I've always been viscerally captivated by Ivinya's stories, but this one disembowled me. My heart hurts so much for Sofie and Kasten who have the most insurmountable odds stacked against them and still manage to find happiness and meaning and ways to stand tall. And then the author dumps another bucketload of heart-rending awfulness at the end.
Don't get me wrong. This cliffhanger is placed perfectly because I do need a breather before I find out what happens next. It's one of those rare examples of a cliffhanger that works for me. There's enough resolution on the relationship front that I feel sufficiently satisfied. But on the other hand, I really, really need to know what happens next and hope that somehow Ivinya manages to twist a HEA out of this, because I simply can't bear the thought of it going the other way. I'm absolutely in love with these characters who've stolen my heart, and I absolutely want to see them succeed and become the power couple they were clearly born to be.
I read this rather large book in under 24hrs, so I think that ought to say enough about the pacing. I would have finished it in even less time if I didn't have to sleep (and no, I'm no longer young enough to be able to pull an all-nighter for a book, though I was tempted for this one). I connected with both characters within the first few chapters and got sucked in, body and soul, only to be spat out rather unceremoniously at the end. And the empowering message of taking power back, even in small ways, when forces around us constrain us and make us feel small or useless, it's beautiful and wonderfully presented.
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