Review: The Pawn and the Puppet by Brandi Elise Szeker

The Pawn and the Puppet by Brandi Elise Szeker

Series: The Pawn and the Puppet #1

Publication date: May 1st, 2022

Pages: 345

Spice: N/A

Synopsis:

The Emerald Lake Asylum is not a place most desire to go. Nineteen year old, Skylenna, however, made a promise that she must keep. Once hired, she only has one purpose--prove to the council that barbaric treatments, such as waterboarding, scalding baths, and beatings, are no longer the answer. But that all takes pause when she meets the source of terror in the asylum. A patient with a split personality--on one side, he's the bloodthirsty genius, Dessin. On the other, a hidden persona that is buried deep in his subconscious.

When Dessin is caught in an attempted cell break, he faces execution if Skylenna can't bring out his core personality and reveal his humanity. She has ninety days to save his life, and the only way to do that is to let him consume her into his world of moves, counter-moves, and master puppeteering.

With each passing day, their bond deepens, a forbidden attraction forming against her best judgments. Little by little, Skylenna uncovers the sinister secrets of his past that turned him into the monster everyone else fears. And Dessin proves to have one weakness despite the terrifying, indestructible persona he presents to the world: her.

Disclaimer: This book contains explicit content and dark elements and may be considered offensive to some readers. Check trigger warnings before reading. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by underage readers. This is the revised edition.

This is a dark dystopian society that is intended to be problematic. Please note that this is a fictional world and in no way reflects on the author's personal beliefs. We will see the society grow and correct its moral compass over the series.

Triggers: gratuitous violence, depression, suicide, torture, domestic violence, eating disorders, hallucinations, misogyny, poisoning, sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, romanticized mental illness, gore, death of a loved one, child abuse, decapitation, female oppression, hostage situation, body shaming, panic attacks, emotional trauma, child sexual assault child sex trafficking (off page)

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Review:

Skylenna takes a job at the prestigious Emerald Lake Asylum on a mission to finish what her sister had started before she died. In the day when the Asylum is revered for their treatments on the most twisted and sick individuals, Skylenna's sister believed there were better methods to helping those under her care. With some compassion and understanding rather than the jolt of an electrode or the repeated drowning of the patients to try to force them into submission. Skylenna's biggest task is trying to unlock the man that has been sequestered deep within the mind of their most dangerous of patients. Patient 13 is a murderer with a slick grin and a Houdini-like ability to escape his confines at will. However, when he goes too far and kidnaps Skylenna for a time he is sentenced to death. But only if Skylenna can't find a way to unlike the man's mind and touch the broken man inside. The longer she spends with Patient 13, or as he likes to be called, Dessin, the more she realizes that there may be more to the mysteries surrounding him and the world they live in that she had no idea even existed.

I read a lot of the one-star reviews and I noticed a lot of them referencing transphobia in a particular scene with one of the characters where they speak of a woman who had "male parts". The main opposition was that the main character was more appalled by the transwoman's existence and completely disregarded other, actually disgusting attributes to this person. While I can understand at surface level the uproar I also can understand what the author may have been trying to convey. Their world is dystopian but it seems like it is locked in a mentality of the 40's and 50's. Women are meant to be seen and not heard, they are meant to be beautiful and subservient to men, and anything outside of that was seen as ugly or unnatural. Sticking to the setting of the story, it would not be surprising for the main character to react that way. I don't think it was a reflection on the author's actual feelings or should take away from the main character's likeability as back in that time period most people were ignorant to the LGBT+ community and the rights of women. Writing the character to be more accepting of such oddities for the time period would have skewed the time period I think the author was trying to touch on. However, I am only versed on what I have seen in reviews so I can't say whether I might be ignorant to some facts about the author's connection to the subject matter.

I liked Skylenna as a character even if her naivety did become a bit nauseating at times. It was like she didn't want to find out the truth of things and wanted to keep burying her head in the sand instead. There were a lot of situations where Dessin would dance around a subject and she wouldn't even think to question him even though she is commented on how often to questions everything. But what she lacked in common sense she made up for in heart. I liked how she handled people with kindness rather than fear or judgment. Even Dessin when she knew nothing about him. 

Dessin was simply yummy to me. I know a lot of people thought he was flat or unconvincing. I disagree. He was appealing in the subtlety of him. He was not in your face with his vicious nature at all times. He was quietly reserved as well. But he was always there to protect Skylenna when she found herself in tough situations. I almost didn't want Skylenna to find the person that lay dormant inside him for fear of losing the dark and mysterious man I found so interesting.

While the book seems to have gotten a bad rap, I won't judge an author's work simply for sticking to the world they were trying to create. It was meant to be dark and appalling and abysmal. It was meant to make the reader mad at the fate of the women within the society. It was meant to make everyone mad. And it did. I waded my way through the book, taking my time reading it, and I enjoyed all of it. Cancelled or not, I will be reading the rest of the series as well.