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galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
READ: Feb 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary crime/romance, Felix is hired as a live-in caretaker for Lane, who has recently gone blind and is adjusting to his new life. Proud and stubborn, Lane does all he can to scare Felix off, just as he did with all his previous caretakers. Felix is just as stubborn, however, and isn’t going anywhere if he can help it. When Felix gets attacked, he begins to see that there is more to Lane’s past than he could have expected. Soon, he’s strapping himself in for a spree of righting wrong after wrong, in an attempt to take down the man responsible for a vast crime network.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.75 / 5⭐
I need to get this out of the way first: I do not like Felix. Here’s this guy who has no qualifications to be anyone’s caretaker. He can’t cook a decent meal to save his life, he responds to Lane’s belligerence by bullying him, he is incapable of keeping his nose out of other people’s business, he pretty much immediately squeezes his way into Lane’s bed, he acts like an angry toddler for far too long after he gets hurt, and he is constantly, for the entire book, treating Lane’s disability as a hilarious joke.
For the first 50% of the book, Felix is a horribly unlikable parasite. I nearly put it aside for good thanks to him. But finally, just before that half-way mark, the book actually started getting fun. From that point on, the action kicked up and turned from two men constantly ripping on each others’ shortcomings into two men constantly ripping on each others’ shortcomings while stealing, kidnapping, assaulting, shooting, torturing, breaking and entering, and buying prostitutes.
You guys, this book is a wild ride.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 4 / 5⭐
This book is my introduction to Winters. For all the disdain I have for one of the main characters and his terrible behaviour, I still thought it was a well-written book that addressed all the elements it introduced and tied things up neatly with a bow.
This wasn’t my favourite performance by Joel Leslie. He tries on a few accents I haven’t heard him use before, and they didn’t feel entirely comfortable. I also felt like the pauses between sentences went on for too long much of the time.
FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.75 / 5⭐
If you’re okay with a less compassionate and more brute-force approach to tackling someone’s despair over their new disability, then you probably won’t have the more significant hangups over this book that I had. I’m glad I stuck with it to the end, but I haven’t decided whether or not I want to keep going and read the next books in this series.
This book has representation for the gays. There are a handful of non-white characters portrayed.
The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Ableism, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Stalking, Trafficking, Vomit, Death, Torture, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, and Addiction
shinysue's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
this is such a fun book. Exciting and active and funny. A solid Alice Winters book. Even when the main characters aren't getting along, their animosity isn't vicious or hurtful. it's cute.
Content Warnings
Minor: Trafficking, Drug abuse, and Child abuse
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