This book has been floating on my TBR for probably a decade, so I finally took the plunge.
It was ... eh.
I think maybe it's partially changing sensibThis book has been floating on my TBR for probably a decade, so I finally took the plunge.
It was ... eh.
I think maybe it's partially changing sensibilities, given that this book was written in the 90s, but yeesh, it was insanely melodramatic. Just completely and utterly overwrought in every possible way. And the FMC is unbelievably TSTL, which, combined with the OTT drama, just ends up being painful. Every single choice she makes is the stupidest thing I can even imagine. And the MMC is just ludicrously controlling. Is there really a woman out there who wouldn't punch this guy in the junk and then RUN the other direction? I have a hard time believing it.
I like the mythos of the Carpathians, but if they are all like this, I can't imagine reading this long-ass series. I got through most of this book due to laughter at the ridiculousness, which won't carry me very far into the whole series. Has anyone on my friends list read onward? Is it all like this?...more
I enjoyed it, but I struggled a bit with the sexist bullshit. I'm not sure how that's going to work out for me going forward ... but I'm hopeful becauI enjoyed it, but I struggled a bit with the sexist bullshit. I'm not sure how that's going to work out for me going forward ... but I'm hopeful because Mia (lead female) seems like she is not going to tolerate being belittled into a submissive "little woman" role in this backwater misogynistic town.
But I'm still concerned, because when she puts her foot down, Seth just manhandles her into compliance, and she does cave.
I'm hoping they can find better balance, and this series doesn't become a slog of watching this strong female character get hammered down into a subservient 1950s housewife.
I'm also going to say I rolled my eyes a bit about how much disdain these guys had for law / government / society. Like, this lady is FBI. It is unrealistic for them to act like they are this untouchable, and it was a little odd. Generally in PNR/UF, the supes have a healthy fear of humanity because just in terms of raw numbers, if it came to war they would be wiped out. These supes don't give a fuck, don't think laws apply to them, and don't even think they have to hide that fact. It's really weird....more
Couldn't get through it - I started skimming around the 65% mark because I was choking back bile. Seriously, fuck Foster, and a double helping of "eatCouldn't get through it - I started skimming around the 65% mark because I was choking back bile. Seriously, fuck Foster, and a double helping of "eat shit and die" to Vivienne.
Fuck Talia for not having more self respect.
And fuck authors who make their female characters hurl themselves at a guy who would treat them this way. It is completely disgusting.
Edit to add: it is the morning after, and unbelievably, I just hate this book even more with time and distance. The biggest mistake the author made was trying to make Vivienne a victim and give her so fucking much page time. She is a literal piece of shit. Foster makes this comment about how she was his roommate in his jail cell. No, motherfucker, she was the prison guard. Every fucking thing that happened was TO HER BENEFIT - she got a baby daddy (destroyed his life, happily, to do it), a fucking sucker who somehow saw her as an ally. She got a ton of money, nice things (Talia comments on all the Chanel and Prada this bitch wears - like her father, it's all about the money). She got her guy on the side, because gods forbid she have to sacrifice even that much. And then in the end, she actually directly becomes her father, trying to force Foster just like her father did.
This review expresses all my rage at this book pretty well, so I'm just going to link this and then try and forget this fucking book. And, sadly, this whole series - I'm out, because the character recur too much in each other's books and I cannot fucking stand even one more glimpse at the shitshow that is Foster/Vivienne/Talia ... especially if Vivienne folds into later books (that's the only reason I can imagine she got SO FUCKING MUCH page time in this book - setup for her love story later. Fuck that - this backstabbing, blackmailing, manipulative bitch deserves to rot in lonely misery for the rest of her life. I hope her daughter sees what a betraying monster her mother is, so that Kaddie doesn't repeat the cycle and become a human being that tries to force people to throw away their own lives for her benefit...just like her grandfather, and her fucking mother.).
**spoiler alert** This one wrecked the series for me. Utterly wrecked it.
We got some more info about the Tornian society and history. Here's what we f**spoiler alert** This one wrecked the series for me. Utterly wrecked it.
We got some more info about the Tornian society and history. Here's what we found out.
Women used to be partners, co-rulers, equals. Then the Great Infection happened and women became scarce... and we're stripped of all rights and their equality. They became commodities. Stories of powerful women, respected ruling women, were stripped from their histories so that women would never question their role as brood mares. It is heavily implied that they were at least pressured, but likely forced, to move on to a different man after having a child or two. Remember that Isis is scorned by Tornians - including the men - for never leaving the man she loved. And lived in fear that she'd have a girl child, because she knew if she did she would be forced to leave. And the man had full rights to the child. These fuckers call it "giving her gift" to the male. In modern times, even, were told the previous emperor ordered Paganus's mother to fuck his father - and no one else - until she gave him a child. She had no rights, no agency.
This series so far has treated the Tornian women with absolute disdain - universally, they are selfish bitches. Some of the earth women have even called them that. For not loving their males or their children, for being only materialistic, for trying to become Empress.
But this book gives you a completely different perspective on it. Why would women love their jailers, their abusers? The men who will take their child from them as they themselves are forced to go breed with the next guy. Remember, in book 1 Grim told Lisa that he would have all rights to his child (but she could keep rights to her earth offspring). The women are just possessions for a time, brought in to deliver you a child and then GTFO. It's fucking devastating!
Tornian females aren't allowed to talk to other men. Touch anyone. Never interrupt their lords. Largely are required to remain in their rooms. And we're going to act like they are bitches for demanding riches? That is LITERALLY all they are allowed to have! Not a family. Not a permanent home. Not a beloved child. I even feel sympathy for Risa - who cares that she played games and got people killed for her amusement? Because fuck all Tornian men. All of them. Anyone being forced to live that life would be so hurt, angry, bitter, lonely... That they'd inevitably spew toxicity on people around them. People who fucking earned every bit of it.
And this book made me really angry because we're finding this out alongside Abby, and rather than reacting with horror, she continues to be a bitch about Tornian women. Abby, oh so precious, perfect paragon of special womanhood, Abby.
Fuck Abby. Fuck her heartlessness, her selfishness, her lack of empathy. Fuck her special princess bullshit, her doe-eyed naivety even as she shit on women who were living in fucking Handmaid's Tale.
This ruined the series because I hated Abby and Ynyr (and not just because of this history and their behavior regarding it, but also because their annoying shouty YA personalities really grated on me). And because I cannot take the horrific misogynist bullshit that utterly saturates this world now.Oh, the good Tornian males are finally getting to see the glory of love now that they are away from the tyranny of the hateful bitches that are all Tornian females. Fuck. That....more
**spoiler alert** I enjoyed it, but I have to say ... fuck that entire Australian pack. The fact that even when they found out what happened, these as**spoiler alert** I enjoyed it, but I have to say ... fuck that entire Australian pack. The fact that even when they found out what happened, these asshole guys tried to stop the FURIOUS women from ripping out the throats of those abusive old men ... nope. Those women should have killed anyone who got between them and those old bastards. Any man should be fucking straight off with his tail between his legs. I get that some of the men were also victims, but in a different way - they were mind-wiped and forced to do things, fine. The women had half their lives and all their power and agency taken away from them.
Those old men should be skinned alive and staked out under the desert sun. And the pack should now be a matriarchy. Period. NO men in any position of authority, in any way, shape, or form.
I just ... it all left a bad taste in my mouth. All of it.
Otherwise, I like the overall story a lot. I still feel like there's a lot of hand-wavy bullcrap that I'm really hoping don't end up being holes. And I am not super thrilled that the ratio of sex-to-plot feels like 50/50. But I'm invested and will read the last book for sure....more
**spoiler alert** In the last 25% this book took a turn into being very, very toxic.
Look, from the minute she started beating them in challenges, I co**spoiler alert** In the last 25% this book took a turn into being very, very toxic.
Look, from the minute she started beating them in challenges, I could see that they were going to all challenge together. That was fine, and it makes sense in lots of ways, not least of which being the union of the 5 packs into a single whole.
But I didn't expect it to go down like that, especially after she was so angry at the individual challenges and fucking blasted them for acting like she doesn't get a say in her life. I figured they'd talk about it and agree to try. Not that they'd gang up and assault her together. It felt like that was literally the lesson of the first half of the book - treat her like a partner, to her, plan together, be a team. And when we got chapters from the guys' povs and they were all lamenting that this feels wrong and cruel, I was like okay. They learned better, the first half of the book was setting that up. They are going to discard what everyone else says should happen, and do what feels right - work together.
But no. The five of them surround and assault her.
And why? Because some batshit old bitch in a cave told you so? The elders can eat a bag of dicks. They hoard all the information and expect blind obedience as they manipulate everyone. And the characters had several conversations through this book about how they were done letting the elders dictate shit to them.
But then they decide to just jump on in and assault Kali because the elder said they should?
What. The. Fuck.
And Emory, above all, I loathe. He has lied to and manipulated her from moment one. He, in his POV goes on and on about how he's doing it for her, but he fucking isn't. He's doing it for himself because he is a cowardly, selfish bag of shit.
For him to join in on the forced mating is so appalling to me that I want her to rip his fucking throat out. How fucking dare he mate her under that cloud of lies, betrayal and manipulation? How dare he?!
And it isn't fixable. Because that isn't love. It isn't even care. They don't see her as a person. They don't believe she has any right to make decisions, or even be part of the conversation, about her own life. None of them do, but it is worst with Emory who was supposed to be her only friend.
Frankly, she may as well have mated Mikal the abusive alpha. He had as little care for her, but at least he never pretended otherwise, and there is only one of him.
And within, like, a single fucking day she's already warming up to them. That's not the Kali I have loved in this series. She became a new and fucking pathetic person. She was betrayed and treated like a fucking pawn, and she's allowing them to just roll back into her life. She's just shrugging and accepting it. Kali, who told this sexist world to fuck right off in the last book, because she is who she is. That Kali, in her POV the day after this assault, is telling herself oh well, I guess I just have get over it and accept that these are my mates.
Fuck. That.
It's also upsetting because it feels like her wolf betrayed her too. I have never read a shifter book where the wolf wasn't protective of their person. But they destroyed her, and the bitch wolf wants to cuddle.
I hate every part of this. Literally every fucking part. The last 25% took this from a 5 star series for me into one I am probably abandoning....more
Caveat: the world this story is set in is a kind of post-apocalyptic fantasy world, and it has regressed into some seriously sexist I really liked it!
Caveat: the world this story is set in is a kind of post-apocalyptic fantasy world, and it has regressed into some seriously sexist shit. I was worried that would be a deal-breaker for me, but it ended up being okay - Kaliya was strong enough in herself that she didn't let that bullshit define her or color her perception of herself. But YMMV.
I like the characters. I'm not sure if this is setting up a RH - they are such dominant personalities that I can't envision how that would work - or if it is going to end up being just one of the guys. But it's slow burn ... which I also enjoyed. I liked meeting these characters and getting to dig into them as individuals. And watching them form relationships - they aren't really friends at the start of this book, and in fact the guys barely know each other. So there's a lot of foundation to build, and I am here for it.
Well, this is my first hard miss with this author, and I'm going to be honest here: I hated it. It has every fucking thing I can't stand in books.
RampWell, this is my first hard miss with this author, and I'm going to be honest here: I hated it. It has every fucking thing I can't stand in books.
Rampant misogyny? Check
The FMC was constantly shit on by this guy - he legit ruined her life, leaving her holding the bag all alone and GOING TO JAIL. She was expelled from her college. Forced to leave her hometown. All while this motherfucker faced zero consequences. And had the gall to actively hate her for the following decade, because boohoo her brothers were his best friends and they didn't want to be friends with this fucker anymore after he utterly and completely fucked their sister over.
His mother hates her too. Because she's the girl, and well, boys will be boys, but that no good girl tried to make my golden boy face consequences.
Fuck all these people.
And he has continued his life with this same self-absorbed bullshit. He has sex with her in an elevator and in his POV actually is pissy that she lured him into doing it. He actually yells at her for not having a condom, because apparently that is also her sole responsibility. This motherfucker has never - not 10 years ago and not now - taken a single bit of responsibility for his own actions. He's a fucking pig.
But oh, he rides in with his magic penis and fat stack of cash, and demands they expunge her record - ten years later when it doesn't matter in any way because he can't give her college or a decent career back - and oh, what a hero! How can anyone be mad at this sweet boy!
Still, for the record in case anyone was counting: zero fucking consequences for him in any way, shape, or form.
And despite all this fucking disgusting shit, the FMC just can't stay away from him. It is the ultimate "but he's hot (and rich) so it's okay" which is the most horrible trend in books imo.
He is an actual, literal piece of shit who tormented her for her entire childhood and then actually ruined her life... And she can't stop fucking him at every opportunity.
He never actually has to put any effort into winning her over. Just showing up is enough.
I'm going to give it 2 stars anyway, because the concept was interesting. But I couldn't take the utterly rampant and disgusting constant sexiDNF @75%
I'm going to give it 2 stars anyway, because the concept was interesting. But I couldn't take the utterly rampant and disgusting constant sexist bullshit throughout the book. With all characters. And it was nonsense. This woman comes here, and she's stronger than them. Faster than them. A better fighter than them - so much so that the bosses of their little wannabe-badass men's club ask her to TRAIN THEM. And yet they never stop being condescending bags of shit, treating her like some pretty idiot who has nothing useful to offer.
It was fucking infuriating.
And then at the 75% mark we had drugged sex that ended in contrived bullshit angsty amnesia handled in the worst way possible, and I bailed.
Misogyny + sex with dubious consent + lies = I'm out.
Fuck all these characters. The only one I liked was the vampire, and that's because he treated her like a capable, intelligent equal....more
I just... Meh. I kept waiting for the FMC to show a spine about something. She has like a 5 second tantrum once. When she's basically told sDNF at 48%
I just... Meh. I kept waiting for the FMC to show a spine about something. She has like a 5 second tantrum once. When she's basically told sorry but you now belong to the clan and will have to marry for politics. She's literally over it in a split second and hugging her brother a moment later.
This chick just comes across like a complete airhead, honestly. She comes home to dudes that broke into her place and demands she go with them. She agrees happily, and in the car - which she realizes they've locked her into - asks where they are going repeatedly. No one answers, but she doesn't get alarmed or angry. She's brought to a guy who gets in her face and yells at her, with his head security dude dragging her around by her arm. That encounter ends with her being tranq'd... And she wakes up chained in a room. And she is literally NEVER MAD. Passively accepts everything they say or do. Doesn't even do much more than blink in surprise when they tell her about the shifter world. And that the yelling in charge dude is apparently her long-lost brother. Goes along like a little doll when they take her shopping, dress her up and tell her she's going to a ball and doesn't have a choice in anything.
When a few weeks later, brother finally deigns to have dinner with her (not that she was mad about him not speaking to her again for weeks after the whole drugged-and-chained bit, because she never gets mad about anything), she's informed that they are having dinner that night and it isn't a request. And further, that now she has to go to a spa to be primped and made up and clothed to go to dinner with him. And again, her input is not welcome. They actually SAY that, and she says okay.
What the fuck, you guys?
This was gross to me, across the board. And Alex was meh, there was no spark, and then she hurls herself at him and she's a virgin. So yeah, we're just getting allllll the tropes here.
Man, I did not like this one. Jury was a spoiled, entitled, selfish, rich asshole. And he treated Abby like complete garbage, but when he changed his Man, I did not like this one. Jury was a spoiled, entitled, selfish, rich asshole. And he treated Abby like complete garbage, but when he changed his mind and showed a teeny bit of interest, she was all over him. Then he was an asshole again, and at the first opportunity, Abby hurled herself at him as if there was nothing to forgive.
This series is cheesy brain-vacation fun, but I just can't enjoy a woman who thinks so little of herself just fold like wet toilet paper for a douchebag who runs hot and cold.
And as an extra bit of fun, in this book we found out that only dragons have a say in anything in dragon society, and dragons are only men, so oh well, women get no say. It's not sexist, nooooooo, it's just that they aren't dragons! *eyeroll*
Even more hilariously terrible was Jury, as we're getting that bit of exposition from his POV, thinking he'd never treat women that way. And then like 5 minutes later, something happens and rather than tell Abby what's going on so she can be informed and make choices for herself, he tells her nothing, makes all the choices, demands she trust him, snaps at her to stop mothering him when she expresses concern, and then takes off.
She is, of course, immediately in a life-threatening situation because she had no idea what's going on and Jury is a stupid motherfucker.
I need a break from this series, and the string of weak-willed women who fall on their backs with their legs spread for these dudes who fuck up in every book but never do anything to fix it. On a scale of 1 to 10, the first book was a 7 on that meter, and it has progressed to this book, which is about a 45.
And lest you think I'm exaggerating, the grand gesture in this book is the spoiled rich kid ordering breakfast and having it delivered to her one morning, with a note apologizing. She, of course, falls over herself expressing how wonderful it is. Right. Literally zero thought or effort, just a rich dude slapping breakfast on his credit card. Sure....more
I liked Aenor, the LFC, a good bit, but her fatal flaw was this overpowering attraction to an asshole.
I guess that makes it obvious that I don't thinkI liked Aenor, the LFC, a good bit, but her fatal flaw was this overpowering attraction to an asshole.
I guess that makes it obvious that I don't think much of Lyr. Or any of his people.
And that was the fatal flaw with the book: Aenor risking her life to help them was a hard sell. Frankly, I didn't see much of a difference between the "good guys" (supposedly Lyr's side) and the "bad guys". They were all shitty, entitled, self-absorbed assholes who would do anything for power. Frankly, I was rooting for them all to die, so that Aenor could go on her merry way.
Look, I didn't buy any of the bullshit.
(view spoiler)[The fae are evil bastards who kill anyone they want to. Full stop.
Ys doesn't sound like this glorious place to live. And that they all believed these overblown stories told by obvious liars trying to inflate themselves, and shit on Aenor? Fuck them all. I don't want her to rule that place - and the awesome thing is that she's not all that interested either, but I want her to TELL THEM. I want her to throw right in their faces that they are all trash and their honor and loyalty is less than worthless, and she wouldn't go to Nova Ys if they fucking begged her.
And Lyr doesn't deserve her, because if he's that fucking stupid and pig-headed he can die in a fire. Along with his torture-happy buddies. Yeah, they're the good guys. Seriously. *eyeroll*
I'm sick of my romance stories being polluted with ingrained misogyny. I'm sick of badass female leads that I really like being overwhelmed with lust over someone who kidnaps and tortured them. I'm fucking sick of stories like this. (hide spoiler)]
I literally skimmed over every steamy scene because the thought of her with Lyr was repulsive to me, to the point where it damaged my opinion of her as a character. And the fact that (view spoiler)[he somehow gets lauded for not killing her when she had done nothing wrong and people were just happy to believe gross rumors by dudebros about her made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. (hide spoiler)]
I'm sick of alpha-holes who stand in judgement over the lead female while being utterly blind to their own bullshit. He was so fucking convinced about her, with not a single shred of proof, just stories that - when she finally heard them - were so laughably filled with bullshit that when she pointed out the internal inconsistencies they were all pissy and whiny about it... because seeing your own stupidity is embarrassing for these dudebro types. But did that change their mind? Of course not. Because fuck all these people.
The best part was finding out that after all the shitting on Aenor, what was happening (view spoiler)[ was literally Lyr's own fault. Not even indirectly - it was a direct fucking result of his stupid bullshit. (hide spoiler)]
I like Aenor and want to read on... But I also don't because I literally loathe every other character. *sigh*...more
I've never read anything like this before, but it was recommended to me by a friend so I gave it a whirl. It's not my cuppa. Rough sex is one thing, bI've never read anything like this before, but it was recommended to me by a friend so I gave it a whirl. It's not my cuppa. Rough sex is one thing, but I just can/will never appreciate women being treated like idiot children with no rights or autonomy unless it's just a bedroom/fetish thing. When they told her she could never go home and then beat her to "teach her to obey her alpha" I was done. That's just gross, and I will never comprehend how women fetishize this kind of Handmaid's Tale life....more
Oh Ari. He has moved to Most Hated in this series, for me. I don't even care if he's going to come around in later books. His behavior in this one - aOh Ari. He has moved to Most Hated in this series, for me. I don't even care if he's going to come around in later books. His behavior in this one - after everything Nava has done for him - will never ever ever be excusable.
Rohan still gives me whiplash. I have no idea what to think about him. I really don't. That said, (view spoiler)[I liked where this book ended, in terms of Rohan and Nava. Not because I think Rohan deserves her - I don't - but because I don't want her to roadblock herself like she does. It isn't healthy, and she'll never be happy. I'm glad she got out of her own way and chose to do what her heart pulled her to do instead of run away out of fear ... even if I'm not particularly in love with the guy. It was still a good moment of growth for her. (hide spoiler)]
And Nava still needs to get the fuck out of this sexist Boys Club. Nothing she does will ever change her status with them, and the fact that she is continuing to try makes her look like a goddamn spineless moron. The supposed badass girl, but she's all talk, no action. I can't stress how much this undermines her character....more
This one was hard for me to rate because there were parts I really liked, and parts I really hated.
I think it killed Rohan for me as a love interest. This one was hard for me to rate because there were parts I really liked, and parts I really hated.
I think it killed Rohan for me as a love interest. He got off on the sexist shit in Boys Club, and on her being constantly put in her place with their bullshit groupie plan. And then his behavior flashed between hot and cold so fast that I got whiplash. Also, (view spoiler)[did he fuck Poppy? It seems to be very much implied that he did - and he expresses a couple flashes of guilt about it. Not to mention his clear adoration of Lily. I don't want a hero that fucks around with other people, and swings like a pendulum between the heroine and some other chick. (hide spoiler)] That's a line too far in my book.
I liked the info from the witch, but I have to say I don't understand a lot of what went on with the Brotherhood. (view spoiler)[Firstly, why did they need to do the thing with the amulet? Why does she have to shit on her already shit reputation with the Brotherhood, for this weird subterfuge? I don't understand why it was necessary. Okay, she needed a reason for meeting with Gelman. Couldn't it be enough that the only girl Rasha wants to understand how a girl could be a Rasha? Couldn't Rabbi Chickenshit say that he sent Nava to that woman in order to have that conversation, about some of the female history of the Rasha origins? Isn't that better than making her look like a complete bitch? And then secondly, how is that story even believable? Anyone in the Vancouver chapter would call it out as bullshit as soon as they heard it - Nava has been badgering them all incessantly about inducting Ari. She's the only reason he's around at all - she bent over backwards, allowing the sexist Boys Club to use her like a tool and manipulate her, all so they'd grace Ari with another opportunity. So the whole thing just reads like stupid bullshit. Also, Rabbi Chickenshit did not protect her with this ruse ... he put her life in danger. How does he imagine they'd react to her going out to find a power to stop an induction? They wouldn't care that Rabbi Chickenshit got the amulet. Her even looking for it means that she's a danger to them, and they'd put a stop to it.(view spoiler)[
So yeah, the only thing I liked about this book was the witches, and Nava, who is always awesome. The Boys Club sucks. Rohan was a complete doucheburger. Rabbi Chickenshit's plan was stupid. And no matter what Nava does, it is never enough for the Brotherhood to see her value ... so again, it undermines her character that she even tries. Frankly, (view spoiler)[now that Ari is in the club - and why he wants to be there when they dropped him like old garbage, I will never understand - she should leave immediately, because fuck them all. (hide spoiler)](hide spoiler)](hide spoiler)]...more
There's a lot that I liked about this series. But there's some stuff that's tough to swallow.
Firstly, I'm not sure about Rohan. He's a douche that is There's a lot that I liked about this series. But there's some stuff that's tough to swallow.
Firstly, I'm not sure about Rohan. He's a douche that is one of the top dogs in the Boys-Only Club of Dickweeds. Seriously, their blatant and spectacular sexism is a problem - I'll go into that further in a moment - and the fact that he's a-okay with it and happy with the status-quo is a real black mark on his character.
Secondly, Nava's family is shit. Her whole family. Mom and dad were clearly so happy to have a super-special-chosen-one son that they ignored their daughter. Yes, she acts like a bit of a can't-give-a-fuck chick, but given that environment, it is utterly unsurprising. When they're not proud of a thing they do - and how can they possible be not proud of a world class dancer?? - then why try? And Ari is also a bag of shit (view spoiler)[... though to be fair, I'm writing this after book 3, and Ari gets shittier and shittier, so my extraordinary dislike of him is perhaps higher than is merited in this first book, but by the 3rd, trust me, he earns it. (hide spoiler)] I hate his lack of self-awareness. That he can completely be blind to the fact that he's the precious favorite child, to Nava's expense. It was easy for him to be nice to her when he was the shiny golden child - it isn't hard to be nice when everyone bends over backwards for you - but man is he a shit the minute his golden crown takes a ding.
But the biggest problem is the Brotherhood. Here's the problem with making an organization like that be the core of your story, and having the badass heroine work for it: it makes me not respect her. Allowing herself to be treated that way, caving to their demands, bowing her head and accepting their sexism and manipulation ... it makes me think so incredibly less of her. She should have told them to eat a dick and left as soon as she had a handle on her powers. The fact that she busts her ass in the hopes that these sexist men might approve of her (view spoiler)[- and even when she saves all their asses in the end, it changes NOTHING - (hide spoiler)] ... it makes her gross. It normalizes it. And even worse, it makes all the secondary characters unpalatable. How can I like Kane, Drio, Rohan, the Rabbis, Baruch, when this is all okay with them? When they bitch that Nava wants to be treated specially without acknowledging that they have all been trained from FUCKING BIRTH, and she's forced to jump in cold? When they have her face a demon that even Ari was shocked because he's never been allowed near one that tough ... and they let it beat the shit out of her on her FIRST DAY, with next-to-zero training?
I dislike the entire secondary cast, and I don't know that it is possible to fix. Because all I want - and guys, I'm backtracking to write this review when I'm 3 books in to this series, and it is STILL all I want - is for her to leave them all.
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