Book Review for Bittersweet Injuries by Kateri Stanley
I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.
Bittersweet Injuries, by Kateri Stanley, is an urban fantasy about an angel who, despite her mistakes and growing recklessness, embraces her humanity, and in doing so, falls in love with a human. Marcus is a retired therapist who receives a mysterious text inviting him to meet up with an equally mysterious person. After realizing the text had come from an ex, Lilly, an angel, the two meet up and decide to rekindle their relationship. As Marcus tries to cope with Lily’s abrupt return to his life, Lily attempts to watch over her new assignment, Marcus’s son Greg. Her self-control is tested when Greg starts drowning in self-loathing, which is slowly feeding into a tragedy no one could see. Unable to no longer turn a blind eye, Lily and Marcus must find a way to save Greg despite the sins he’s committed.
To be completely honest, although Lily saving Marcus was a good start to their relationship, killing his mother was not. And no matter how twisted it seems, Lily killing Greg seemed just as malevolent. It speaks volumes to Lily’s anger; even though she thinks she’s doing the right thing, she isn’t giving anyone chances. She just can’t see beyond her own needs and the damage she’s causing. I need to agree with the Snake here: Lily is the perfect embodiment of wrath. She allows her emotions to overtake her, doesn’t think of anything other than how to satisfy her needs, even if it doesn’t seem like it at first. Her entire character actually reminds me of a conversation I had with my husband. While volunteering at a crisis shelter, I told him about the women and men who came through there, fleeing domestic violence relationships. He told me he could never work at a place like that, since all he’d be doing is hunting down the abusers and giving them their just desserts. I asked what he meant by that, and he never did clarify, but I knew what he wanted to do.
Interestingly enough, I consider Marcus the complete opposite, at least until Lily showed up. Rather than giving into his emotions, he practiced self-restraint, and was able to live a better life because of it. He didn’t necessarily move on from Lily, but he was able to build a respectable life for himself. I appreciated the relationship he had with Nell, and how patient he was when Greg fell into drugs. It’s heartbreaking to see him almost being forced to turn his back on his son. At the same time, I could understand just how frustrated he was. I’m not gonna lie; recovering from substance misuse is no joke. There’s gonna be a lot of relapses, a lot of lies, a lot of hurt and pain, and unfortunately, that’s a part of the process.
I enjoyed the emotional intensity built up throughout the book. I liked how Lily wasn’t glorified for her actions, and how, despite her thinking she was doing the right thing, she was still punished. I liked how Marcus was able to find some semblance of peace, even though his ending wasn’t what I envisioned for him. And even though addiction is, in and of itself, isolating, I loved how Greg’s family came together in the end, even though it was too little, too late. Although there were some side plots that were rushed, and the sex scenes could’ve been fleshed out more, I enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more from the author.
For now, I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
