This book wasn't great, though the last 4-6 chapters were exciting and better. It has some majorly problematic pitfalls though. It falls into the dominance trap common in romance: the readers hear the woman's inner dialogue excited by near violence so it doesn't seem inappropriate, but the male character can't hear that, so yes, awful and gross. By the end of the book the violent twist is pretty much gone, but I strongly disliked her love interest through the first half of the book, and at-best tolerated him through the second half. Possessive and violent aren't my thing and I'm a little done with romance novels selling them as sexy. It's too bad because the world building, plot, mythical elements, and the female lead are all pretty great. Basically I want this as a fantasy adventure book without the romance.