Is it better to be feared or respected? Why not have both? Ryan's story is one I have been waiting for, for a very long time. It is no secret that highly functioning sociopaths are my type. To find two dominant ones fighting to see who is top dog is swoon worthy for me. I loved this story because it brings out primal instinctual fear. Ryan and Etta flat out do it for me.
Since Ryan slipped into this world Ms. Blevins created, I have been intrigued by him. As an avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I wondered how Ryan the Slayer would turn out. His initial cameos brought forth more questions than answers. This book lays it all out and I'm even more into Ryan than I thought. Ryan's upbringing is harsh. I feel for him and yet I do not know if I would have wished something different. One can argue that he is where is today because of how he was raised. And when he decided to make a change, he did it at a pivotal time in his life.
Now Etta, she is someone I'm even more attracted to and I cannot remember when she first came onto the scene. Etta's super duper vampire powers is impressive. I am not a fan of horror flicks. Nor do I like watching scary scenes or movies. But the way Etta wields her powers? I am definitely intrigued. I am so intrigued that I would like to experience being at her mercy to just to feel the pain. I also wonder if she could offset and eat some of my irrational fears.
This is more than a romance. I'm hesitant to even call it romance. The plot of this story caught me off guard even as I had been warned that this story would be bringing a long running story arc close to conclusion. The subplots in this story almost overwhelms that story line, but somehow still blends it into a cohesive rich story. I like a story where many events are occurring simultaneously. It is like a puzzle and my mind is trying to fit it all together before the big reveal.
This fast moving story is filled with conflict both emotional and physical. I am drained just getting to the end of it. I have no idea how Ms. Blevins survived writing it. My emotions where torn and pulled in different directions. At the end of this book, I ask myself, if everyone around me is considered a monster, does that really mean I am a monster too? Or maybe, we aren't all monsters. Maybe, just maybe we are the normal ones.
* I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
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