
im at the chapter where the spoiler is told and i came back to the topics just in case. im glad to have found your review. for me, toxic themes are just fine if it is executed well (meaning the twisted personalities complement each other instead of creating a romanticized abuser x victim because there's nothing to take from the story if it's like that).
and the spoiled ending disrespects the whole premise of the story which is why im disappointed with the author's decision for that ending. i believe in the saying that the author is dead because the text must live on it's own, if Tia wanted to be free from her abuser then the author's intent to force them together causes the fiction to collapse because it becomes unnatural to the rules of its own world.
You see the problem with these type of stories where the protagonist goes back to the past and in the end, still ends up with her past abuser with the excuse of "he's changed, he's not the same person as he was in the past" is that it romanticizes past trauma, toxic relationships, and abusive behavior which is not and will never be a good reading material. Your pain or even a drug, although explains it, is never an excuse to abuse another. Moreover, the characters don't feel real at all, they just serve as a plot device so the audience's sympathy would fall on the female protagonist. Having side characters as a plot device isn't a bad thing yes but your main cast shouldn't just serve as some plot device, sadly in this case, they do.
While we don't blame the characters for turning into what they are, it is ultimately the author's fault. Stories involving emotional abuse and healing over it takes a lot of emotional maturity. If the author intended for Ruve and Tia to end up together, she shouldn't have made him Tia's abuser. As a writer, you have the responsibility to take proper care of the themes you want to portray in order to not send the wrong message to your audience. Stories shape worldviews, folks.
So I caution you, only read this if you want an example of what bad writing is, how you shouldn't romanticize certain things, how the characters only serve as a plot device for the protagonist, and how the author failed to deliver her story's chosen themes properly.