From the Bookshelf of Gotta Have Romance with a Kick…

The Kiss Thief

L.J. Shen

Start date: September 1, 2019

Finish date: September 30, 2019

Discussion: Gotta Have Group Reads - 2019

Discussion leader: Danielle (Danniegurl)

Why we're reading this: September 2019 Non-PNR Group Read …more
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Gotta Have Group Reads - 2019

* January 2020 Group Read Nominations
By Penni · 15 posts · 35 views

last updated Dec 27, 2019 10:48AM

* December 2019 PNR Group Read ~ Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) ~ Leigh Bardugo
By Penni · 17 posts · 18 views

last updated Dec 31, 2019 07:14AM

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What Members Thought

May 05, 2020 Ida Maria rated it did not like it

The Kiss Thief. More like the fucking thief of joy and happiness and human decency and dignity.

Alright, I am at a complete loss as to why people seem to love this book so much. I was only the semi-invested reader and somehow felt violently abused by what happened to Francesca in this fucking nightmare of story. This wasn't the romance story between a bad boy and a sweet girl, but one about a terrible and disgusting grown man and his virginal damsel in distress (that he causes most of the time b The Kiss Thief. More like the fucking thief of joy and happiness and human decency and dignity.

Alright, I am at a complete loss as to why people seem to love this book so much. I was only the semi-invested reader and somehow felt violently abused by what happened to Francesca in this fucking nightmare of story. This wasn't the romance story between a bad boy and a sweet girl, but one about a terrible and disgusting grown man and his virginal damsel in distress (that he causes most of the time btw) ---as unoriginal as it is problematic. Opinions and possible spoilers ahead.

Yes, the blurb did not exactly suggest that this would be a feminist-fest of a book, but at the same time I had not anticipated to venture into one of these godawful "Highlander romance crap"-stories where young women are abducted, objectified, used, betrayed, humiliated, devalued, ... just all of the really messed up abusive shit maybe some readers can overcome in the Highlander romance books because they tell themselves that "this is what it was like back then" and "historical accuracy of the treatment of women" blablabla. But this here is NOT a Highlander trash novel. I had to remind myself of that quite a lot. Not even in a Highlander erotica do women usually get sold off by their fathers/blackmailed into sexual and all-around submission. This is supposed to play out in the 21st century! And yes, apparently this is all set in American-Italo mafia circles, but COME ON --seriously? Where did she do her research? And how did any editor ever approve of any of this?

As a(n actual) European reading I was cringing at the very beginning of this book already, when it became absolutely clear that the author does not have a shred of educated understanding of Italian culture as well as the version that was later cultivated in America. However, I am not going to rant about US Americans claiming to BE 1/4 Italian, 1/2 Swedish, 1/6 German and what not, considering themselves 100% European through ancestry in a need to be anything but what their ancestors wanted to be-- American. But yeah, that's a bigger discussion (the book brought that up for me though).

Honestly, there is so much that's wrong with this book, that skipping over the American-European thing is the least of my problems. The characters were all utterly, utterly problematic and just wrong. On so many levels. How can anyone like Sterling the housekeeper??? She is complicit in human and sex trafficking if you ask me. How darft have you got to be to try and set her up as a "confidant" or "nurturing mother" figure???!! Unbelievable. But only a drop in the ocean of shit that this book was.
Wolfe is talking so much about putting his cock in women's mouths, singing his own praise as to how they all beg for him to come all over them -- I was so disgusted. His behaviour was celebrated by the author, wasn't questioned at all. And OF FUCKING COURSE "Nem" has to be an inexperienced, sheltered virgin who manages to tame this creepy 30 year old possessive, aggressive and 50 shades of completely bonkers asshole who gets off by locking up a defenseless 19 year old. Of course. Because that is a messed up and absolutely not outdated and problematic trope that we have all been dying to read about in 2020.

Want an example of just how fucked up this shit is? Be my guest. One quote will be enough. I spare you the exact and grewsome details of the scene:

"I remembered the awful night he drove into me in one go. But then I'd push the memory aside and force myself to think happy thoughts." WTF????!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen this is EXACTLY as messed up and twisted and WRONG on all the excisting and exceeding levels as you are expecting. I nearly threw up reading this.

Don't get me wrong: characters can be shady and grey and dark and not-perfect and all of that is completely fine if it is done WELL and if there is true character development and progress and if it does not GLORIFY abuse. But this novel did. I am so tired of characters who are rich and sex-on-two-legs and arrogant and too beautiful to be accounted for anything --even to be accused of anything. I thought book-writing had surpassed that sad state of ... everything this book was.

I did finish this book, gripped by a desperate hope that the author would somehow manage to save this disgusting mess of a story and that the character would somehow redeem themselves. Even though there was a fucking slim chance of Wolfe ever being anything else than MY NEMESIS after being 30% into the book and not having come across one single action or thought of his that was not completely outrageous and appalling. Childhood trauma, as unoriginal as it is in and of itself to explain the douchebag away, wasn't ever anywhere close good enough to let anyone safe face in this story. Absolutely not. What a joke!

So yeah, I hated the book. And I am furious that shit like that is published these days. The pathetic "fate" trope was just another badly executed way of somehow making this story line anything but the creepy celebration of abuse and power-imbalance that it is. In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast at least was under a spell and desperate for his life and responsible for his people (not to mention that he didn't try to fuck Bell in a joyless disgraceful and hurtful way every other page of the book) --the Wolfe in this book had none of that going for him. Do not forgive him. Not even if you are a 19 year old reading this. Also if you are a 19 year old reading this ... maybe don't. This is anything but YA. And anything but a good book. ...more

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Feb 08, 2021 Emmi rated it really liked it

Shelves: steamy, enemies-or-love-hate, mr-or-ms-moneybags, arseholeism, politics, abuse-or-rape, bitch-or-bastard, alpha-protective, fucked-up-family, organised-crime

Overall rating: 4 stars

Genre: Love/Hate Romance
Plot: 8/10
Ending: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Hero: 8/10
Heroine: 9/10
Supporting Characters: 8/10
Humour: No
Sex: Yes
Feels: Yes
HEA: (view spoiler)
...more

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