Reviews with content warning for Bullying - There Are No Saints

Warning, a couple spoilers lie ahead, but honestly, nothing much beyond what would have been listed in a list of trigger warnings if this book, y’know, had one.

I have extremely mixed feelings about this book. I’ve read a few dark romances before that have been really solid, where usually one or both main characters do or have done bad things for some reason that’s explainable or justifiable, especially in the context of fiction. This is not one of those books. The MMC is a serial killer because he - get this - likes killing people, and the FMC is into him despite him leaving her for dead in the woods because she had ✨childhood trauma✨. No, seriously. This guy seems to be actively aware that he’s a bad person and doesn’t care for the wellbeing of others. He repeatedly reminds us that he does only things that bring him pleasure, and will literally do whatever he feels like doing.

Despite all this I found myself morbidly curious about the plot and what was going to happen next. I was fascinated, and couldn’t bring myself to look away, even though the MMC, his “rival”, and the main “relationship” were seriously disturbing. I was definitely entertained in more of a thriller/horror kind of way than a romance.

Lastly, for someone who seems so traumatized by her (objectively terrible) childhood, she really seems to bounce back fast from all the terrible things that happen to her throughout the course of this book.

Also, PSA for any of you KU girlies, the cover with the snakes is the only one I had ever seen, and the one that's listed on KU, but when I used the very convenient "mark as currently reading" kindle feature, it set my goodreads edition to the "half-naked couple clinging to one another" cover

Content Warnings

sshpurple1's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

morgansbookshelves's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Bumped up my rating from a 4.5 to a 5! I love how dark and twisted this book is. Lark has a very impressive talent for making you root for the bad guy, as much as I should have disliked Cole I couldn't help but hang on to every word in his chapters. Seeing how his mind worked was fascinating and I am so glad that I have access to book 2. I need to see how this is going to end.

Content Warnings

_missal3x's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

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