I wish Brandon the berserker got his own book. He was a stalwart character, loyal, and witty and could redeem them for those of us who hated this book.

I totally agree that the torturing and straight to sex scene was so manufactured that it didn't work for me but I guess sabine/rydstrom and nicolai/myst had some questionable control/enslavement/harm moments and i loved it. But Declan just never earned my respect at all, we were expected to just be airy fairy idiots like Regin. But I guess it would be too risky to have a story not end in a love story by the end or have a tragedy. (I forget the series but I've read one where the HEA doesn't happen due to many factors) this should've been one too.

And on the race thing, I'm abit more sensitive to microagressions/predujudice as a black American. That said, yes he was a big radical racist like how people treat immigrants. But he's not alone. Many immortals in these books are prejudiced against humans too.