A review by scarletine6
Stockholm Syndrome by Richard Rider

3.0

Really enjoyed this book. The blurb and title made me think it would be a gritty prisoner/BDSM story, but it wasn't. It was strangely sweet and tender, for the most part, with lots of Brit references and unexpected laugh out loud moments. The relationship between Lindsay and Vallentine was very abusive- but 'consentual'.I must admit Lindsay slapped Valentine around a bit too much for my liking, I really didn't get why he couldn't see just how fucked up Valentine was by his upbringing. What levelled out the violence was the tenderness that eventually bloomed in their relationship. I liked that Lindsay fell in love against better judgement,and that Valentine always loved him, so there were many gorgeous moments. Lindsays cohorts were annoying as hell and treated pip like crap. The explosive event near the end of the book showed that even those who cast themselves as life's 'victims' have a limit to the abuse they will take. Valentine snapped and did the right thing!(in my opinion) Lindsay needed a wake up call and there was no other way to extracate him from the influence of his scumbag best friends, that's for sure. A good read!