Author's warning about Allison should come at the beginning. There are times, when I enjoy a bit more reality and character building. Initially, I enjoyed the series for that fact. But something happened with this book. Allison was TOO damaged. Lauren explains at the end, that she struggled writing this character because of this very fact. To some extent, it felt as if she was salvaging the story line for continued additions. But, I absolutely hated and I do mean HATED Allison. Allison was not stupid. She was a strong character. Perhaps too strong. Too arrogant. Too self-centered and somehow, her past couldn't excuse how she treated others. It tried to explain it, but I couldn't empathize with Allison. At first, I felt sorry for Da'vi (hero). But as he blends into the background, he becomes her doormat. At no point, does the relationship scream anything but a disaster waiting to happen. I nearly gave this a one. What's with all the [AE #s] in the Kindle version? Those should have been edited out. They were distracting. What provided that extra star was her overall good writing. It is still good. Four previous books were good (maybe not exceptional, but enough that I bought them to add to my library with the intent of possibly reading them later on.) This was a regret. I wish, I could have skipped this one. But, the overarching storyline is too important to miss. I applaud Lauren's attempt to write something new. It might have been a four or five star if she had pulled back a bit on Allison. Maybe given her a little more empathy for others - not been so broken as to be impossible to fix. I still plan to continue in the series, as Lauren has a good thing going and it's been worth the read. I just didn't feel the romance in this one. It was more of a SciFi with sex, which some readers may prefer.