The Forest Savage

Manic pixie e-boy bounces between personalities faster than pages can turn in the book. Man with survivor's guilt pines lovingly after his dead rapist/abuser/gaslighter with whom he fell in love. And other stuff, most of it dull but some of it mildly interesting (and rather fucked up).

I like stories about characters with dark pasts, mental health issues, etc. but this one was a big flop for me. It took eternity to read for its relatively short length - in bursts during commercial breaks while watching television, I was so disengaged - mostly because the characters were flat and the darker elements felt mostly tossed in for shock value rather than depth.

While I felt like the backstories and characters had potential, I just didn't care while reading this one. Maybe I'm not compatible with the writing style. Or maybe I'm in the wrong mood for this. I don't know. But it very much didn't impress me.

I'm glad this wasn't the first Claire Davis/Al Stewart book I read because it might have been my last. I think they do best when they use dual POVs - in this book I didn't really get a sense of Troy at all, other than the fact that he was troubled, and there seemed to be little growth or change in his character. Cal's journey was more evident, as his past slowly came to light with the help of the most caring parole officer ever.

I was trying to be a Davis/Stewart completist but this was a misfire. I still love them for the Adam and Tork series and their latest masterpiece, Oskar Blows a Gasket.