Aden Perri has problems. The last day of school his girlfriend calls it quits. And proceeds to move on a little too quickly. His friends disappear, leaving him to spend the summer alone. His mother buys a dog. Aden hates dogs. The scar on his leg confirms it. And his new job titles are garbage collector and toilet scrubber. At least he'll be out in nature, excepted he hates the outdoors.
Aden's ready to barricade himself in his room, until school starts back up in the fall. His mother won't allow it, and his father is ready to do some character building. They drag him out and drive him to Beaver Lake. His father loads him with a bucket and a mop and sends him off to clean campground toilets. The local campers just laugh as the poor garbage boy wandered around picking up after them. All but one. One very strange, shirtless, barefoot boy who Aden will never understand. But the boy makes it bearable, so he'll let him stick around. It's not like Titus is really going to give Aden a choice anyways.
An artsy boy is despised by all his high-school but, during a crappy summer-job, meets a tall young man who is more than what the boy could have asked for. Then, two words collide and reassemble themselves. Despite a blatant classicism, enemies are not placed at the front in this story, but the plot stays captivating. The main character’s internal struggles and achievements are convincing.
Let's first start of by saying I have read over 300 chapters which means I have also read book 2 and I should be currently on Book 3 so this one will be a larger review for all the books. The first one is by far the best as the issues of the later books does not shine as bright in this one yet. But all three of the books shows a very realistic view on the supernatural with a well develop world and characters that makes you intrigued.
Something neutral, as it can be negative or positive depending on the person reading, is that it has a strong emphasis on domination. They even call the two classes (gender, they call them genders) dominant and submissive. Which in many ways can be compared to slavery as the submissives has no rights on their own, neither to live or escape. They can be abused that that is just right. Their only way to live is to find a dominant to be mated with and it often comes expresses itself in trade. The submissives are sold off.
And though the main characters, who mostly are submissive, thinks this is wrong have no power to change it and their love interests (though I would not count all of them in as many are as I said sold off and it is closer to an arranged marriage, and more of accepting you position) who are dominant states that it is unfair but has no intention of doing anything about it and that is my biggest problem.
What is the point of having a story so focused on the injustice but just leaving it hanging? There is no real development in the three books that takes a step forward or back. It just standing in the same place, while I as a reader is wondering when the punchline is coming. I'm guessing that it is not and if you are one of the people who is bothered by this, then I suggest staying away from this book series.
If you don't care about that then I can highly recommend this book as it takes an old formula and tries, and succeed, to make it feel new and fresh.