Wow, that was way better than I was expecting. It’s wild to read a book where you know almost every twist coming and still can’t stop reading. What a fun experience!

Nearly every twist/reveal is set up so obviously that I’m not even sure they’re really meant to be twists or reveals. Or maybe they’re a bonus for anyone who doesn’t see it coming. Regardless, I think the larger narrative here — of power and privilege, cycles of abuse, etc. — is enough to keep you engaged.

I even (mostly) liked how kinks were handled. I don’t know that it quite went far enough in the direction of kinks are okay, but it didn’t condemn them the way I kept fearing and expecting throughout. At least, not in my opinion, based on

Jamie’s response during their sex scene, which felt important after how he kept insisting that he wouldn’t judge her kinks. Up to that point, I wasn’t sure if he was just being dismissive, but I can imagine that might have been a desire of his the whole time.

There are so many social horror / thriller books these days. Some really don’t work for me, either going waaaaaay too far in world domination or not far enough (making it too realistic and just depressing me). This hit the sweet spot for me. It’s believable in how everyone and everything is connected, while the events we’re witnessing are outlandish enough to keep things somewhat fun and not completely depressing.