Sam is adapting slowly to having Lillith, to being a
Cambion, but it isn’t easy. Her new powers of attraction are alienating her
friends and a considerable number of her school peers and Caleb’s draw on her
is growing to almost ridiculous degrees. Her own draw is attracting a lot of
unwanted attention from men – one man in particular.
Malik, he never had time for her before, but now he’s paying far more attention to her. Far too much and he’s not taking no for an answer. With her new Cambion powers, Sam has an answer to that – but that just opens up a whole new secret she never imagined – and a secret that is tied heavily to Nadine’s – and Lillith’s – past.
Sam is now torn between what she wants and what Lillith
wants and fighting to protect both the man she loves and the life she has, as
the Cambions encroach more and more.
This is the second book in the series and has continued
the pattern of taking us right to the edge of a trope and then completely
subverting it. I see the trope approaching, I’m poised to skewer it and then –
last second – we pull back from it and expose it as ridiculous as it is.
This time I thought we were going to have a love
triangle. It had all the hallmarks. Here is the evil hot guy to counteract
Caleb’s nicer-guyness. Evil Hot Love Interest is physically much sexier than
Caleb, Evil Hot Love Interest embraces his evil predatory nature while Caleb
fights it, Evil Hot Love Interest is more powerful – it’s a classic YA love
triangle we’ve seen repeated over and over (usually with fangs and lots of
moping and, as the author wonderfully skewers, with the CW logo in the corner).
So I braced myself, I gritted my teeth aaand…
Subversion! I am debating needing a spoiler warning here,
but it’s not really a spoiler – or is only a spoiler because this whole book
genre has convinced us that super-powerful hot guys who kill people and stalk
you are zomg so sexy! Sam appreciates that Tobias is a very attractive man, and
there it ends. She doesn’t consensually work with him, he pushed and
manipulates and it’s not a sign of twu luv and devotion, it’s a sign of
predatory behaviour and Sam treats him (almost) accordingly.
