This story is everything the author warned it would be. First there is a big fat warning on the book and one would be well advised to take note. But secondly, she's right, it is dirty - filthy beyond belief. The entire book is full of debasement and yeah, she's right, you've got to hang in there because it is disgusting. This is not a book for most people - it is going to offend the shit out of most and I get that. (It offended me!). It was hard reading the majority of it but I wanted to know the end game because I could tell the author had no story without one and I knew it was the first half of a duet.
Bijoux is a lowly maid in a 5 star hotel in Monte Carlo. She cleans the suites and has dealings with the richest of the rich and we get to see how vile they are, the way they treat her both verbally, mentally and most definitely physically. They're all just horrible leches, money does not give them class, in fact, it brings out the worst and ugliest of traits. Bijoux suffers in this story. She is not immune from multiple assaults, and that's just the start. It's a horrible journey to go on and yet I was hypnotised by the sheer insanity and depravity and couldn't let go because I had to know how it would resolve.
And yeah, that little twist at the end proved me right that it was all leading toward an endgame even with the cliffhanger. Nobody's good in this book. I'm not even sure if I can call Olivier an anti-hero - he's not a good guy. And Bijoux - is she a heroine or an anti-heroine? Damned if I could tell you.
This was just cray cray land in a world of debasement and deceit. Am I sorry I read it? No. Do I kind of respect the writer for mapping out such a story in such detail and still keeping me reading even though it was utterly hard to do? Yes.
So 4**** for fuck knows why. I'm confused as hell and can't answer that question.