I wish I was Elias in this story, Alaric, Nico, WOW.

What Rowan does with characters should be studied. This isn’t just about romance. It’s about control and surrender and who we become when we let go of who we think we are. Elias, Lina, Alaric, Nico — they aren’t safe. But they’re true.

He came in and flipped everything. He’s chaotic but exact. Sexy and cruel and honest in a way I wasn’t ready for. I didn’t expect to fall for him. But he’s the spark that sets so much in motion, and now I can’t stop thinking about him.

Everything about this book is restrained. The sex, the pain, the beauty — it all simmers just beneath the surface. And that’s what made it feel so real. I didn’t want it to end. Not because I needed more, but because I wasn’t ready to leave the version of myself that existed while reading it. If you’ve ever wanted to be seen without asking, this book will see you. And it won’t look away.

I thought I was just reading another erotic novel. What I found instead was a mirror I didn’t know I needed. There’s a scene early on — no sex, just stillness — and it broke something open in me. Rowan has this way of writing people at their most raw, but never without care. The power play isn’t just physical — it’s emotional, and that’s what makes it devastating. And beautiful. This book didn’t just entertain me. It stayed. It changed the way I think about control, shame, and what we ask for when we think we want to be seen.

Almost too real, which made it hotter. And sadder. And better. Loved it