Review
My Rating – 1 Star
*I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley on behalf of Patchwork Press*
Oh man. This book almost became a DNF. I don’t like giving out 1 Star ratings but alas this book definitely warranted it. (Also, this review contains spoilers because you need to know exactly why it is a 1 Star book)
“Involuntarily introduced” means kidnapped. Kaitlyn was saved by an avalanche and then dragged across the world to a remote island by a guy that turns out to be her godfather (absolutely no backstory there).
When she wakes up in a strange room naked she tries to escape as any normal person would do and is stopped by Shawn, one of the people that kidnapped her. He’s an evil bastard and he threatens her and tells her he’s going to make her wear his mark. She proceeds to kick his ass and beat up the men that he had with him, even though she’s never been in a fight before and has no training.
The fight is stopped by Micah, who she immediately starts lusting over, even though he is ONE OF HER KIDNAPPERS. He takes her to his room and she thinks all is well until she wakes up handcuffed to his bed and not for a fun, kinky reason. For a captive, holding you against your will reason.
She meets Cato and she learns he is her godfather and the leader of The Seven a effed-up cult group of people that can control the elements and they are trying to save the Earth. Kaitlyn is apparently a Gaia, or a woman that can control all the elements; earth, air, fire, water. And the reason they kidnapped her, broke into her apartment and put all her stuff in storage, instead of explaining the situation to her and asking her to come is never discussed. (She also later finds out that this group, made up of men of course, assassinates any Gaia that is no longer useful or says no to their cause and would have gladly shot her in the head of she said no to them)
Being a Gaia and not knowing it is hard and apparently the Earth reacts to her and every natural disaster that’s happened while she was present has been 100% her fault. Meaning she has killed thousands of people unintentionally. (Again, you’d think this group would have tried to explain things to her instead of kidnapping her.) So like five minutes after learning she has powers she knows how to use them and attacks Cato. Micah calms her down by forcibly kissing her.
After being handcuffed to Micah’s bed again (still not for the fun reason) and tries to escape she almost kills another person and dies herself and Shawn is a creepy jerk that intimidates her every chance he gets.
After learning about The Seven and her powers and what they do she decides to stay and train with them! Never mind that they kidnapped her, or physically abused her, or that she woke up more than once handcuffed to a bed. No she wants to help them save the Earth. And then she jumps into bed with Micah. Cause ya know, they aren’t her kidnappers anymore, they are her team.
She starts training with them and cohabitating with Micah already and though she has voiced her concerns about Shawn and his behavior, her opinion is completely ignored and Shawn hangs around and attacks her and carves a symbol into her shoulder with a special athame that will never let her entirely heal. Then Cato and Micah start to think “hmmm yea maybe Kaitlyn was right in her worries about Shawn…”
Cato then decides her training needs to be more intense so they tie her up in a deep freezer to “distract” her and want to her make a plant seed grow. When she accomplishes that, they lock her and Micah in a greenhouse that has too much oxygen in it and she try to even house the levels. And as her distraction, Micah, the guy she’s in a relationship with, tries to RAPE HER. Yea, you read that right. Because attempted rape is a tried and true training technique. Oh and everyone was watching, including Shawn.
She gets mad at Micah (rightfully) but then gets sent away on a mission by Cato because her elemental temper tantrums are destroying the island and all the property. And who does she go on this mission with? Shawn, the guy that attacked her with a knife and Micah, the guy that tried to rape her.
Oh but a day into the mission, Micah gives her jewelry and apologizes and she starts rationalizing the attempted rape and then all is forgiven. Because jewelry is exactly what a man gives when he wants to be forgiven when he tries to rape his girlfriend.
Then the next day she is kidnapped again by Shawn and he brutally rapes her (once with a candlestick), abuses her, and holds her for two months. A few times though he is “nice” and she laughs at his jokes and almost gets off by his massages. And you know how she escapes?! She gets up and leaves. That’s right! LEAVES. ON HER OWN. She’s like “eff this, I’m out!” and Shawn can’t chase after her because his ankle brace is tangle up in a blanket.
And at the end you find out she’s pregnant and you don’t know if it’s by the guy that tried to rape her or by the guy that actually raped her.
This book seriously offended me and offending me is hard to do. Kaitlyn is physically, mentally, and emotionally abused over and over and nothing is done about it. Almost every page is a trigger. Not to mention the fact that she is in her 20’s and has the maturity of a 13 year old. Or that she is victim blamed. This is seriously one of the most sexist books I’ve ever read. Kaitlyn makes Bella Swan look like a militant feminist. I’m a little upset that this book was written by a woman.
I will not continue this series, and I don’t recommend to anyone, though feel free to form your own opinion about that book. I did see a lot of positive reviews on goodreads (that totally boggles my mind, but to each their own, right?)
Read this review and more at Punk's House of Books
*I received a digital copy of this novel from Netgalley on behalf of Patchwork Press*
Oh man. This book almost became a DNF. I don’t like giving out 1 Star ratings but alas this book definitely warranted it. (Also, this review contains spoilers because you need to know exactly why it is a 1 Star book)
“Involuntarily introduced” means kidnapped. Kaitlyn was saved by an avalanche and then dragged across the world to a remote island by a guy that turns out to be her godfather (absolutely no backstory there).
When she wakes up in a strange room naked she tries to escape as any normal person would do and is stopped by Shawn, one of the people that kidnapped her. He’s an evil bastard and he threatens her and tells her he’s going to make her wear his mark. She proceeds to kick his ass and beat up the men that he had with him, even though she’s never been in a fight before and has no training.
The fight is stopped by Micah, who she immediately starts lusting over, even though he is ONE OF HER KIDNAPPERS. He takes her to his room and she thinks all is well until she wakes up handcuffed to his bed and not for a fun, kinky reason. For a captive, holding you against your will reason.
She meets Cato and she learns he is her godfather and the leader of The Seven a effed-up cult group of people that can control the elements and they are trying to save the Earth. Kaitlyn is apparently a Gaia, or a woman that can control all the elements; earth, air, fire, water. And the reason they kidnapped her, broke into her apartment and put all her stuff in storage, instead of explaining the situation to her and asking her to come is never discussed. (She also later finds out that this group, made up of men of course, assassinates any Gaia that is no longer useful or says no to their cause and would have gladly shot her in the head of she said no to them)
Being a Gaia and not knowing it is hard and apparently the Earth reacts to her and every natural disaster that’s happened while she was present has been 100% her fault. Meaning she has killed thousands of people unintentionally. (Again, you’d think this group would have tried to explain things to her instead of kidnapping her.) So like five minutes after learning she has powers she knows how to use them and attacks Cato. Micah calms her down by forcibly kissing her.
After being handcuffed to Micah’s bed again (still not for the fun reason) and tries to escape she almost kills another person and dies herself and Shawn is a creepy jerk that intimidates her every chance he gets.
After learning about The Seven and her powers and what they do she decides to stay and train with them! Never mind that they kidnapped her, or physically abused her, or that she woke up more than once handcuffed to a bed. No she wants to help them save the Earth. And then she jumps into bed with Micah. Cause ya know, they aren’t her kidnappers anymore, they are her team.
She starts training with them and cohabitating with Micah already and though she has voiced her concerns about Shawn and his behavior, her opinion is completely ignored and Shawn hangs around and attacks her and carves a symbol into her shoulder with a special athame that will never let her entirely heal. Then Cato and Micah start to think “hmmm yea maybe Kaitlyn was right in her worries about Shawn…”
Cato then decides her training needs to be more intense so they tie her up in a deep freezer to “distract” her and want to her make a plant seed grow. When she accomplishes that, they lock her and Micah in a greenhouse that has too much oxygen in it and she try to even house the levels. And as her distraction, Micah, the guy she’s in a relationship with, tries to RAPE HER. Yea, you read that right. Because attempted rape is a tried and true training technique. Oh and everyone was watching, including Shawn.
She gets mad at Micah (rightfully) but then gets sent away on a mission by Cato because her elemental temper tantrums are destroying the island and all the property. And who does she go on this mission with? Shawn, the guy that attacked her with a knife and Micah, the guy that tried to rape her.
Oh but a day into the mission, Micah gives her jewelry and apologizes and she starts rationalizing the attempted rape and then all is forgiven. Because jewelry is exactly what a man gives when he wants to be forgiven when he tries to rape his girlfriend.
Then the next day she is kidnapped again by Shawn and he brutally rapes her (once with a candlestick), abuses her, and holds her for two months. A few times though he is “nice” and she laughs at his jokes and almost gets off by his massages. And you know how she escapes?! She gets up and leaves. That’s right! LEAVES. ON HER OWN. She’s like “eff this, I’m out!” and Shawn can’t chase after her because his ankle brace is tangle up in a blanket.
And at the end you find out she’s pregnant and you don’t know if it’s by the guy that tried to rape her or by the guy that actually raped her.
This book seriously offended me and offending me is hard to do. Kaitlyn is physically, mentally, and emotionally abused over and over and nothing is done about it. Almost every page is a trigger. Not to mention the fact that she is in her 20’s and has the maturity of a 13 year old. Or that she is victim blamed. This is seriously one of the most sexist books I’ve ever read. Kaitlyn makes Bella Swan look like a militant feminist. I’m a little upset that this book was written by a woman.
I will not continue this series, and I don’t recommend to anyone, though feel free to form your own opinion about that book. I did see a lot of positive reviews on goodreads (that totally boggles my mind, but to each their own, right?)
Read this review and more at Punk's House of Books
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 - Terra Harmony)
