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A review by shelbanuadh
Shades of Darkness by Nicky James
1.0
First, I'll will confirm that you can definitely read this book without having read the first one. There is only one part mentioning Finnley from the first book. The only recurring character is the psychiatrist, who I assume with be in every book from this series.
Moving on (and it might be kinda spoilery, so read on at your own discretion)... This book started out as a 3-star for me. The blurb didn't really speak to me, but I figured I give it a go. This pretty quickly moved into 2-star territory for me. I wasn't crazy fond of Rory, but he really lost all points in his favour with how he pushed the relationship with Adrian so much. I just found that it was a contradiction for him to be so anti-bully and terrified of Adrian being bullied and yet he took it as a challenge when Adrian didn't want to get involved due to being his counselor. Just because you know that the attraction is mutual doesn't mean you don't have to respect the boundaries the other part has. And I don't know about the ramifications Adrian could fact by having gotten involved with a patient, but in my line of work, I could be kicked out of my association. So, yeah... I didn't find it charming that Rory a) stalked the streets trying to find Adrian b) kept pushing for a relationship c) asked around to find out where Adrian lived and showed up at his place d) sent his bff to go to his bf's presentation to delivery an indirect kiss in front of classmates and faculty since he is only one foot in the closet. Yeah... not a fan.
Not that I was a huge fan of Adrian either. I don't get the whole roommates issue. Why not do something about it, either directly or indirectly. If it was an issue for 3 years, I would think that he would have tried to do something about it before this point. Why not try to get into different housing or move to the dorm(as Marcus was able to) . And I would have liked to see Adrian more rattled by the whole thing if it was going on for 3 years... but he seemed to be coping a little too well for what was being described. And what provoked the escalation? And the relationship with the parents seemed reminiscent of Avery's mother in the first book.... pretending to be supportive while their actions said otherwise.
I did like Samson. 5-stars for Samson.
By the time Rory was setting up his stream, I was done. I skimmed the remainder of the book.... even the sex scene. And in the end, the power of love propelled Rory's recovery. I don't know if I will continue with the series, but if I do, it will probably be because Krew is in the 4th book.
Moving on (and it might be kinda spoilery, so read on at your own discretion)... This book started out as a 3-star for me. The blurb didn't really speak to me, but I figured I give it a go. This pretty quickly moved into 2-star territory for me. I wasn't crazy fond of Rory, but he really lost all points in his favour with how he pushed the relationship with Adrian so much. I just found that it was a contradiction for him to be so anti-bully and terrified of Adrian being bullied and yet he took it as a challenge when Adrian didn't want to get involved due to being his counselor. Just because you know that the attraction is mutual doesn't mean you don't have to respect the boundaries the other part has. And I don't know about the ramifications Adrian could fact by having gotten involved with a patient, but in my line of work, I could be kicked out of my association. So, yeah... I didn't find it charming that Rory a) stalked the streets trying to find Adrian b) kept pushing for a relationship c) asked around to find out where Adrian lived and showed up at his place d) sent his bff to go to his bf's presentation to delivery an indirect kiss in front of classmates and faculty since he is only one foot in the closet. Yeah... not a fan.
Not that I was a huge fan of Adrian either. I don't get the whole roommates issue. Why not do something about it, either directly or indirectly. If it was an issue for 3 years, I would think that he would have tried to do something about it before this point. Why not try to get into different housing or move to the dorm
I did like Samson. 5-stars for Samson.
By the time Rory was setting up his stream, I was done. I skimmed the remainder of the book.... even the sex scene. And in the end, the power of love propelled Rory's recovery. I don't know if I will continue with the series, but if I do, it will probably be because Krew is in the 4th book.