I have many mixed emotions about this book so I'm going to try my best to explain why I decided to not complete reading this story. Usually, I can hold out to at least 50% when reading a book but from what I saw from other reviews it didn't seem like the issues I was having were gonna get any better and I decided to protect my peace. I would like to preface this by saying I may come back to this book in the future, just so I can see where the story goes, but I am not in the place to continue right now.

I wanted to love this book so much that it almost hurts. I have been dying to read more stories based on Indigenous traditions and mythologies so when I found this story I was so excited. The exploration of language and culture in just the bit that I read was beautiful further adding to my sadness at my situation.

I love a morally grey dark romantic interest as much as the next girlie, but Sal is almost too much. I love a morally grey MMCs because, despite all his issues, you can always tell that he at his core puts his love interest first. I initially got that with Sal, but that turned 180 when she discovered his secret. Despite all his proclamations of love, it's like he thought he no longer needed to treat her with respect or woo her after she knew about him.

Leaving her in a fit of rage, drenched in his cum, handcuffed to the bed for essentially saying no was when everything started taking a downward spiral and it didn't stop. Every time they would come together after that, it would feel abrupt and very much avoid the larger issue at hand. You can only blame her hormones as an excuse for her accepting his touch so often, but that was essentially the only reason they would make any progress in their 'relationship.' Why is she ok sleeping next to him? Why is he just allowed to touch her and come onto her whenever he wants without any pushback or her fighting him? The way I'm wording it is getting very victim blamey which is not my intention but I'm struggling to find a better way of expressing my issues with her character's complacency. Her usual internal monologue is "Find a way to escape, fuck that crazy borderline-abusive guy" and then on the next page she's begging for his cock so I'm struggling to understand. In the short time they have been together (from where I read up to) he has bulldozed over her opinions, kept secrets, and has been unnecessarily aggressive with her. I've read enough Fated Mates stuff to understand that to a degree he is a slave to his emotions, but even the other people in his life see his behaviour towards her as a problem.

I could usually see past all this enough to get to the part in the story where he gets better (if he hopefully does), but this entire thing felt like she was moving from one toxic situation to the next, and that's what really got to me. All her life, she has been controlled in every aspect of her being with no space to breathe or do anything for her own well-being. I thought Sal, despite whatever dark issues he has, would be able to provide a space for her to get what she needs: freedom and a safe environment that allows her to express her emotions and embrace the things that actually makeup who she is as an individual. instead, he is more of the exact same thing, so not only is so moving into another toxic situation, it is the same type of toxic situation she has been surviving her whole life.

Again I may come back to this in the future when I have more patience to read about an MMC that I'm really struggling to find any redeeming qualities for (I want to see her stand up to her mother so bad), but I'm not sure when that would ever be.