I continue my [guilty] pleasure reading of this series. I've gotta be honest, this is my least favorite so far. I feel like Josh and Jules do actually work together really well as a pair, and I usually love this kind of bickering-as-flirting, but there's just something about them I didn't love. I think perhaps because the author tried to shoehorn the "dark" aspects to the spice and storyline into this one. Like, I am in this for the dark and possessive stuff, but Josh doesn't feel like that guy. And the turn towards uncontrolled violence he takes at the end just really doesn't seem to fit the rest of him. So that was jarring. The more difficult parts of Jules' past felt much more natural as they unfolded within the story. On both sides, there were some nice aspects about getting closure and letting go of shitty parental relationships. And I love how prominent previous and other romantic side character stories remain throughout; not just nods, but real roles. In particular, Alex and Josh’s relationship was a highlight for me. Overall, solid writing, great spice (heavy on the angry/punishing sexual interactions, if that's a thing for you - or not), and carried all the intertwined relationships forward, if not my favorite of the bunch to date.

“When I’m not with her, I wish she were there. When I am with her, I want that moment to last forever. She makes me want to be a better person,and when I think about a world where she doesn't exist [...] I want to burn every inch of it to the ground.”

“Grief wasn’t one emotion; it was a hundred emotions wrapped in a dark shroud."

“The monsters in our imagination are often worse than those in reality.”

“Sometimes, people change. And sometimes, they meet people who make them want to change.”

“You couldn’t heal from something if you didn’t acknowledge it.”

“Relationships were built on small moments, not grand gestures.”