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librarymouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I love Andrea Nash, and getting a full length novel from her perspective is such a treat!
The exploration of her childhood traumas and how they impact her adult life was tactfully handled and masterfully written. I really enjoyed her character progression; her hardening into someone who could not accept love, after Raphael brought Rebecca, his gold digger, into her office and how she slowly softened into accepting love again. Her neighbor hugging her in her beast form was the perfect start to forming cracks in the shame and protective armor that had built up around her since childhood.
Doolittle is one of my favorite characters and his handling of Andrea's past and the way he loves her like a daughter was full of love. Meeting Ascanio's mom also fleshed out his character further and further humanized the pack. Roman is an incredibly enjoyable character and I'm glad he and Andrea became friends.
Andrea yearns for a family, for a community, a partner, and children, and she gets most of that in this book. The recording of Aunt B explaining to her enforcers why exactly they had fucked up by attacking Andrea and outlining her value; describing the intent behind her attempts to get Andrea to join clan bouda being because she would be a valuable asset to the clan and that they needed her healed some old wounds in Andrea. What Andrea doesn't achieve in retribution, stopping herself from killing the last living member of the bouda clan who made her childhood a nightmare, she makes up for in what she gains by joining the pack. I'm kind of mad that all the woman received was rejection from the pack and an order to leave Atlanta, but at the same time that order to leave Atlanta was done under threat of death. Setting Andrea on fire when she was 11, among the other atrocities makes her a irredeemable.
Raphael really loves her and the way that they made up makes sense for their characters. They had to understand one another beyond the honeymoon phase in order to truly grasp what was necessary for their relationship to thrive. I'm a big fan of the purple carpet prank.
I look forward to further glimpses of Andrea throughout the series and I am really hopeful for another novel or novella written from her perspective in the future.
Doolittle is one of my favorite characters and his handling of Andrea's past and the way he loves her like a daughter was full of love. Meeting Ascanio's mom also fleshed out his character further and further humanized the pack. Roman is an incredibly enjoyable character and I'm glad he and Andrea became friends.
Andrea yearns for a family, for a community, a partner, and children, and she gets most of that in this book. The recording of Aunt B explaining to her enforcers why exactly they had fucked up by attacking Andrea and outlining her value; describing the intent behind her attempts to get Andrea to join clan bouda being because she would be a valuable asset to the clan and that they needed her healed some old wounds in Andrea. What Andrea doesn't achieve in retribution, stopping herself from killing the last living member of the bouda clan who made her childhood a nightmare, she makes up for in what she gains by joining the pack. I'm kind of mad that all the woman received was rejection from the pack and an order to leave Atlanta, but at the same time that order to leave Atlanta was done under threat of death. Setting Andrea on fire when she was 11, among the other atrocities makes her a irredeemable.
Raphael really loves her and the way that they made up makes sense for their characters. They had to understand one another beyond the honeymoon phase in order to truly grasp what was necessary for their relationship to thrive. I'm a big fan of the purple carpet prank.
I look forward to further glimpses of Andrea throughout the series and I am really hopeful for another novel or novella written from her perspective in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Death, Animal death, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Blood, Child abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Police brutality
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