Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

The start of this book reminded me so much of Paladin by Onley James (which I *love*), so I was completely hooked and devoured the first 50% while I should have been sleeping. I think Luca is super precious, and surprisingly well-balanced, considering all the abuse he endured. If you read and liked Paladin, I would recommend this one, as long as the triggers won’t bother you. It’s dark and detailed.

«I loved him because I had no other choice. He was my caregiver and my master, and I was always desperate for his approval. Yet, I hated him, too. Hated that he didn’t always want me. Hated him for hurting me when I tried so hard to be a good boy.»
This and other things like it, detailing the psychological impact of the abuse, made me cry a lot.

Dante wasn’t abused in the same sense that Luca was, but he definitely didn’t escape his childhood unscathed. He wasn’t very nice to Luca at first, but that little obsessive man wouldn’t let him push him away, lol. Their early dynamic when Dante was trying to get rid of/let go of Luca, while Luca was oblivious and completely sure that Dante was his Angel come to rescue him, was my favorite part of the book. I only wish that dynamic lasted a bit longer. I will always be a fan of action and suspense, but I missed seeing interactions like they had early on.

«I rushed back to my car before I changed my mind and looked back once more to see him looking at me with tears spilling down his eyes, and holding his rabbit close to his face. Not once did he complain or come after me. He just stood there, silently begging for me to come back.»

Speaking of action and suspense, I thought Dante was pretty shit at being an assassin, lmao. At first I thought it was refreshing how he wasn’t indestructible and perfect, or never taking a hit or having a close call, but that eventually happened in pretty much every action sequence, lol. A little refreshing, and a little funny. He was still a big badass, though.

«After he unlocked the door to his house, I put my hand in his and looked up at him again. His pale green eyes grew so wide, and he shook me off. I tried not to be hurt and hoped he would love me soon.»

As I mentioned, the start of this had me hooked real good, and I adored the first half of the book. Unfortunately, the editing and proofing suffered a bit later on in the book, which definitely took me out of the story a good bit. I wish I could just not notice, sometimes. I would still highly recommend the book.

Gonna mix it up and throw in a not-so-good quote, lol. Enjoy.

«I felt full of angel fingers with their magical touch […]»

Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Rescued from trafficking/sex slave, private org. of assassins, age gap, size difference, trauma, scarred, graphic, revenge mission, action and suspense, MC in captivity for 11 years,

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Explicit sexual content
Graphic violence
Torture
Murder
Rape (detailed, past)
Human trafficking
Sex slavery
Death of a past partner

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile