October 30, 2025

I have such a love-hate relationship with this book. On one hand, I adore her sass and his fierce protectiveness. On the other, I absolutely loathe how he weaponizes her attraction and sexuality. He doesn’t have all the facts, yet he still manages to belittle her—and at times, he’s downright awful. There were moments I wanted to jump into the book and shake both of them for their choices.

When it comes to intimacy, relationships, and sex, neither of them has a clue. The scene where he threatens to “fuck the truth out of her” had me seeing red. And yet, when she’s in danger or vulnerable, he’s there for her. The problem is, he also takes advantage of those moments—and that’s not okay. When she starts breaking down, he literally kisses her into silence. Once again, he’s using her desires against her.

He talks about her trauma like it’s something she can just choose not to have, as if the author doesn’t fully grasp the long-term effects of a childhood like hers. And honestly, if she grew up the way she did, how does she have zero street smarts?

He treats her like a spoiled princess when she’s really just a woman trying to survive. She’s exhausted, desperate to go home, and he won’t let her—even knowing she can’t sleep. He keeps implying she’s damaged and broken, which makes my blood boil. Worse still, he blames her for his own actions, and she just accepts it, saying, “Oh, you’re right.” It’s maddening.

Still, the writing itself is strong, and the audiobook narrator did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Despite my frustrations, I’ll probably check out more from this author.

Favorite line:

“I said it with so much fake sweetness I’m thinking about changing my middle name to Aspartame.”