it pains me to dnf this, especially given how much i love this series, but this story, this book just wasn't for me, and for one reason only, the mmc. as much as it followed the formula of the previous books in the series, not even the writing could keep me engaged, or rather interested, in this couple. to be honest, they shouldn't even have been a couple to begin with; the fmc deserve so much more than a man who gets aroused by killing people, and still intends to kill her after the 50% mark in the story. for a priest, this man surely needed jesus. there was not a single redeemable thing about him. i'm sorry, but i won't hear it that him being a decent human being to her little brother who's on the spectrum is somewhat heroic, when his inner dialogue is screaming about wanting to kill her and therefore leaving that same brother orphan. when he is an orphan himself and still deeply traumatized by it, ranting about how his parents this and that, how angry it made him, how angry it clearly still makes him. that's not heroic, that's downright selfish and immature. he killed a man who dared touch her because if he can't have her no one can and when she was brought in for questioning by the police and had to turn to the piece of shit who sexually assaulted her for protection, he was mad at her. he. blamed. her. i shouldn't have forced myself to continue this when i wanted to dnf the book before the prologue was even over - killing sex workers just because you can, because you're ridding them of their demons when you're the monster is repulsing.

(p.s. and the whole self-flagellation plot just reminded me of silas from the da vinci code, disgusting me to this priest even more)