“when you’re the other half of my soul. my heart only beats because you allow it,” 
 

i don’t know what it says about me, but i need mc romances to emotionally destroy me. and this book surely did. there were different layers of darkness to this story, different sides of trauma. this wasn’t just charged with sexual tension, there was an added depth to the unsettling atmosphere that made the book even more captivating, haunting even. yes, there was the element of found family that distinguishes motorcycle club romances, but even between the different dynamics there was this underlying current of something sinister in the best way possible; this animosity between two brothers, albeit one sided that spoke to so much potential (of both their backstories and future); the foreshadowing of internal conflict within the ranks because of a brother’s best friend pairing. i thoroughly enjoyed how each member already had something of their own aside from the established role in the club, that they’re personalities were so strong from the get-go without having to wait for their respective book to get a glimpse of who they are. but nothing could have shadowed the two main characters, no matter how well-crafted every single detail about everything else was. the second chance love was simply perfection, i loved how the fmc was the one to end things the first time around and her reasoning behind it (hidden identity is a favorite trope of mine, and when the girl is the secretive one it makes it all the better), i loved even more that she groveled in a way that not only made sense for her character individually but the space she took over in the mmc’s life, specifically the club, since she had already been a part of it in the past. i especially appreciated how the brothers didn’t shy away from being protective over their boy and how the male lead was unapologetic about his heartbreak. there was nothing i didn’t like. and that ending? the tease of a mc x mafia crossover? that’s my love language the author was speaking.