just finished feral king by sparrow beckett & sorcha black and i'm still processing lol
not the book i expected tbh. i went in thinking dark romance, came out feeling like i just watched someone survive a psychological excavation. severin is genuinely one of the most unsettling characters i've read in a while — like you don't know if you want to protect him or run from him, and that's the point. minnow is the perfect counterweight, this quiet steady presence that never feels weak, just... patient. the pacing is what got me though. nothing about their dynamic feels rushed, every scene peels back another layer instead of just moving the plot forward
the kink in this one isn't decorative either, which i appreciate as someone who reads a LOT of dark romance for work — it's doing emotional labor, not just there to be hot (though. it is very hot. there's a moment mid-book where the power exchange flips and the line delivery genuinely made me put the book down for a sec, you'll know it when you get there)
not for everyone obviously- heavy themes, very explicit, not a comfort read. but as someone who spends way too much time in manuscripts breaking down character arcs for a living, this is the kind of flawed-character-done-right writing i wish more authors trusted themselves to attempt
anyone else read this?? did severin's arc land for you or did it tip into too much
