This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Lights Out and Caught Up on my blog, now!
I honestly did not set my expectations high for this final installment - I was not overly obsessed with Lights Out like the Booktok community and felt let down by Caught Up. I think I was hoping that this series would follow through with the dark romance with comedic relief, much like what I saw in Butcher & Blackbird, but instead I was let down once again. At least in the first book we saw a glimpse of the dark part of what a dark romance should be, but in the remaining books, it felt as though the original essence was abandoned. This is also the first time I have read an age gap romance where the female lead was older than the male lead, and safe to say this was not my cup of tea. However, I did appreciate that the author did not constantly bring up their age difference, it was only mentioned a couple of times.
Tyler seemed to be clouded by revenge, understandably so, but I still found myself aggravated with his reasoning on why he was targeting Stella in the first place. I kept wanting a big reveal to happen and have him go totally off the rails to actually fall in line with the dark and mysterious vibe he was going far, but it just never came. He definitely is dedicated, motivated, and passionate when it comes to collecting a debt and seeking revenge, but I wanted him to have that extra something-something to really draw me to him. He is certainly enthusiastic when it comes to getting spicy and exploring new things about himself, so I can give him that.
Stella's characterization was something that felt surface-level to me, which feels wild considering she does have a few moments where she is seen to be more fleshed out, but it does not seem to last long. I wanted to her grow into a more intense character, and when it came to getting freaking with Tyler she definitely excelled in that, but when it came to the overall plot of the book, she was lacking. Yes, she is willing to do anything for her younger brother, but I wanted the author to have her grow even more than the minimum growth and self-reflection she did experience. She is presented as this alternative tattoo artist with a troubled past but her character was just not drawing me in at all.
The little callouts to the prior books is always fun and I do love a Josh appearance, but the overall premise of this book was not alluring after I began reading. Tyler's "ruthlessness" in the beginning made me start to have hope that this would be an improvement from the second installment, but unfortunately it did not seem to stem too far and left me unsatisfied. The spicier scenes were tame in comparison to other books I have read, however the scenes that included AJ definitely were the highlight of those moments in the book. Tyler and Stella's relationship development throughout their story was pretty predictable and the fact that the most exciting parts were when they added someone else into the mix showed me that their relationship needed something more to make them exciting.
I really wanted to enjoy this book and while I did finish it in one day, it was more so in an effort to see it through and have a justified opinion on the series as a whole. I found myself not invested in Tyler's revenge scheme and bored with his constant rants - whether internal or not - about how angry he was about his life and how he wanted every wealthy person to pay. If you are looking for the "lighter" types of dark romance, this series could be a hit with you, but if you are looking for something with a little power, this would be a skip.
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