Proceed With Caution:
This book contains bad sex.
The Basics:
Bridget's Bane has been a long time coming. It briefly takes us back to the very beginning of the series when A'tam first arrives on the island and locks eyes with Bridget. The two don't resonate, but they have sex, and then the bickering begins. We were already told in a previous book that Bridget didn't like the sex with A'tam but he just won't leave her alone! Of course, there's more to the story...
My Thoughts:
Finally! I was excited to dig into Bridget's Bane because I wanted to know what exactly was wrong with these two. Yes, I know the sex was bad, but how could A'tam not know this?! Easy, he's a self-absorbed guy who was only paying attention to his own pleasure. And Bridget isn't exactly the most forthcoming person when it comes to her needs thanks to a bad childhood. Those two seriously need to sit down and have some conversations rather than running around the beach, yelling at each other.
It's so weird to think that one of these hot alien men would be bad at sex, but I liked it. Bridget's Bane brought up a lot of important topics without going too heavy. The biggest issue being communication. A'tam doesn't listen. He hears you, but he's not actually listening. Bridget, on the other hand, doesn't say what she's feeling for fear of being mocked, ignored, or seen as weak. What's the solution? Couples' therapy! That is not something I'd ever think to see in this series, but there it is! No shame in needing a third party to step in.
Bridget's Bane also brings up the most nagging question of the series: why can't A'tam pronounce Bridget's name? The sa-khui all call her Bree-shit, because they can't pronounce the G in the middle of her name. It's totally understandable, and I know it was played up for laughs. But the islanders shorten her name to B'shit, again most likely for laughs because that is just an unfortunate name. However, what about O'jek? He's pretty heavily featured this time, which is why I started obsessing over this. A'tam (and the rest of the islanders) should have been calling her B'jit. I'm sure they shortened the name that the sa-khui called her, but even still, she's corrected them enough times that they should have realized it's B'jit. Even after sitting down with her, A'tam ends up at B'chit. Better, but...it makes no sense.
I liked Bridget's Bane a lot when I wasn't obsessing over O'jek and B'jit. It was great to see a couple working through bad sex and bad communication. So far all of the books have mind blowing sex, or at the worst, a super short first time followed by mind blowing sex.