discarded_dust_jacket's reviews
310 reviews

What an amazing addition to the Vice + Virtue canon. I adored getting to witness Travis being validated and reassured after silently grappling with his place in the relationship between Aden, Gage, and himself.

Thorne has a way of crafting stories that is so effortlessly immersive and so enjoyable to read. This was a treat.

I expected to love this—and I did—but I did not expect to be howling with laughter for so much of it. This was such a treat! So much fun to read, so stinking funny, and so hot! Alright, giant wooden man! Bring those creaky joints over here!

Touch-starved MCs finally getting handled with the care and gentleness they so desperately need might just be one of my new favorite things to read about!!

This story was so tender and so sweet. All of my notes are some variation of “AHHHHH” and “OMG” (/pos) because I spent so much time giggling and kicking my feet whenever Jack hits Len with soft praise and they whimper pathetically in response.

I loved it!!

Thank you CLC for this eARC!

I’m gonna be so honest, I usually struggle with anthologies. Something about feeling suspended in the first stage of a story, which is the hardest part for me to get invested in—the part where you have to get acclimated to a new setting and new characters.

This was definitely an exception. I don’t think there was a single story I didn’t enjoy, even if I enjoyed some more than others.

The theme was cohesive but the way each author interpreted it was unique and interesting. There’s a couple contributors who I was less familiar with, but I will definitely be seeking out their other stuff now!

This was only my second extreme horror novel, and I’m still not sure this genre is for me, but let me just say: despite this being some of the most disturbing, grotesque content I’ve ever consumed with my eyes, the PROSE !!! the MASTERY OF CRAFT !!! the way I was both REPULSED but also HYPNOTIZED !!! 

No words were wasted; this novel wields some of the most precise and deeply evocative language I’ve ever read. Relentlessly brutal, beginning to end. Truly visceral. I have a feeling I’m going to be thinking about these characters for a long time.

(**TAKE THE CWs SERIOUSLY, especially incest, pedophilia, excrement, vomit, and cannibalism**)

A simple and well-written trans horror erotica. The premise is unique and engaging, the suspense is cultivated really well and kept me rushing to turn the page.

I absolutely think it accomplishes what it set out to and I enjoyed it a lot, but please, for the love of god, take the CWs seriously.

I would say if you’re on the fence about any of them, this isn’t the one for you.

MAJOR CWs for: non-con, gang-r*pe, DP, DVP, TP, and just overall violence.

Misogyny is dripping from this book. There isn’t a single meaningful female character aside from the protagonist.

The plot itself takes place within the context of a competition wherein a bunch of women vie for the attention of one man, so I understand the need to set some other woman in the story up as “rivals.”

But you’re telling me there’s no other women in the town? NONE that are kind? NONE that have depth? The author doesn’t even bother to give most of them names; a lot of them are just mentioned in passing for the sake of insulting them.

Tem’s best friend is the stereotypical, sassy gay man, because, you know, that makes him safe! She doesn’t view him as competition!

The MC’s only personality trait is that she’s stubborn and argumentative. That’s it. She fights everyone about everything. There’s literally a point when Leo compliments her by saying “you look beautiful by the way,” and she goes “by the way? Is my beauty an afterthought to you?” Like girlfriend aren’t you tired? I’M tired.

Caspen provides us with a textbook example of what the cycle of abuse can look like: he smothers Tem with love and adoration while they’re together, all the while secretly manipulating and controlling her by withholding information from her and making decisions on her behalf (but it’s okay because he’s protecting her). He surveils her when they’re apart and punishes her if she does something to make him jealous. When she confronts him, he’s sweet again and she second guesses her own anger.

Leo’s character is incredibly underdeveloped. Tem hardly spends any time with him compared to Caspen. She spends like 60% of the book having sex with Caspen and goes on approximately five dates with Leo and yet we’re supposed to believe that she’s in love with them both equally and just cannot choose between the two?

The plot makes very little sense if you spend more than a second thinking about it. The last fifty pages or so are haphazardly thrown together; it’s obvious the author was just tired of writing and needed to wrap it up quick.