There was no fog tonight, but the darkness and onslaught of rain were deceiving enough. Chauncey stepped easily over the sunken graves and humus of the cemetery even in the thickest fog he could find his way home from here and not fear getting lost. Rain sheeted down on the darkening countryside surrounding the Château de Langeais.

Then he tugged on his boots and started for home. He tore a silver buckle off his shoe, placed it in the girl’s palm, and watched her scurry away, mud slinging on her skirts. Read any red-flag list for abusive behavior and you’ll understand why I can’t recommend this book and will not continue the series.CHAUNCEY WAS WITH A FARMER’S DAUGHTER ON the grassy banks of the Loire River when the storm rolled in, and having let his gelding wander in the meadow, was left to his own two feet to carry him back to the château. The actual age of the characters vs the age they act/the situations they find themselves in seems geared towards university age. And don’t get me started on the best friend-who is such a bad influence (practically dreams of hooking up with anything that breathes, calls in fake Bomb, knowingly goes off alone with another abusive character, etc.) and not someone I see the MC realistically being comfortable hanging out with a normal basis. I’m sure the author was going for a bad-boy vibe with Patch (sorry, I don’t buy a HS student being allowed to swindle people out of their money/car in what is essentially a bar/pool hall), but refusing to leave someone alone, making suggestive comments, invading privacy, pressing yourself against someone, and physically restraining or blocking someone against their will is abusive behavior (kind of surprised CSM didn’t expound on this in the Sex Category). I’m really surprised this is so popular in the age of #MeToo.

There is sexual innuendo in nearly every exchange the MC has with supporting characters (sex ed/heart rate monitoring would make way more sense in a health class than biology by the way) and nearly everyone ignores the MC’s concerns over the stalking/harassment behaviors of the lust interest-yes I said lust, not love-and abuse. imagination, some areas of mystery) but spoiled the strong points with extremely toxic relationships not only with the main characters, but supporting characters as well. Hush Hush had the ideas for the making of an interesting story ( some intense scenes of questioning reality vs.

Hush hush book 2