Gritty, original, toxic, dark
What an amazing book to discover. Unexpected, totally raw. All my emotions were exposed as I was reading. One of the more creative, original books I've encountered in a long time. This story does not adhere to any strict rules on love and requisite themes, instead, it delves into the emotions, good and bad, light and darkness of each character. It demonstrates the depths of human expression and how circumstances shape character. It questions nature or nurture, revealing traits of the characters that are just unleashed, those that with the right prompting, may realize themselves, perhaps evolving into, something different, dark even.
Two mafia families puppet the lives of their children in holding onto to their stronghold. Two families, two best friends, and two lovers, this is not a traditional romance though there is love; there is also hate, betrayal, envy, and retribution. This story delves into change, dark emotion, and freedom through self-actualization. Ophelia "Phee" and Kieran, childhood friends to lovers, lovers to enemies, are changed as they become embroiled in illicit acts of their respective families. Ophelia, the accomplished assassin and given to psychopathic tendencies, is often made to be at odds and put at a disadvantage in power struggles. Still, she is fierce and not to be taken lightly despite outward displays of vulnerability. Kieran, emerging as the head of his family business, is characterized as lightness; he is even given to weakness despite being alpha. Both embattle the edge of darkness until being consumed by it, embracing it along with their siblings, but everyone's reception to this darkness is different.
Characters garnered hate and scorn, sympathy, affection. I enjoyed living in the headspace of the main characters, following their motivations, experiencing their pain, daily trials with doing the "right" thing, and eventually becoming who they are. Their values and preferences were challenged by their circumstances, all with the backdrop of love's pull. Quite a bit of steam, tension, absolute feral passion played out unconventionally; this story was heart-wrenching.
Just a couple of elements didn’t work for me: At times the inner monologues while often darkly humorous, self-deprecating, became too much, producing a lot of a telling rather than showing. The writing was too wordy. Also, flashbacks employed until the end of the story made for a disjointed, disruptive flow. I often felt as if I were having to pause to catch up rather than continuing with what truly was an amazing tale. Overall, though, those did not detract from the pleasure and power of the story.
A medium burn with such an emotional pull as to keep me captivated, this storyline felt like a modern-day saga. Raw and gutting. Love, betrayal, strength, darkness. I haven't come across a book like this in a long time. La Femme Nikita and Bourne Identity meet The Way We Were. I was absolutely consumed. Great read.