I tried this book as it was recommended to me by a friend but I couldn't get into it really, so I had to DNF it. As others mentioned, there were many problems, such as blatant racism,

I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley, thank you!

Suspenseful and well-written horror fantasy with an engaging romance (m/m) on top of it- I really enjoyed it!

DNFed at 31%.
This book was kinda a baffling read for me. Based on the summary, I should love it, but it was hard for me to get into it.

There were two big problems I had with this book:

First, the... racism? Listen, I am white as mayonaise but I don't think its appropriate to call your love interests "donkey" or any variation thereof. That was a big WTF moment when I got to it and I almost put the book down.

The second was the disprepancy between the showing and telling. I am not sure if the was bad writing or if it was supposed to show that we cannot believe the main hero's POV, but i sure as hell didn't enjoy it.
"My mom really loves me and supports me!" - his mother has a partner who is abusive and transphobic towards her son and she does nothing about it. Me: ?_?
Or "the whole towns hates me" - the same chapter we meet three characters who are very nice and welcoming to the main hero.
"I never cry!" - cries twice in the chapter
I would wave this whole thing away if the main hero was 17-19 years old. If the book didn't mention the actual age, I would say he is a teenage hero full of angst. It would also explain why he still lives with his mom and doesn't have a job. I would say, fair enough.
But the main character is... 27 years old??? Why the hell is almost 30 year old man staying with his mother in a town where he can't get a job? Wouldn't it be easier to return to Bristol where he was accepted, had friends and where he has good chances of finding employment? Where he wouldn't have to face abusive transphobic asshole(s)?

...
Well.
I wouldn't say this book is badly written (though it could use an editor who would catch thing like "donkey eyelashes"), but its definitely not my cup of tea at all.

I’ll be honest, I had to DNF after around 5%. The editing (or the lack of?) was simply atrocious, but that wasn’t my main issue. It was the racism. The first time the white protagonist called his Middle Eastern future love interest ‘donkey lashes’, I jerked in my seat. I was confused and hurt. Comparing Middle Eastern people to cattle is horrible in any context, even if you’re trying to give a compliment (I think it was supposed to be a complimentary nickname? It’s not actually used in a positive way, I just realized). I was already upset, but I thought ‘okay, this might be a one-off thing’. It wasn’t. Maybe a page later, the protagonist continues with this
:
“Everyone else called him ‘the Persian’ or ‘that Iranian fella’; I had never heard his actual name, and had only ever seen him from a distance when he was working in the fields. It was also in that respect that he reminded me of a donkey, because it seemed no matter how much work-load the farmers piled on top of him, he continued to toil away in all weather.”

So wait. You’re saying that because the farmers around you are apparently racist and treat Maredudd like shit and he doesn’t fight it, he’s like cattle?? Donkey, especially? There’s so much wrong with this situation. The race component to calling poc cattle is so horrible, how has nobody caught this in proof-reads? Betas? Editors?? Anyone??? After that, I had to check how many times does he get compared to donkey and according to the kindle search function, it’s four times. Four times this Middle Eastern character gets compared to a donkey.

Why use donkey as example for long lashes, instead of the commonly accepted cow, which, by the way, has no racial connotations?? Saying ‘he’s as hardworking as a mule’ is fine, saying he ‘reminds you of a donkey because farmers treat him bad’ is Very Much Not.

My family is Middle Eastern. I got called much worse than just donkey, growing up. But I don’t expect to read something like that in a romance. If anyone compared me or anyone in my family to a donkey, I would break their face.