Look… i love a bitch with a backstory. I also love a man who will get on his knees for said bitch with a backstory. Overall I had a great time reading this book, and at its core, I think there is a very moving story about overcoming trauma and the innate human (I know they're fae, but bear with me here) need for friendship and meaningful connections. I have some nitpicking about some of the plot points even though I think this was a 5-star read. I will not get into it too much to avoid spoiling but what I will say is that there's the classic SJM behavior of cramming a ton of action into the last 100 or so pages and I don't think all of that action was necessary and got resolved as well as it could have. The action all comes together to make sense so I understand why it was written that way but the pacing felt off for me personally.