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wardenred's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Nathaniel gave me hope that I could be a better man. You make me believe that I’m not such a terrible one.
Well. For the first 85% or so, I liked this even better than book 1. Then the last couple of chapters happened and made me unreasonably mad. :D
I loved Arden even more in this book. He continues to be witty, chaotic, and charming, *and* he also ventures out to explore areas of life that aren't directly connected to his relationship with Caspian. Some of them kind of stem from that relationship, like his friendship with Ellory, Caspian's sister. For some of them, he draws strength and confidence from his relationship to spur him forward in pursuing them, like his new job. But ultimately, instead of constantly being starry-eyed and enamoured with his billionaire boyfriend, he is starry-eyed, enamoured, and his own separate person, too. Hopefully, that trend continues in the last book, because it's a damn good trend.
Caspian frustrated me to no end, even in the parts of the book where he's being nice and is clearly trying to respond to what Arden's asking for. Except half of the time he actually responds to what he thinks Arden's asking for, or to what he thinks Arden should be asking for instead, and sometimes the difference is subtle, but it all amounts to one big clusterfuck at the end. Maybe I would have liked him more if this was a dual POV romance, or maybe I would find him even more obnoxious if I got to spend some time in his head. We do get more info on his backstory and his mental state during this book, and while I absolutely get that he is traumatized, his abuser is still around influencing parts of his life, and he's really not in the right headspace to be making all the best decision... I still don't feel all of that justifies him making all the worst decisions, like he does now and then during the book, culminating in that one chapter at the end where everything crashes and burns. There's what's done to us, and then there's what we do with what's done to us, and the way Caspian goes about the last part is mildly infuriating. He is constantly in knots about "not wanting to hurt Arden," except he's so deadset on continuing to hurt himself, he doesn't truly care how much he hurts others along the way. Yes, Arden also didn't always handle things the best way—sometimes he was too pushy and too insistent on getting the truth as soon as possible, although at least he acknowledged that and drew conclusions, whereas Caspian kept making two steps back for every step forward—but a relationship takes two. (Unless, you know, the times when it takes three, or more, but I digress).
Anyway, all this babbling and ranting aside, I think it's safe to say I enjoyed the book—why else would I be so emotional over it? :D Alexis Hall's writing is great, and there were plenty of quotes here that stood out to me. I loved getting to know all the side characters from the first book better, like Ellory and Bellerose and Nick, and it was awesome to meet new ones, like Nick's sister who is such a ray of sunshine. I really liked how the book was plotted, with all the gradual reveals and small subtle foreshadowing moments. And I kind of want to delve into the final installment of the trilogy immediately, but I also get the feeling it might be even more full of drama. So perhaps a palate cleanser is in order first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt
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