Suzi

I think I've consumed my annual quota of smut in this one book alone.

After really enjoying book 1, this was definitely a step down. I still enjoyed the characters and the world, but there was SO much smut and so little plot that it felt like an unnecessary filler book.

I will say I didn't expect the twist at the end, I had a feeling there was going to be a betrayal like that, but I didn't expect it to be that person.

I'll be continuing in the series, but I hope we get more actual plot and progress in the next book.

This was a good little novella giving us more backstory on Thea's introduction to Seb Barlowe, her relationship with Evander and how she acquired Malik's blade.

Soft DNF @ 72%

I am shocked that I'm DNFing this one, at least for now. Part of Your World and Yours Truly were so good, I flew through them in a couple of days each and were instant 5 stars, however this one just felt completely different and I can't force myself to carry on reading it at the moment.

For one thing, so much of the plot just seems so implausible - two travel nurses decide to stay in a cottage on an island in a lake with no access apart from a tiny row boat? In what world would people who have to go to work daily choose this? And the mysterious owner of said cottage just happens to be their boss, how would they not know this? And then her largely absent mother just happens to show up after 2 years to that exact cottage? ON A YACHT? I mean it's just absurd.

I've seen other reviews mentioning that a lot of things seem to have been lifted from TikTok, but I actively avoid TikTok like the plague so I'm not aware of those, but I will say that there was a lot of repetitive things (the Toilet King?), brand names mentioned over and over, cringey moments, etc.

I also really didn't get on with Emma, I get that she's been through trauma and that has changed how she approaches relationships but her attitude was just so selfish, her expectation that Justin should be happy with casual sex and form no attachments, whereas Justin thought he was being selfish in wanting more from Emma but he was not! He was totally valid in feeling that, especially in all the things he had going on in his life.

I don't know if I'll return to this at some point, or I'll just enjoy the first 2 books as they are and forget this one.

Ooh this was so good!

I had a few issues with the writing and pacing, there were some overly used phrases (did you know her eyes are celadon?!) which became grating and needed editing out but there was so much I really liked about this.

I thought this was going to be the usual generic fantasy romance and hit all the same plot point but it did not!

Thea was so refreshing - she didn't want to just go off and save the world by herself, she trained hard and worked together with her team in the battles. She had a good attitude and actually admitted needing help. Unheard of!

I also found Wilder a nice change from the usual love interest - it wasn't insta lust and he wasn't an arrogant prick like usual. He actually supported Thea and has his own issues to work on.

Cal and Kip are great as the friend group, I was on edge for them during the initiation trial but I'm so glad they all made it through together. I'm waiting for the revenge on Seb, I hope it's brutal.

The ending was another big win for me and I'm diving straight into book 2!