Dark alien romance so check content warnings. The premise was good but the execution wavered. It takes a fair amount of time to get into the story because the first half is spent in a lab with very little interaction between the main characters even though there was proximity. So much of that time is written as inner monologue that is painfully dull and leans hard on questions asked in groups of three to communicate doubt, hesitancy, and uncertainty on behalf of the FMC (76x in the first half of the book). I think this story would have fared better written in third person instead of first. It is difficult to communicate those behaviors in first person which is why so often authors resort to packs of questions to do so. We never really get a chance to care about her plight because it comes off as whiny rather than the bone deep trauma it is.

Once the main characters are out of the lab and interacting the story gets interesting (romance readers read for the relationship development after all). The MMC doubts the FMC’s morality and is outright cruel while struggling with an undeniable pull to her. In his anger he commits an action that puts him in near unredeemable territory. The author doesn’t really give enough time to this part of the story to work it out so the apology, acceptance, romance part of their relationship is unfortunately rushed. 

Regardless, I applaud the author going for a darker story on page with a believably difficult escape.