I liked it, but the pacing was off. The first 40% was interesting with MMCs getting to know eachother, and then the Topeka incident was a nice touch; beyond that, things are very bland. I liked Ghost and Aury yes, though they got together a little too quickly (a bit insta-love). Once they got together there was little to hold my attention. The idea of Aury being the biggest baddest monster, which sounds great, was heavily tempered by the fact that he didn’t KNOW he was the biggest baddest monster. So not very useful.

Not too thrilled with how Gabe reacted after Topeka. Also not too thrilled that after the first week or so, Aury almost totally gets over the trauma of years of torture. Plus Anchor annoyed me.

Honestly I am only rating this book 4.75 because at one point in the book there is a tiny but of miscommunication where Aury leaves Ghost back at the raiders camp and he made me cry so yeah.

Love the character development of Aury and Ghost. Aury's description constantly made me think of a human/monster version of Toothless (HTTYD) which I love. I hope they stick together and find some where to settle because they deserve it.

I have a feeling we will be seeing Moth again in the next few books and I am kinda hoping that Lilac gets a book of his own because he is so sweet and he deserves all the love, considering what he did for all of the characters.

I think my impressions on the book are a bit... patchy. I really liked the first half. Ghost and Auri were both so sweet, individually and together, and even though objectively their relationship and the development of feelings moved fast, the way it was described had a very slow-burn feel to it—exactly the vibe I enjoy. Two shy anxious individuals coming together in that gentle way? Give me more.

I also really liked the shift from "wandering around the post-apocalyptic wastelands, stopping at abandoned buildings that mysteriously have water and electricity most of the time" to a far more community-focused story. Lots of new characters to meet here, lots of obvious set-up for future books, lots of interesting relationships in the Raiders' camp. I really enjoyed Anchor as a character and would love to get to know her more. Despite being a side character, she had an interesting arc and her struggles made me feel for her. I also liked Ghost and Rig's friendship, found myself super intrigued by Lilac, and I want to get to know Moth more. 

Later in the story, though, I began to... not quite lose interest, but there were some aspects of the book I found frustrating. The Rycke as a species didn't make much sense to me, neither biologically nor psychologically nor in general. I get the idea, it's a fun and interesting idea, but the way all the bits of it were put together just felt contrived in so many ways. There are also aspects of the setting that still raise a lot of questions for me and threaten to fall apart if poked at too hard. Also, there are some things about the monsters that are getting seriously repetitive—such as, why do they never have to eat or drink? Give me a monster with a really weird food preference instead! 

I have to admit that on a second read, I liked this book far more than I originally gave it credit. Even the amount of sex scenes didn't bother me as much this go around; in fact, I think I was too judgmental of them beforehand considering there is significant fade-to-black and off-screen action.

Ghost (Gage) is the perfect character to introduce the audience to the raider camp that's only been mentioned up to this point. He’s highly observant and good at collecting intel. He’s also quiet and reserved, relying on being useful in order to earn his keep. That results in him becoming a scout for his raider camp even though he hates the job. His arc is about learning to stand up for himself, and Aury helps him get there (“You are wonderful, my sweet Gage, but you’re being a bit of a martyr about this. And that’s coming from me. Ryckes are martyrs by nature”).

I think there’s something to be said about Ghost not seeing his worth to the camp unless he does the jobs no one else wants to do, i.e. going out into the dangerous Wastes as their scout. He notes “I was good at sewing. Most people in the camp tended to come to me to fix tears or sew buttons back on” but then later follows it up with “It wasn’t like I could cook, or fix stuff like Rig. I could sew, but how useful a skill was that on its own?” Which makes me want to vent about needlework being seen as a pointless (pun intended) skill when it’s actually critical to making ends meet (pun also intended). Unfortunately the narrative never pushes back on Ghost’s misconception, only ever vaguely asserting he’s useful but never specifying in what ways, which feels like a missed opportunity.

The hurt/comfort aspect of this book is chef kiss. In the beginning it's Aury being rescued from the wrecked military base. Ghost assumes Aury likes his best friend, Rig, more than him, but Aury is just ashamed of being seen in his damaged state. Then Aury steps up to care for Ghost, who's too used to being the sole caretaker in his relationships, such as with Rig being more sheltered and sensitive than him. I enjoyed how Aury fills a gap in Ghost's life while never becoming the only important part of it. Ghost is ready to give everything up for Aury, and Aury recognizes that Ghost would only hurt himself in the process.

This is the first time in the series that the assumptions about the nature of the human-monster relationship is actually justified in the narrative. Cutter accuses Ghost and Aury of doing things in Ghost’s room prior to them being intimate, but it comes with the notion that Cutter is a piece of shit who is disgusted by monsters in any capacity. Later in the story there’s Ghost and Aury explicitly showing affection towards one another outside the Topeka raider camp, so there's no ambiguity there at all.

I like that there’s no big bad villain to overcome in this book. Collector Mary is a villain, for sure, but she doesn’t become THE villain until the next book. Instead the plot hinges on Ghost and Aury’s decisions. And the gradual build up to a rycke’s breaking point. It’s a nice change of pace considering these two are the quietest couple of the series. However, in my opinion, the climax of the story would have been much stronger from Aury’s perspective. It’s a shame that we only get the briefest POV from him at his introduction and then his POV in the epilogue. He’s the one going through the most active plot progression at the climax while Ghost is reactive/passive to the outcome. The angst from the immediate fallout would have definitely been juicier in Aury’s POV since he’s the one with the more pressing anguish. I’m not saying what we got was bad, but it feels like it’s only skimming the surface of something better. 

This story does a fantastic job of setting up Rig to be the lead in the next book. He’s shown to be emotionally supportive of Ghost while also being too caught up in his own bubble and needing a chance to grow up. He’s afraid of the Wastes, and he finally has a reason to put himself out there for a cause. If I had one complaint about him it’s that he tends to overshadow Ghost with his personality. Ghost doesn’t shine unless he’s separate from Rig, which finds its place in this book, though becomes an issue later in the series once they’re back together. I suspect the author also prefers writing Rig’s hyperness the most out of all the characters. 

With that said, I really enjoyed how Lilac and Moth are developed as characters, and future protagonists, with both of them cold on the surface as they each support Ghost in their own ways. Lilac may be ruthless but he has a hidden nurturing side that he only reveals to people who won’t take advantage, and Moth may be emotionally distant but he’s carrying decades of self-worth issues from being a half-monster outcast. However, one thing I never fully grasped is why Lilac softens to Ghost in the first place. Moth, at least, has the excuse of having been a failed love interest in the past. Ghost never outright questions why Lilac gives him preferential treatment, and I don’t currently remember if this is ever brought up in Lilac’s book either. So at the moment it feels like I have to make headcanons to justify their friendship, which kind of sucks, especially considering I also don’t recall Ghost being significant to Lilac in Lilac’s own book. It feels like Ghost fades completely into the background as a character outside his own book and short stories. 

Considering most of my complaints are of how Ghost and Aury get sidelined in the series as a whole, this book itself holds up on its own. Honestly my most grating experience was noting how Ghost’s camp having helped heal small, animal-like monsters in the past is stressed the same way at least four times in relation to whether they should also help heal Aury, which felt way too repetitive. So actually I'm fine with bumping up my rating from a very meh 4.0 to this has the potential to be perfect 4.75.

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My review from my first read:

I think it’s the first time in my life I read an erotic romance book for slow burn whump instead of smut. 

The smut is fiiiine, but a bit excessive. That’s just a trend with this author. Many times I end up rolling my eyes because what feels like it would work as a cut to black ends up continuing on and on with flair of a PWP. 

But the slow burn is chef kiss. Having a great time emotionally on the floor. Couldn’t put the book down. 

There were also a bunch of side characters setup for later books. Lilac has my whole Russian heart. I know he’s not Russian, but he’s honorary Russian to me.