2.5/5. Highlights may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Content Warnings for book: Off-page parental neglect and abuse, homophobia, parent death, slutshaming, femme-shaming
Kink: Daddy kink, Domination/submission, rough sex, orgasm control, sex toys, spanking
This is an older book by Jayda Marx (published and written in 2019) and it shows. This book is just a smidge too long, and the instalove doesn't really capture the same magic as the other books she has written. With it's position in her catalogue in mind, I did expect that it wouldn't be as polished as I am used to from her other works. There were few grammatical or spelling errors, so at the very least, that was not an issue. However, I did have some complaints about the book.
For one, Titus and Owen while being opposites of each other and certainly having stand-out character traits, did not necessarily feel very in-depth as characters. I think they were more caricatures of the roles they slid into, of "grumpy teddy bear giant" and "twinky twink", if that makes any sense. Their daddy kink relationship was fine - they also had a Sir/Boy dynamic in the bedroom, and some of the orgasm control aspects to it were hot to read across this book and the novella. This book is also longer and slower-paced than Jayda's usual instalove - the love confessions coming later than expected, and then a sudden punch of a bunch of dramatic moments during the end. Overall, I will admit that Titus and Owen's relationship was cute, and fine.
The issues I had overshadowed the experiences for me. For one, Titus describes his past as "going through hookups like used tissues". I have no problems with an MC who has an active sex life pre-commitment, nor do I have an issue with an MC who decides they'd rather a commitment than hooking up. However, the phrasing really seems to be shaming of the men he was with previously, and it would've been easy to just say "I previously had a lot of hookups, but now I'd like to pursue a relationship." Someone can still illustrate a longing for romance and commitment without disparaging the previous experiences had in their life. Meanwhile, Owen being his opposite, is a 20-year-old virgin. His explanation for why he keeps his virginity is the most asinine thing I've read. I have NO ISSUE with an MC who chooses to not have sex with someone before X reason. Religion, personal understandings of their pacing of relationships, whatever. People should have the right to decide when and if they wish to have sex with someone. BUT. Owen's reason is, and I quote, "But I never made love with anyone because I can’t be with somebody like that unless they’re really special to me. It probably sounds stupid, but it felt like it would be cheating on the person who was meant to be my first.”
What? What? Unless you equate your first to a concept of true love (and I get it, it's a Marx book), it just doesn't make sense to me to feel like it's 'cheating'. I don't know, Owen is this very child-like character despite this book having no age-play, and I think that the framing of virginity being a "gift" in the book as well just smacks of purity culture and is not my favorite.
Those issues aside, we also have the rather serious issues that occur later in the book that are brushed off with not even real resolution besides "well, what can you do?". I don't want to spoil, but there is a moment where something seriously damaging in the realms of family and homophobia occur, and even if someone has been estranged from their family, what occurs is very cruel and I do not think a day with the besties and painting toe-nails is enough to wipe away that pain. Especially because a time-skip occurs right after and it is never mentioned again.
The epilogue/last chapter was sweet! I liked the eternity collar bit. It also featured the "drunk after one sip" trope which I find rather cringey, but I knew that was coming when it comes to a Marx book. Overall, not the best.