Read my reviews of previous books in the Desires: New Beginnings series:
What He Learns (#1) | What He Finds (#2)
I’ll be honest; I didn’t love Jade after meeting them as a secondary character earlier in this series. In retrospect, I’m not even sure I can tell you why. Jade certainly did not “owe” anything to Sterling based on their friendship, even with Sterling’s crush on them. However, Denning’s re-introduction to Jade made my heart hurt for them from the very beginning, and by the halfway mark, I’d completely softened. Jade’s staunch personal sense of self but intense doubt in themself as “relationship material” made for compelling reading.
Angelo has been intrigued by Jade from afar but needed his own time and space before feeling ready to attempt a new relationship. The way he pursues Jade, making no secret of his interest but being constantly respectful of Jade’s boundaries, is swoony AF. The inclusion of a power exchange dynamic, and the intimacy such a relationship quickly builds, added a bit of a “speed run” element to their emotional journey, but I never felt like Denning rushed through a series of checkpoints toward the happily ever after.
Instead, Denning does an excellent job of highlighting that a power exchange dynamic needs to truly be dynamic. The people involved require the space to flex and evolve within the relationship so that it truly serves their needs. This thematic element feeds directly into the important and meaningful conflict that serves as the “dark moment” of this story, but Denning keeps things relatively low angst without sacrificing the important conversations needed for both relationship and character development. And by the end of this installment, I’d even call myself Team Jade.
Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this book from the author.