3 Stars
Dedicated to Vin Vanbly: F**kin' Perfect by P!nk
And anyone else who's seen themselves in his mirror.
Here's the thing; I love this series, but I did not love this book. Might be that I had high expectations: wishing, hoping, and waiting for Vin's story. His kinging.
The secrets are finally revealed and the truth behind many things alluded to during the series is laid out. There's ugly here, there's cruelty, and I had a hard time watching how hard earned Vin's compassion was.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I had some issues with it. The disjointed structure was problematic. Three separate stories instead of a cohesive whole was not kinging that I was expecting. One story completely disrupted the timeline and served little purpose in advancing the story and could have been a short separate novella.
The covenant of being the insider with Vin during these stories is broken, and it's hard being on the outside wondering what's happening. If Manning was testing the reader to trust him, then I failed twice during this story. That fundamental change to the storytelling was disconcerting. Enough that I walked away from the book for a period of time.
There is a graphic quality to the erotic scenes that was not present in previous books, and if I'd never read another book in the series I wouldn't have blinked twice, but this was radically different. It is still that celebration for the human form and ability to feel in all its manifestations, but more explicit. Since Vin uses sexual congress as a form of connection, communication, and validation it shouldn't have been a surprise that his story would explore these themes more.
I love Vin; I just wish the story had been constructed differently. My recommendation for readers unfamiliar with Vin, do NOT start with this book because I don't think it will give one a sense of the series.
Overall, a MUST READ for Vin fans.
And anyone else who's seen themselves in his mirror.
“I wanted you to see me like this. My worst. See if you’d still like me.”
Here's the thing; I love this series, but I did not love this book. Might be that I had high expectations: wishing, hoping, and waiting for Vin's story. His kinging.
The secrets are finally revealed and the truth behind many things alluded to during the series is laid out. There's ugly here, there's cruelty, and I had a hard time watching how hard earned Vin's compassion was.
I have no future because every string is wrapped so tightly around the past.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I had some issues with it. The disjointed structure was problematic. Three separate stories instead of a cohesive whole was not kinging that I was expecting. One story completely disrupted the timeline and served little purpose in advancing the story and could have been a short separate novella.
The covenant of being the insider with Vin during these stories is broken, and it's hard being on the outside wondering what's happening. If Manning was testing the reader to trust him, then I failed twice during this story. That fundamental change to the storytelling was disconcerting. Enough that I walked away from the book for a period of time.
This is the story of a nobody. Someone who probably shouldn’t even be alive.
There is a graphic quality to the erotic scenes that was not present in previous books, and if I'd never read another book in the series I wouldn't have blinked twice, but this was radically different. It is still that celebration for the human form and ability to feel in all its manifestations, but more explicit. Since Vin uses sexual congress as a form of connection, communication, and validation it shouldn't have been a surprise that his story would explore these themes more.
He said, “Not knowing someone’s king name doesn’t prevent them from being a king. A name doesn’t define you or make you something you’re not. Your king name is true, but not the truth.”
I love Vin; I just wish the story had been constructed differently. My recommendation for readers unfamiliar with Vin, do NOT start with this book because I don't think it will give one a sense of the series.
Overall, a MUST READ for Vin fans.
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