This was my first read by this author and I am definitely impressed! The writing and character development was great! I only knocked it down one star because I can’t stand the excuse of past trauma for constant hurtful behavior. Then friends coming around and giving excuses for the behavior. For example, After the Valentine’s Day scene which was the ultimate betrayal, his friends come around and say “well he’s been through a lot.” That just doesn’t fly. IMO it’s lazy to write behavior like that off instead of having the character worth through it. Because after that, there’s an apology and some caretaking on Gabe’s side and everything is forgiven?? It just felt abrupt to me. I will def read the next in the series hoping it’s better!
Joel is a great narrator but not everything in this book needed to be screamed 🫠