This is the first time I've seen a book touch on something that I've long considered: that there are people in our world that have urges that aren't ok, but they also didn't choose them. What do they do with themselves? This is one of those books where you go in expecting one thing… and come out feeling something completely different, and it's exactly what I hoped it'd do.

At its core, this story is about a man living with an attraction he does not act on, and does not want to act on. Instead, he’s trying to understand it, control it, and even help others like him do the same. And somehow, against all instinct, the book asks you to sit with that. To not look away.

What surprised me most is that this isn’t written for shock value. It’s written with so much care. It’s not asking you to excuse anything—it’s asking you to consider what it means to be human in the most uncomfortable, complicated way possible. What do we do with people who don’t want to cause harm, but are wired in ways we don’t understand? Do we push them further into isolation, or do we try to create space for prevention, support, and accountability?

I kept waiting for the book to cross a line, and it never did. Instead, it stayed grounded in empathy—not easy empathy, but the kind you have to work for. The kind that makes you question your own reactions.

And that’s what stuck with me. This book didn’t just tell a story. it shifted something in how I think. That’s rare.

It’s also incredibly absorbing. I was fully pulled in, emotionally invested in these characters in a way that caught me off guard. There were moments that genuinely hurt to read, not because they were sensational, but because they felt real.

This is not a comfortable read. But it’s a powerful one. And if a book can challenge your sense of where empathy begins and ends—and leave you still thinking about it afterward—that feels worth something.

Thank you Netgalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC.