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readwithmesashamarie 's review for:
Sabotage
by Shantel Tessier
This review is intended for audiences over the age of 18. Please check the trigger warnings for this novel before continuing. I will try not to include major spoilers. Review trigger warnings: brief discussion of rape.
This novel deviated from Tessier’s other books set in this world in a few different ways. The first was the length of the novel itself, which was a few hundred pages shorter than its predecessors. Our characters were also derivatives from the norm by introducing a MMC who was not a Lord, and a FMC who was a powerhouse and extremely confident in herself.
Out of all the FMC’s from Tessier’s novels so far, this one seemed to be the strongest and most self aware, which was refreshing. Our MMC, while not being a Lord himself, is still part of the world by working directly under Tyson and carrying out his dirty, demented assignments.
While all of these novels deal with some sort of taboo topic(s), this story centers a step brother and sister who have an undeniable lust hate relationship. They’ve orbited one another since they were teenagers, and have built a routine that doesn’t even make sense to them, let alone the people in their lives.
Due to the length of this story it focused more on the character’s relationships and less on any actual plot. In my opinion, this made the catastrophic ending so much more explosive because it seemingly comes out of nowhere. This novel had a very explicit, traumatic rape scene that held nothing back. We watched as our FMC and MMC work through that experience and trauma together at the conclusion of the novel, which we as the reader desperately needed to provide any sense of closure.
I’m torn about how I feel on this one. I found myself highlighting so many quotes that really hit home, and a lot of this novel felt very cathartic for me as a reader. It’s hard to say I loved something when that something includes the FMC being raped on the page. I’m thankful that I read this story because it did connect with me in certain ways, but I would hesitate to recommend it to others because of how retraumatizing the last few chapters may be. Proceed with extreme caution, and, as always, check the trigger warnings.
This novel deviated from Tessier’s other books set in this world in a few different ways. The first was the length of the novel itself, which was a few hundred pages shorter than its predecessors. Our characters were also derivatives from the norm by introducing a MMC who was not a Lord, and a FMC who was a powerhouse and extremely confident in herself.
Out of all the FMC’s from Tessier’s novels so far, this one seemed to be the strongest and most self aware, which was refreshing. Our MMC, while not being a Lord himself, is still part of the world by working directly under Tyson and carrying out his dirty, demented assignments.
While all of these novels deal with some sort of taboo topic(s), this story centers a step brother and sister who have an undeniable lust hate relationship. They’ve orbited one another since they were teenagers, and have built a routine that doesn’t even make sense to them, let alone the people in their lives.
Due to the length of this story it focused more on the character’s relationships and less on any actual plot. In my opinion, this made the catastrophic ending so much more explosive because it seemingly comes out of nowhere. This novel had a very explicit, traumatic rape scene that held nothing back. We watched as our FMC and MMC work through that experience and trauma together at the conclusion of the novel, which we as the reader desperately needed to provide any sense of closure.
I’m torn about how I feel on this one. I found myself highlighting so many quotes that really hit home, and a lot of this novel felt very cathartic for me as a reader. It’s hard to say I loved something when that something includes the FMC being raped on the page. I’m thankful that I read this story because it did connect with me in certain ways, but I would hesitate to recommend it to others because of how retraumatizing the last few chapters may be. Proceed with extreme caution, and, as always, check the trigger warnings.