giving a real thug kisses was a cool read, but for me it landed right at a 3/5.
i think my biggest issue out the gate was the amount of povs and moving pieces for a first book. it was a lot to keep up with, especially on audio — i had to rewind a few times just to make sure i knew who was who and which situation i was in. once things settled, it made more sense, but it definitely took a minute to get grounded.
character-wise… whew. ahnesti cannot be as slow as she was moving. at some point, you had to realize you were the mistress, friend 😭. that said, i actually like buddah for her — but buddah seems like he runs a very strict program, and i’m curious to see how that plays out. indy? dirty. ditzy. no morals whatsoever for what she did to blaq, because you knew better and still moved how you moved.
reagan, though… i like her. she feels like a good match for blaq, especially knowing quan isn’t gonna be around long. quan turning into a completely different person was exactly what reagan was trying to escape when she left braylen, and somehow she still ended up circling the same type of chaos. speaking of braylen — throw him on the list. nitt can go right with him. and justice? yeah, he absolutely belongs there too. the way he’s doing paris, knowing she doesn’t deserve any of that, was wild and unnecessary.
overall, the story has potential and the drama is there, but the pacing and the number of characters made it feel a little heavy for a first installment. i’m interested enough to keep going, but i’m hoping book two tightens things up and lets the characters really shine without so much overlap.