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rubeusbeaky 's review for:

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert
1.0

"To everyone out there who prefers the villains to the heroes". 100%, I had a huge Return of Jafar poster, I am all about this twisted ship, I was ready to love this book. And the concept of an entire shady city where all our favorite Disney characters cross paths was really really intriguing; yes, NC-17 Once Upon a Time, I'm here for it!
...
But the book failed to meet expectations. When the book was being an homage to/retelling of Disney, it was witty and genuine, I felt the root of those characters and those potential relationships transplanted into a new setting. But way way WAY too much of the time, this was just another mob boss erotica. Man has all the power, pretends to offer consent but it's really more like coercion, damsel is fiery but inexperienced and mistakes the adrenaline of danger for passion and the necessity of dependency-for-survival as aftercare. It's the same old BDSM myths bad writers have been rehashing for ages - this book even made a 50 Shades of Grey reference!

And beyond the erotic scenes, the world-building is flimsy! What territory do these villains run, what are their businesses, how are they connected besides proximity and favorite watering hole?

On the rarest occasion a secondary character might expand the story beyond the boudoir... I was increasingly annoyed that these minor characters weren't always Disney characters, or were the wrong characters!