Butch O'Neal 
 Marissa 
 Didn't really enjoy this as much as I did the other books. Loved Butch, not a fan of Marissa though. I struggled a lot with trying to like Marissa in this. Her character alone did not win me over. I tried really hard to give her character a chance but she kept doing and saying things that got under my skin and had me questioning whether she was a good match for Butch. I felt her maturity level left a lot to be desired. 
 Her constant habit of breaking down and turning into a sobbing mess whenever she was scared or angry I could understand given her sheltered background but given the frequency and number of times it happens throughout the book, it gets tiring real fast. I mean...honestly. We all have our moments of going bat shit and turning into sobbing messes but this was too much. Plus her tendency to yell and push Butch away when she was upset or there was a misunderstanding I thought was pretty juvenile. Yes I understand she's vampire from an aristocratic background, lived a somewhat sheltered life and didn't experience the things Butch and other brothers have first hand. But to me, that doesn't justify her outrageous over-the-top melt downs and storming off whenever she didn't get her way. She came off petulant and spoiled to me. There were literally a handful of scenes in this where I could clearly picture her sobbing or scowling and stomping her foot like a 2 year old because she wasn't getting her way. Seriously? How is that endearing or even admirable?? I also just got tired of reading the same arguments with the same results, her and Butch not speaking, avoiding each other over another misconstrued argument. Give it a freaking rest Ward. I lost count how many times these two got into bickering fights, storming off, not talking to each other over stupid miniscule things or misunderstandings that could be settled very easily. The whole thing came off extremely juvenile and stupid to be honest. 
 I guess my biggest problem was I just didn't understand what was so amazing and awe-worthy about Marissa that had Butch stumbling over his hands and knees to have her. For me, there was no middle ground with these two, no fair compromise. Just Butch repeatedly begging, pleading and trying to soothe her to see to reason. Or just soothe her every time the poor man said or did the wrong thing. I mean really?? The whole thing just turned me off. It came off very high school rather than two grown adults trying to make a relationship work. There were a lot of ILY's and reassurances but I found myself not feeling it. 
 But the final 'oh hhhhell NO' straw for me was when she had the gall to throw the death of Butch's sister (a very sensitive subject for him) in his face and not even blink a damn eye over doing it. She was so damn prissy and haughty about it that it made me want to throttle her. The nonplussed 'oh please' reaction from her was ridiculous and just cruel. What are you? Five years old? It was just really low. I wanted to peck her eyes out for doing that. I get she wanted to protect Butch and keep him safe but her constantly guilting him and giving him ultimatums did not endear me to her. To me her actions instead of coming off as selfless and loving came off incredibly selfish and restricting. She kept trying to change him into something she wanted because of her fear and insecurities. And yes the ending raps up nicely with the necessary "I'm sorry" and self-realizations but it came off too little too late to me. I found myself not really caring at that point which sucks. I really like Butch I just wish I could say the same for his pairing. 
 I almost felt sorry for Butch at times even though he had a hand in the stupid misunderstandings and not talking to her. The guy more than once was willing to give up his own happiness just to please her. It grated my nerves how desperate he was to make her happy and be what she 'needed' only for her to keep throwing melodramatic tantrums and storming off every time something happened that she didn't like. G-d. Grow a damn backbone, have faith in your man and stop questioning what he can and can't do. I know many argue that she comes from a very different lifestyle and grew up with the 'traditional' restricting ways of the glymera so a lot of things were very new to her. Yes true. I sympathized with her in the beginning when she was introduced but in here there left very little room for me to like her with the way she acted and carried on. In every relationship there is compromise and I felt Butch compromised way more than Marissa did, no matter what the guy did there was always something she would worry, frown over or be upset about. He would jump through hoops for her while she pretty much stands there simpering and on the verge of tears. Oh suck it up. In theory it's very romantic and nice to have the hero come to the heroine's rescue and move heaven and earth to make her happy but here? Not so much. It just got really tiring. I really wanted to believe she is the love of his life but I wasn't convinced. I usually have a soft spot for heroines who are 'misunderstood' or shy or insecure but Marissa tested my patience with the constant self-pity attitude she had and feeling sorry for herself and complaining about how hard her life is. I felt Ward beat that angle over the head one too many times. Yes we get it, she was rejected by the King and no one wants her. I understood Marissa and felt for her in the first book Dark Lover when she was introduced. She had a hard time trying to be accepted by Wrath as his shellan. I could feel her heartbreak and loneliness over just wanting to be loved and cherished and not humiliated. I understood where she was coming from and sympathized with her but that sympathy veered straight off the cliff in this book w/ the number of misconstrued fights and arguments between her and Butch and her petulant prissy attitude. 
 I loved Butch O'Neal from his introduction in the beginning of this series. He just broke my heart the way he was falling for Beth and wanted what was best for her. He intrigued me.He is such a sweetheart with a stubborn hard-ass streak a mile-wide. His wit and boyish spirit is really endearing and ever since the way he interacted with Beth in the first book, I wanted him to find someone special. I'm still not convinced that Marissa is that someone special.