I always go into the first book of a series with the understanding it will probably have underdeveloped characters and weak plotting. This has that PLUS some really uncomfortably used violence and abuse as placeholders for depth. None of the characters have any agency what so ever, and most of what happens doesn’t make any sense. I have a weakness for romance/action, so I bullied through it, but I’d never recommend it to anyone. Joel isn’t my favorite narrator, but he does a good job with what he has to work with.