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Disclaimer 1: the text below is copy/pasted from my Amazon.co.uk review, currently awaiting approval. In case it doesn't get through, I'm putting it here because if I don't spew somewhere, I'll just brood on the bloody thing.
Disclaimer 2: I did not (thank God) buy this book; it was borrowed from the library.
Sidenote 1: I also checked the reviews on Amazon.com. None of them raise any of the points I've made below, either. In fact, the book is sitting at 4 1/2 stars! And numerous reviewers talk about liking Shaw, even wanting him to be real! What. The. FUCK.
TL;DR: the author expects us to accept a bully and an abuser as a "romantic hero" and view his controlling behaviour as not only reasonable but as a sign that he truly cares about the heroine. She also reinforces the myth that "No" secretly means "Yes": that when a woman shows signs of physical attraction to a man, but nevertheless expresses a wish NOT to have sex with him, it is ok for him to continue making sexual advances, including the use of physical force, until he has worn her down - and that this does not count as rape. Offensive and misogynistic.
***
( If you think you can stomach the full rant, then here it is )
I will not be reading any other works by this author. I can't say if the above is a blip or something which is embedded in all of her writing, but I'm just too enraged to find out. Other potential readers may wish to try a different novel by her, but I would strongly warn them off of this one.
Disclaimer 2: I did not (thank God) buy this book; it was borrowed from the library.
Sidenote 1: I also checked the reviews on Amazon.com. None of them raise any of the points I've made below, either. In fact, the book is sitting at 4 1/2 stars! And numerous reviewers talk about liking Shaw, even wanting him to be real! What. The. FUCK.
TL;DR: the author expects us to accept a bully and an abuser as a "romantic hero" and view his controlling behaviour as not only reasonable but as a sign that he truly cares about the heroine. She also reinforces the myth that "No" secretly means "Yes": that when a woman shows signs of physical attraction to a man, but nevertheless expresses a wish NOT to have sex with him, it is ok for him to continue making sexual advances, including the use of physical force, until he has worn her down - and that this does not count as rape. Offensive and misogynistic.
***
( If you think you can stomach the full rant, then here it is )
I will not be reading any other works by this author. I can't say if the above is a blip or something which is embedded in all of her writing, but I'm just too enraged to find out. Other potential readers may wish to try a different novel by her, but I would strongly warn them off of this one.
