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grubrednuf's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
There's a lot to like in this. It was a fun and wild ride. Shayla is definitely one of my favorite leads in a contemporary romance- strong willed, fun, sexually free. Xavier was sexy, but I don't particularly love the possessive trope. Additionally, his need to vent his frustrations and feelings through violence (starting fights, throwing objects at walls) really gave me the ick. There is a lot of heart and passion in this story.
Some of my least favorite things:
-First third of the book was really well plotted and lots of building. Then the last two-thirds, I kept flipping back to the previous page to see if I had missed things. (Other reviews mention this too.) There were some things that just happened with no explanation on page and you kind of have to piece it together from what's happening in the background. New characters cropped up that I was sure we hadn't seen before. There is some kind of violence that happens that is at first called an accident and than later an attack.
- The pacing of the last one third of the book is mind blowing fast. First third of the book takes place over a couple of weeks. Last third, you get entire four-page chapters that cover weeks at a time.
- Before the book events, X's Dad supposedly just disappeared one night and they have him declared dead, then its a heart attack, then he was fishing, and then a different story entirely- there's about four different ways that X's Dad has died off screen and they do not reconcile it.
- My print copy of the book needs a copy editor. There were some genuine typos and then littered throughout the entire book were footnote numbers that were accidentally left from some version of editing.
Some of my least favorite things:
-First third of the book was really well plotted and lots of building. Then the last two-thirds, I kept flipping back to the previous page to see if I had missed things. (Other reviews mention this too.) There were some things that just happened with no explanation on page and you kind of have to piece it together from what's happening in the background. New characters cropped up that I was sure we hadn't seen before. There is some kind of violence that happens that is at first called an accident and than later an attack.
- The pacing of the last one third of the book is mind blowing fast. First third of the book takes place over a couple of weeks. Last third, you get entire four-page chapters that cover weeks at a time.
- Before the book events, X's Dad supposedly just disappeared one night and they have him declared dead, then its a heart attack, then he was fishing, and then a different story entirely- there's about four different ways that X's Dad has died off screen and they do not reconcile it.
- My print copy of the book needs a copy editor. There were some genuine typos and then littered throughout the entire book were footnote numbers that were accidentally left from some version of editing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Trafficking, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fatphobia