Guys, this book was hard to read. I’m going to get into the highlights and my thoughts, but I want to talk first about taboo authors/books. I’ve been seeing a lot of hate lately, and I’m hoping none of you are here for it. I appreciate all writing and all readers. I know that taboo writing, and reading taboo writing, can be incredibly cathartic and healing and I feel honored to read what others have gone through (even if it’s in a fictional setting). I’ve thought a lot about why I like to read this type of story, and I’m not sure I’ll ever put words to it. I do know that as long as someone has the courage to write, and as long as I am a person who has the mental space to read it, I will. And I hope the stories keep coming.
Getting off my soapbox now… and into what was probably the most intense read of my life.
Highlights:
Addie’s gone. Taken by the wrong people, to the wrong place, and Zade will do everything in his power to get her back. God help everyone in this book…
TW’s: Graphic violence, human trafficking, rape, sexual assault, PTSD, blood play, knife play, degradation and somnophilia
What I thought:
Like most rape/revenge stories (spoiler alert, but I think it’s pretty obvious where this book was going) there are really two halves of this book – the trauma and the healing. The trauma was graphic. I wouldn’t by any means call it rape or assault porn, but there was nothing closed-door about it. We’re told everything that happens to Adeline. What she feels, we feel, and it was hard to read. I like to walk and listen to audio, and there were times I actually had to stop and just stand still and hear/feel the words. I read almost the entirety of her trauma in one day – two sittings, audio and kindle – and had a hard time sleeping afterwards. Her story stuck with me, and I think it’s safe to assume it sticks with everyone who’s read it – as it should.
Then there was the healing. WOW, this was done delicately. Zade is not a good guy (though he does things for the greater good…), but Addie never wanted that. Going through the severe emotional and physical trauma she did, it was hard to fathom how she’d go back to someone like Zade, and yet… seeing them work through what she needed and how he could help her get it, was amazing. Of course, this is fiction, and the healing process was quite a bit more violent than I assume is normal (though, I don’t know you!!), but I really enjoyed going on the journey with them. Hunting breaks both Addie and Zade, then remakes them into something darker, scarier, and more epic than I could have ever imagined. Addie becomes what I think every girl has wanted to be at some point in their life. At some point, every woman has felt afraid. Every woman has felt threatened by a man, directly or indirectly, and we’ve all wanted to be what Adeline becomes – a force of nature, in control, powerful. And those of us living in the shadows (emotionally at least, for me), we’ve wanted a Zade.
This book – so many feelings. I hope I’ve done it some justice, but I doubt I ever could. I suspect it will stick with me for a while <33
P.s. MORE SIBBY PLEASE. That girl is fucking hilarious. In a book just TEEMING with emotion, she brings a fucked up little sense of humor that was splendidly placed throughout the final quarter of the book. I’ll amend my earlier statement – you need to read her story, Satan’s Affair. Doesn’t matter when in the Duet, just please read it. She deserves us.
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