aryschneider 's review for:

Damon by V.R. Tennent

4.0

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Spoiler

I liked this book WAY more than Harrison. I felt a lot of really complex, conflicting emotions while reading. You love Damon for his loyalty to his murdered wife, but you also hate him for how he treats Emma, sabotaging his second chance at happiness. Emma really goes through the wringer with life in general - she really didn't need Damon's shit. But I loved how she stood up for herself! Emma's sass is 10/10! Overall, the characters were well-rounded and I liked that Emma's past was kept more realistic - not throwing everything at it that could be just because. I LOVE when a book makes me think and feel and hurt and consider and all the things. I love when a book is broken and beautiful and messy.

But the reason I gave the book 4 stars was because of one character choice that really rubbed me the wrong way. In the beginning, I really admired Emma because she was focused on her career and personal goals. She was adamant she never wanted children and was doing the surrogacy program because she needed the money - that was part of Connie and Damon's appeal to Emma. However, after Connie was murdered, Emma changed her mind and started to care for and really want Annie. To be fair, Emma never tried to take the place of Annie's mother, but it was something that bothered me. Maybe it's because my own choice not to have biological children is constantly questioned that I was offended when Emma seemed to change her mind so easily? Regardless, it took my mind out of the book. And Emma never really gave up school or work, which I was thankful for. But her priorities certainly shifted. This is way more of a complex situation IRL, but it felt while reading that Emma was like "but I had a baby so I'm a mom now"