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takarakeireads 's review for:
Exquisite Ruin
by AdriAnne May
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really struggled to get through this book and seriously considered DNF'ing. I just didn't feel drawn to continue picking it back up after the first 15-20%
- The writing was repetitive and lackluster. The best way I can describe it is pedestrian.
- Amnesia plotlines aren't my favorite because I just get frustrated with them, and constantly being told "I don't remember XYZ" by the main character.
- I'm not super familiar with the Greek mythology of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur to comment on specific details. But in my opinion it didn't seem very labyrinthian/maze like? I honestly had a hard time picturing the setting most of the book (and I'm usually not someone who has issue with this).
- I thought the mirrors being portals to the past was an interesting idea.
- On the surface level yes it does read like a 'true' enemies to lovers arc - the hatred of the two MCs is palpable (and also brought up repetitively) but I also didn't think the romance was well developed enough. It relied too much on 'things that happened in the past' and we were just told kinda suddenly that they loved each other?
- There is no where near enough explicit/spicy scenes for this to be considered 'erotica' - them just being kinky etc does not automatically qualify a book as erotica. From memory there's like several mentions of past things, one mild-spice, and then one *big* scene. To me no more than a typical romance.
- I don't get how this is going to be a series? cause it seemed pretty final by the end.
Ultimately I just really didn't care about the characters, or what was happening with them so it's a no for me.
I received an arc of this book - all opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Self harm
Minor: Rape, Kidnapping, Death of parent
Content Warnings from Author included in book:
This book is a fantasy intended for adults only. Reader discretion is advised, since the following pages contain explicit sex, violence, mild gore/body horror, attempted rape (past), parent death (past, off-page), animal injury (not death), abduction/captivity, self-harm (only for magical purposes), and various kinks and fetishes in a fantasy setting, including: CNC (consensual non-consent), dominance and submission, sadomasochism, erotic degradation/humiliation, primal play, choking, gagging, rope bondage, spanking and other impact play, blood play, needle play, foot fetishization, monstrous anatomy, and raw/unprotected sex. All characters depicted are adults, and the activities depicted are not realistic representations of safe sexual activity or risk-aware consensual kink/BDSM.