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Not quite sure how to rate this one. It had so much angst I felt like I was back in high school! I need books to have some angst but this took it too a whole new level. It just never let up so after a certain point I just got annoyed with everyone. I'm hoping that this is setting the groundwork for a much deeper and stronger relationship between Sin and Boyd. In any case, I'm moving right along to the next book to find out!

Random thoughts about this book:
- I'm glad Boyd is reaching out and making new friends, and I like the new characters, but it pisses me off that he supposedly loves Sin, yet spills his secrets to everyone, and is so self-absorbed that he doesn't even consider how his actions will affect the person who means the most to him. And he needs to quit being a hypocritical whore.- On the subject of spilling secrets, I for some reason did not sympathize as much with Boyd during his interrogation training as I did when he was sent to Shane in the first book. My issue was that while being forced to watch the video of Lou repeatedly on top of the other stuff was traumatic, should that not have made him focus on Sin, who helped heal him from that past, and as a result have more resolve not to betray Sin's secrets to the Agency, who he KNOWS will use it against him? I couldn't help but imagine if that I were in that position, I'd lie my ass off before giving up that kind of info in order to protect the one I love most. Besides, he knew it was part of training and that it wouldn't last forever, which is an advantage he had over someone who's tortured by an enemy.- I was confused about why techno music was so horrible for Boyd. I couldn't help but think it would have made the time alone easier to bear - then again, I love techno and can zone out and sleep to it, or get into it and dance; which is why when Jon said he liked it I laughed and thought I KNOW, right?!- I don't hate Ann, but I think she's a dumbass and completely unprofessional. She took advantage of the vulnerability a patient has with their therapist, then expected there to be no consequences. There are parallels between what she did and what her sister did to Sin and neither were ok.- I got really sick of everyone being so caught up in themselves that they weren't there for Sin. They all want him to reach out and trust people then when he tries, they either don't have time for him (Boyd), don't want to deal with his shit on top of their own (Carhart), or use him to deal with their own issues (Ann). I wanted to smack all of them and give Sin a hug!- I fail to see how taking away the one true friendship Sin has is going to help him learn to trust anyone else. I can understand taking it down a notch from a romantic relationship but abandoning him altogether isn't the answer. He needs support and help making new friends and he's too messed up to take that initiative by himself. So when Carhart demanded that, I wanted to bitch slap him.- Do I love Emilio or do I hate him? I can't decide! Speaking of Emilio, I was wondering if most others thought it was as obvious as I did in the first book that it was him - I'd been waiting and waiting for him to finally make his big appearance! Anyway, I'm a little unclear on whether Carhart knows that Emilio's the one who led the raid and killed Conners. I don't think it's been said that it was him, but it's just as obvious. I suppose I'll find out eventually!- Did the dude that trained Boyd originally (David or something?) die in the raid??- Did Sin keep his tattoos from his Jason persona?

And here I though the first one was an emotional roller coaster!
I know it's never good when I devote myself the characters too much, but I just cant't help it when reading about Sin and Boyd! It's impossible not to get attached to them. You can surely try, but let me assure you that you're going to fail.

Are you emotionally prepared to read this book? Surely not.
Will you ever be emotionally prepared for it? I gave myself a few days time after having finished the first one to calm the inner turmoil I was in, so I can tell you frankly: No you can't prepare yourself for it.

It follows the same scheme as the first one: Give you the illusion that everything will be alright and that they'll be happy just to rip your heart out in the next few chapters and crush it brutally, and then let you sink into despair with the certainity that nothing will be okay ever again before giving you a nice warm blanket of some comfort, and then abandoning you in the cold where you'll be for the rest of the book with a hint of hope on the very last page.

Requirements for reading this book:
- a person that will hug you and tell you that everything is eventually going to be okay and that the pain you feel will go away
- a blanket and a warm cup of tea
- some stuffed animal you're not fond of so you can vent some of the anger and frustration you'll feel, because you'll most certainly feel the urge to kill some agency people

It helps if you already experienced series finales and are accustomed to having your emotions tormented by te hands of writers.

Good luck!