Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - There Are No Saints

I wanted to like this book. Cole was supposed to be complicated but turned out so 1 dimensional. Mara was just kind of dumb through the whole thing. The book started great with Mara being so strong but the more she was built, the less interesting she got.

Content Warnings

gottbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.5

I enjoyed this book. I feel like the characters are missing some character development that would really make me LOVE this book. Definitely dark. Check TW.

Content Warnings

erinlaura's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.75

3.75⭐️

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