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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tobias my love and Gunnar lovely. This book was lovely. These two connected so well. Obsessed with how communicative they were (mostly bc they had to) and Gunnar was able to give Tobiad the space he needed. I deeply appreciated how this book managed to discuss Tobias's domestic violence in a clear but not graphic way. Like implications happen and it's obvious but it's not on page and descriptive which felt respectful to the reader and Tobias. I really love Kasia and Sav as well the little team from the bar. For the intensity of everything that was still taking place this book was very gentle. I appreciate and love them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Kidnapping
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
I don’t really know how to rate this one… it took me over a month to finish. It was a bit predictable from early on what all was going to happen
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unfortunately, I did not like this one. A few reasons why, some of which are personal preference, but others are crafting issues.
It ultimately boils down to the relationship and characters were not compelling. Part of that makes sense - Tobias is recovering from months (if not years) of abuse where his personality and sense of self was literally beaten away. It takes time to recover from that which can and should be reflected in the writing. However, I will say that there was so little expansion beyond his victimization in terms of character work was a major flaw. Gunnar had absolutely no excuse to be as blah a character as he was. There were some glimmers of characterization with both of them - Tobias and his brief exploration into his biracial identity and how he felt disconnected from that, Gunnar and his brief exploration into his anger and past trauma. But none of that was expanded upon and even focused on for more than a few pages near the end of the book.
I was also uninvested in their overall romance. A lot of the foundation of their burgeoning romance takes place off page before the story begins. The majority of their interactions on page were focused on abuse recovery and Gunnar desperately trying not to be creepy. Honestly, from the beginning it felt forced bc it didn't quite make sense (other than for plot reasons) to have Tobias run to Gunnar in the first when he was injured.
There wasn't even any reprieve with the side characters. The dynamics between both Gunnar and Tobias and all the side characters (excepting perhaps prior character we know such as Tristan) were... mid at best. I just wasn't feeling it.
In terms of story, I've found that I am personally tired of storylines where victims of abuse are passive and take no active role in their overall arcs. And again it wasn't just Tobias, it was Gunnar too. Both of them spent the entire book reacting and never taking any active role in their own stories. They felt like side characters in their own book. They had literally NOTHING to do with what should have been the emotional and story climax of the whole thing.
Overall this one was....... a miss. Still riding off that high of book 1 tho 😩😩😩.
It ultimately boils down to the relationship and characters were not compelling. Part of that makes sense - Tobias is recovering from months (if not years) of abuse where his personality and sense of self was literally beaten away. It takes time to recover from that which can and should be reflected in the writing. However, I will say that there was so little expansion beyond his victimization in terms of character work was a major flaw. Gunnar had absolutely no excuse to be as blah a character as he was. There were some glimmers of characterization with both of them - Tobias and his brief exploration into his biracial identity and how he felt disconnected from that, Gunnar and his brief exploration into his anger and past trauma. But none of that was expanded upon and even focused on for more than a few pages near the end of the book.
I was also uninvested in their overall romance. A lot of the foundation of their burgeoning romance takes place off page before the story begins. The majority of their interactions on page were focused on abuse recovery and Gunnar desperately trying not to be creepy. Honestly, from the beginning it felt forced bc it didn't quite make sense (other than for plot reasons) to have Tobias run to Gunnar in the first when he was injured.
There wasn't even any reprieve with the side characters. The dynamics between both Gunnar and Tobias and all the side characters (excepting perhaps prior character we know such as Tristan) were... mid at best. I just wasn't feeling it.
In terms of story, I've found that I am personally tired of storylines where victims of abuse are passive and take no active role in their overall arcs. And again it wasn't just Tobias, it was Gunnar too. Both of them spent the entire book reacting and never taking any active role in their own stories. They felt like side characters in their own book. They had literally NOTHING to do with what should have been the emotional and story climax of the whole thing.
Overall this one was....... a miss. Still riding off that high of book 1 tho 😩😩😩.