This one ended up being a super slow read because I found it really hard to be in Delaney's head for extended periods of time. This is a good thing and probably means the author did an excellent job of portraying this type of neurological difference. I certainly felt the character fit the "genius" but socially inept area of the autism spectrum.
The story itself is a pretty straightforward antagonists-to-lovers romance that sticks to the tropes and doesn't do much more, but it's set on the backdrop of a low contemporary fantasy adventure that's reminiscent of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft movies. The fantasy aspect with the "para-scientific" properties of minerals was fun and definitely was the element that kept me going through the times where Delaney's uninterrupted, high-levels of passive aggression really got to me.
The conclusion of the mining expedition came with a fun twist that I hadn't seen coming and made up for the predictability on the romance front. For the most part, this is a cosy low fantasy read with a dose of unusual representation considering the MC's neurodivergence. Definitely kept me on my toes, and now that Delaney is a little less agressive, although still cutely confused about the most innocuous of things, I certainly feel I'd be able to continue with this series once a sequel is out.
An interesting read and definitely a good one for me to get a better grasp on what it could be like to be in a high-functioning autistic mind. Life is tough. And this book offers a good reminder of that.
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