Denise

This was definitely my favorite one in the series. I loved the call backs and tie ins with the previous two books. If I had read all three closer together as opposed to months apart, I imagine the ending wouldn't have been as big of a shocker to me. Since I did read them fairly far apart I didn't pick up on the clues.

The central conflict in this one felt the most fleshed out, or maybe just compelling? There was less magic realism In this one, which I appreciated. This one might have finally won me over to Jimenez going forward.

Still a page turner at times but getting really close to jumping that shark.

I liked this way more than Part of Your World. Briana and Jacob at least both have baggage that make them more interesting as characters. I'm still not sure I love a both sides POV romance. Being in both heads just takes out the mystery and leads to way more naval gazing. I love pining romances but it does get repetitive when you have 2 whole characters stuck in their heads thinking about how much they can't stand to be apart from the other.

Some scenes felt really contrived, even for a fake dating trope. I'm still not sure I like Wakan's magical realism vibe. It always feels tonally out of place when it happens and I just wish it wasn't there at all.

It's overall a very feel good/fluffy romance. I loved the letter writing back and forth in the beginning and really wish that had continued throughout.

Turns out I have a breeding kink.

This one was fun though the writing style didn't quite grab me at first. It wasn't until things started to really escalate that I got hooked into the story. I did not realize this was YA when I bought it. Not against that, but the formatting was bothering me until I realized it's meant for a younger reader. I'm just irrationally bothered be a 3 page chapter that is just a conversation while walking down a hallway.

The puzzle/mystery part of it is entertaining, some of the character motivations seem questionable and the entire back story with Emily was just hard to buy. I guess these are teenagers though and I should just accept that they are going to do silly nonsensical things. We've all been there, amiright?

I really like the Hawthorne estate as a character of it's own, and I'd love to see that properly mapped out. I'm fascinated by the idea of a house built around mysteries. Take me there!