6/10

6/10. TLDR: Art and the exploration of american gangs is good, Ian is an okay-ish character but feels like he's leading the two love interests on, and jo would be a useless character if and only if he doesnt end up with ian.

feels like ian is leading them both on, unintentionally of course. dont like how it feels as if ian is aware that both tj and jo have feelings for him that extend beyond sexual, and yet still continues to have sex with both of them. he made comments in earlier chapters that indicate that he does, like how jo has the same obsessive look in his eyes that are reminicient of how tj looks at him. idk, either u shut them down completely or get someone else to have sex with u if u prefer something purely sexual.

the art is great, and the story itself is very intriguing. i like the exploration of american gangs and the struggles that the side characters have in the rabbit hole of debt. this story probably has one of the best portrayals ive seen in manhwas about mafias in general.

now here comes my problem. ian. one thing i want to say is that ian is clearly the main focus of the story, and is rightfully considered the protagonist. an interesting point can be made though, is that you actually rarely see things from his perspective. in fact, you barely see his thoughts at all. Ian is the protagonist, but the narrators of his story are TJ and Jo. Which I find very intriguing, but the story does sort of suffer for this. Mostly because I cant really find it in myself to see what TJ and Jo like ian for aside from superficial reasons like attraction. Their feelings are very intense, but i still dont get why. Ian is a good character, for sure, but i dont see him as a likeable partner to either of these people. TJ makes more sense, seeing as the proximity that he and Ian had for years before progressing something sexual.

Jo, i dont really understand at all why he would like Ian. They've had some cute scenes, but aside from the stargazing scene most of their chemistry revolves around how Jo is good for Ian and then them having sex.

The story suffers from just not having a pov from ian, really. this goes back to my earlier point. u dont see his inner thoughts so i cant understand why he, who is aware that jo likes him, and he mentioned in passing that he knows tj is obsessed with him, continues to pursue something sexual with the both of them which feels like he's leading both on. yes, he did make it clear he just wants something sexual. but i also just dont get why he thinks its a good idea to keep on going with making his important relationships sexual if its clear that both parties want you to themselves. regardless, without the key input from ian's head, he just comes across constantly horny

for what its worth, i did like the part where he interacts withthe female character that ian finds a resemblance of his mom to. its a random point, but its the first time u really see ian trying to do something that doesnt involve the other two main characters from their pov.

another point im going to have that is probably a controversial take is that jo's character is potentially pointless if he doesnt get with ian. this sounds bad, because it almost makes him feel like a plot device, but if ian really does end up with TJ, i just wouldnt really see the point of Jo's character in the story. U could make the argument that he shows the life of what it could be like for ian to step away from the mafia scene, but the thing is is that before even meeting jo ian already plans on leaving the mafia altogether, so the point is moot.

do i think ian has more chemistry with TJ? Yes. However, i think from a writing standpoint it makes sense to end the story with ian and jo, only because its more satisfying to see ian finally leave the crime space he himself says he's been wanting to leave, and i think the author is trying to make jo representative of that.