So. This was a tougher one for me to rate because Misha Horne is really, really great at writing this type of story, and this book is no exception. It deserves full marks because of how well they handled the setting and subject matter. However.

I don’t think I will ever read this again because I’m extremely uncomfortable with boarding school punishment stories that don’t frame it as the abuse it absolutely reads like. I was always a rule follower, terrified of getting in trouble, so if there are extremes of behavior patterns that this kind of thing actually works to correct, that’s an alien idea for me. The saving grace here is that these are legal adults at a college, and Alex reminds himself a few times that he’s free to walk out the doors and off campus and never return.

As the story progressed, I found myself side-eyeing the other characters a bit, and becoming as hungry to learn Bax’s secrets as Alex was. I think these characters and relationships and situations hit me as darker and more serious than Horne’s other novels have, which wasn’t what I look for in their work.