back to this Rina Kent universe, because no matter how lackluster the plot is in any of them, it is one of those strange addictions that make you want to read for hours and hours. I am ashamed to admit that I pulled an all-nighter and read this book in one sitting.​

 

I am glad that Rina Kent is branching out on the sexualities and personalities of her characters, and since this is her first book that features a gay relationship there are going to be some kinks to work out, but overall the inclusivity is greatly welcomed. For the most part I think that she portrayed the relationship well, however there were definitely some parts that felt very forced and rushed. It was another case of "I am obsessed with you for no reason and now I am in love with you." 

 

I think it was interesting to see the dynamic between someone who is very secure in their sexuality interacting and falling in love with someone who holds a lot of shame and hates himself for it. This conflict ends up taking the book to a very dark and triggering boiling point, which I think was in line with what we had read throughout the book and the characters' views about himself. If you read this book just know that the actual storyline mainly picks up in the second half, and the first half consists of mostly stupid fights repeated over and over again. We get to hear a lot about the side characters in the Rina Kent universe in this book too. So if you are missing some of your favorite couples it does have them, but that also means it has a lot of spoilers as well. 

 

The storyline in this book was definitely better than a lot of the others in the Rina Kent universe, and I think that just shows how much she has grown as a writer. It was compelling and definitely shocked me in a lot of ways, but somehow ended up just falling flat. While the story itself is not badly written, it's just not well paced or thought out. However, I have never gone into one of this series books expecting a good story, and was well aware that the smut would be the main focus, and I was definitely disappointed when it came to that. 

 

The smut, even though entertaining, got a bit repetitive, and the same things were said and done over and over again. This got quite annoying considering how long of a book it is. Despite this, it has enough spice for you to be giggling and kicking your feet like almost every other Rina Kent book. I pulled an all-nighter and almost woke up my roommate because of how much I was giggling. I will genuinely say it again, I can not possibly explain why these books have such a chokehold on me. 

 

All in all, if you are in the mood for a very descriptive smutty book, particularly a gay romance, this will be a great standalone book for you. I would recommend going into it thinking exactly that though, because that is what the focus is on and definitely not the main storyline.

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Trigger Warnings: 

- Sexual Assault of a Minor

- Self Harm

- Attempted Suicide

- Blood Depiction

- Murder