I really struggled with this one. I went back to the beginning to verify that there were, in fact, NO trigger warnings listed. There absolutely should have been!!
Bullying! SEVERE bullying.
Sex abuse (he's 18 - but she's his teacher)
And that's just the beginning. My emotions were all over the place with this one. Mason is an absolute dick the entire book. In HS, he dumps food and drinks on McKenna, terrorizes her with threats and name calling, corners her, and forces sexual touches on her before exposing her to the whole school. He's sick and admits to getting his rocks off treating her that way.
The author tries to draw sympathy for Mason: he's got a bad home life, his dad beats him, mom seems to be absent, brother is an addict, etc. And I think in some ways she succeeds in doing so - but that's because she makes Mack feel pity and sympathy, and the reader can't help but try and see it through her eyes. They end up forging a tense weird friendship because she agrees to tutor him, and he stops being nasty at school (just ignores her instead). That eventually leads to a secret sexual relationship. But Mason blows everything up on prom night, and they go their separate ways (McKenna to Yale, Mason to wherever his band takes him).
Fast fwd 10-ish years, and Mason is famous, while McKenna has fallen on hard times. Her dad went to prison for financial crimes, making her have to drop out of Yale. She's now a sex worker. Mason finds out, and the tables are turned as he tries to save her from herself.
He's still an ass. He's still a bully.. but now it's him seeking connection and her trying to keep distance.
I grew to like Mason, a bit, against my better judgment.. but he's still a jerk.