Is there anything more annoying than a vanishing review?
2.5 ⭐️
I rounded up as it felt only fair for a story that was compelling, I wanted to see what happened, how characters were redeemed. It had a cast of characters that the reader felt invested in and provided an epic adventure.
Unfortunately there were also quite a few problems with the story and text. It clearly had a spell check and no other editing. I try not to be petty but if words like inhales and intoxicating are overused and then appear every time as in hail and in toxic, it becomes extremely irritating.
I expect more violence in paranormal than my usual reads but this still managed to push the boundaries, extending into sexual assault and the FMC as a victim were hard.
My biggest complaint however are the toxic elements of their relationship. It is not excusable to banish your mate, leave her with nothing and no one, aware that she may die because you are grieving.
It is not ok to imprison your mate because you were scared.
It is not ok to kiss your mate when she has expressly stated she doesn’t want it because of the mate bond
It is not ok to desert your mate because you are busy with other things and leave her feeling dejected and alone. Kian is a lovely partner at the end but I didn’t really accept the character arc. I felt like he was a jerk for an extraordinarily long time and then abruptly realised he was being a jerk and is lovely ever after. It felt inauthentic after being truly awful and frankly irredeemable he realises the error of his ways and is a supportive partner from then on. I guess those who like alpha holes might appreciate his character
Selene is not perfect, but I don’t expect my MCs to be perfect but to have her shame and guilt compounded by him for an extended period of time was hard to take