Will and Cara's chemistry is super fun to read, and I love that for being a darker romance novel this one seems to be a lot more consent-conscious than others, but my GOD do I tire of adult humans being incapable of articulating their feelings to themselves and each other. Because of this, Cara got on my last damn nerve. I'm 56% in at this point and I'm just exhausted.

Pros:
Good spice, good chemistry
Ardent, romantic male lover lead - not just sexual, actually romantic
Alpha-type male ACTUALLY CONTINUALLY GETS CALLED OUT for bad behavior, which is amazing

Cons:
I know it disclaims that it's not plot driven, and that's fine, but then why put so many passages of plot throughout when they ultimately don't matter at all? Found myself skimming them.
For an intelligent woman, Cara seems *real dumb* when it comes to her own feelings, and I don't appreciate that at all.

____

okay, I just finished it. round up to 3.5 because the ending was good and the communication improved. Overall good commentary on alcohol use and safe sex. Also cara suddenly gets extremely emotionally intelligent at the end, which is inconsistent, but nice to read. Good talk on boundaries for sure.