Please stop thinking I'm a monster. Please see something that nobody else sees.
I went into this one thinking I wasn't going to be happy either way, because it would be confirmed that Kane is essentially a lost cause or the ideal guy to be trapped with at the end of the world and since Reagan just isn't available, it's frustrating. Where can it go from there??
And then we get this:
"I'd earned this place with a patient ruthlessness and resolved insensitivity that I was proud of."
"I had lost my soul out of necessity, not because I relished being a monster."
Absolute brilliance from Rachel Higginson, but it's heart-tearing-apart stuff!! It's basically been set out so Kane doesn't even have a chance with Reagan, even though I honestly see more connection between them than her+Hendrix (she met him first, so what? he's lovely, yes, but c'mon there is a reason she resisted him so strongly and flirted with his brother. Kane makes me a little delusional, forgive me, I'm a sucker for the bad guy with the damaged psyche).
"I reveled in the synchronization of our bodies. She could read mine as easily as I could hers. That meant something."
They have always been in synch. Even when they are at odds, they make hell of a team! Her heart, his persistence, they could accomplish world-changing things together.
"I needed her as much as she would need me. More so."
The book has Kane calling himself sexist, but I don't see it, at least no more so than the Parkers, who can easily be bossy and think they know what's best. I see him as someone who acknowledges that she's a girl he wants to protect, yes, but he also sees her as an equal, with a fire and strength all of her own.
"[...] she seemed to soothe those dark pieces of me, heal the damaged, suffocating parts that I wanted to pretend didn't exist."
Anyway, at this point I'm not going to tear my hair out hoping Reagan wakes up and really notices the option in front of her. I just hope that there is a girl written in for Kane that is worthy of him and that their love is epic+magical and worthy of unicorns springing into existence and all that good stuff! Oh, and not easy, I love when Rachel Higginson writes romances for tough-to-love-at-first guys, they are gorgeous to read. I adore the easy-to-love guys too though haha, I can't wait for Vaughn to get a matchup and Jericho has to be one of my fav Star-crossed boys! So pretty much just anything Rachel Higginson, I'm along for the ride! ♥