“It’s a lot easier to kill people than it is to keep them alive.”

I'll be honest - this one wasn't my favorite of the series. Actually, so far, it might be my least favorite. Not to say that it was bad, necessarily. But after the last few, which I personally thought were so much better, possibly due to my preference for the poly situations, this one maybe fell a little extra flat. Also, over the last few books, the Minotaur was set up as *so* cruel and inhuman, that I’m struggling to come around to him as a real “person” here; it's making it harder to buy in. Worth noting though, once we get a little more of the backstory on how/when Ariadne and Asterion met, and how long this little flame was just barely alive and they way they are actually so many of each others firsts (literally and in spirit), is actually sweet and tender AF (even if there is some questionable consent early on). And the spicy here was as strong as ever, as anticipated and expected at this point, though it too wasn't my favorite flavor. Overall, this felt much more like a "move the story arc forward, with a romance that is just convenient to that" novel. And that's ok, because it *did* move the plot forward really well; it moved the bigger story arc into the next steps, which has really needed to happen.

Finale note: I enjoyed the setup for it that we got here for the next one, which I am *much more* hype for. Ready for it!