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A review by smutty_sully
Burned & Bound by A. Winchester
DNF - no rating.
This was mainly a writing style issue for me. Super short chapters and there are 101 chapters. A lot of italics. Inner monologue style of telling information that doesn't really feel natural, who is the MC telling this to? Too many internal questions asked while in the MCs head.
I am not good at describing why a writing style doesn't work for me, so take that with a big grain of salt.
First person dual POV, heavy topics, check the thorough CWs behind spoiler tags if you're unsure.
Author-provided CWs were detailed and plentiful, which is great!
CWs:
While Burned & Bound isn’t a dark romance by any means, this story is very mental health oriented. There are heavy themes explored as well as hard-hitting emotional scenes. The core of this story is the journey of living with violent sexual trauma and undiagnosed complex PTSD.
Please read with care and know the following are things you will encounter in order of relation to sexual assault, mental health, and others:
mentions of violent group sexual assault, mentions & description of victim branding, on page unwanted non-sexual touch that triggers trauma response, on page discussions of inability to engage in sexual activities due to trauma, on page unwanted physical arousal, on page uncomfortable attempts at physical affection, on page panic spiral due to consented sexual contact, on page emotional breakdown due to sexual trauma, on page discussions of navigating sexual trauma as a couple, on page reassurance through sexual activity geared toward a trauma survivor, on page discussions of consent, on page uncertainty about sexual activities, on page internal change of consent during sexual activity without informing partner, on page emotional breakdown during sexual activity, on page general panic attack, on page trigger-based panic attack, on page anxiety attack, on page self-deprecation, on page PTSD blackout, on page self-harm as a grounding technique, on page panic attack amnesia, on page disassociation, on page partner uncertainty handling trauma survivor’s trauma responses, on page struggling with partner’s PTSD & inability to “fix” it for them, mentions of attempted suicide, on page assault of partner during a PTSD blackout, mentions of diagnoses, mentions of inpatient therapy, on page prescription medication use, mentions of child abuse by parent, on page alcoholism, on page use of alcohol to cope, on page relapse, on page alcohol withdrawal symptoms, on page physical assault of an adult child (he is 18 but attacked by his father), on page homophobia, on page homophobic remarks, mentions of parental death, on page violent bar fight, mentions of murder, mentions of prison time, on page arson, mentions of parental suicide, mentions of spousal abuse, discussions of third-party responsibility to intervene in child abuse, on page threats between main characters, on page sharing of old prescriptions, mentions of drug use, mentions of gambling, mentions of a robbery, mentions of a shooting, on page blood & injury, on page graphic injury of a main character, mentions of physical therapy, & body rehabilitation.
This was mainly a writing style issue for me. Super short chapters and there are 101 chapters. A lot of italics. Inner monologue style of telling information that doesn't really feel natural, who is the MC telling this to? Too many internal questions asked while in the MCs head.
I am not good at describing why a writing style doesn't work for me, so take that with a big grain of salt.
First person dual POV, heavy topics, check the thorough CWs behind spoiler tags if you're unsure.
Author-provided CWs were detailed and plentiful, which is great!
CWs:
Please read with care and know the following are things you will encounter in order of relation to sexual assault, mental health, and others:
mentions of violent group sexual assault, mentions & description of victim branding, on page unwanted non-sexual touch that triggers trauma response, on page discussions of inability to engage in sexual activities due to trauma, on page unwanted physical arousal, on page uncomfortable attempts at physical affection, on page panic spiral due to consented sexual contact, on page emotional breakdown due to sexual trauma, on page discussions of navigating sexual trauma as a couple, on page reassurance through sexual activity geared toward a trauma survivor, on page discussions of consent, on page uncertainty about sexual activities, on page internal change of consent during sexual activity without informing partner, on page emotional breakdown during sexual activity, on page general panic attack, on page trigger-based panic attack, on page anxiety attack, on page self-deprecation, on page PTSD blackout, on page self-harm as a grounding technique, on page panic attack amnesia, on page disassociation, on page partner uncertainty handling trauma survivor’s trauma responses, on page struggling with partner’s PTSD & inability to “fix” it for them, mentions of attempted suicide, on page assault of partner during a PTSD blackout, mentions of diagnoses, mentions of inpatient therapy, on page prescription medication use, mentions of child abuse by parent, on page alcoholism, on page use of alcohol to cope, on page relapse, on page alcohol withdrawal symptoms, on page physical assault of an adult child (he is 18 but attacked by his father), on page homophobia, on page homophobic remarks, mentions of parental death, on page violent bar fight, mentions of murder, mentions of prison time, on page arson, mentions of parental suicide, mentions of spousal abuse, discussions of third-party responsibility to intervene in child abuse, on page threats between main characters, on page sharing of old prescriptions, mentions of drug use, mentions of gambling, mentions of a robbery, mentions of a shooting, on page blood & injury, on page graphic injury of a main character, mentions of physical therapy, & body rehabilitation.