Um, confusion. So Kevin knows his friend Dasani has mated, but he does not know what mate means when his own guy shows up?
Quite a few things bother me about this story.
Why on earth are they leaving Kevin to grow up isolated when the very first thing you’d want in someone with his powers is to be balanced and at ease? I guess this follows Maverick’s method (proven more than once) of just kicking someone out who might prove dangerous along the way instead of helping to prevent it’ll happen. Jeez.
Secondly, why is Denver such a jerk? He keeps feeling rejected for the most idiotic reasons. He is not even trying hard! I don’t see how he has any right to his resentment. He never reacts to any of the very clear clues in Kevin’s behaviour that he was merely socially awkward and uncomfortable with the sex stuff, but instead just forges ahead. He leaves Kevin standing in the street and walks off and then spins that as Kevin rejecting him, when all Kevin did was being distracted (for good reason, at that).
I am not sure if I should just mark Denver down as an incurable moron and asshole, or question whether the author has lost sight of what the mate thing is supposed to mean, according to the series’ much professed gospel. Denver here only thinks of Kevin in terms of how he supposedly rejected him and how much baggage he comes with; he certainly never thinks of him as a precious gift. That’s a far stretch from the old version of “you’re wonderful and just perfect for me the way you are”.
And seriously, I’ve noticed this before: The people in these books don’t have a single shred of patience. They’re all like, “I’ll fight for you, no matter what!” and pound their chests, but the very next day (I kid you not) they’re like, “This is taking too long; it will never happen. I can’t take this anymore. Better to walk away now.”
It’s ridiculous and shows how shallow their attachment to the other person is.
So yes, Denver ruined this for me.
Although to be fair, the plot felt perfunctory and not terribly logical either. And those hyperbolic expressions! No, Denver, you don’t get to claim that you went through hell for your mate. You did nothing but sulk a lot and make things more difficult.
So sick of this.