.
NOTE: I don't review books like most people (book report style, summary, etc.) I say what I liked or loved or I just rant and complain if there is something to rant & complain about.
SERIOUSLY DON'T TRY READING THIS AS A STAND ALONE
Just like other reviews probably say, this book can be hard to read at times because as humans we can't help but sympathise or maybe empathize with these characters. Assuming you haven't started reading this series with this book, I assume you know who everyone is by now (well don't be so sure) and I don't have to go over them. However what we didn't know (at least not fully) is that Trapper had a horrific childhood, starving all the time & living the destitute, life of a homeless boy. God, it was horrible reading about this poor child with no food, home or anyone to love him. That is until Avery....
Avery is a character we haven't really learned much about until this book; we've only had little teasers throughout the series. We learn quickly that Avery's homelife was tragic too, but in a different way. Reading about these characters hurts your heart because you know there are REAL kids out there suffering just like Trapper & Avery did.
So anyway... Avery reached out & befriended Trapper, both of them needing a friend, both of them needing each other & for Trapper who hadn't felt unconditional love before, Avery was heaven sent. So Trapper did anything & everything he could to protect Avery. He withstood bullying, took abuse & even left Avery behind to save him (which is then when he meets & becomes one of The Devils Due MC).
The story has a "twist", and according to other reviews, it was on purpose. So yeah, tricking us all based on our preconceptions, was pretty cool. Though, might I say it was a tiny bit clumsily executed, since to me, it wasn't obvious that it was done on purpose. It just felt like I had missed a very important fact through over 10 chapters & 5 of the previous books. I know that was the point but maybe I was hoping for a bigger reveal so I could feel better about myself despite missing something so obvious...LOL
The last thing I'll mention is...
The last third of the book is supposed to devote a chapter to each of the Devils Due MC & their woman and "catch us up" in their lives whilst sealing their HEA's. However, all it seemed to me was a sex scene every chapter because that is the only way couples can show they're happy, right? Personally, It bored me to tears reading them over & over & over. Sex scenes are best sprinkled lightly throughout the story, not all clumped in the end. That's what people read Erotica for (I don't judge, I was one of them for a couple of years until I read so much, I completely burned out). Anyway, the last third of the book sorta sucked. I have no room to talk as I can't write a book for shit, but I just wanted to warn people before they wasted their time (IMO). Of course, most fans will disagree but we all have our preferences & I prefer Romance to Erotica nowadays.