A review by suzreadsalot
The Firedancer by Rye Cox

Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.

DNF at 68% (i think?)

i am once again DNFing a book in this collective over a child (or someone who is being perceived as a child in this case) being sexualized. someone please sedate me

Possible Spoilers ahead

TLDR MC 1 thinks that MC 2 is a CHILD when they first meet. (the worst meet cute i've ever read) MC 1 then thinks about how handsome MC 2 is while he still thinks MC 2 is a child. Consistency isn't a thing. neither is relationship growth. 

direct quotes and my notes as i was reading. :)

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 30
"Hey, kid. Where are your parents? The kitchen isn't a place to play," I said to his back. The boy turned off the stove— thank fuck-before spinning around on his stool to face me. The first things I noticed were his bright green eyes that glittered as beautifully as gemstones.
His eyes shone even brighter as his features twisted into a frown as he crossed his arms. The next things I noticed were his handsome features with a dark, five o'clock shadow that seemed too mature for a kid, but I brushed it off considering I knew nothing about the human aging process.
I'd heard from the circus-goers that children these days looked almost too mature for their age"

I'm sorry is this supposed to make want them to get together?? Am I supposed to root for the guy who's sexualizing someone he is perceiving as a child????

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 31
The action was so exaggerated that he lost his center of balance and toppled forward. Fortunately, I was tall enough to lean over the counters and catch the kid under his armpits before he fell and cracked his head open.

WHAT

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 31
The boy was so light that I knew he had to be lying about being an adult. I was a tad bit stronger than normal humans from the Vermilion Bird blood, but I definitely wasn't strong enough to hold an adult human man up like I was holding a puppy.

WTF. literally. what. is. happening??

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 31
The boy-man—

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 32
the kid—man—

2nd time thinking of him as a CHILD after having to be shown proof that he's an adult (literally, Rhett had to show him his ID before he would believe him????)

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 33
Maybe it was because I thought he was a kid moments earlier, but he had an innocence about him that told me he'd only found this situation hilarious and wasn't making fun of me.

That feels very icky

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 35
"It's good, right? Told you I wasn't playing around," he teased. His bright eyes glistened as they focused on me. A strangled sound came from my throat, and the chains I'd tightly bolted around my core loosened. Nothing about his actions should have caused me to lose control over myself, but they had anyway.

I'm uncomfy. 3 pages ago you thought he was a child

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 64
Neither of them seemed to care about the fact that Eli was dating a man, but it felt like a huge bomb had been dropped on me. A pleasant and eye-opening bomb. I wondered if Conall was part of the rainbow as well.

Confusion??? Are we trying to add a fear of homophobia plot after calling the man who thought you were a child, "mysterious and hot" to his face? Consistency?

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 103
We hadn't known each other long, but I was falling hard for this man. I may not have known everything about him

Where's the tension???
"May not have known everything" do you know anything???? When did that happen? Off page???

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 104
A loud bang had me pulling back slightly to look toward the sky. Our foreheads were still pressed together and the bright lights we'd come to watch exploded over us.

Logistics?????

PAGE 108 – no quote attached to this as it was a smut scene

They're both virgins and there's no talk of kissing or sex before it just happens???
What happened to verbal communication and consent?

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 116
Rhett stayed the night. At first, I had trouble sleeping, worried that my flames would go out of control in my sleep—it wouldn't be the first time that happened.
But with Rhett calmingly patting my back, I'd eventually dozed off.

Weird he's worried about his flames when he sleeps but didn't have any concerns when his emotions were high from orgasms

HIGHLIGHT • PAGE 116
"I think it looks good on you. You look very manly." He laughed hard. "Are you saying I don't usually look manly?"
"What? No! That's not what I meant. I just mean..."

Ick. this was the last straw for me. was i reading too much into this? maybe. but the fact that Coal was talking about how Rhett was handsome while also thinking he was a child combined with this was really just too much.