I tried. I really did, but I REALLY struggled to finish this book.
I go through the Audible free catalog every so often and add books to my library based solely on their star rating and book cover. I have always enjoyed going in to a book blind. That’s how I ended up with this in my library and I randomly hit “play” one day.
It started off ok, intriguing enough to keep my attention. And then it got…uncomfortable. And then it got more uncomfortable, so I stopped listening and went to read the reviews. I only read a few but several also mentioned feeling uncomfortable but that if you stuck with it, the story would get better.
They lied.
I mean yes, there were absolutely endearing moments of unconditional love, but putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t change things.
•spoilers•
A 19 year old guy falls in love with an 8 year old girl. In the beginning it’s more of a paternal love, him wanting to protect her. Then it moves into a deep, loving friendship, but you can see what’s coming, and that feels really uncomfortable. Next thing you know, you’ve got a 13 year old girl giving a 24 year old man a hand job and it just gets worse from there. It’s grooming, plain and simple. Made me sick
I spent so much of this book with furrowed brow. The ick factor was just too strong.
And then the story got even more uncomfortable and continued that way through to the end. When the book ended I felt like I need to shower to wash away the creepiness.
The book was well-written and the characters well-developed but damn, the story though! yeesh
Definitely NOT my cup of tea. I’m actually really surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reviews and praise.
This book really should come with trigger warnings and a pedophilia warning.
This was like 9 hours of nope for me.
●LISTENERS BE WARNED●