The story and both of the characters are morally gray/dark and that is shown in how they interact.

Maddox and Knives (Nayeem) meet as teenagers and they fall in love but something happens that upend their relationship and when we meet them 8 years later the love has turned into hate. 

Knives hate Maddox so much and I understand why, because of what he went through as a teenager. But he also loves Maddox just as much, so I think that twists his brain and his actions because he doesn't know what leg to stand on. 

This book is dark-ish, I would say that the beginning of the book starts out pretty dark and maybe the consent in certain aspects is on the nonexistent side. But the further into the book we get the more the dark turns to light or as light it can be in a mafia romance book. I would absolutely class this as an enemies-to-lovers and second chance romance, just with more alligators and swamps present.