Forbidden Bound

This didn't work for me at all. Was it the subject matter, the setting, the insta-love? No. I've read stories with each of these features, sometimes all in one work and I've been happy but here the execution and writing were sorely lacking.

The judicial system and prison life are presented from the viewpoint of someone with a passing knowledge of the facts an 18 y.o. with no previous criminal history getting a 40 year sentence for killing someone in the commission of a burglary is highly improbable; an 18 y.o. killing a man while said man is in the midst of beating the 18 y.o.'s mother to death and consequently getting a 15 year sentence? also unlikely one perhaps acquired through pop culture.

You'd have to go into this with sack loads of goodwill to believe that Holden & Gage would end up in the same prison, same cell (expected to remain cellmates for the duration of their sentences), and that they'd be surrounded in said prison by so many people who are supportive of their taboo relationship and perhaps partake in their own off the beaten path lifestyle. Furthermore they go from knowing nothing about each other to being in undying forever love in about a second. Everything develops like a fairytale conjured up by a not very inventive tween. a gang rape scene of someone who's had no anal sex before, one that should be brutal (spit & cum are the only lube), goes by in three paragraphs and the victim (even though he "consented" to this treatment) seems to suffer no emotional or physical ill effects save one crying bout and sitting gingerly for a day or so

In spite of all my complaining I could've squinted, had a drink, and let this wash over me but weird word choices, bizarre punctuation, and capricious paragraph breaks proved too much. The Hemingwayesque sentences (sans the talent) drove me over the deep end. Here are two examples:

“The all wore a swastika tattoo somewhere on their body and spurted the most ridiculous bullshit.”

“The kid was my blood. Even if he didn't know it yet. I didn't feel that fatherly bond for Gage. But it was wrong, immoral, forbidden. I didn't know what to do. I chewed on my lip as I continued to stare out and watch everything.”

As usual YMMV and the cover is very pretty.