Chantelle

I feel like this had so much potential but there were just too many missed opportunities for building tension, developing the relationships, and world-building.

Friendships seemed unnatural and/or shallow, with lots of things happening 'behind the scenes'; the University was described in all it's dilapidated glory but somehow the author manages to avoid mentioning the emotional aspect of Ophelia sharing a location her parents spent so much of their time, and ultimately met their end; and the sub-plots of stalker, Mafia, and scholarship aren't fleshed out enough to feel the stakes are real.

There was also a jarring tendency to time skip, and to kind of flit over connecting bits of dialogue and action, so that things didn't flow smoothly. Also key plot points are glossed over or neglected entirely, like how the stalker always knew where she was, and how his obsession with her mother spiralled into murderous hate, how their relationship formed and ended, why her room-mate's brother never entered the book again, what was on the tape...I could go on.

So what did I like? Some of the interactions were humorous, and the odd moment felt gritty and real. In the second half of the book, Alex was a real winner, and Ophelia had her merits. I just wished there wasn't the abrupt 'shift' in their relationship around the mid-point. The secondary characters were intriguing, though they existed more as props.

Mostly, the scene at the tarn was gripping.

Do you ever wish you could get your hands on a raw manuscript? That's this book.

Delightfully bat-shit crazy, as all holiday romances should be when they have fantasy elements (and straight-up contemporary romances should be syrupy sweet...I don't make the rules, just enforce them.)

Like other reviews are saying, this has heavy themes, but I wasn't mad about it. I'm not a huge reader of cosy Christmas romances, so I didn't go in with preconceptions. The drama was intriguing, and the dynamics were fun.

Saying that, though, I was disappointed in how quickly the romance, points of conflict, and other relationships were dealt with (or not). The writing was wonderful, but it felt like we were rushed through what was very heavy subject matter that needed more care and subtlety. It could have benefited from more in-depth exploration of the characters feelings and responses and allowing more interplay for the romantic relationship (and others, especially that with the ‘villain', but even with the stepson and FMC's parents) to develop authentically. It could also have benefited from being marketed differently seeing as it obviously didn't fit the brief for a lot of people and needed more length than a holiday romance.

I really enjoyed the set-up and characterisation in the beginning half of this book, but the final half fell flat for me in a few ways:

1) Bitter is complex and interesting, and I enjoyed her unique voice and skill. The suggestions of her past and the trauma that led to her crippling anxiety definitely felt like it should have been fleshed out more. The references to the ‘lost times' were never fully explored, and her anxiety was in such stark contrast to her ballsy attitude that it felt flat with nothing to back it.
2) the relationships that developed/changed into something new in the course of the story just felt super shallow. The back and forwards with Eddie was frustrating, and the relationship didn't really seem to serve a purpose other than to have Bitter bring out the Angel. The romantic storyline was too underdeveloped, there was such promise with the first date etc but then they were in love almost instantly, but also had some huge arguments that just got brushed over and we ended knowing they were going to be together forever.
3) secondary characters were so intriguing and yet they never really served a purpose besides constantly reassuring and backing Bitter, to the extent that it felt like she was babied by everyone. The only one who showed censure about how things fell out was her boyfriend, and they never discussed it or resolved it, he just backed her anyway.
4) the plot felt so disjointed in the last half. Like we were just barrelling between loosely connected scenes with no forethought or planning: racing to the town square with NO plan other than some vague idea to get Bitter there? Racing back to their sanctuary of all places, with the mayor after having just been complicit in a billionaire's kidnap and public execution, and the mayor's too. There was also a sense of redundancy seeing as Bitter summoned this creature, then immediately backed down, and eventually sent it away again. The fact the classist/racist problems were apparently solved by this boggles the mind. And the Assata claiming the murder as their doing, and somehow still coming to a deal with the govt?!? Umm...I just, can't.

I loved the idea of the school and the protests and even the intrigue of Bitter's skill in creating little creatures, but it all felt forced to fit some end goal (which obviously it was, being a prequel) I think it could have been better handled if the plot stayed small, just Bitter confronting her fears and learning to trust others, while finding a way to express her dissatisfaction with the status-quo rather than keeping it bottled up...as the introduction of the Angels was were it fell apart for me.

It's the vulnerability, and the realistic character flaws, and the eccentric secondary characters, and the healthy conflict resolution, and the strong narrative voice/style, and the humour for me! So, basically all of it, okay! I also think I need an Alex in my life, as he just made my cheeks hurt from smiling, and that would be a lovely way to exist perpetually.

Also, I liked the ending and don't feel like a sequel fits the genre expectations (Romances have a HEA, so why would I read a sequel that would naturally have very low stakes after book one ended with a HEA?) so, despite how much I loved this I will not be reading the second in this series, and the reviews of #2 support me in this.