I loved this! I honestly don't remember the last time I read/ saw such a good portrayal of a toxic relationship. I mean it - not in the he raped him and beat him kind of way, but in the realistic, mature and deep kind of way.
The characters were so well portrayed - flawed and realistic. You get to see all sides and angles. How a toxic relationship operates, how it takes you away from your support systems and makes you feel dependent on the other person. At the same time, you get to see the other person's side - in their minds, never an abuser. The main character was also toxic in his way - you resonate with him, you pity him, but you know he is not blameless and is very flawed.
The feelings involved were so complex, but perfectly explained - so many moments made absolute sense and were necessary for the growth of the protagonists. Even cheating - it was perfectly clear why. The main characters needed to get hurt in order to evolve. The protagonist needed to heal. They couldn't continue the way it was.
Lastly, I just want to mention that not seeing anything about the first love interest at the end was an interesting detail for me. I would argue that their relationship was the most important and the focus of the story (for me). Because it basically ”created” the protagonist. Minho took a pivotal role in the story and was always almost ”the main character”. The ending we actually see him going as secondary. He doesn't ”take” place anymore in the story.
Overall, I think it was an amazing read. Very mature and realistic. Very well-developed and an incredibly sensible portrayal of the topic.
I loved this! I honestly don't remember the last time I read/ saw such a good portrayal of a toxic relationship. I mean it - not in the he raped him and beat him kind of way, but in the realistic, mature and deep kind of way.
The characters were so well portrayed - flawed and realistic. You get to see all sides and angles. How a toxic relationship operates, how it takes you away from your support systems and makes you feel dependent on the other person. At the same time, you get to see the other person's side - in their minds, never an abuser. The main character was also toxic in his way - you resonate with him, you pity him, but you know he is not blameless and is very flawed.
The feelings involved were so complex, but perfectly explained - so many moments made absolute sense and were necessary for the growth of the protagonists. Even cheating - it was perfectly clear why. The main characters needed to get hurt in order to evolve. The protagonist needed to heal. They couldn't continue the way it was.
Lastly, I just want to mention that not seeing anything about the first love interest at the end was an interesting detail for me. I would argue that their relationship was the most important and the focus of the story (for me). Because it basically ”created” the protagonist. Minho took a pivotal role in the story and was always almost ”the main character”. The ending we actually see him going as secondary. He doesn't ”take” place anymore in the story.
Overall, I think it was an amazing read. Very mature and realistic. Very well-developed and an incredibly sensible portrayal of the topic.