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A review by tiash
Shai by H.L Night
4.0
I've not read about such a twisted character well since after my encounter with Maurice Swift from [b:A Ladder to the Sky|40400269|A Ladder to the Sky|John Boyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532629758l/40400269._SY75_.jpg|61272155] anyway before we proceed any further, here are some content warnings , non consensual sex, forced drug addiction, pedophilia, Stockholm syndrome, murder, torture & snakes!
Was it necessary to give a past story to justify Shai's present state? I Don't think so. I wanted him to be the master of game, manipulator and a person with ambiguous morality, who is always unpredictable and has no regret. All of which he was but then why ruining it by giving him to justify it. And there were couple mentions of kinky side of Shai, I wish author explored it more. These are just my only critic for it.
First of all let's make it clear It's not healthy, any captive captor relationship can never be healthy. But here It's designed such way to make you root for bad (which would be a huge understatement) guy for whom everything is game, everything is toy to play with, to control it. And he's the puppeteer controlling their fate. This book is like a grandmaster playing chess, everything is planned out, everything is manipulated that you got no option except accepting the fate and hoping for the best. As a reader i felt the suffocation in my bone, in my soul.
It made me uncomfortable many times but it was nearly impossible for me to quit it. I was lost in the labyrinth of contradictions. Shai is the devil in his most alluring form and Elijah is his pray. From his naive futile protests to submerging in the dark web of Shai he's a mess of contradictions. But by the end he becomes vicious one man cult for Shai. The transformation is satisfying. The intimacy was forced at first but it gradually become more interesting and Shai remains game as usual. No B word or L bomb were exchanged, but their actions were clear as day.
It was a pleasant read and i was disappointed when it ended so soon. But our beloved author is a fucking sweetheart. Bonus story of Shai prolonged my dreamy dark fantasies a bit more. Shai remained that same adorable bastard but It's Elijah who is needy, jealous bitch who will LITERALLY DO ANYTHING to have what is his own. Who knew our little caterpillar will turn into a gorgeous rare black butterfly! Huh!
This book is almost like :
do you dare?
Was it necessary to give a past story to justify Shai's present state? I Don't think so. I wanted him to be the master of game, manipulator and a person with ambiguous morality, who is always unpredictable and has no regret. All of which he was but then why ruining it by giving him
Spoiler
traumatic childhood abuse angle by his motherFirst of all let's make it clear It's not healthy, any captive captor relationship can never be healthy. But here It's designed such way to make you root for bad (which would be a huge understatement) guy for whom everything is game, everything is toy to play with, to control it. And he's the puppeteer controlling their fate. This book is like a grandmaster playing chess, everything is planned out, everything is manipulated that you got no option except accepting the fate and hoping for the best. As a reader i felt the suffocation in my bone, in my soul.
It made me uncomfortable many times but it was nearly impossible for me to quit it. I was lost in the labyrinth of contradictions. Shai is the devil in his most alluring form and Elijah is his pray. From his naive futile protests to submerging in the dark web of Shai he's a mess of contradictions. But by the end he becomes vicious one man cult for Shai. The transformation is satisfying. The intimacy was forced at first but it gradually become more interesting and Shai remains game as usual. No B word or L bomb were exchanged, but their actions were clear as day.
It was a pleasant read and i was disappointed when it ended so soon. But our beloved author is a fucking sweetheart. Bonus story of Shai prolonged my dreamy dark fantasies a bit more. Shai remained that same adorable bastard but It's Elijah who is needy, jealous bitch who will LITERALLY DO ANYTHING to have what is his own. Who knew our little caterpillar will turn into a gorgeous rare black butterfly! Huh!
This book is almost like :
do you dare?