Well, well, well - if it isn't the book I took the day off of work to finish in one afternoon.
You can see my review for the first book in this duet, and it gives you my perspective on the world these characters live in. In this 2nd book, we get to see the real world implications of our plot twist in book 1.
Some people don't like technical writing (court, religion) - I am not those people. The parts that felt like they were dragging? It was by design, because thats how it genuinely feels to go through a public court case. I appreciated that I was led, kicking and screaming, through a potential loss so profound it took my breath away.
The relationship between the FMC and MMC was so obsessive, so blinding, so devastating... it was hard to read at times. You want to shake the FMC to stop letting the trauma win, and at the same time beg the MMC to prioritize himself.
You want to see these two come out on top, and they do. Their HEA is permanent, but not without its own scars. The 🌶 scents are both beautiful and hot, and not the focus of this story.
The book hangover is so very real from this duet.