I thought I fell down the rabbit hole with She and I knew going into the finale that it wasn't going to be any prettier and probably harder, but instead of falling further down the rabbit hole, I ended up stuck in the abyss. If She was dark, unspeakable and majorly f*cked, then He was the height of insanity, depravity and all out 'can it get any sicker'.
He is finally told from not only Joe's POV but finally we also get Nat's and what a filthy wealth of information that brings into the picture. It starts with Joe as a man on a mission for his dead wife, ready to avenge and digging up all sorts of information that starts to fill in the picture. BUT it is with Nat's POV and her absolutely horrific situation that the insanity really hits home full force. Joe might have been right that Natalie is broken but he never had a clue how insanely smart and together she was in another way completely. As she says at the height of captivity, back in her family's sick hands and their ever expanding empire:
"I am one tough motherfucking bitch. I am not weak. I am not easily broken."
So much shit goes down in this book that it makes the first one seem pale in comparison. Having access to Nat's mind and her narrative truly leaves you in a place ready to run and purge. Every little twisted, evil, unthinkable detail is filled in and the secrets of the Blum family are more than anyone ever knew. When Joe is finally 'reunited' and dragged into the picture, it becomes a dizzying haze of a pure but twisted love in a sickly twisted world where two people fight to survive, trust, remember to keep on loving and do the unthinkable in order to survive and protect the other.
Outside of that, I have nothing more to add to the story. I will say that it was a hard read solely based on content and the absolute craziness that could drive a person insane, for insanity does rule in this book along with pure evil. I was shocked, sickened, pissed, ready to become a murderer myself but I was also so very deeply invested in both Joe and Natalie and a love that had all the potential to heal the absolutely unhealable.
This book is NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. The trigger labels are definitely there for a damn good reason and believe me, it delves into the height of depravity. But, at the same time, there is light contained within, there is hope to be found. There is a chance for healing and a time for vengeance and vindication.
I was completely swept up in a tornado and left spinning and spinning and spinning. But in the end, it was so worth the journey. I cannot think of anything better than Love trumping All. Including being the very salve that heals.
4**** Good for forever stars!