Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Hawke by Jescie Hall

6 reviews

amanda_reads13's review

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dark emotional sad fast-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

3.0

Nicole "Cole" uprooted her whole life to be with her very Catholic/conservative boyfriend Patrick. Everything is going as planned until Patrick's "friend" Hawke moves into their house after being released from prison. 

I HATE the cheating trope and there is no excuse for it. Ya, Patrick was a misogynistic jerk, but no one deserves to be so blatantly disrespected by their partner. If you want to be with someone else, then breakup with your bf! Ugh! It was also weird how she would just "play house" with Patrick in front of Hawke then become jealous when Hawke is around other women. 

Hawke has recently been released from prison for
murder. He was convicted of driving under the influence and killing his best friend in a car accident. Only, that is not the whole story.
We get the impression that he is this bad boy who does nothing but bang random women and do drugs with his vagrant friends. But really he is a broken and sad boy who has endured so much loss, trauma, and pain.
He has never truly been loved or respected by anyone. He has always been looked down apon or cast aside.
All he really wants is for someone to love and understand him, his rough exterior is nothing but a mask. 

Cole is a lost woman. She thinks that she has a good life. Sure Patrick is a bit of a misogynistic ass, but he loves and takes care of her. As her relationship with Hawke grows she realizes how truly blind she has been. Patrick sees her as an accessory to creating this picture perfect life. He never consults her on any decisions, gaslights her, and completely disrespects her. 

Overall, she was very judgemental and childish. Unfortunately, there wasn't much growth to her character. She spent the whole time whining about how she was cheating on her "perfect" boyfriend with Hawke, but never did anything to change the situation.... 

Patrick
it turns out is a wolf in sheep's clothing. He was the one who killed Hawkes best friend. He then fled the scene and pinned it on Hawke. Hawke not only lots his best friend, but he was then forced to take the fall for his death. At least Patrick got what was coming to him.


A few things - I really wish this had been dual POV. That would have added so much to the story. The writing was ok, but the story did drag and become very repetitive (Especially with Cole reprimanding herself that the cheating is wrong and her talking about Hawkes lip ring -mentioned 1000x). I felt like we didn't really dig deep enough into the characters and they felt a bit one dimensional. 

Tropes: enemies to lovers, opposites attract, cheating, taboo, roommates, force proximity

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bekahbari's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved the audiobook version of this book! If you love a dark romance that’s extra spicy and a morally gray MMC, then this is for you! Definitely read the TWings though!

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keirah_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

5.0


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firequeen_ash23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OH MHY GAWD!!! THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!

This will be the second book by Jescie Hall that I've read recently and it was perfection. I love how dark this authors dark romances are and how she doesn't shy away from the dark and painful. 

I love how much I can relate to this story and the characters. Each character has their own issues and growth they're struggling with and once they are forced together, secrets from the past soon catch up causing old wounds to be reopened before any healing can start. 

Nicole is a young woman who thinks she has it all, the perfect little life with her perfect boyfriend, Patrick, who she shares a home with and who loves her. She's living a normal, happy life before Hawke moves in as their new roommate. Nicole automatically thinks she knows what type of person Hawke is, but there's more to the situation that she could possibly imagine. Her life is about to change for better or worse, will she be able to handle it? 

This book is so realistic, dark and raw. Thid book is filled with so many different aspects; murder, mystery, pain, love, revenge and hope. Nothings as it seems. I loved the plot and storyline of Hawke. This authors writing just crawls beneath your skin and embeds itself in the readers heart. I literally finished this book in less than a day because I was so enthralled with finding out what was really going on with Hawke's painful past. He's definitely the sexy, tattooed, broken man that you can't help but fall in love with as the book progresses and you learn how much he's been through. I know without a doubt he's the character that women will be attracted to and want to fix. 

This story touches on some serious topics that could be triggering for some readers but if you don't have any triggers this story is worth reading. I couldn't put it down. The spice and sexual tension is 🤌. I also loved how even though Hawke was suppose to be this scary tough guy, you get to see other sides of him and actually connect to his character beneath his facade. Nicole "Cole" definitely can be a little annoying at times but she's just inexperienced and doesn't know what's going on, but I love that once she found out the truth, she didn't cower or let it change how she felt. She embraced the darkness and stood up for what she thought was right and was willing to so whatever it took for the truth to come to light. She's a fighter and in the end I couldn't help but be impressed by her actions and her convictions. She definitely is a closet bad girl and seeing her grow as a woman and as a person made the the book even better. 

I highly recommend this book!!! Definitely one of my favorite romance novels. 

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katekreadsalot's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-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

4.5


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our_bookish_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

PLEASE CHECK ALL TW/CW BEFORE READING!

Hawke is the debut novel by Jescie Hall & holy hell, did she blow this one out of the water! I started this at 9pm & finished it at 11pm. At first, I couldn't get into the book. This is one of those times where there phrase "It's not you, it's me" it true. Reading has been a struggle lately, but I'm happy I continued because this book is great! Suffice to say, this is not my final read by Jescie!


What you'll find inside:
🪶 Forced proximity 
🪶 Enemies to lovers
🪶 Forbidden Romance
🪶 Roommates
🪶 Secrets 


I couldn't stand Patrick, he was such a prick & I don't think what happened to him could have happened to a better guy. Though in the book for such a short time, I could not stop thinking of Pat's father looking like Charles Dance.
I love that both Hawke & Cole helped heal each other. They were both in need of love, although honestly Hawke was legit struggling to hang on.


All-in-all this was a good book, I'm rating:
🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

This was more on the tamer & intimate side, so I'm giving the spice:
🔥🔥🔥/5

I want to take a moment to thank the author, Jescie Hall, whom I received a complimentary copy of this book from, & am voluntarily leaving a review.

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