This book starts with Eden and Kade already three years into their relationship, which I actually liked. We’re told how they met and how things evolved, but the story focuses on what happens after the cracks are already there.
Eden believes the club has cleaned up its act since Kade took over as president. Charity runs, community image, less trouble. What she doesn’t know is that there’s still illegal stuff going on behind the scenes, and Kade is actively hiding it from her. She senses something is wrong almost immediately, but instead of being honest, he keeps shutting her out.
The tension builds slowly and then things take a really dark turn. There is a very descriptive assault scene involving Eden being drugged and attacked at the club bar, so this book definitely needs trigger warnings. She wakes up with no memory of the attack but knows something bad has happened, and the way she deals with it is by withdrawing. She doesn’t tell Kade. She doesn’t really know how.
From there, everything unravels.
Instead of recognising trauma, Kade assumes the worst. Eden is distant, intimacy feels wrong, she cries — and his conclusion is that she must be cheating. Typical MMC logic. He doesn’t cheat himself, but he absolutely crosses a line by pulling a club girl into his office in front of Eden, which is honestly just cruel.
That moment is what finally forces the truth out. Eden confronts him, explains the assault, and reveals that she killed her attacker in self-defence — which ties into the ongoing mystery of who killed the guy. It should have been the moment where Kade steps up.
He doesn’t.
Instead, he spirals into guilt and completely shuts down. He pushes Eden away emotionally for months, leaving her to deal with everything alone. By the time she realises he won’t change, it’s clear she can’t stay. She leaves not because she doesn’t love him, but because she can’t survive being treated like that.
He doesn’t cheat — but he’s emotionally negligent, secretive, and handles everything in the worst way possible. This is a story about trauma, silence, and what happens when people refuse to talk to each other.
It’s heavy, frustrating, and painful to read at times — but it’s meant to be. I’m continuing to book two because this ending demands growth, accountability, and a hell of a lot of grovelling.
I didn’t mind the book or writing, I just felt like these characters didn’t connect with me. I also felt like these SA could have been handled better.