This is a spoiler-free review! Please read trigger warnings - reader discretion is advised.
I continue to fall victim to the insane college student romance genre - for about the tenth time this year, I find myself asking "You are in college, who taught you to act like this?" over and over again. Knight is two years older than Greer, and yet he acts like he is five years younger when it comes to maturity levels - he is so hot and cold with her, and then always seems to turn it around on her and acts like it is her fault he is upset. He does a complete 180 halfway through the book, and suddenly cannot live without her. Shocking.
Knight truly is something else... I could not get a true read on this man if my life depended on it. He clearly has experienced a number of traumatic events in his life, but I am not quite sure on how that translates to treating Greer so horribly, and how we are supposed to root for them. Yes, it is a college bully romance, but I felt underwhelmed in any type of redemption he was supposed to receive through this book.
Greer's characterization is probably the highlight of this book - she is very clearly aware of what she wants, and even when Knight causes a number of conflicting emotions for her, she still stays true to who she is. It was great to see her interacting with her mother and stepfather regularly, as it really demonstrated her relationships outside of the one she has with Knight.
Side characters, while sparse, add some humanity to Knight's character - without them, I would still be on the fence about him and his actions. I do wish that Greer had a better support system in addition to her mother and stepfather - it would have been nice to see her form some more solid friendships outside of the ones we did see. Her friends felt more surface level compared to the friends that Knight had surrounding him.
The plot mildly rushed and the side plot was a little underwhelming - while I do like plot with my romance, it needs to be developed that enhances the story. I felt more like we were given information and then the big reveal happened, which was not nearly as shocking as it was made out to be. That being said, the backstories for both Knight and Greer were well conveyed and I enjoyed learning more about them, especially because I was weary of Knight when I started this book.
If you are too intimidated to dive into darker college romances like The Ritual by Shantel Tessier, this is definitely a great gateway to get your foot in the door. The plot and spicy scenes are pretty evenly distributed, and one does not overtake the other.
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