I stumbled upon this book at random from the library and didn’t have the highest hopes for it given what popular dark romance novels are often like right now. I was pleasantly surprised, however, based on the fact that the romance in it is not problematic or toxic in the way that many in the genre can be. I genuinely enjoyed the characters and seeing how they had to work through their own trauma, especially with Josh having to check himself to make sure he wasn’t following in the footsteps of his father. I actually laughed out loud at some of the humor in the book, and can see why others have drawn parallels between this one and Butcher & Blackbird (and not just for the accidental cannibalism). Finally, I am here for Fred the cat, and all of his antics. 

Oh, I almost forgot, this book immediately does a 180 to avoid the miscommunication trope, so it instantly got huge brownie points. We ain’t here for that.