I'm very skeptical when it comes to reading a book/novella/piece of fiction written in a guy's point of view by a woman. It's usually easy for me to know that a woman is writing it. Sometimes, their thoughts come across or they either go over the top by trying so hard to sound like a guy - they end up making him a douchebag, or they emasculate his character by making him feminine. And most of the time it's inevitable because it's hard to write like a guy when you're not a guy. 
 In this case, though I could tell it was Karina Halle behind Dex's words (because you really can't escape her writing style once you know it), it didn't really bother me. Now I'm not sure if Halle found a balance or the right way of doing it or perhaps I was too intrigued by the story, but I didn't exactly notice anything wrong with the way she wrote Dex's POV. He seemed like a standard, regular guy. You know, the one who's constantly thinking about sex and making crude jokes. His thoughts are actually really funny sometimes. It's interesting because on the outside, from Perry's perspective, Dex can sometimes seem so cool and suave, like the nothing-can-hurt-me type of guy. And yet, his head is just...it's like a myriad of really weird emotions that you can totally relate to. 
 If there's one thing Dex is...it's dramatic. His descriptions of certain situations can sometimes be so wild and over-the-top. But sometimes, at the heart of it, they can be really romantic, charming even: 
 "I was head over heels in love with her. No, that didn't describe it. I was tear my fucking heart out and throw it at her, beg her to take it into hers. I was falling from the greatest heights with no safety net below. I was giving everything of my own life for hers, giving up every inch of my soul so she could wear it proudly. I was a former king on my knees in front of the queen. A jester begging for a chance. I was powerless, helpless and at her mercy.". 
 When he's experiencing a certain feeling, it's like a tornado is passing through his head. He can be completely erratic. But this just makes him much more interesting to me, for some reason. It's just really entertaining. Especially when he seems so cool from Perry's view point. I keep thinking how the hell does he look like he can keep it together when it's like a party's going inside his head? Then again, I'm pretty sure this happens to most of us anyway. 
 He can also be brutally honest with himself. 
 I'm a hypocrite because I can't stand weakness in others, even though I'm born of weakness myself. I dish it out and then laugh when they try and dish it back. Like I'm above it. And sometimes I think I am. 
 I'm a hypocrite because I hunt ghosts and I've pretended all this time that the ghosts haven't been hunting me. And I'm a hypocrite because I judge people. I judge the fuck out of everyone I meet, from their music tastes, to their jobs to their lifestyle choices. I judge them but fuck them if they dare judge me. 
 I mean you gotta love someone that knows they're a hypocrite, someone that's able to identify their own flaws. I judge people, too, Dex The only problem with that is that Dex is perhaps a bit too honest with himself, that he becomes self-deprecating. Which is totally bad because when you think you don't deserve good things, you start pushing them away. 
 But he's funny and delightfully entertaining. 
 He was so full of shit, he'd make fantastic fertilizer for their garden. 
 I suppose most guys, if they weren't freaking the fuck out, would be a bit proud at this accomplishment. You know, 'my sperm is so powerful it punched that pill in the uterus' or something like that. 
 And even profound: 
 Saying goodbye to something or someone after that long of a time, even if it brought you pain and misery, is hard. It's like living with a gangrene foot. You know you need to just whack it off and you'll be healthier for it. But damn if you don't feel some sort of emptiness when your decaying foot is gone. You look at the end of your leg expecting to see it there in all black and rotting but there's just nothing but air now 
 But enough of that. This installment was entertaining. It certainly gives you an insight to the enigma that is Dex Foray. And kinda makes you prepared for 
 Come Alive 
 .