I was so excited to read another Keri Lake book after reading Nocticadia (which I loved) but this was a truly unfortunate and disappointing book. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. Not only is the general theme not a romance, it is not a good story. Let me preface my criticism by saying that I love dark romance and I don’t mind a tragic backstory or a morally black mmc. I usually love them. This story was the exception. Lucian Blackthorne has an unimaginably traumatic past with so much S/A and outright torture that it was difficult to listen to. Not in the heartbreaking, story telling way of letting the audience know why he was broken, but in an ugly, grotesque sort of way that almost seemed to glorify the sadistic nature of his abusers. Aside from the graphic nature of the violence, the first half of the book is VERY slow and poorly paced. About half of it is told in flashbacks which hinder the progression of the story. None of this was thrilling or entertaining for me. The FMC, Isa, is uninteresting and lacks character development. She’s 19. He’s 33. They don’t have anything in common except being outcasts. The chemistry wasn’t there. Overall this book failed to keep my attention and it didn’t deliver a story worth listening to. The female narrator did a great job but the male narrator not so much. The performance was the only half decent thing about the book. I wouldn’t recommend it for several reasons, but most especially not if you are someone that is easily upset or triggered.