Laskia Greenbriar

There was a lot more laughter and giddiness on my side from this book compared to the first book. I haven't read a slow burn in a long time, and I get a little impatient with the genre in general but this was worth it!!! I kept joking about how Blake and Becky might have had more chances in getting together before Evie and Trys but... yeah.

I love the new character povs in the book. I am looking forward to seeing all the side characters in book 3, BECAUSE I live for them. I love Beck and BLADE. ARGHH I LOVE HOW HE CALLS HER, HE'S A FREAKING SWEETHEART. I loveee lovee the little Gideon and Keely moments, which warms my heart. AND MOST OF ALL! I LOVE KINGSLEYY, HES SO GOOFY AND SILLY, I LOVE ITTT.

I am getting a little skeptical of Nura because it's always the parents except maybe Trys's dad, I SWEARR. Why do I feel like she might betray Evie or maybe it's just me. In any case, I can't wait to read the next book soon!!

Rate - 5/5

The most coziest, comfiest, the sweetest (dare I say, sweet as Pumpkin Spice Latte) book I have read in a while. I am so glad I tried this book, I love contemporary romances but I have never tried STEM romances so it was a whole new experience, AND BOY AM I GLAD??

Thank you to my fav bookgirl for listening to all that crashout and yap I had about that book (And I still have more to say)

I LOVE ADAM AND OLIVE. MORE IMPORTANTLY I LOVE OLIVE! Not just as a character but as a person, she is the most liveliest and bravest friend anyone could have (maybe she does get a bit overboard but that's okay - it's not everyday we get the chance to fake date people, love her for that) I love Anh and Malcolm's friendship with her, THEY ARE THE GIRLS GIRL YOU THRIVE FOR.

It's so precious that Anh offered to marry her just so she could get citizenship. ALSO I LOVE ANH'S MIND, I don't even wanna know (or maybe I do) what she's thinking half the time, cause her imaginations are wild and we love her for that bahaahh.

Even though this book was from Olive's pov and from third person, I could tell Adam was into her. IF ONLY OLIVE OPENED HER EYES, INSTEAD OF WEARING EXPIRED CONTACTS ARGGH.

I did not like the ending - because we never got to hear what Adam had to say or if they resolved the issue with Tom. LIKE I DESPERATELY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED (Wishing hell on him, that piece of dog shit)

I hate HIM LIKE I HATE HATE HIM. LIKE HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO OLIVE, ABOUT HER WORK, ABOUT HER MOTHER. The way Adam immediately believed her and defended her no matter. ALSO HE HAD A CRUSH ON HER FOR YEARSS, YEARSS, AND THOUGHT SHE WAS BETTER THAN HIM, THAT SHE DESERVED SOMEONE BETTER THAN HIM. OMGG.

Adam Carlsen is definitely on the list of top book boyfriends for 2026

Was this a good read? MOST DEFINITELY!! WORTH EVERY ONE OF MY TEARS (*cough yes I cried. A LOT)

Rate - 5/5 (why 5 when it could be ∞/∞)

3 words.
Cute. Adorable. Lovely. Sweet. Heartwarming. Book. (6 words I know.)

One of my friends *cough, told me that it was, and I quote, “cutely cringy”. And I was like, “oh no will I actually like this book?”s As you know, I did. Unfortunate for my friend, *cough

I had no idea that this was a graphic novel until I got it from my library and opened it to find, NOT WORDS BUT VISUALS. Probably my first time reading graphic novels and I wasn't sure I would like it, but I did!

It was definetely a comfortable and cozy book for me cuz Nick and Charlie are the cutest heh.
I am excited to read the next volume soon!!

Rate - 4.3/5

This book wasn't what I expected it to be and I mean that in a good and bad way. It had a potential if I am being honest and it was an easy read too. Could work more on the writing and delivering part.

But the lore dump kinda throws me off or the same lore dump being repeated only 5 chapters later. There was a lot of repetition and not a lot of action. Also Simon and Kestra having the same conversation about how they can't be together for the millionth time, I CANT.

I kinda liked the ending but at the same time I didn't. Hear. Me. Out. Okay?
Maybe it was just me but the author didn't give any foreshadowing or hints to tell us readers about that plot twist, yes plot twists are supposed to be unexpected but also they need to make sense, yk what I mean? I guess Darrow being Kestra's father made sense but also at the same time it didn't, I guess it can be clarified later in the other books

BUT STILL. ALSO SIMON BEING NEXT IN LINE TO BE THE KING OF THE HALDERIANS, I CANT. I kinda don't want kestra to choose him. Also it felt so predictable that Kestra was going to be the Infidante because the moment we knew she was Ananya's daughter and not Lily's it was super clear who it was gonna be.

Even though, we have a dual pov in this book (Simon and kestra) we barely know anything about Simon, he's always like - kestra this, kestra that, kestra I hate you, kestra I kinda like you. But we don't know what happened to his actual father, or the times he spent with Garr, Nothing. It's like everytime we come to Simon's pov all we hear is kestra, kestra, kestra and more kes. Them suddenly starting to like eachother didn't make sense. And they don't tell us how they started forgiving each other. I mean Hello! Weren't you guys the one who hated each other because one of you snitched on the other to their daddy, halp?

I guess this would all be explored more in the second book soo I just gotta see for myself I guess.
Butt it was good too, we learn more about Kestra and why she was the way she was and all that. (Y'all I am never forgetting the - “stitching her maid because she was bored” thing)

I wish there was more lore on the Endreans, Halderians and Coracks, cuz I have no freaking clue about how the Coracks emerged or how Lord Endrick came to power. Like he's the antagonist, he's supposed to be important but we rarely see him. I guess this will also be explored more in the later books but meh.

Can we talk about how these characters - Sir Henry, Simon, John, Lily and the most basic ah names ended up in a fantasy book, and then there's names like Kestra and Trina HALP. It feels more like a historical fiction than a fantasy cuz WDYM SIR HENRY.

Also shouldn't it be a must LIKE A RULE to have fantasy maps on a freaking fantasy book, like how are you going to explain the world to your readers without it. How are they gonna imagine where the hell these characters are heading too. It's criminal not having a fantasy map sigh.

Rate - 4/5

I listened to the audio book last year and I was instantly into it! I hear a lot of bad reviews on this one but this is one of the books for me that is sort of my guilty pleasure. (Don't come attacking me for this) I understand why people can't continue this book and have been dnfed a lot but I love it because I relate to Stassie a lot. With her eating disorder and insecurities, wanting to always see the good and bad in people. Everything she felt throughout the book is VALID and UNDERSTANDABLE. She felt Nate wasn't properly listening to her and that allowed Nate to understand his own mistakes but most of all she was determined to achieve her dream even if it meant tolerating Aaron (Hate that little...)

What I never understood was why did Aaron do what he did to Stassie? Yes, he had parents who always fought and he never sorted his emotions out through therapy like she had suggested to him. But what does he have against her that he went to such lengths to hurt her? I mean he himself said that he doesn't gain anything by jeopardising his own dream. From Day One, he slut shamed her and made her feel like she wasn't a good skater and could never achieve her life long goals but she hasn't done anything to him for her to deserve all this. Yes, he made bad choices and even worse choices by dragging Nate into their drama but... WHY?? And throwing himself onto her on purpose because he thought it would gain them popularity? I mean I am trying to understand this but I CAN'T... No. I am not trying to understand him. But. I am trying to understand why he did what he did. In any case, he got what he deserved soooo.

There are some misunderstandings regarding this book, (yes there's smut blah blah blah, grow up people) but the smut is not all the book is about... It's about friendships, eating disorders, planners. ALSO ON THE TOPIC OF PLANNERS, I love planning stuff and I get super super super and not even exaggerating super grumpy when someone messes with my plans, and I will personally ruin your day if you do. Knowing that Stassie had planners since she was 9, makes me sooo freaking happy aaah.

I READ THE BONUS CHAPTERS, Which I didn't get to do last year AND JUST WHEN U THINK YOU CANT LOVE THEIR FRIEND GROUP ANYMORE, YOU LOVE THEM EVEN MORE! I love Henry, JJ, Robbie, Lola, and OFC Muffin... THEY ARE SO GOOOFFFYY I CANT AUFHUAGAEGFYUGJ. Also Mila is soooo freaking cuteee I cantttt AAAAAH.

Anyway since it's a reread it's still a 5/5. The only reason I reread it again was because there were some bits I don't remember like Henry and Gen, also forgot why Russ was called Muffin in the first place, had to jog my memory after reading Wildfire bahahah.

Rate: 2/5

“I love my wife but I want to control her as well.”

“I am too innocent to understand what society means by marital duties but I will take advantage of my drunk husband in the middle of the night so I can produce a child even though I promised my husband I won't expect him to give me any.”

One way to put this book in a sentence.
Where do I begin?

Well for starters, when I say I love historical romance or that I read that genre I mean that I want uniqueness, and when I say unique, I mean I WANT THE FEMALE CHARACTER TO BE A REBEL, FIGHT OFF THE NORMS OF THE SOCIETY. Obviously Daphne is not Eloise and I knew that when I started the book (bc I watched the show). She prefers to get married, have a husband, have a child/ children and form a family. That's what she's always dreamed of, which is fair but. Yes, there's always a BUT.
She literally raped her husband (who she says she loves and cares btw), got away with it, gave the impression to her brothers that her husband was in the wrong, ALSO HER HUSBAND FORGAVE HER... HER LOVE INTEREST FORGAVE HER FOR USING HIM. They proclaim their love for eachother and they lived happily ever after with 5 children I think?

Where was the plot? Where was the character development?
Laskia looks down at the sewer
“Oh! there you are! but wait, why are you down there?!”

It's so funny to me that when Simon found Nigel drunk, professing his so called love to Daphne (Nigel barely knew daphne btw), Simon thought of him as a pathetic moron. 20 chapters later, Simon is in the same position as nigel (rejected by daphne bc he lied to her) drunk and barges into her room, daphne thinks he's adorable... I have a feeling that simon purposely got drunk and fought people at the bar (totally unnecessary btw) so daphne would feel bad for rejecting him and take him back...

I read this book (well listened to the audiobook) thinking that “Oh well the bridgerton show was so good, I think I might like the books too!”
Laskia looking disappointed at her past self
It's that I thought books are always better than the adaptations. This was so not true for this book. It had potential, yes and I guess the directors saw this and turned it into a better show.

The amount of times I frowned, amount of times I shook my head, I cannot count. Why is it a 2 star and not a 0? Well, I guess it's because of the potential this book had and maybe because of the show. Idk if I want to read the other books since this was so bad (the first book in the series btw and horrendous already) But we will see.?

Also don't even get me started on the simon's poker face being a raising or furrowing his brows...

Rate - 3.7/5

Overall it was a good book, at the start? it was alright, meh. in the middle? it was intense, and i mean intensely spicy in the apartment. in the end? I was happy for them, they deserve each other and yes they are cute. BUT. A big BUT. I don't understand how they gained mutual respect, care and love for each other, i mean yes they hung out in the penthouse a lot but maybe it's just me but they said “i love you” too quickly? Like yes, scott was going away leaving kip in the apartment buttttt... maybe it was just me. There wasn't a single chapter (except when they fought and maybe like the final chapters where scott was playing) where they didn't yk, hook up, so how did a casual hookup turn into that so quickly? They agreed to be boyfriends yes, but idk i just don't get that part. Like while they were in the penthouse and on the bed, scott realised he loved kip? I kinda frowned on that but that's okay, i did like the ending though so it makes up for that? maybe a little. I do love them, don't get me wrong, it was just their quick relationship transition that I can't understand, aside from that a decent book i would say.

Writing was a bit meh too, sometimes i felt like i was reading from wattpad or maybe because i just finished reading YA books last week but anyway, there was a lot of telling, and not a lot of showing, does that make sense? Like - scott did this with kip, then scott went to the shower, then scott kissed kip and then and then and then, but instead there is rarely any showing going on except for maybe the intense spicy bed scenes yes but... it was only a few scenes, maybe it's when scott is with his friends or when kip is hanging out in the gay bar with his friends. also we don't learn much about the side characters either just bits and pieces. So those were some frowning moments for me.

At first I was hella confused because I felt like Alec was overhating on Dani and tbh, they both were throwing me off.I was sort of sympthasing with Dani so naturally my instincts took over and I was defending my girl but as I read more of Alec's pov it made sense why he was upset with her, stillll sometimes it frustrates me especially when it's the “misunderstanding” trope. I mean don't get me wrong I do love them but URGHHH I COULDN'T HANDLE IT. Anyway I loved Dani's transition from a shy new girl to slowly being able to adapt to the school, especially because of CASSIE, SHOUT OUT TO CASSIE, EVERYONE NEEDS A FRIEND LIKE HER. I loved how lynn painter used songs in some scenes to make it more engaging for me to read, especially the locker room scene🤤. Obv I am a diehard hockey fan so this was a good read.

Vow Of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Rate: 4.9/5

First of all, thank you to all the people who watched me rant my heart out about this book (even without knowing the context sigh). I cried endlessly and for someone who rarely cries over a book IT IS JUST NOT OKAY. LIKE. So here's the thing...

Starting with my chiadrah (beloved), Kazimyrah. I- Um- Words cannot described how much I loved this woman and how much I wanted her to be okay. Throughout the book, I felt like I would die for her just so she could be happy. THE AMOUNT OF PTSD AND TRAUMA SHE WENT THROUGH IS UNFORGIVABLE. LIKE SHES THE SAME AGE AS ME AND HAS WENT THROUGH SO MUCH. I just wanted her to tuck her in bed, warm her tea and make sure that she will never be worried about those men who hurt my bahby.

Mind you, I am not someone who gets too attached with characters (I mean yeah I would think they are cool but.. actually empathising with them is just...) especially an fmc. I thought Jude or Wren (from tfota) had a traumatic childhood but then I met Kazi 🥹
She suffered from torture, abuse and MIND YOU SHE WAS SUICIDAL,SHES A CHILD WHO ALREADY LIVED IN THE STREETS AND LOST HER MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS SIXXXX!!! SIXX MIND U

I will never forgive Pearson for what she made my girl go through, this book kept me on an edge, always making me crashout or cry. Thank you for my sister who kept judging me in the corner when I was ugly crying over the fact that JALAINE DIEDDD, Idk how old she is but shes younger than Jase (who is 19 I think) and older than lydia and nash (who are 7 btw)

The start of the book was like being under the stars, eating oranges with your beloved and telling each other riddles and stories (real ones know the reference) and so was the end of the book, it was like I was in a dream and it felt like I didn't actually end up crying 5 times throughout the middle of the story (my friend counted oop).

Let's talk about the “the guy who pretended to be a farmer and who somehow became a tyrant” king. If he wasn't already dead, I would lock him up in a cell with a bunch of poisonous dogs and destroy the cure in front of him so he wouldn't have even a sliver of hope of thinking that he can be cured. Not only is he an abuser, a narcissist but also he's an obsessive psycho who thinks that everyone likes him and convinces himself that what he does is for “the greater good” He put Kazi through so much, AS IF SHE HADNT GONE THROUGH ENOUGH. I am so glad Jase got to end him for good. “I am going to kill you for hurting everyone I love, my wife, my family and my town” (or he said smth like that) HELL YEA JASE BALLENGER!!

I am so glad Kazi got to end Zane for good and make peace with herself, and make peace with the fact that her mother is truly gone.

Also I loved Kazi and Jase, they were meant to beeeeeeeee, like, Jase puts his family above anything else (including Kazi who is also his family now), the fact that Pearson thought that it would be crazy and funny to gatekeep the fact that THEY WERE ALREADY MARRIED AT THE START OF THE BOOK IS JUSTT. I will catch you, Mary. It will happen one day

laskia starting her evil arc

Now why is it 4.9 and not a perfect 5/5?? Guess what? It would have been a better experience if I could actually read it from my hands instead of my laptop. Also the other reason is that it's the constant crying, like I couldn't handle it. Reading this book really broke something in me and I WISH SOMEONE WARNED ME ABOUT THIS.

I am not done yet hehe

Regardless it was a good read, and definetely going to reread it. ALSO A BIG SHOUTOUT TO THE VA IN THE AUDIOBOOK, YOU ROCK. EMOTIONS DELIVERED PERFECTLYYYY, (main reason i cried, bc it didn't feel robotic it felt real, like kazi herself was telling her story, tho jase's va could do better, cuz i felt like half the time he didnt rly care which is so untrue, its just the va i swear)

Why do I keep yapping about this book? It's the bits and pieces of stories we get about Jase's ancestors - Greyson and Miandre. The things that Jase and Kazi went through are so similar to what they went through and it's like Pearson purposely puts those stories at the end of a chapter there to give foreshadowing. I love them, I didn't value their importance until I read this book (it doesn't make sense until you read the whole book tbh)

Also love every one of Kazi's riddles and I wish I was good at giving riddles and solving them but I am not. I loveee loveee Kase? Jazi? New ship name ig.

I swear I am going to force every one of you to read this cuz I need yappers. I SWEAR THIS IS SO UNDERATED AND THERE IS NO FANDOM FOR THEM AAAAH

I know most people don't like spice but I am a proud spice lover, no shame . I love how I could relate with Aurora and in the daddy issues department (well I don't got daddy issues but her need to seek validation and attention from her father really broke me and I could definetely say I have felt the same way) Her character was well written and the fact that I had to close the book and make myself realize that she's just another character was hard 🥹. RUSS CALLAGHAN THE MAN YOU ARE, WE LOVE A SHY GUY WHO BLUSHES EVERYTIME HIS GIRL FLIRTS WITH HIM. AND HE'S A GOALIE OML. The fact that he folds her clothes AND his friends call him Muffin and he calls her “Sweetheart” we just love creative nicknames! I loved the overall camp vibes and I have been myself researching about becoming a camp counsellor during the holidays like the characters.

Rate: 5/5

I think this is what I needed this year to get out of my reading slump.The book was a bit hard to start, not too interesting at first but then somehow I got into it fast, and I was in LOVE (with the book duh)

I sort of relate with what maybell was going through and how she was feeling, manipulated by her so-called “friend”. She makes me so mad, I dare not mention her name. I don't know if I will ever reread this but this was definitely a book I have never tried before. It was like a hug, this book, fluffy and sweet like the cover.

WESLEY WESLEY WESLEYY, OMG WESLEY, I LOVE WESLEY, LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE WESLEY, MORE WESLEY. The little things he does, the little gestures to tell us that he cares for maybell, it took my heart by surprise, i mean yea he seemed grumpy at first but GESTURE PEOPLE GESTURE, MATTERS MORE. He felt so real though, the fact that he had a hard time expressing himself with words was so relatable, but when he couldn't express himself with words, he expressed himself with notes. Maybell and Wesley were so cute and just what I needed as motivation to read more contemporary romances.

If I hadn't read dance of thieves, wesley would be ontop of my 2026 book boyfriends and even though we are not halfway through the year, Wesley Kohler will come 2nd on the list hehe after Jase Ballenger ofc.

Rate: 4.3/5

My main reason to read this book was because I was always in love with the idea of a guild or a court of sort with people from lower classes, getting together to help each other out and adopt children that have no families. My favorite guild was probably, Guild of assassins. It's the way they work as a guild yk? They are cunning, clever, and cruel, the 3 C's, yes. Like they were able to get justice to the people who were poisoned by the wells. THE WAY THEY DID IT THO. Corday being able to charm the nobels into killing their fav child and putting their hands on fire if they ever plotted against them was so scary, chilling and just a jaw dropping moment. She was able to trick the queen, like the queen of france too? amazeeeee.

I love Montparnasse but I think he and nina were always just really good friends, and probably Mont's first friend if I am being honest. I would have him to myself hehe. BUT, I always shipped St. Juste and Nina together. They had some chemistry? Also I always frowned everytime Enjolras spoke but Nina would be dead if it wasn't for him.

I had taken a break from Fantasy and Romantasy books but I have to say, this book had brought the spark back on. I have to admit at first, it took me some time to understand who is who, where are the characters and the different terms that were foreign to me. I didn't know I was supposed to start the trilogy of Kiss of Deception before I start this duology but it was still a great experience reading this book. I like the indepth history of the Ballengers, the politics, the history between all the kingdoms and the fact that there were different languages the author created (Even tried to google translate them, failed miserably). I was desperately trying to find the translations behind some words that Kazi secretly told to Jase and I just knew that she was confessing to him without actually confessing to him.

I love Kazi's backstory and her development as a character. Even as a soldier, the author was able to show her flaws and her vulnerabilities.

Reading both Kazi's and Jase's pov, I could understand the dynamic and the small hints about how they felt for eachother.

JASE BALLENGER CONFESSING SO BEAUTIFUL TO KAZI WAS NOT IN MY 2026 WISHLIST BUT HELL YES. Also Kazi noticing all the little things Jase does for her is soo sweat.

I already knew a little bit about Cardan's story from Jude's perspective but to read it from HIS perspective was just JUST SO HEARTBREAKING. I mean I got to learn so much about him that I didn't know and I loved how there were different versions of the boy with a stone heart story, it resonates with Cardan and Jude so well. ALSO WE GET SCENES AFTER THE EVENTS OF QUEEN OF NOTHING, I COULDNT HANDLE IT CUZ THEY ARE SO OLD COUPLE CODED. (Even though I did read stolen heir duology, it was from oak's pov but it's a different feeling from cardans) The contrast with them being ruthless and cruel to the folk vs the moments where they are alone is so precious cause they only rely on and understand eachother. One thing that bugged me a little was that it was written in third person. I am not a big fan of them to be honest and it gets a little hard for me to read since most of the books I read are first person so the sudden switch up from first to third was a meh to me. OTHER THAN THAT, OVERALL WAS GOOD.

I haven't read a book of this genre in a long time, and I know exactly why I loved this genre so much. It's the anticipation, the shock, the thrill, the excitement and most of all, it's the freedom to be able to guess who killed who. Part of me was frustrated because I just couldn't figure out who was the victim and who was the killer and I believe the author deliberately did this just for us readers to figure out. I love it! Finding out that no one was innocent and every one of those characters had a dirty secret or past behind their nice facades was even more thrilling, cause who would have thought!

I had a list of people who could have done it and who could have been the one to get hurt. I even thought that they were all involved in killing one person and making it seem like an accident (although it was evident it was not) I think my most favourite character is Heather or even Katie. (Yes even though she cheated on her best friend) because Katie was the only one in the friend group who was willing to learn from her mistakes, who understood that she was flawed and needed to work on herself. And I am glad she wasn't killed in the end and survived with the baby, I had this nagging feeling that maybe Julian didn't want the baby and wanted to end Katie but that seemed too cliched.

Also hearing Heather's back story was so heartbreaking and how she ended up living in that remote area. I really wanted Doug and Heather to end up together, they really seemed to care for each other in the end and I am glad they all survived from all the drama.

Starting with the friend group and my initial theories, I was shocked by learning about Giles and Miranda's little hookup but they did say it was a long time ago, or was it? I doubt so, I mean Miranda has that charm on any guy and the only guys in the group who wasn't interested in her were gay (thank the lord for that), I may or may not have been a little happy when Nick clocked Miranda for being a bitch (which she is no matter what happened to her).

The part where we learn that Mark was interested in Miranda in a creepy way was just... brr, everything he has done to her was not okay in any way and unacceptable but what she did to him in truth or dare was even... brr. Regardless I hated everyone, except Katie, bo and nick.

My theories while reading the book was - it was either, giles killing emma since she overheard their secret (cliched again), mark killing miranda (for rejecting her? for the dare she gave him? idk), julian killing miranda (to shut her up on his secret). I had a feeling that the victim was going to be one of the 3 girls - emma, miranda, katie (only bc their povs was shown to us and there must be a reason why, which is why i excluded samira since she seems not that important)

I always kept thinking that it was going to be a guy who killed Miranda (from the start she seemed like the most likely person to get killed) but I never thought it was going to be Emma. There weren't a lot of her povs so I didn't expect it, and it didn't seem like katie would kill miranda (seeing that she had dipped in the loch in the freezing cold and would probably be tired, also because of her pregnancy) But it makes so much sense though, why emma didn't care about the fact that her own boyfriend was interested in her friend and why she was so desperate to get along with everyone, especially miranda. Now that i think about it, she didn't seem to really care for any of the others except Miranda. She isn't a natural killer but she is a natural stalker, and we all ended up thinking it was Mark. Lucy really thought it would be ironic to put a stalker and rapist together as a couple.

Let me talk to you about Miranda, yes what happened to her was not okay but she was a bully no matter what. She taunted and tattled every one in the group, threatened julian with his secret (which he probably deserved), and bullied katie since they were kids, giles for their hookup, samira for wanting to spend time with her own child (diabolical miranda), nick for publicly announcing that he was gay to his parents intentionally, she didn't treat bo with much respect either to be honest, even to mark for making him chug that drink (which he also deserved but was brutal and seemed even more unlikely that he would have killed her since he was so drunk he could barely stand), and to emma (even though it was the truth) by insulting her. Miranda had it coming from the start, I kept saying - “no miranda, you are not in a rom com. they won't take that very well. don't say it” but she says it anyway. Yes she was drunk and she wasn't thinking but there were so many times when she was thinking and did it. Even katie warned her about it, katie warned her about so many things. It was horrifying to hear that Miranda kinda liked Mark and Doug's attention while she was married to Julian (so much for keeping up the perfect couple facade). Also even more horrifying she was pretending to like the attention of her stalker even though she said she was scared. Yes, she was trying to keep up the brave face but it cost her in the end. She's like one of those “people who would be the first one to die in a horror movie” because truth be told she has no survivor skills.

There were some bits that still hasn't been explained to us, like what happened after Giles found Emma snooping, or what happened to the place, did the boss get involved with Iain and the police, did their truth come out? What was everyone doing while Emma was with Miranda? And most of all the ending felt a little rushed, like Lucy was trying to quickly wrap things up and leave somethings for speculation and for us to guess, I guess that was done deliberately but who knows.?

It was the constant guessing and keeping me at the edge of my seat that makes me rate this book a 4.5/5.

I first read this book back in 2023 or 24 (gotta jog my memory) It was a random pick to be honest. No research done. No reccomendations given to me by people or on social media. I gotta say I was a little anxious at first because I don't do well with reading 5 povs at once, it's a little too overwhelming if the pacing is not done right. But this was an exception, the pacing was really good and I really love it when authors actually pay attention to tone when writing different povs (even just 2 povs) they just need to feel different, like they are two different people and that I am not just stuck on one character.

I never thought I would like a book about mythological gods, sailors, pirates and magicians. Leander reminded me so much of my childhood bsf and I just welcomed reading every chapters of his. You can tell that the change from Leander pov to Selly is smooth. I gotta admit I relate with Laskia (yes I know have the same name) I do not accept what she did to make her sister pay attention to her, if anything she killed hundreds of people just for that. Maybe it was her religion and her god that drove her to that but it was not okay. I DO WISH SHE GETS REDEEMED IN THE 2ND BOOK (I had put this series on hold so I haven't gotten the chance to read it yet) I do love Keegan and Jude's pov here and there but it was meh. 400+ pages is a lot for me so I am proud I got to finish it in time. BTW THIS IS A REREAD on my part.

Also rereading helped me remember details I missed the first time and some easter eggs here and there like the fact that Laskia was les and Jude was gay (I DID NOT KNOW THIS) But good for them! Also Keegan having a buzz was not in my memory bahahah