Review: Finally!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 26, 2013
Ah, I love it when my suspicions and theories are confirmed.  This is the first Owen POV we've had and it was nice to get into his head, especially in light of his relationship troubles with Gin.  What we find is a man who is being consumed with double doses of guilt and shame.  Not only does he feel guilty that his blindness to his ex-love's special brand of crazy caused his loved ones to be subjected her cruelty BUT he also feels guilt/shame that, when the time came, he failed to step up and do what needed to be done.  But wait!  He also feels guilty at his initial anger at Gin so really, the man is dealing with triple doses of shame and guilt.I know that some have crucified Owen (meanwhile UF heroines get to enjoy stringing along multiple suitors in various love triangles/squares and are cheered on) for initially being mad at Gin for killing Salina but here's the thing...it was a perfectly human thing to do.  How many of us have deliberately picked a fight with our husband/wife/significant other because we were mad about something else entirely?  I know I have.  It's not a nice thing to do but it's human nature to be angry with ourselves and then, instead of dealing with it upfront, turn that anger outwards where it will typically target those loved ones closest to us.  That's what happened with Owen.  He was angry with himself for failing to see Salina for what she was and then failing to man up and permanently take care of her himself.  But instead of dealing with that himself, he lashed out.  I can forgive that because I can understand it, because I've done it myself.This short story shows that Owen has worked this out for himself but now he feels guilty for that too.  So guilty that he has a hard time facing Gin and the more he puts off facing Gin, the more time passes and then it just gets to a point where you feel bad that so much time has passed.  Thankfully, this short story also sees Owen finally make that internal decision to stop letting his guilt over the past paralyze him and keep him from living his life with the people that he loves, namely Gin.  It also confirms that despite not having much interaction with Gin, she's still been very much on his mind. I'm certainly curious to see how he chooses to move forward and how he plans to use what he made in his forge.