This series has been on my list for a little while. I didn't care for the narrators of this story (the woman's voice is very high pitched and the man's voice is oddly deep. Other than that, the story was intriguing and intertwined. I love the true opposites attract/friends to lovers trope, and also that Alex Volkov has gotten involved with the Chen family based on the belief that their father killed his entire family. Alex becomes close to Ava's brother and then close to Ava while he has to look out for her. They begin a relationship of sorts, and Alex is seemingly very keen on protecting Ava, but he is certainly a morally grey alpha male type (not that this bothers me necessarily, lol). We learn in the end that Ava's father tried to kill Ava multiple times (she was not his biological daughter) and was not involved with the Volkov murders. Alex's uncle orchestrated the killings, which he finds out towards the end. To keep Ava in the dark and protect her, Alex lies to her about loving her and pretends to be on his uncle's side. This essentially ruins the trust in their relationship, and even after the kidnapping, Alex pretends not to love her and lets her move to London. He eventually does go back to her, but it takes some coaxing from her friend, and once he moves to London, Ava makes him work VERY hard to gain her trust back (which made me happy, I didn't want her to just take him back after all he put her through!). Finally, after about a year as friends/acquaintances in London, Alex sings a song for her at an art show. It was kind of romantic, but not really in Alex's character. The only thing was that he never sang in front of anyone (although he was a good singer), but he would sing for her. After this, they make up. I think overall, this was a very good story, and it captured my attention. The smut was also very good.
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Child abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence
Love that he calls her "sunshine"