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readwithsophsx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
jessanicolesingh's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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
5.0
Not only do I give both of these 5 ⭐️, but I can confidently say this is my FAVORITE duet/series to date! This author figured out the perfect balance of steam and plot, and had some downright funny scenes too.
Our MMC, a psychopath and sculptor, is involved in an ongoing rivalry with a fellow artist and serial killer, who “gifts him the FMC. What is mostly characterized as a dark romance of stalking and obsession, somehow manages a slow burn love simultaneously. It features a game of wits and survival, and also overcoming childhood trauma. The first book in the set has a faster paced plot, while the second covered more timeline overall. The accompanying music playlist suggestions were on point with this one, I truly felt immersed in this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, and Kidnapping
spatterson7's review against another edition
dark
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
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
angelina_wlf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent
kyliew212's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Kidnapping
katcrowe69's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
smcrain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.25
This is a serial killer AU, and like most or almost all serial killer setups requires some suspension of disbelief. Reader must be ready to allow for some stretches like the police are incredibly incompetent, DNA and forensic science doesn't exist, people and bodies are easily unalived and disappeared with very little or no curiosity/questions or investigation. Okay that makes it sound terrible but I really love these kind of dark romances so I will allow it. I was invested enough to keep turning the page. Admittedly as an art school kid the characters all being artists gave me a huge laugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
serial killer AU, toxic MMC, obsessive MMC, possessive MMCtaelorslibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent
hapalyn's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The book would've been a lot more riveting if the conflict and main point of plot wasn't so simple and somewhat bland. It definitely feels a lot more like a character study of a serial killer and his muse (much like "You", but without the intellectual charm). I found aspects to be really enjoyable and then found myself like "WTF did I just read", but not in a great way? I think the backstory of the FMC was a lot to unwind, and I enjoyed seeing her overcome some of it, but in the sexual manner that she did made some of it feel incredibly icky to me sometimes. I wish there had been more explanation of the MMC's nature than we were given.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Rape
liveyourlifereading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Because some friends oon Booktok were reading this book, I decided to give it a chance because of the fact it is a dark romance book about a serial killer and a girl who inevitably fall in love. I am normally ot a romance girlie, but I am interested in dark romance and I love true crime, everything about serial killers and the psychological factor in these cases. So I was very much excited to read dark romance about a serial killer, even thoug hin real life, I could never comprehend something like this.
There are no saints is no a very long book, it's just under 300 pages but for me it was still a slowburn. Sophie lark really builds up towards the part where the smut actually happens and in this book, it is all about desire, psychology and how the brain works and reacts to certain things.
i just have to start off and say that the art in this book is amazing. It breaks up the sotry a little, makes eveything more visual and is done perfectly in style with the book. The cover might be slightly confusing, but Sophie knows what she is doing and revelas exactly why this cover was chosen. Evrything is perfectly in line, exactly like the way artists would do it and I can do noting other than admire that.
I loved the way the book was written. It's written from two perspectives, the one from Mara and the one from Cole, which keeps the books very interesting. A third person, his perspective not shown, is also a part of the story. He is also a serial killer, but in a different way than Cole. The two perspectives give a good idea of who Cole and Mara are and how they differ from eachother but are also very much alike. Cole feels nothing, or at least, not when he's not around Mara, but I'm betting he learned how to control his emotions so well that he doesn't even know how to show them anymore. he calls it control, I call it the loss of control. Mara is very damaged but acts like nothing is going on. They both see right through to eachother and match eachother pefectly. He is rich, she is poor. He is emotionless, she is filled by it. He is cold and very calculated, she is driven by impulse.
Mara dares to defy Cole, something almost no one really dares to do because of what he is capable off. I love that about her character. She is always on edge, but also very strong and goes against every urge to flee. Her psychology resembles a lot of mine, but not this part, because I tend to flee from everything so I just grew to love her character. She really has something I admire a lot. She is also very petite. Nowadays you either read about "normal"girls with big front and butt, or about bigger girls in general. This is the first time I have read about a really petite girl, more like myself, and I will admit it was nice to identify myself with someone for once.
Cole is someone I would be very intrigued by, but also someone who would scare me a lot. I would call him the definition of a psychopath, except for the part where he gets so obsessed with Mara, which falls completely out of line with his character.
The story overall was great. There is a lot of tension, a slowburn when it comes down to the actual sex scenes and for me, it was perfect. I love slowburns where everything that leads up the "the act" is much more important than the act itself. I loved every bit of the story but it has to be your thing. Not everyone will appreciate a book about a serial killer getting away wit heverything and a girl that falls in love with him, despite knowing or suspecting his nature. And that's, where for me, lies the fun in writing and reading. You pick what you like, you have the freedom to write what you like and it means that there is some book for every person out there. I would love to meet Sophie and ask her where she got the idea for this book.
There are no saints got 4,5 stars!
~ Live Your Life Reading
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail