I remember being a little bit more disappointed with this book the first time I read it, but going in the second time remembering my expectations made this book a lot more enjoyable this second time. In my opinion, the relationship to action ratio is much more skewed towards the romance and relationship in this book. Isaac is really wonderful as a main character and I found Batiste's POV almost as engaging.


Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Yes, considering this is my second reread.


 See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: Here we switch between Isaac and Batiste, focusing on Isaac's journey to relearning who he is after coming out of rehab, which I believe the author does incredibly well. We start with a bam in Isaac's POV. One of the really neat parts of Batiste's POV is we get to go back to see him when he was still a mortal as well as the moment of his turning. It's good that they're both engaging characters, because this book relies much more heavily on the characters than the plot. Multiple times throughout the book Isaac will say the same thought, as though it hadn't been said before, which got just a tiny bit repetitive and something to be aware of. Their relationship is a little more "usual", as well. For example despite how tall Isaac is, he's still shorter than the immortal being and the immortal being is the top who calls him "my little flame." I personally don't like one-sided nicknames, especially ones that make no sense, but this is just a small pet peeve of mine. Some of the best scenes were still the ones that involved Angel (our protag from the previous books). Overall, the characters, especially Isaac, are incredibly likeable and it is fun to see some of the main cast from a different point of view again. That was my favorite part.



PLOT: More medium-paced this time than the fast-paced of the previous three books, the plot centers around Isaac and Batiste navigating their feelings for each other against the backdrop of an unknown assailant who seems to be targeting both Isaac and the bloodclan. A majority of the plot also involves Isaac's mental health journey as he also relearns how to be himself and who he is in the world now that he's out of rehab.



EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

2:5/low. While I do believe it was low for me, please be advised that this book does include a journey with addiction and alcoholism, so it could be a higher rating for others.



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 

75%. This part had me the most disappointed when I first read. I personally felt that the final climactic event occurred far too quickly and too easily, which left me feeling like the main external plot (outside of the relationship) could have been taken care of so much more quickly. It definitely felt as though that plot (which is my favorite in this series) took a backseat to the romance. That being said, I still enjoyed this book.