Brooke Nelson's Reviews > The Rose Reaper

*Content Warning: Rape, described in full, from the rapist's point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I could say I don't know what it is about this book that rubs me the wrong way, but that would be a lie. And it all starts with that content warning.

As a woman, maybe that makes me a little more sensitive to how the issue of rape is depicted and described. Maybe it makes me a lot more sensitive. Regardless, the way that sexual assault was depicted in this book gave me a very icky feeling inside.

Rape is obviously a very sensitive topic and should be approached as such, and I don't at all enjoy the way that the very first rape in the book was graphically described from the perpetrator's point of view. I have no doubt that the author thought this would be a creative way to go. I personally found it gross, and it made it difficult for me to get motivated to read past the first chapter.

Beyond this issue, the writing style is very utilitarian, very straightforward, and very much like a typical crime novel. I guess this just didn't do much for me, since I think a story that focuses on rape should focus more on the victim's emotions rather than just the male policeman and how the victim loves her new boyfriend. There is more to women than the men they know!

If the author was a man, maybe I would understand this odd approach to the story, but as a fellow woman, I'm a little disappointed. Sadly, this was just not the book for me.

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