Review: His to Own: 50 Loving States, Arkansas

His to Own: 50 Loving States, Arkansas by Theodora Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I shouldn't have started this one yet because there are two books in front of it but I tapped the wrong cover in my reader app and we were off to the races.

I will never be a fan of this reformed white supremacist/black woman romance subgenre. I like interracial just fine, clearly; but there's a difference between an interracial couple dealing with clashing cultures and, more often than not, society and social issues in their relationship and overcoming them... and a couple where one of them literally hated the other and thought their entire race of people are subhuman. And went about proving that in violent, disgusting, bigotry-filled ways. I can't really wrap my head around falling in love with a guy who used racial epithets freely...up until the point he wanted in my pants. Speaking as a black woman, "Nah, I'm good. Thanks. Hard pass. I would rather die."

That said...TT can craft a story really well so there are some things here that work. The thing about me is: I'm sympathetic (and sometimes empathetic) as hell. If you give me just a tiny glimmer of a character overcoming an obstacle that hurts them, I'm all in. June's abuse at the hands of the Mexican gang leader that sold her to a white supremacist was it for me. I had to see her survive. Which is why I read this book in under 3 hours. Don't get me wrong though, she needs years of therapy. YEARS.

Other things that worked were:
- Mason not being a complete POS. You know, for a reformed racist. He, too, was a product of violence and indoctrination. I also liked that he didn't exactly change his racist ways for June. It seemed to be a side effect of meeting her, but it happened off page and for reasons that didn't include getting in her pants. He also needs years of therapy. Centuries of it.
- It's a TT book, so of course sex happened; and it was D/s...one of my kinks, so smoooookin' hot.

The ending felt rushed, and I absolutely could have done without the epilogue. Not because TT put herself in the book, that will always be weird and jarring by the way, but because it contained snippets of Her Russian Beast which is one of my least favorite 50 States books because of Bair. God, I loathe Bair. Not as much as Rafe, mind you, but it's close.

Anyway, because of those things that work, I don't flat-out hate the story. Which is, frankly, a boon...because, again, he's a friggin' reformed racist.

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