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A review by aromarrie
Unhinged by Onley James
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
i’ve had this entire series on my radar for months now thanks to a booktuber raving about it about a year ago and today was the day i finally gave in and took a risk so my impression thus far is…..this was definitely worth the read.
i think in a lot of ways, for me, what sealed my like for this story is how the author wrote noah’s character, reflecting on the trauma he has to live with due to the abuse he suffered as a kid. it was really interesting seeing her explore that trauma and how it connected him to adam, someone who has his own well of fucked up shit that happened to him years ago, but who processed it very differently from noah—all due to being a psychopath. noah thinking about how the abuse he received as a child directly affects the way he navigates his relationship with adam, it felt so completely stark & honest because this is a dark romance, really dark, and the obsession that adam has towards noah is messed up for sure, but it was even more fucked up what had happened to noah when he was a kid. and if he feels his safest with someone like adam, who vowed to protect him with every fiber of his being, that’s a decision noah makes for himself alone and it’s one that shines throughout the story.
every single scene between noah & adam, both guys are actively choosing each other because there’s a connection there, there’s some intrigue that has the two draw so close to each other and that intrigue fueled what ultimately turned out to be a kinda sweet (albeit still disturbing) romance that feels right for the both of them, and that’s all that matters. seeing how obsessed adam was to noah was a lot (in a good way) because it was something noah never had before and that obsession never felt intrusive or of the creepy sort, it just felt…genuine. it felt really genuine, because adam says so himself he chooses not to be in relationships, and maybe that’s just because of his psyche, but it can also be because he simply has no interest in committing himself to something so foreign to him. so for him to become so interested in noah, it sparks a curiosity in him, it draws him closer to him, and when he meets him, he’s as gentle as he’s fierce, cradling a gun as a weapon after spending months determined to catch his father’s killer, all the while shaking down to his bones because he feels so much, while adam doesn’t, and in that moment he’s so scared, as determined as he is to follow his revenge plan through—and that intrigued adam.
their whole relationship arc throughout the story sails very fast, practically a burning inferno that is set to wipe everyone else out— adam tells his family as such—and the fact that on its side, there’s actually a pretty well-written plot unfolding, it made for a really good reading experience. it hit very deeply to see noah uncover his trauma and all his past abuse, as well as realizing that these abusers are still out there, and seeing him & adam work together—with adam’s brothers as well—to solve this mystery, it made for a hard-hitting narrative that had its fun and all, but was also just really compelling. i liked how much we got to see of the mulvaney family as they enter the mix, and i hope to see more scenes of them all together in future books as their dynamic as a whole is so unique that only a series like this could really sell it through.
also absolutely love the cover.
i think in a lot of ways, for me, what sealed my like for this story is how the author wrote noah’s character, reflecting on the trauma he has to live with due to the abuse he suffered as a kid. it was really interesting seeing her explore that trauma and how it connected him to adam, someone who has his own well of fucked up shit that happened to him years ago, but who processed it very differently from noah—all due to being a psychopath. noah thinking about how the abuse he received as a child directly affects the way he navigates his relationship with adam, it felt so completely stark & honest because this is a dark romance, really dark, and the obsession that adam has towards noah is messed up for sure, but it was even more fucked up what had happened to noah when he was a kid. and if he feels his safest with someone like adam, who vowed to protect him with every fiber of his being, that’s a decision noah makes for himself alone and it’s one that shines throughout the story.
every single scene between noah & adam, both guys are actively choosing each other because there’s a connection there, there’s some intrigue that has the two draw so close to each other and that intrigue fueled what ultimately turned out to be a kinda sweet (albeit still disturbing) romance that feels right for the both of them, and that’s all that matters. seeing how obsessed adam was to noah was a lot (in a good way) because it was something noah never had before and that obsession never felt intrusive or of the creepy sort, it just felt…genuine. it felt really genuine, because adam says so himself he chooses not to be in relationships, and maybe that’s just because of his psyche, but it can also be because he simply has no interest in committing himself to something so foreign to him. so for him to become so interested in noah, it sparks a curiosity in him, it draws him closer to him, and when he meets him, he’s as gentle as he’s fierce, cradling a gun as a weapon after spending months determined to catch his father’s killer, all the while shaking down to his bones because he feels so much, while adam doesn’t, and in that moment he’s so scared, as determined as he is to follow his revenge plan through—and that intrigued adam.
their whole relationship arc throughout the story sails very fast, practically a burning inferno that is set to wipe everyone else out— adam tells his family as such—and the fact that on its side, there’s actually a pretty well-written plot unfolding, it made for a really good reading experience. it hit very deeply to see noah uncover his trauma and all his past abuse, as well as realizing that these abusers are still out there, and seeing him & adam work together—with adam’s brothers as well—to solve this mystery, it made for a hard-hitting narrative that had its fun and all, but was also just really compelling. i liked how much we got to see of the mulvaney family as they enter the mix, and i hope to see more scenes of them all together in future books as their dynamic as a whole is so unique that only a series like this could really sell it through.
also absolutely love the cover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Murder, Violence, Trafficking, and Alcohol