2.5 stars?


Trigger warning: molestation, sexual abuse(SA), addiction, domestic violence(DV).

I'm always eager to read and support books by new authors, and this seemed perfect. LIMD is marketed as a dark contemporary romance with two characters with traumatic pasts. Trauma is a recurring theme in this book, however I don't feel like it was executed well. Particularly I had issue with the MMC and their treatment of the FMC throughout the entire novel.
Things I liked about this book. I liked Wren, the FMC, inspite of or because of her cookiness. I also liked the premise of getting married to an a*hole for money and to secure their inheritance. Her banter with the MMC was cute when it was light. If the rest of the story wasn't such a mess, I'd give it 5 stars alone for her infamous line, "He doesn't want you or your scabby pussy."
Finn the MMC however is arrogant and a borderline sociopath. While Wren is cooky at worst, Finn has actual real issues because he goes on a self destructive path and enjoys humiliating/abusing Wren. Cheating on her, throwing digs at her, and even putting his hands on her, golly. If it wasn’t for Wren’s charm I would have DNF’ed. She didn’t deserve any of it, and I found his behavior unforgivable, regardless of his trauma. Trauma is no excuse for being an entitled asshole! This is when their banter became unbearable to me, and I started to skim-read. I'm all for slight a*holes but “Love and patience can conquer all" was not the approach Wren should've taken with Finn.
Overall the ending of the story was questionable to me and I felt they never should have continued this sham of a relationship in the first place.