It was promising at first. The female lead was very aware of how dangerous and frightening the male lead could be, and just as aware of her precarious situation. Her coolheadedness and strong desire to survive, no matter what, was admirable. The strength of will she showed at the beginning was impressive.
Further, she was determined to avoid falling in love with Lucretius, the male lead, despite his status/power/wealth and extremely good looks. I actually really appreciated how she remained aware of how scary this man was, while acknowledging his charm and A+ aesthetics.
Unfortunately, once he fell in love with her and decided he wanted her, nothing else mattered. The 20 year old succumbed easily to the experienced older man’s manipulations. Aside for the gore & human executions, possibly the most disturbing scene was the one in which the author gave us a glimpse into the male lead’s psyche. It was rlly disconcerting to read him assuring himself she would be his eventually, while thinking of all the steps he’d go through to get Bina to slowly trust him and fall for him.
It was also very disappointing to see her grow to rely on him more and more, even as she berated herself & fought to focus on her original goal of getting back home to her family. A goal, by the way, that she was honest to him about, but that he was offended by — because how dare a woman not love him back, and even try to leave him? But I digress. She seemed to devolve from a determined young woman with potential, into a Damsel in Distress who survived danger by using Lucretius’ favor/male approval as a shield. That was disappointing, and saddening.
This series was also guilty of writing a strong/independent female lead who breaks down crying in the arms of the male love interest (not a friend or even parental figure), admitting their competence/courage has been a facade & that they’re tired of “pretending” to be strong. Oh, and it also used the
Babies Ever After
trope. Yikes.
That’s all the time i’ll waste on this. Would not recommend to any of my friends.
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