Passion and Payback
by Romeo Alexander | My rating: 3 of 5 stars | Goodreads | Amazon
Darker
Passion and Payback is a much darker romance by Romeo Alexander. The story had me rooting for the main love interests from the very start but in the end, Passion and Payback didn’t do it for me. My rating is really more like a 2.5 / 5, there are just lots of parts of the story that I didn’t vibe with.
Triggers From the Start
Readers, be aware the first chapter has drug use, a violent sexual assault, and character death in it. These things are major triggers for a lot of people so that should be something readers are fully aware of going into it.
I’m Usually Pretty Strong
I can usually read pretty much anything without getting icked out. More on that later. So since my constitution is pretty solid, I plowed ahead even after the first part of the story with the r*pe and the murder. I mean I have read some pretty messed up things. Maybe I didn’t read this story at the right time, mentally, but I ended up being put-off by much of what happened in Passion and Payback.
Hunter and Kai
Hunter and Kai are so well matched in the ways they lift each other up and support each other. Surprisingly, they didn’t know that sooner. In fact, that seemed somewhat unlikely. Like why wouldn’t Kai tell Hunter of his sexuality his whole life if they were so close? I get why this was kept from Hunter, plot-wise, but it struck me as disingenuous considering they were supposed to be the closest of friends.
Kai is Adrift
Kai is drifting even if he doesn’t realize it. He’s coming out of the military after a long time in, which can leave anyone unsure of who they are and what they are supposed to do next. Transitions are tough in general and the military specifically eats away at one’s individuality and sense of autonomy because they are constantly being told what to do. So it’s unsurprising that Kai doesn’t know quite what to do with himself upon his exit from the military. And it’s equally unsurprising that he gravitates back to Hunter because of course he does. They are said to be best friends, the type of friend that is so close it makes partners wonder if there’s something more going on.
Super Close
They would be as close as brothers, except they’re not at all. Because both have harbored crushes on each other from the very start of their relationship and somehow hidden it from the other. Which again, seemed incongruous with how close they are purported to be.
Anyway, they get together
This is the part of the story I liked: everything that surrounded them getting together and figuring out how they make one another stronger. I liked that part.
What I didn’t like, I really didn’t like… like at all.
I did not jive well with the revenge and violence in the story. In fact, that’s not even explaining it well. I did not like the revenge part of the story one bit. It felt deranged. It felt evil. I’ve read a lot of Romeo Alexander’s work and he’s right when he says this book is much darker than his norm. I couldn’t get on board with the way the characters sought out revenge. It felt more like straight killing than revenge, to be frank. I’m not sure how else to say it. It left me feeling icky. And I can usually read a lot of things without issue.
Not for the faint of heart.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
View all my reviews on Goodreads. View more of my reviews here.
