I received an ARC of this book from the author and I voluntarily reviewed it. Thank you Willow Winters!
This was my first Willow Winters read, and I had high hopes for this book. Let me tell you, it delivered. There was angst, action, sweetness and filth. Oh yes. Winning combo.
I would have liked the book to have more of an emotional impact on me, but the plot line was extremely intriguing and made up for it. Yes, this follows the captive/captor trope, but when done exceedingly well like Winters, it reads without the nagging part of your brain yelling “cliché” or “déjà-vu” at every turn of the page.
I like how some things from the very beginning are still not resolved leading us into book two. Yes some additional problems have arisen and some have been resolved, but the most intriguing one for us - or me as a reader - is yet to be concluded.
I liked how Winters gave Aria art as an escape, and I loved reading about her drawing with the charcoals and getting her hands dirty. All the tangible things I love about art were there. Charcoal art isn’t clean; just like this love story it’s messy, dark, edgy, captivating, and beautiful.