“𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.”

Between the stunning cover and early buzz from friends Dennis (@ScaredStraightReads) and Matt (@MattyAndTheBooks) on this gay dark academia, I knew I had to pick up this debut from Craig Willse.

From the opening line, Willse creates a sense of forboding: "𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘩𝘪𝘰" that doesn’t let up until the final page. As narrator, professor Mark Lausson falls further into a web of obsession with his student, Tyler, you can’t help but keep turning the pages to see just how far it will go. I’ve never met a character that I disliked so much (Mark’s sense of ennui feels very woe-is-me at times), yet I needed know see what was coming next. Both Mark and Tyler are impulsive, selfish, and drown in their own paranoia, allowing for assumptions to happen, much like Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Mark is a loner and every time someone tried to get close to him, like friend Safie or boyfriend Stephen, he would shut down and push them away, and in turn, it felt like we never got to know them well. Willse’s writing style was very accessible tackling a lofty topic with the right amount of steam and social commentary. I did feel the pacing was a bit off - at times it moved slowly, and others felt like it needed more fleshing out.

Providence is a story of desire, unhappiness, deception, obsession, and lust. It shows that Willse has a lot of potential and I’ll definitely check out what he writes next. If you’re a fan of Brett Easton Ellis’ The Shards, I recommend this one. Thank you to Union Square & Co. and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have two minds of this book, one - that it wasn't as marketed, it is not a murder/mystery type, it's more of a literary study on how to ruin a career and two - that the writing was very strong and that alone kept me reading to the end. Mark is a professor at a small college in the middle of Ohio, he's gay, has a boyfriend that he's not really keen on and when he claps eyes on Tyler, a young man that is in his class, he immediately falls head over heels in love, like literally instantly. Tyler though is a bit of a weird kid, comes from a poor background, is attending on a soccer scholarship and appears to be in lust with his roommate the uber wealthy Addison. Mark and Tyler do have interactions n social settings, though Mark desires much more even though he already has a boyfriend and a solid circle of friends. Even knowing that getting intimately involved with a student is a huge NO. But eventually Mark and Tyler do become intimate and Mark attempts to break it off, but Tyler keeps coming back, saying the right things to Mark (although Mark finds out that a lot of what he's told is not true) and their weird intimacy continues. Until Mark is given the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to apply for a position at a college away from Ohio, away from all the issues, and things are looking very good after he goes through the interview process. When he gets back to Ohio, that's when things fall apart and the murder issue happens, that last part of the book was interesting, sad for all involved. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Unionsquare&co for the ARC.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to NetGalley, the publishing team, and Craig Willse for providing me with an ARC copy of "Providence" in exchange for my honest review. (And a brief apology for the late review as I was ill)

Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

As a fan of novels like "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "The Secret History," "Providence" was right up my alley.

However, it's worth noting that the novel has a very slow start in terms of building the suspense and darker elements of the story. It took me a few tries to power through the initial chapters, but once the narrative gained momentum, I found myself completely immersed in the world Willse created.

While "Providence" is marketed as a thriller, I felt that the thriller aspect was somewhat of a miss. The intensity was certainly there, but not in the traditional thriller genre sense that I was expecting. If the novel had been marketed differently, perhaps as a psychological drama, I believe my expectations would have been better aligned with the actual content.

Additionally, I couldn't help but feel that Tyler's character could have been more developed. I expected him to possess a bit more of an edge, and I found myself wanting to see him show more interest in Mark beyond the surface level. This could have added another layer of complexity to their relationship dynamics.

Despite these minor criticisms, I found "Providence" to be a great read. While it may not have fully delivered on the thriller front, its exploration of desire, deceit, and the complexities of human relationships made for a compelling narrative. With that in mind, I'm giving this book a rating of 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for its overall impact and the skillful execution of its themes.

Finally!!! A queer novel about “Bad Gays”…

“Providence” introduces us to Mark, a young teacher in an elite Sawyer Colege, in Ohio. Stuck in a small town with deadlines piling up and paychecks falling short, Mark can already feel his life crumbling. But when Tyler Cunningham a sophomore student Tyler shows up in class, Mark glimpses another way of being in the world. The self-confidence of the popular Tyler, as well as his mysterious aura, are like a magnetic force for Mark. Caught in the rush of sex and secrets, Mark ignores the increasing evidence that Tyler can’t be trusted. But by the time Mark comes to his senses, the irreparable damage has already been done.

First of all, let me state that “Providence” has conquered me! I have to say that it´s probably one of my favorite books of the year… But let me clarify something: I don´t consider this book a thriller! I would say it´s a dark romance novel, with very enigmatic suspenseful vibes.
In “Providence”, the taboo relationship between Mark and Tyler is the central emotional core of the narrative. Craig Willse is magnificent at building this relationship between the two main protagonists. Let´s focus first on Mark, who is drawn deeper and deeper into Tyler's world, finding himself caught in a web of intrigue that challenges his very perceptions of love, desire, trust and truth. Willse also masterfully explores themes of identity, obsession and the human need for connection, while Mark’s admiration for Tyler develops into an intense fixation. Mark´s character is fascinatingly portrayed and the reader can empathize with his vulnerability and raw ambition in his voice (both are almost palpable).
In contrast, Tyler has a mysterious and paradoxical voice. The charismatic yet inscrutable, Tyler is portrayed by Willse with an enigmatic charming voice that evokes an irresistible mix of allure and danger in the readers…and just like Mark, they are drawn to his orbit.

As I mentioned, I wouldn´t categorize this book as a thriller, mainly because we have no crime until we reach 80% of the book. Although readers will experience a few twists and turns in the story, I would say that it´s the complex characters and their dark undertones that drive the narrative forward. Willsen's writing style is captivating and provocative, drawing readers into this complicated relationship and building tense narrative moments with dynamic and intriguing dialogues. Definitely, a must-read!

A slow, suspenseful read that takes on gay intergenerational relationships. It does it in a very squicky way, as the power dynamic between teachers and students is (even when inverted as here) very, very fraught. There is a lot of pornography in the gay-male pornosphere that centers on incest...a thing that causes me no little discomfort for obvious reasons...and then, one step lower on the transgression ladder, a fair bit of teacher/student porn.

I'm not going to label this read as a one-handed reading story, but a few judicious pacing changes and a bit more descriptive instead of allusive language et voilà!

Mark gets tangled up in his history...not fully explored or explained...and Tyler uses his youthful beauty to make that history come alive; the results are predictable. The story isn't groundbreaking, the pacing isn't thrilling, so it sounds like my hatchet's about to come out, doesn't it? Nope. No hatchet job, this.

I'd label this a psychological suspense novel not a mystery or a thriller. The crime doesn't need solving; the pace is not thrilling. There is a lot of suspense, however, in the psychology of the developing relationship between Mark and Tyler; what is this kid after, and why did her target Mark, for starters. Had Author Willse and/or his editors developed Tyler and his motivations more, I'd be five-star hollerin' about this book. Tyler is the weakest part of the narrative: A kind of ambulatory "why, how come". Tyler's calculating nature is seen solely in its results and that leaves me thinking only about the nasty results of his manipulations for those he doesn't notice or even care about. Mark's perfectly nice, if boring, life gets upended and ruined from the outside. His boyfriend, whose name utterly escapes me, gets his world crashed by the narrative equivalent of a rock from space...for what? I'm not advocating for an excuse for Tyler's actions. Just a reason.

That said, this is a first novel and so gets most of a pass on some structural issues. I recommend the read to fellow old gay men who have much younger men in their lives; to those seeking a weekend's immersion into the consequences of a disastrous affair; and psychological suspense readers needing a fresh angle on their preferred genre.

I didn’t end up liking this one bit. I didn’t find it to be thrilling and had no idea where the story was going or what the author was trying to say. All the characters were unlike able.

Mark is a teacher at Sawyer College, located in Ohio. It’s a prestigious institution where the students are rich — often very rich — and the professors … not so much. It’s a college of polite colorism, where the dean’s parties host very white professors (and the token black woman fighting for tenure) who barely notice the Mexican staff serving them. While teaching, Mark is also writing a book about gay murderers. Not so much the crimes they committed, but how those crimes, committed by gay men, were reported, how they were spoken of then and now. He teaches his students about The Talented Mr. Ripley, a story in which a poor young man becomes obsessed with a rich man, going so far as to befriend him … and then kill him.

It’s in his class that Mark meets Tyler, a young man with golden hair who Mark can’t get out of his thoughts. Tyler, careless and brilliant, speaking up in class only that once and never again, and yet whose papers speak to Mark’s own heart. Bored with his boyfriend, tired of his quiet life, Mark wants to be part of the bright, vibrant world Tyler seems to live in. And when Tyler leans in for a kiss, how is Mark to ever refuse? He knows the risks; professors have been fired for just this thing, but Mark has to have this, and so long as Tyler doesn’t say no … he can.

Providence is a book full of questions: Is Tyler a mastermind or an innocent victim? Does Mark love Tyler, want to own him, or become him? Mark is proven again and again to be an unreliable narrator, oblivious to the people around him and to their emotions and thoughts. He is both indifferent and certain at the same time that he knows all he needs to know. And even at the very end, who can you really trust between Tyler and Mark? As Tyler said, he realized early on that Mark saw him as someone needing saving, and so he performed that role. He was using Mark, but to what end, and how much? Was it the excitement of sleeping with a professor, someone he could manipulate more easily, or was he just lonely, reaching out to another lonely person?

The book has no answers to any of these questions. And that might leave some people unsatisfied, and I get it if they feel that way. But this book was never about the big twist or the clever reveal for me. Personally, I think any answer the author could have given would have been worse than the dangling threads, limiting and defining the events in a way that gives all of the questions pat answers and cheap resolutions. Instead, the book seems to be waiting for the reader to decide what they think, what they want to be the answer, and I appreciate that. It’s a hard task, to write a book with no ending and yet to end it well, and in such a way that a reader has to make a choice … and it leaves me irked that I didn’t like the book enough to want to answer those questions.

I think that’s mostly because I didn’t like Mark, but presumably that’s by design. He’s a complicated man, shallow and plodding, with only his good looks to recommend him. Bailing on his boyfriend again and again because he’s bored, disinterested, unwilling to be bothered. Mark’s one friend at work, and the one black woman on staff, Safie, is performing epic feats of emotional labor, forever chipping away at him, receiving nothing in return but the disdainful attention of someone who takes her friendship for granted. And when she needs Mark, he’s too busy doing … nothing much to reach out to her. Until, that is, he needs something from her.

Mark is, by all accounts, a brilliant and gifted professor. He’s clever and insightful, but only on paper. In his own head, the place we are joining him for this book, he’s a schmuck, and a whiny, boring one. I’ve said before that I enjoy difficult characters, because it takes skill for an author to make them human rather than a caricature, to make them sympathetic, to make them in such a way that you want to shake them and make them better because you care about them. Here, with Mark, I just wanted to get away from him. The character is well written, but he’s also a character I’m glad to be done with.

The book only shows Tyler through Mark’s eyes. He’s young, gorgeous in the way an animal is — fluid muscle, glowing vitality, action and grace and passion. Mark stalks Tyler’s Facebook, thinks about him constantly, thinks about being with him, touching him, having him .. and then ignores it, only to be drawn back again and again by the object that is Tyler. When Mark finally has him, when Tyler finally stands still long enough for Mark to try to catch his interest, Mark is as flustered as a kid with their first crush. And it’s clear Mark falls hard and fast for the idea of Tyler — always the idea — rather than the boy he’s fucking. He listens as Tyler talks about anything and everything, but never asks a question. It’s Tyler who decides every action, ever encounter, because Mark is, as ever, as always, a passive witness to his own life.

I never felt the urge to shake Mark. I never felt sympathy for him. I was tired of being in his company; I wanted to see anyone else — be it Safie, his boyfriend Stephen, or even his coworker Colin, who all seemed more vibrant and interesting. But that’s the point, I suppose. It’s just hard for me to enjoy a character study when I find it so hard to connect with the character in question, so hard to feel any interest in his self-inflicted pain. Again, technically, it’s a decent book. It’s just not the book for me.

However, that doesn’t mean that this book might not work for someone else. I admit my reviews are highly, blatantly subjective. The author’s writing style is smooth, their storytelling is good, the pace was a touch on the slow side for me, with some interludes that just felt like giant rocks were dropped down to establish a setting already in place. I’d be very curious to see more of the author’s other works … just as long as Mark is left in this one.

A soapy thriller for fans of BATH HAUS and TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. The story centers on a college professor (MARK) who starts up an affair with a student (TYLER) who may or may not be a manipulative sociopath. The narrative challenges the reader to question whether Mark is being manipulated, or whether he is in denial about his own actions/culpability. The narrative sustained my interest as Mark's increasingly self-destructive choices send him into a tailspin driven by desire; however, the pacing of the novel loses a bit of steam with descriptions of Mark's day-to-day in the world of academia. Tyler is the object of Mark's desire, therefore our understanding of Tyler is filtered through Mark's perception. I would have liked to learn more about Tyler, but we are denied a peek into his subjectivity in service of the novel's theme of how we make assumptions about others based off idle markers. I bristled over Mark's feelings of victimhood despite being in a position of power and driving many of the fateful decisions that lead to the story's climax. Is Tyler a manipulative sociopath, or a self-preserving survivalist? Your answer to this question may say more about you than it does about Tyler.

Providence by Craig Willse was an enjoyed read.
I was honestly surprised that I read it as quickly as I did.
The wrong flowed very well. And the characters were very well developed.

Thank You NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book surprised me in many ways. A dark novel with flawed characters. I really enjoyed the writing and will definitely read more books by this author. Regardless, I felt something missing but I am not quite sure what it is.

Reading this book was like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion. It’s going to be awful, you wish you could step in to interfere, but you are helpless in its face. You sense right away that things will end badly for the MC because he’s severely depressed and self-isolating. He’s a bystander in his own life, disconnected from everyone and everything. Once you learn his backstory, you understand that he’s stuck in his childhood and has never recovered from something. I guess the feeling of dread which welled up in me from the start and didn’t let go until the end is born from gifted writing and not just my own imagination. I liked how the character owned his story by the end and didn’t try to run from it. That choice made this a true tragedy, so the the ultimate fall. The one drawback is not really knowing or understanding Tyler’s story. I’m not sure that’s a choice which benefits the book or not.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for honest feedback.

This was a slow burn but I would not call it a thriller. It was much more of a character driven story that had some suspenseful parts but overall is for the people who are okay with less plost and more just character study and thoughts. I personally enjoyed it because I love the academic setting and lgbtq representation. This is my second book in a row that is what I consider messy litfic that has a queer man as the main character and I'm really happy to be finding these books! Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review!

This strange and original story is interesting enough to get you through it. The beginning did drag a bit for me, the first two chapters being a bit of a confusing information/character dump...but once we started getting into the juicy stuff, it began to pick up a bit. I'll admit, it was the spice that kept me interested until a little over halfway through, at which point the plot becomes quite intriguing, actually.

**SPOILERS**



I did think that it was a bit out of character for Mark to jump on the hide-the-body bandwagon after his estrangement from Tyler. Other than that, I thought the character build up was well done. I didn't have an issue with the ending, but I did feel the story lacked some extra details that could have made the ending feel less rushed. I enjoyed being in Mark's head for the most part. I did hope we'd get some resolution on Cassie, but we can't always get what we want, I suppose. This book would have gotten 4 stars if not for the slow bits and the feeling that there was more to tell that what the ending provided.

I'll definitely check out this author again. It's always nice to find an author that can provide plot with spice, without the spice feeling like it's just thrown in there for the hell of it. And plot there is, giving you much to ponder on while reading through this smart little pseudo-thriller. 3.5 Stars!

0.50!

This is the most honest I can get and yes this is an ARC review.

First let me highlight why it is important to market a book right. This book is marketed as a murder mystery/thriller however there is nothing thrilling about this book in the slightest and the murder part? yeah that does not happen until the 80% mark and honestly if you ask me what this book was about? I would have no answer for you because I myself am very confused as to what this book was about, the most simple way I could summarize this book would be:

"The professor gets hots for his student and the student is of course a jock, they meet they fuck, the professor thinks its too taboo, says no, fucks again, plain boring drama, Ooo murder, ends"

In the most respectful way, What. The. Fuck. Was. This. Book.
The writing style I did not mind but what I did mind was how everything was handled with the build up being too long and the climax being very disappointing to how the author failed to portray any of the characters in a manner where we would be able to understand them.

The pacing is so incredibly slow, I started this in March in hopes to finish my arcs so my ratio could go back up but this was just so goddamn slow and there wasn't even anything happening until like the 80% mark so it was all just them talking and fucking and feeling bad and scared that they would get caught and it all repeated and fell into a cycle and eventually when it did start to change or progress, I was so done with this book because it was not even worth all this wait yk? like I waited all this time for that?? like I had the same problem with a little life...it took too long to progress but when it did, it actually did hit hard but this one didnt even graze my heart. I was neither thrilled or even amused in the slightest by it.

Everything about Mark (our MC) screamed boring, he was just so boring to read about and so goddamn unlikeable that it did not help at all like?? he made bad decisions after bad decisions, told himself he would not but then did the same thing all over again and 😭 the sex scenes were so blah the characters had zero chemistry, zero angst, zero anything it was just a mixture of everything put in together excluding the flavor...in much simpler words: BLAND. Also, the fact that Mark cheated on his boyfriend?? just because he saw a student all sweaty after a match?? and him trying to explain himself gave me second hand embarrassment because honestly nO.

Tyler (the student) was so toxic 😭 I cannot. It was shown that he actually liked Mark?? but it felt like he was only there for the sex because we literally get zero crumbs let alone spoons of them doing anything together besides (mind my language) fucking. He treated Mark like shit and honestly Mark deserved it, and the doormat that mark was ended up right back at him. Both the characters were so poorly written.

I would write something about the plot but there was nothing interesting or basically anything to write about.

One of the worst books that I have read this year or maybe the worst book that I read, it right alongside Credence or maybe slightly above it. Also, believe me if I could give it a zero I would.

I had not heard much about Providence before receiving my ARC from Union Square & Co, but felt that it was right up my alley after reading the synopsis- a gay English professor falls for his young attractive sophomore student? I’m in!

Craig Willse instantly puts the reader into the mindset of what life can be like at a private university with privileged students. From the get go, we see Mark become almost obsessed with Tyler, and we know it is only going to become more and more unhealthy. I felt really connected throughout the story having gone to a private university in New Orleans, and now living in Florida- both of which are mentioned/visited in the book.

Did Tyler have a million red flags from their first encounter? Yes. Was Mark smart enough have known better SO many times throughout the book? Yes. But I think that’s the point. And what Willse has done an excellent job of here is showing how strongly sexual desire and needs can supersede even the strongest logic. The angst and desire Mark felt for Tyler came across very clear on the page, even with his relationship with Stephen and friendship with Sadie. He prioritized Tyler above all else, and the flippancy and disregard Tyler showed him in return is so typical of a spoiled 19 year old.

Overall, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed. But if you are looking for a suspense about lusting after the unattainable, and never being satisfied with what’s in front of you, be sure to grab a copy of Providence on 4/23!

Thank you to Union Square & Co. for the ARC of Providence in exchange for an honest review!

Set at Ohio’s Sawyer College, Providence follows professor Mark Lausson and a tangled infatuation with one of his students, Tyler. Finding both his coveted position at the college and on-going something-ship with fellow faculty Stephen both lackluster, Mark is a willing player when a chance meeting between Mark and Tyler sets off a game with only losers. The sense of foreboding is palpable from the very beginning: there’s no way this can end well for anyone, but still we watch as if to survey the damage and search for survivors. Mark is floundering to write his first novel on gay murderers throughout time, fascinated by great misbehavior, dismissing any sanitized presentation of the trauma and taboo of LGBTQIA+ culture. Tyler is riveted by Mark’s research, and his years of experience, and the two begin a secret, fumbling affair.

Mark is at times greedy, jealous, possessive, almost in reaction to the knowledge that he can’t ever really have Tyler, that nothing healthy can flourish between them. What’s special about Craig Willse’s writing is that bad decision after bad decision didn’t make me abandon Mark. I rooted for him as the weary protagonist, making ill-advised but understandable missteps. I wanted him to make it from his messy preoccupation and escape unscathed.

Providence is a thriller, a romance, and a character study. It concerns itself with what one does for love, and where love meets obsession. What’s captured in words so brilliantly is the way many members of the LGBTQIA+ community seek to relive their youth, to somehow wipe clean the shortcomings of their childhoods or teenage years, a task that often fails. There’s something inherently wonderful about being queer–the increased empathy, the celebration of self, the bravery of a claimed identity. Yet there’s something lonely, and sad, and lost, too. And it’s left to members of the community to reconcile the two and make something beautiful out of it, or be doomed to chase the intangible and just out of reach.

I enjoyed this one! It was definitely more suspense than thriller, but I really felt unease and tension throughout the entire book and scared for Mark. I really liked and identified with Mark’s character and rooted for him throughout the book. My only complaint is that I wish the ending had more closure, but overall I liked it and I’m excited to read more from the author in the future!

Providence follows a professor, Mark, who enters into an affair with one of his college students, Tyler, and becomes so captivated by him that it essentially destroys his life, all before he gets caught up in a murder that Tyler has committed. The major struggle I had with this book is the pacing, it's VERY slow and the characters are not captivating enough to make up for a distinct lack of plot. Instead, it's just a slow car crash as Mark makes bad decision after bad decision only to spring into action in the last 80% of the book, but those decisions are even worse and feel completely unmotivated by everything that happened beforehand.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Have I mentioned I love a professor - student trope?

Have I mentioned that I love a psychological thriller?

Thanks to @unionsqandco and the author #craigwillse I was able to read this incredibly well written twist and turn thriller.

If you enjoy secrets, a college atmosphere, quirky and peculiar lead characters, a drab environment spiced up by drama and misfortune, the movie Talented Mr. Ripley, LGBTQ+ representation and twists around every corner, please check out PROVIDENCE.

This book had me hooked from early on. I never knew what was coming. It had me audibly yelling at the main character for poor choices, it had me clenching my fists in certain parts. It was devastating and wonderful all in the same breath.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense! Grab a blanket and cuddle up!

Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity.

3.5*
This was an... Interesting experience and I shall need some time to come up with a decent review, but the one thing I will in fact say at this moment is WHERE THE FUCK IS THE ENDING?!?!?!
Like, what was that?!

You know, when I first saw this book on Netgalley, I was instantly taken in by the cover because like, just look at it, and the synopsis really sounded intriguing to me.
A dark academia story set in college, with a student teacher relationship that simply spelled trouble and I couldn't help but request it from the publisher.
Now that I've read it, I still don't exactly know where this book falls for me, but thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for one of my signature honest reviews.

The pros:
- The writing was genuinely incredible in this book.
It read like a literary fiction sort of book which is not something I have always enjoyed, but it totally worked in this one. It wasn't flowery or purple prose-y, specifically, but it carried more depth and meaning than your usual suspense novel, and I quite liked that.
It was also shockingly addictive, so much so that I gobbled up the whole book in less than two days.
- The dark academia aspect of the story was done very well, in my opinion. The way the elite private college was described, the classes, lectures, etc, were quite intriguing and I really enjoyed them.
- I guess I can also say that I really had a strangely good time reading about this very much toxic relationship between Mark, the professor, and Tyler, the student.
It was clear from the get go that there's something off about Tyler, that I can say for sure, and when they initially fucked, I was instantly sucked in because I knew this was gonna be a hella toxic and intriguing dynamic and I can definitely say that the author delivered on that.
Their sex scenes were hella fucking intense as well, so there's that.
- The plot twist/reveal towards the end... Holy fuck, that was so fucking good.
I kid you not, I did not even see it coming until very late in the game, but it worked out so well and it left me flabbergasted, to be honest, so that was really well done in my opinion.

The cons:
- I'll start by saying that even though I loved how intense and borderline violent their sex scenes were, and while I can respect the author for writing a more realistic than not sex scene, I really don't wanna hear about the blood and shit and mucus coming out of Tyler's behind after Mark finishes fucking him.
- I hated the ending, genuinely speaking.
And by that I don't mean that I hated the plot twist, I hated what came after that, or lackthere of.
I don't know if that's what they call an open ending, but what the fuck?!
I finished the book and was like wait, where's the rest of it? Is that it?! But I don't know anything and nothing has been resolved and you left me with some very BIG questions unanswered, where's the rest of it?!
That's never really happened to me before with a book ending because it's not exactly a cliffhanger, there was just nothing there, and I can't say I appreciated it.
- Oh, the marketing for this book is talking about it as if it's a thriller, but it's very clearly a mystery suspense novel, nothing thrilling about it.

Would I recommend Providence? Keeping in mind that the ending is nonexistant and you'll be left with many an unanswered questions, I'd say that I do recommend it, mainly because it's one of those strange and slightly off-putting books that you'll gobble up in two days because you won't be able to put it down, and we like those kinds of books.