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imme_van_gorp's Reviews (778)
This is a very hot and surprisingly sweet monster romance.
Going into the details of this story would kind of ruin it if you want to read this, so I'm not going to do that.
All you need to know is that the book begins with a confused, inarticulate, lonely and imprisoned monster who is suddenly joined in his cell by a lovely, beautiful little human. The monster is immediately protective of him, and feels a lot of affection for him.
Which follows afterwards is not only a development of the relationship between these two, but also of the monster's psyche, memories, feelings and power. We truly see the monster grow into himself throughout the story.
However, I do wish the relationship would have had a little more depth. That was definitely missing for me, and could have quite easily been rectified since the chemistry and dynamic between them was really good.
About halfway through, a lot suddenly starts to happen, and the focus goes from a bit more centred around the monster and his feelings to more magical and paranormal stuff.
I definitely preferred the first half, but I could see a lot of people enjoying the second half as well.
This novella really has a bit of an actual plot instead of only smut, which might not be what some people would expect going into it.
There is hardly any dialogue in this novella, so if you hate inner monologues, you'll probably despise this.
In my opinion though, the lack of dialogue really worked here, and I thought it was very interesting to see how the monster was constantly obsessing over his "pretty little thing", but also how his way of thinking drastically changed over time.
I would definitely recommend this to people who are into stories featuring love between different species, fated-mates, and an overly protective and caring love interest who would do anything for the one he loves.
It also has a bit of non-consent, but it's a bit more complicated than that, since intentions are unclear between the two.
Overall I thought this was a very sexy, interesting and cute read.
Going into the details of this story would kind of ruin it if you want to read this, so I'm not going to do that.
All you need to know is that the book begins with a confused, inarticulate, lonely and imprisoned monster who is suddenly joined in his cell by a lovely, beautiful little human. The monster is immediately protective of him, and feels a lot of affection for him.
Which follows afterwards is not only a development of the relationship between these two, but also of the monster's psyche, memories, feelings and power. We truly see the monster grow into himself throughout the story.
However, I do wish the relationship would have had a little more depth. That was definitely missing for me, and could have quite easily been rectified since the chemistry and dynamic between them was really good.
About halfway through, a lot suddenly starts to happen, and the focus goes from a bit more centred around the monster and his feelings to more magical and paranormal stuff.
I definitely preferred the first half, but I could see a lot of people enjoying the second half as well.
This novella really has a bit of an actual plot instead of only smut, which might not be what some people would expect going into it.
There is hardly any dialogue in this novella, so if you hate inner monologues, you'll probably despise this.
In my opinion though, the lack of dialogue really worked here, and I thought it was very interesting to see how the monster was constantly obsessing over his "pretty little thing", but also how his way of thinking drastically changed over time.
I would definitely recommend this to people who are into stories featuring love between different species, fated-mates, and an overly protective and caring love interest who would do anything for the one he loves.
It also has a bit of non-consent, but it's a bit more complicated than that, since intentions are unclear between the two.
Overall I thought this was a very sexy, interesting and cute read.
The focus of this series is definitely romance, but it does have a tiny little side-plot with the motorcycle club, and usually one or two of the MCs being in danger or trouble.
In this case I thought the story would be a bit more angsty considering Texas was drowning in alcohol due to the loss of his best friend a year ago, and Sawyer was being hunted by his ex-boyfriend who ended up being a human trafficker. It wasn't, though. It was all rather light-hearted and fun. Not a lot of depth here.
The relationship between Texas and Sawyer started out with a lot of teasing and banter; Texas identifies as 'straight' at the beginning of all this, so they have a friendly vibe at first. I personally didn't see the use of Texas thinking he was straight; it didn't add to the story, but I suppose it's a recurrent theme to make biker guys think they're straight at first (even if many of their friends already identify as gay or bisexual). Luckily Texas didn't make a big deal out of it, though, so it's whatever.
Anyway, as I said, Texas and Sawyer mostly have a fun relationship; there's no drama or angst, it's just them joking around, being happy, and having lots of sex (the sex could have been a little less in my opinion).
They were both pretty sweet and likable, and they had a good dynamic. I liked them together, even if it wasn't anything super special.
In this case I thought the story would be a bit more angsty considering Texas was drowning in alcohol due to the loss of his best friend a year ago, and Sawyer was being hunted by his ex-boyfriend who ended up being a human trafficker. It wasn't, though. It was all rather light-hearted and fun. Not a lot of depth here.
The relationship between Texas and Sawyer started out with a lot of teasing and banter; Texas identifies as 'straight' at the beginning of all this, so they have a friendly vibe at first. I personally didn't see the use of Texas thinking he was straight; it didn't add to the story, but I suppose it's a recurrent theme to make biker guys think they're straight at first (even if many of their friends already identify as gay or bisexual). Luckily Texas didn't make a big deal out of it, though, so it's whatever.
Anyway, as I said, Texas and Sawyer mostly have a fun relationship; there's no drama or angst, it's just them joking around, being happy, and having lots of sex (the sex could have been a little less in my opinion).
They were both pretty sweet and likable, and they had a good dynamic. I liked them together, even if it wasn't anything super special.
Ares has become the president of the King's Disciples MC after having killed his previous club president, Ronin, for being a giant dick. One of Ares’ main reasons for killing him, though, was to save Ronin's younger brother, Jace, from all the abuse and hurt he's had to endure under Ronin's rule. Ares has always wanted to protect Jace, caring about him more than about anyone else, which is why it hurt very badly when Jace ran away after seeing Ares kill his brother.
“You killing Ronin isn’t why I ran. It was how easily you did it.”
Ares cursed under his breath. “Fine. It was easy pulling that trigger. Because it meant he could never hurt you again.” Ares threw his hands up. “Is that what you wanted to know? That I’d happily kill anyone who’d hurt you? I will. And I’ll sleep fucking great at night, too, because you’ll be safe.”
This book picks up a year later, starting with Jace being found by a rival gang, kidnapped and beaten to a pulp as a warning to Ares. Ares is, understandable, absolutely enraged by this, and will do anything to keep Jace safe. He refuses to let Jace out of his sight, even if Jace wants to leave.
Did he think Ares would’ve smacked a Band-Aid on him and kissed his boo-boos before pushing him back out the door? No. Fuck that. He wasn’t letting him go. Not again. The past year without Jace, wondering how he was, if Jace was missing him as much as he’d missed him? That had been fucking torture. He wasn’t doing that again.
Ares loves Jace so much, and he feels so guilty about putting him in danger. The only thing he cares about is Jace, nothing else makes him feel this deeply or strongly.
That wall around his heart was crumbling. Jace had been back in his life one day and he was already losing it. It didn’t fucking help that Jace was hurt. It only fucked him up even more that he was likely the reason for it.
This story isn't written super well or anything, the plot is lacklustre and minimal at best, so you're really only reading this for the romance, obsession and possessiveness.
Ares is your typical swoon-worthy kind of alpha man who would do absolutely anything for Jace, feeling like all the rest can go to hell as long as Jace is safe and happy. Ares' love runs very deep, and he just desperately wants to take care of Jace.
“I hate admitting when I’m scared,” Ares said, his gaze dropping to the ground for a second. “But you scare the shit out of me. You have since the day we met because as much as I tried to deny it then, I knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do for you. I love you, Jace. Fuck. I’ve always loved you.”
Jace has obviously been the victim of a very tragic past filled with abuse, and thus it makes sense for him to be a bit timid and sometimes back away from Ares when he feels threatened or disrespected. This resulted in quite a bit of push-and-pull, but I personally didn't find it annoying, and kind of loved it every time Ares had to go get Jace back.
Jace definitely wasn't a pushover when it came to Ares and he also had a little bit of fight in him left when it came to everyday life.
“I might not be much of a fighter, but I’ll fight for you. Always.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to ensure you’ll never have to.”
These two obviously have history together, which I loved, because it gave their relationship credibility and depth, but I do wish we could have actually gotten to see their history ourselves.
It would have been super interesting to see what Ares and Jace’s lives were like before Ronin died, how they felt, how they interacted, how they pined and longed for each other. But also how helpless they both felt with Jace being abused by Robin, without Ares being able to do much about it other than comfort him. It could have been very good!
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it had a relationship dynamic I adored, had a possessive alpha man with a soft-spot and adoration for one man only, had the right amount of angst, and I was just truly into it.
For the past four years Ramsey and Garrett have seen each other a couple of times a year, mostly during the holidays, in which they tease and banter together. The reason they see each other from time to time is because Ramsey is best friends with Garrett's older brother, Houston, with whom Ramsey is in the same NFL team. These two don't dislike each other at all, but do give one another a whole lot of shit. They've definitely had a lot of chemistry from the very beginning.
At the start of this book, Houston has had a career ending injury, while Garrett has finally finished college and is about to be drafted into the NFL. Shockingly, Garrett is chosen by the same team his brother used to play for and Ramsey still plays for. He isn't exactly thrilled about this, seeing how he doesn't like to be compared to his brother too much. Nonetheless, Houston, protective brother that he is, asks Ramsey to keep an eye out for his baby brother, and Ramsey has no problem accepting, especially since he enjoys spending time with Garrett, even if he thinks Garrett is a bit cocky and reckless.
The more time these two spend together, the more fun they have. They become genuine friends and hang out all the damn time. They banter and have more open conversations. They get to know each other, and Ramsey finds that Garrett is more than just his best-friend's little brother. They grow a deeper bond, and it's not long until the attraction they've both felt for each other since like forever starts to take a forefront in their mind, and they kiss. They decide to go with a friends-with-benefits arrangement, but how long is it before undeniable feelings begin to bubble up? And what then? How could they ever be more when it would be very frowned upon for two teammates to be in a relationship?
I genuinely loved Garrett and Ramsey together. They had a very natural connection; their relationship was quite the slow-burn, and I appreciated how we got to see them grow closer and closer as time went on. I also loved that they never lost their easy banter: their chemistry was amazing and their interactions were always a lot of fun.
They honestly have a very good relationship, and they are pretty much perfect for each other. There is never any drama or angst between them. Both are very easy-going, and don't stress too much about things. They had such a healthy relationship, even if they were friends-with-benefits which doesn't exactly scream 'healthy'. But, well. It was. They were super supportive and respectful of each other, even with all the teasing and messing around. And I loved that; it made me love these two as a couple so much.
But, of course, every pro has its flipside, and I do wish that we had had maybe a little bit of conflict in the relationship somewhere: I would have loved seeing them having to fight for each other, even if it was just for a little bit. Instead, everything was so smooth-sailing between them, even with all the issues that could have come from them being teammates and Ramsey being Garrett's brother's best friend. The fact that this wasn't there, might also be why I loved the first half of this book more than the second.
All in all, this was a very fun and sweet football romance, and I loved the chemistry, banter and connection between this couple. I enjoyed this book a lot, and swooned quite a few times! I'd recommend it to anyone who likes these types of books, because it's a really good one!
At the start of this book, Houston has had a career ending injury, while Garrett has finally finished college and is about to be drafted into the NFL. Shockingly, Garrett is chosen by the same team his brother used to play for and Ramsey still plays for. He isn't exactly thrilled about this, seeing how he doesn't like to be compared to his brother too much. Nonetheless, Houston, protective brother that he is, asks Ramsey to keep an eye out for his baby brother, and Ramsey has no problem accepting, especially since he enjoys spending time with Garrett, even if he thinks Garrett is a bit cocky and reckless.
The more time these two spend together, the more fun they have. They become genuine friends and hang out all the damn time. They banter and have more open conversations. They get to know each other, and Ramsey finds that Garrett is more than just his best-friend's little brother. They grow a deeper bond, and it's not long until the attraction they've both felt for each other since like forever starts to take a forefront in their mind, and they kiss. They decide to go with a friends-with-benefits arrangement, but how long is it before undeniable feelings begin to bubble up? And what then? How could they ever be more when it would be very frowned upon for two teammates to be in a relationship?
I genuinely loved Garrett and Ramsey together. They had a very natural connection; their relationship was quite the slow-burn, and I appreciated how we got to see them grow closer and closer as time went on. I also loved that they never lost their easy banter: their chemistry was amazing and their interactions were always a lot of fun.
They honestly have a very good relationship, and they are pretty much perfect for each other. There is never any drama or angst between them. Both are very easy-going, and don't stress too much about things. They had such a healthy relationship, even if they were friends-with-benefits which doesn't exactly scream 'healthy'. But, well. It was. They were super supportive and respectful of each other, even with all the teasing and messing around. And I loved that; it made me love these two as a couple so much.
But, of course, every pro has its flipside, and I do wish that we had had maybe a little bit of conflict in the relationship somewhere: I would have loved seeing them having to fight for each other, even if it was just for a little bit. Instead, everything was so smooth-sailing between them, even with all the issues that could have come from them being teammates and Ramsey being Garrett's brother's best friend. The fact that this wasn't there, might also be why I loved the first half of this book more than the second.
All in all, this was a very fun and sweet football romance, and I loved the chemistry, banter and connection between this couple. I enjoyed this book a lot, and swooned quite a few times! I'd recommend it to anyone who likes these types of books, because it's a really good one!
Ugh. What an absolute disappointment this was.
At first, I was quite enjoying myself and I saw some potential here. The pining coming from Rubble was great, and I simply just love a big bad biker turning into a bumbling mess over his love interest, desperately trying to not offend him or scare him off with his crude manners. But.. this set-up only lasted for about a second; Rubble got over himself pretty quick, and the cute behaviour turned into a complete lack of personality. Him and Miles had absolutely no development in their relationship, and their dynamic was bland as all hell.
Their whole relationship also didn't even make any sense anyway. Rubble's obsession at the beginning was based on absolutely nothing, and I don't even think they had more than one single conversation until half-way into the book, yet Rubble was somehow already head-over-heels in love with the guy and ready to go to war for him or something. It was nonsensical. And then when they finally do talk, it is completely empty conversation, where it's mostly just sexual. Yet they both proclaim love declarations speaking about forever. Why? Where on earth was the actual connection and build-up here? It was so weird and dull.
The whole 'daddy' thing between them also came right out of left field here and was completely random. It didn't fit their dynamic at all, and I simply don't think it should have been a thing here. It was awkward and felt inauthentic.
Another thing I found utterly ridiculous was the intense drive of the other 'boys' to become friends with Miles and have him be part of their group. It was so pushy, and it was way too much and far too soon. It was another one of those moments where I feel like it could have been a cute friendship if it weren't for the fact that it was completely unrealistic. It felt fake.
I have to say that one thing I was mildly interested in, however, was the whole shady business Miles was involved in. He was clearly in danger, being threatened, blackmailed and used in despicable ways. I was interested to find out more and more about it as the book went on, but I could hardly enjoy it, since at the very same time I was so annoyed that no one seemed to realize Miles was in such serious trouble. Miles basically came out and said so multiple times, but every time it seemed to either be forgotten, pushed aside or merely not pressed enough. Rubble supposedly wants to protect him, but he puts absolutely zero effort into actually achieving that, and I have to say that he was honestly one of the most dense people on earth.
Anyway, I ended up being bored out of my mind with this book. It couldn't hold my interest even a little and I wasn't invested at all. I eventually ended up skimming some of it near the end, since I honestly don't think I could have pushed myself to care even slightly about what was going on.
At first, I was quite enjoying myself and I saw some potential here. The pining coming from Rubble was great, and I simply just love a big bad biker turning into a bumbling mess over his love interest, desperately trying to not offend him or scare him off with his crude manners. But.. this set-up only lasted for about a second; Rubble got over himself pretty quick, and the cute behaviour turned into a complete lack of personality. Him and Miles had absolutely no development in their relationship, and their dynamic was bland as all hell.
Their whole relationship also didn't even make any sense anyway. Rubble's obsession at the beginning was based on absolutely nothing, and I don't even think they had more than one single conversation until half-way into the book, yet Rubble was somehow already head-over-heels in love with the guy and ready to go to war for him or something. It was nonsensical. And then when they finally do talk, it is completely empty conversation, where it's mostly just sexual. Yet they both proclaim love declarations speaking about forever. Why? Where on earth was the actual connection and build-up here? It was so weird and dull.
The whole 'daddy' thing between them also came right out of left field here and was completely random. It didn't fit their dynamic at all, and I simply don't think it should have been a thing here. It was awkward and felt inauthentic.
Another thing I found utterly ridiculous was the intense drive of the other 'boys' to become friends with Miles and have him be part of their group. It was so pushy, and it was way too much and far too soon. It was another one of those moments where I feel like it could have been a cute friendship if it weren't for the fact that it was completely unrealistic. It felt fake.
I have to say that one thing I was mildly interested in, however, was the whole shady business Miles was involved in. He was clearly in danger, being threatened, blackmailed and used in despicable ways. I was interested to find out more and more about it as the book went on, but I could hardly enjoy it, since at the very same time I was so annoyed that no one seemed to realize Miles was in such serious trouble. Miles basically came out and said so multiple times, but every time it seemed to either be forgotten, pushed aside or merely not pressed enough. Rubble supposedly wants to protect him, but he puts absolutely zero effort into actually achieving that, and I have to say that he was honestly one of the most dense people on earth.
Anyway, I ended up being bored out of my mind with this book. It couldn't hold my interest even a little and I wasn't invested at all. I eventually ended up skimming some of it near the end, since I honestly don't think I could have pushed myself to care even slightly about what was going on.
I didn't go into this with the highest expectations, and at first I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the dynamic. After all, I love a good age-gap romance, and especially if it’s the older guy who is pursuing and pining for the younger guy. It’s just so much better in my opinion.
“Why do you like older men?”
“I guess it has something to do with the way I feel when I’m with them. They make me feel powerful. Like I’m irresistible and they would do anything to please me. It’s a rush.”
Kyle had just described the vague fantasies that had been overwhelming Eric for months. He wanted to please Kyle. He wanted to spoil him rotten and have Kyle reward him for it however he chose to. He wanted this stunning young man to conquer him and leave Eric gasping for more.
Eric was honestly giving Kyle heart-eyes the entire time, and I couldn’t help but feel giddy about it. The way he was pining for him, adoring everything about him, thinking about him constantly, wanting him so much: it was extremely swoon-worthy.
But, I can definitely see how the ‘miscommunication’ in this can be very annoying: both men think that the other finds them either too young or too old, so they tip-toe around their romantic feelings for the entire book. They don't get over it until the very end.
I personally wasn’t bothered by it at first: I actually thought it helped create some nice angst and the possibility for longing from both sides (but mostly Eric).
However, it went on for way too long, and it really started to get on my nerves. The moment it became annoying for me was when they started hooking up. I was like: how hard can it really be to say that you’d like to actually date the person you’re regularly having sex with?? It's so dumb that it took them the whole book to just come out and say it, and even then it took them a break-up to accept it and actually get together.
I wasn't really invested in either of these characters, although I liked them well enough. I just got annoyed by their stupid situation, which made it hard for me to care.
They had quite an interesting sex dynamic with Kyle (who's younger) taking control in the bedroom while Eric obeyed. There was lots of edging involved.
I could see why Eric would like this, since he usually had to and wanted to be in control when it came to all other aspects of his life, so it might be a nice change for him to give that control up for a little bit.
However, I do think there was far too much sex in this book and it definitely took away from the relationship development. From the moment they started having sex with each other it was obvious that a lot of the tension went away, and most of their interactions revolved around hooking up with each other. It wasn’t nearly as cute or interesting.
I have to say that the whole thing simply started to feel rather repetitive.
I definitely preferred the first half of this book. I preferred it by a lot.
God. I loved Dominic. So much. He had such an amazing personality filled with softness as well as some rough edges, and it was so easy to connect with him and care about him.
My heart broke for how absolutely horrific Dominic's life has been, and I felt so much pride for how hard he worked and how strong, sweet and good-natured he remained. I absolutely melted every time he interacted with his adorable 3 year-old daughter, and it was interesting to watch him fall in love for the first time. I was just so damn happy to see him get the life he deserved.
I loved getting inside Dominic's head. He had such a distinct personality, which really shone through in not only his dialogue but also his inner monologue. It had a very authentic feel to it; Dominic felt like a real, unique and incredibly lovable guy. He remained the same identifiable person throughout the book, even though he went through so much development. I can honestly say that this was some really good writing.
The only thing I feel could have been done a little better was the romance. Not from Dominic's side, but maybe from Adrian's. I never truly connected with Adrian as an individual, and sometimes had a hard time getting an entirely good read on him. But then again, I genuinely feel like this is Dominic's story, so I wasn't bothered by it too much.
Long story short, I love Dominic.
My heart broke for how absolutely horrific Dominic's life has been, and I felt so much pride for how hard he worked and how strong, sweet and good-natured he remained. I absolutely melted every time he interacted with his adorable 3 year-old daughter, and it was interesting to watch him fall in love for the first time. I was just so damn happy to see him get the life he deserved.
I loved getting inside Dominic's head. He had such a distinct personality, which really shone through in not only his dialogue but also his inner monologue. It had a very authentic feel to it; Dominic felt like a real, unique and incredibly lovable guy. He remained the same identifiable person throughout the book, even though he went through so much development. I can honestly say that this was some really good writing.
The only thing I feel could have been done a little better was the romance. Not from Dominic's side, but maybe from Adrian's. I never truly connected with Adrian as an individual, and sometimes had a hard time getting an entirely good read on him. But then again, I genuinely feel like this is Dominic's story, so I wasn't bothered by it too much.
Long story short, I love Dominic.
Well, first of all: I STILL LOVE DOMINIC SO MUCH. He was utterly adorable in this. I love him as a dad to Thea, but he's also such a cute boyfriend (and now fiancé) to Adrian. He's still such an endearing softie with a lovable amount of attitude and a true heart of gold. The way he talks is somehow also so damn addicting.
This man has generally just stolen my heart, I swear.
I loved his proposal to Adrian. It was so good, and by the end of it I was just a giant puddle of mush. Imagine someone doing all that for you: I would cry. So sweet.
Now, I do have to say that although I thought it was interesting to read from Adrian's perspective as well with this novella, I wish his chapters would have only stuck to his interactions with Dominic and Thea. I honestly wasn't very interested in his teaching position or his war on drugs.
I understand he's doing important work with those kids, but I didn't find it very intriguing (unlike when Dominic interacted with them) and I even got a bit confused with all the different names and home-lives.
I hate to say it, but these parts without Dominic or Thea in them were very boring to me.
I suppose I simply didn't find Adrian as interesting a person and found his relatability to the struggling kids to be lacking, and in general, I wasn't feeling the rawness and individuality here that we got with Dominic.
All in all, Dominic has become one of my favourite characters, Thea is one of the most adorable kids I've read about in books, and although my connection with Adrian was never really there, I still love his relationship with Dominic: they're very good together, and it is obvious that they love each other so much!
This man has generally just stolen my heart, I swear.
I loved his proposal to Adrian. It was so good, and by the end of it I was just a giant puddle of mush. Imagine someone doing all that for you: I would cry. So sweet.
Now, I do have to say that although I thought it was interesting to read from Adrian's perspective as well with this novella, I wish his chapters would have only stuck to his interactions with Dominic and Thea. I honestly wasn't very interested in his teaching position or his war on drugs.
I understand he's doing important work with those kids, but I didn't find it very intriguing (unlike when Dominic interacted with them) and I even got a bit confused with all the different names and home-lives.
I hate to say it, but these parts without Dominic or Thea in them were very boring to me.
I suppose I simply didn't find Adrian as interesting a person and found his relatability to the struggling kids to be lacking, and in general, I wasn't feeling the rawness and individuality here that we got with Dominic.
All in all, Dominic has become one of my favourite characters, Thea is one of the most adorable kids I've read about in books, and although my connection with Adrian was never really there, I still love his relationship with Dominic: they're very good together, and it is obvious that they love each other so much!
I'm conflicted about this one.
Abel was a great character, and I thought his many mental health issues were portrayed in a good and interesting way. He was a very sweet, confused, and helpless guy. His anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder were a heavy burden on his shoulders with which he obviously struggled a great deal. It should have been easy to care about him, yet something about this story held me back from getting fully invested in his character. I liked him, but still.
When it comes to Abel and Mad's relationship I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong; they had their cute moments, and their dynamic could be good at times. I liked the intensity of their love and how much they both cared about the other: they were each other's whole damn world. The longing/pining was good too. Nonetheless, I often couldn't help but find them slightly off-putting.
Honestly, Mad gave me quite a lot of 'bad vibes'. Not only do I think he took advantage of Abel depending on him, I also feel like it's hard to overlook the fact that he's known Abel since Abel was 6 years old while Mad was a full-grown adult at the time. Even worse, he's been a steady fixture in Abel's life since he was 12, and he's basically helped raise him. So.. When he suddenly starts wanting to have sex with Abel at 19 years old, and eventually even ends up in a Daddy/boy relationship with him when he's 21, I can't help but get the creeps.
It also didn't help that we only read from Mad's perspective in the prologue while the rest of the book is entirely from Abel's POV. We basically have no idea how Mad thinks about Abel when it comes to his private thoughts. How does he view Abel? Is it as creepy as it looks? We don't know. Thus, I was uncomfortable.
I honestly believe Abel deserved better, especially considering Mad ghosted him for like a year when he confessed his feelings for the first time. His best friend, Gray, however, was there for him through thick and thin, always supporting him and helping him with everyday life issues as well as his mental health, which made me ask the question: why couldn't Abel end up with Gray instead? I know they weren't perfectly compatible sexually with the whole sub/dom thing, but still...
Anyway, there were things I enjoyed from this book, but there were obvious reasons as to why I didn't love it or feel a very strong connection to it.
Abel was a great character, and I thought his many mental health issues were portrayed in a good and interesting way. He was a very sweet, confused, and helpless guy. His anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder were a heavy burden on his shoulders with which he obviously struggled a great deal. It should have been easy to care about him, yet something about this story held me back from getting fully invested in his character. I liked him, but still.
When it comes to Abel and Mad's relationship I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong; they had their cute moments, and their dynamic could be good at times. I liked the intensity of their love and how much they both cared about the other: they were each other's whole damn world. The longing/pining was good too. Nonetheless, I often couldn't help but find them slightly off-putting.
Honestly, Mad gave me quite a lot of 'bad vibes'. Not only do I think he took advantage of Abel depending on him, I also feel like it's hard to overlook the fact that he's known Abel since Abel was 6 years old while Mad was a full-grown adult at the time. Even worse, he's been a steady fixture in Abel's life since he was 12, and he's basically helped raise him. So.. When he suddenly starts wanting to have sex with Abel at 19 years old, and eventually even ends up in a Daddy/boy relationship with him when he's 21, I can't help but get the creeps.
It also didn't help that we only read from Mad's perspective in the prologue while the rest of the book is entirely from Abel's POV. We basically have no idea how Mad thinks about Abel when it comes to his private thoughts. How does he view Abel? Is it as creepy as it looks? We don't know. Thus, I was uncomfortable.
I honestly believe Abel deserved better, especially considering Mad ghosted him for like a year when he confessed his feelings for the first time. His best friend, Gray, however, was there for him through thick and thin, always supporting him and helping him with everyday life issues as well as his mental health, which made me ask the question: why couldn't Abel end up with Gray instead? I know they weren't perfectly compatible sexually with the whole sub/dom thing, but still...
Anyway, there were things I enjoyed from this book, but there were obvious reasons as to why I didn't love it or feel a very strong connection to it.
This immediately started out pretty badly: Ranger had a very clear case of insta-love for Troy, there was absolutely no build-up whatsoever, their connection can only be described as non-existent or just plain awful, Ranger's chase to get Troy to go out with him was painfully pathetic, and I can honestly say that I thought Ranger had more chemistry with the dude he used to make Troy jealous than he did with Troy himself.
Eventually I did warm up to Ranger and Troy's romance, but only just barely. I didn't find them sweet or cute together at all, but maybe Troy was a decent match for Ranger. After all, I don't see how anyone else could deal with the ridiculousness and whirlwind that is Ranger, so maybe Troy was the best choice even if he was pretty much unbearable as a love interest. At least he managed to help Ranger cope with his blatant control issues, so that's something.
But then. God. Then, the plot twist happened and suddenly everything became even worse than it already had been at the beginning, and none of it even made much sense. The tiny sliver of love that had been present between these two was absolutely ruined for me, and I can honestly say that at this point I completely hated the whole thing. And it never got any better. It ended badly in my opinion.
Now, when it comes to Ranger as a character..
Well, in the previous book, Ranger was funny, overly excited, desperate, and overall just very entertaining and even charming.
Yet in this book Ranger was genuinely bordering on insane. He was completely ridiculous and out of touch with reality, and I can honestly say that he was downright certifiable and utterly pathetic. He didn't even feel like a real person at all, and I didn't connect with him whatsoever.
The whole 'rage' thing was also so over the top, it almost felt like some sort of paranormal thing (which, it wasn't). It was weird.
There were really only two things I liked in this book:
1. I freaking loved the dogs. Scope might literally be the love of my life: he was so overly enthusiastic, extremely dramatic and ridiculously affectionate. I simply adored that dog with all my heart.
2. I really appreciated all the cameos from Yates and Dylan. Their relationship was so incredibly swoon-worthy here, and both of their friendships with Ranger were great. But, truly, the fact that I was more invested in anything that had to do with these two (whether it was jealousy, possessiveness or drama) than the entire rest of this book, also tells me a lot about my utter lack of interest in Ranger (and Troy).
Also, can I just quickly mention that for literal assassins these guys are pretty damn ineffective, clueless and stupid at being.. well, an assassin.
I really didn't enjoy this book, and was very disappointed with it.
Eventually I did warm up to Ranger and Troy's romance, but only just barely. I didn't find them sweet or cute together at all, but maybe Troy was a decent match for Ranger. After all, I don't see how anyone else could deal with the ridiculousness and whirlwind that is Ranger, so maybe Troy was the best choice even if he was pretty much unbearable as a love interest. At least he managed to help Ranger cope with his blatant control issues, so that's something.
But then. God. Then, the plot twist happened and suddenly everything became even worse than it already had been at the beginning, and none of it even made much sense. The tiny sliver of love that had been present between these two was absolutely ruined for me, and I can honestly say that at this point I completely hated the whole thing. And it never got any better. It ended badly in my opinion.
Now, when it comes to Ranger as a character..
Well, in the previous book, Ranger was funny, overly excited, desperate, and overall just very entertaining and even charming.
Yet in this book Ranger was genuinely bordering on insane. He was completely ridiculous and out of touch with reality, and I can honestly say that he was downright certifiable and utterly pathetic. He didn't even feel like a real person at all, and I didn't connect with him whatsoever.
The whole 'rage' thing was also so over the top, it almost felt like some sort of paranormal thing (which, it wasn't). It was weird.
There were really only two things I liked in this book:
1. I freaking loved the dogs. Scope might literally be the love of my life: he was so overly enthusiastic, extremely dramatic and ridiculously affectionate. I simply adored that dog with all my heart.
2. I really appreciated all the cameos from Yates and Dylan. Their relationship was so incredibly swoon-worthy here, and both of their friendships with Ranger were great. But, truly, the fact that I was more invested in anything that had to do with these two (whether it was jealousy, possessiveness or drama) than the entire rest of this book, also tells me a lot about my utter lack of interest in Ranger (and Troy).
Also, can I just quickly mention that for literal assassins these guys are pretty damn ineffective, clueless and stupid at being.. well, an assassin.
I really didn't enjoy this book, and was very disappointed with it.