I love getting in on the ground floor. Thanks to this very website I was one of the first in this country to read the [[Twilight by Stephenie Meyer|Twilight]] series and was smitten from the start. We'll ignore the films, the books are worth a look! In a completely different genre, but no less a lucky fluke it was through here that I stumbled across [[East of Innocence by David Thorne|East of Innocence]] and put in an old-fashioned baggsy for whatever followed. On reading the second of the series [[Nothing Sacred by David Thorne|Nothing Sacred]] I commented that I hoped that in the next outing Connell would see ''him up against, or siding with, some kick-ass-don't-take-it female.'' ''So far his women do tend to be 'birds or victims' ''. I'm pleased to say he's moving in the right direction… women are central to this story one way and another. For the first time he's given us female characters who (despite their plot-device roles, which is varied and not always predictable) are stronger than they look – strong in a number of different ways – he hasn't simply opted for my "kick-ass" option, he's more subtle than that.