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But what I can't get past is how fundamentally abusive Shay and Mina's relationship was. I think what it really comes down to is that Mina was completely stripped of her agency by Shay's controlling nature. While I do think she loved him as a brother throughout, I was never convinced that she had truly fallen in love with him because the circumstances he forced her into prevented her from making her own decisions. Perhaps if Shay didn't have so many demons (poor boy just needed some damn therapy) and had allowed her to come to him on his own, that would have been romantic. But the horrific things he did to Mina and those around her prevented her from ever being able to love him in the way he wanted.
I know in dark romance we toe the line with romanticizing abusive behavior, but I think the key is whether or not both parties have enough agency to express themselves genuinely. In this case, with Mina having been groomed by Shay from the time she was a young girl, I don't think she had - or was given - the agency to truly love him.
I think if it were to be a true romance, it would have focused on Mina and Keenan's forbidden love. We got a hint of their HEA in the epilogue that was very satisfying. I'm really hoping we get more peaks into their lives after the events of this duology in future books.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Car accident
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Trafficking, Murder
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Murder
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder
First and foremost, although Mina got to have an ending that involved a better and more stable life, my head is swimming with questions I don’t know if I’ll ever get answered. But, that’s life, as the author said…
Mina is strong, that much I learned. And she is a victim but also a survivor. Her childhood was stolen from her by selfish people and she was manipulated and isolated so much so that she thought she experienced love the way other people do.
I’m glad we got some answers on Keenan and his… motivations for being her friend for all of those years because I was suspicious. I love that they ended up together and I’m not even that upset that more of Key wasn’t included in the story. It wasn’t about him…
Shay… the most conflicted I have ever felt about a fictional character. I had a small, I mean small, inkling that he could be responsible for her mothers death but I thought I was just being paranoid. Just horrific, honestly. How is a person so awful, so tender and loving sometimes? But that is why illness is absolutely heartbreaking and Shay really was like two very different people.
Did I ever root for them to come out of this a couple and together? No. Did I want to see Mina get out and thrive? Yes. Did I also want Shay to have a redemption arc of some kind? Yes. And… I got what I wanted, in a way. The most selfless thing he ever did was take himself out of the equation. It absolutely shattered my heart even though I had been bracing for it since the end of Part One, because how else could this end in a way that didn’t include him chasing Mina down relentlessly for the rest of her life? She was never going to be safe or live a normal life with him… alive. That doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
The epilogue SET. ME. OFF.
We didn’t even get her perspective. Or even Key’s?! Ugh. And then to find out about their son. That always punches me in the gut. Because coming from a child of parents with mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, it is never ideal but… the thought of Shay never finding out about his child broke me a second time.
He was a horrific human being and a sadistic man but he loved Mina in the only way he was capable and that is real, even if these characters weren’t.
I love to find books that break me and put me back together. Unfortunately, this is not that. This broke me, it really did. But I don’t know if I’ll ever be fully put back together after this.
And l know I will forever cry when listening to “The Night We Met” after this.
Tropes:
Taboo-Forbidden
Step-Siblings
Age-Gap
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship