, je n'ai pas été touchée par ce couple, pas éprouvé le plus petit moment de swoon ou de moment 'awwww'. Non, rien de tout ça. Peut-être que tout est trop facile entre eux, trop simple.

En revanche, j'ai complètement été fascinée par l'ambiance extrêmement sombre du livre. Plus on avance dans le livre et moins on peut le lâcher. En cela, on se rend quelque part complice de cette démonstration de violence, on accepte presque aveuglément ce qui se déroule sous nos yeux et on ne peut pas s'empêcher de vouloir connaître la suite. Il y a une espèce de banalisation de la violence et de la torture dans ce livre, et comme disait Penny, quand on y réfléchit, c'est un peu effrayant.

J'aime les livres de bikers pour l'ambiance de club, tout le folklore lié au MC, avec ses codes, ses rites, son langage bien fleuri. J'éprouve toujours une fascination extrême pour cet assemblage hétéroclite d'hommes au passé lourd, de leurs femmes qui les suivent et les supportent, acceptant toutes les règles du club sans broncher.

Si je n'ai pas été touchée par la romance, j'ai en revanche était chamboulée par un personnage en particulier : Rider. Il est mystérieux, complexe, il envoie du lourd et ce ne sont pas les dernières pages qui vont atténuer la fascination que j'ai pour lui. C'est le seul personnage qui pose un regard critique sur son environnement, il est torturé, très touchant, son déchirement a quelque chose de vraiment touchant.

Le passé de Mae est absolument horrible, et quand je pense que ce genre de communauté existe réellement (ou a existé), ça me donne encore plus des frissons. J'ai tâché de me blinder le plus possible, de lire, enfin plutôt de survoler les passages relatant les agissements des disciples avec beaucoup de distance, mais mon dieu, quelle horreur ! Rien ne nous est épargné dans ce livre, côté gore, on est vraiment servis.

Et puis il y a Flame aussi ... Je n'ai jamais vu de personnage aussi timbré, il en tient une sacrée couche, et je suis vraiment curieuse de voir son évolution au cours de la série.

Pour en revenir à Mae, j'ai trouvé son évolution 'à l'extérieur' trop simple. Pour moi, elle s'adapte facilement à sa nouvelle vie, finalement, on a beau lui avoir lavé le cerveau, elle a réussi à se forger une vraie personnalité, mais, pour autant je trouve son évolution peu crédible. Quant à Styx, je salue le choix de l'auteur de l'avoir affublé d'un handicap, je trouve ce choix très original !

Un livre coup de poing donc, tourmenté, sombre, ultra violent et dérangeant, mais indéniablement addictif !

stuck123's review against another edition

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4.0

I had this series on my tbr for so long but was scared to start it because a lot of people said it was the darkest books they had ever read. I’m so glad I started them though, they are very dark but the author does give some context in the beginning.

Mae is such a sweet character, I really enjoyed her and I like her and Styx together. Styx did annoy me in the beginning and the first 40% gave off love triangle vibes but it was solved quickly.

Rider/Cain is a little bitch and while I’m curious what will come during his redemption story, I had a strong dislike for him in this one. Especially considering the twist which I did not see coming by the way.

Overall, a great read, DARK, but I look forward to reading the others.

this_bookshelf_is_filthy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

cala_p's review

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5.0

O.O That was one huge mind fuck for me. And this isn't in a bad way whatsoever.
The beginning... Wow. Just crazy. And the middle sure is emotional. And the ending is where it blew me away.
I can't actually review this book, because my mind isn't fully wrapped around it.
I felt really sad for Rider. He was a good friend, all around nice guy, but with him wanting Mae and she only wanting Styx, it made it very saddening. But when the ending came, I did not see that one coming. I actually teared up, because he's a nice guys...and then he wasn't. And it broke my heart. As side characters go, he was one I really liked.

*contains predictions of future books*

I'm really looking forward to book three of the series with Flame and Mae's sister. In this we meet Flame as sort of a disturbed guy who likes pain. I don't know... I didn't quite figure him out. But we know he doesn't like being touched but when he killed a certain guy and Mae's sister hugged him,, and he didn't complain... Well I'm interested to see this story.
I'm also really lookin forward to book four: Rider's story. I do hope he ends up being a good guy again and maybe even rejoins Styx's club. I suspect he will rise to power like he's been trained to but end up taking the commune down.
And of course I'm looking forward to book two as well

Overall fantastic romantic, colorful read. Quite dark, so be mindful of mature themes. It's the book that I refused to look away from (which is why I'm still awake when I have work in the morning :p)

readwithkiekie's review against another edition

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4.0

There's no doubt that this book is way over the top with the themes bit it's enjoyable for what it is, which is a steamy, dark New Adult romance that focuses around the lives of a MC. The characters were flawed but likeable and the writing was pretty decent despite the editing errors that I caught onto. Would I say 'It Ain't Me, Babe' is one of the best NA romances I've read? No. But despite that it's an enjoyable read and hard to put down once started.

raquelics's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow, I inhaled this in less than 24h

cladis's review against another edition

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4.0

Funny I kinda saw the plot around Rider coming since the beginning, I just felt like he needed to have a reason to be so obsessed. Cool book, I’m kinda looking forward to reading the third book - the second doesn’t look interesting enough…

nevertoomanybooksx's review against another edition

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5.0

THIS BOOK!!

THIS BLOODY BOOK!!

Please make sure to check the trigger warnings before reading becuase there are many!!.

Tillie babe! You now have a new found fan, I think I may be obsessed!!

This book was so f*cking amazing!! that's all I can say. It's dark in the best way. She was able to make me feel for every character, made me want to cry becuase of what some the characters had gone through... I went through all the motions with this one let me tell ya!!

klarybelmillo's review against another edition

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4.0

ooohh stuttering is kinda hot

amaston95's review

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dark inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0