I wasn’t sure what I was in for considering this book had a warning about sexually explicit content. Usually that can fall anywhere on a scale of “all right” to “get it away from me”. This book deals heavily with sexual abuse and sexual slavery, so it’s not for the faint of heart. I did appreciate that we were able to see a man in a very Roman Empire inspired world have to deal with sexual abuse and the guilt and negative emotions that come with it. It’s an interesting take on such a heavy topic. We got to spend a lot of time in Acheron’s head and the author did an excellent job of capturing his guilt revolving around sex because of what he’s experienced. Kora also had reasonably believable reactions to Acheron’s strange behavior. Most people don’t guess that the reason their partner runs away any time they’re doing something sexual is because they were a victim of sex slavery. Acheron reflects the pain many victims go through feeling like he is the one that is disgusting rather than the perpetrators of the abuse. It takes a long while in the book for him to establish a more open and stable romantic relationship with Kora because of it Thankfully, she is wonderfully understanding and patient with him when she finds out about his past. They had a rocky start, but they end up establishing a very strong relationship in the end. They had to work hard for it and I really like that, because you don’t see a lot of romances where couples don’t get off to a great start but work on their relationship so that it improves. A very dark romance, so don’t come into this one expecting a light read, but if you want a well fleshed out romantic relationship, you’ll definitely get it here.