DB
Read in high school in Drama class and reading it again for college. Home field advantage? Of course. Had it for Waiting For Godot and will have it for The Great Gatsby.
I really did enjoy this book. I loved the idea behind it. A deaf girl, managing a band? What can go wrong?
The first book was good. This one was BETTER and I loved that! I enjoyed reading the first book but THIS one I kept reading until I couldn't keep my eyes open
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! It's fun, an easy read where you sit down to read a chapter or two and whoops 5 or 10 chapters have just flown by. And I love it when I do that with books! Where I don't even realise I've read 8 or even like 12 chapters because I'm so focused on reading the book. I've just started Feener's other book now and I think it'll be an easy read too as I think her books and writing are that easy and quick to read.
Abandoned Things tells a very interesting story about Frankie, a famous writer of a very popular web novel, who doesn't realise the fictional world and the characters he's so famous for (even though he writes under a pen name) is actually real. Not until some of the characters come into his world, our world as well.
It's a thrilling ride of action and adventure, love and passion (regarding writing and romance). The characters drew me in and the story kept me wanting to read until the very end. It's definitely something I also enjoyed and now makes me want to read more of the author's other books.
As much as I enjoyed reading about Frankie, Rook definitely took the prize of the favourite character – he's a bad boy, come on! Of course I'm going to root for him. He was sarcastic, romantic (which are two things that I do love a lot
This is my third Kate Alice Marshall (KAM) book. First one was Rules for Vanishing (which I need to reread and review) and These Fleeting Shadows. I think Shadows is sort of the best one (so far) because I do love a haunted house + family story (it was also comped to The Haunting of Hill House – which is like one of my favourite tv shows ever). So The Narrow comes a close second to that.
I was so sucked into the book I could imagine that I was there myself – which is not technically something you actually want with a horror book. I felt connected to the characters – their personalities, their growth. I was especially pleased by how the friendship group stayed by Eden. They cared about her, they made sure she knew she was loved and appreciated – and I loved that because I really enjoy seeing positive female friendships in books.
Eden was a great main character. I think she's what you call a ‘quiet character'? Which is nice when you're like me and read a lot of fantasies where characters are usually a bit... louder. But even though Eden was quiet that didn't mean she was a pushover – which I liked to see as well.
Delphine is the other character named in the synopsis and she's also a quiet character -but also she lives alone in a small house on school grounds so of course that's a reason too. I liked her and then I didn't like her (unlike Eden whom I liked from the start. She did have a full personality (so it wasn't an issue of it not being fleshed-out), but I didn't connect to her like I did for Eden.
I loved everything to do with The Drowning Girl. All the lore we got and then the backstory as we learnt more of it. Even how KAM managed to tie it up to the present. How sometimes stories change and are twisted – either by human design or because as time goes on; details tend to fade away.
I must just now read a Kate Alice Marshall's adult book (her second one comes out next year I think?), which I will probably also love. Once I do that it'll probably make KAM one of the best writers if she can write excellent Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult books.
When I started this book I was thinking “hmm how scary can a middle grade book get?” And then I remembered like Coraline and Monster House. I loved that just because it's middle grade didn't mean the scariness would be watered down. It's scary enough for kids and any adults (me) reading this. KAM just does it effortlessly.
As always with every KAM I've read the characters were well-written. I loved getting to know the family. I liked how even though the parents weren't present for basically all of the book, they were still part of the story (as opposed to being absent parents – although that's more YA).
I liked the agents that came and stayed with them – Agent Baxter and his husband, Agent Pendleton. They were funny and I could tell they were friends with the family (and not just coworkers) and I liked that.
My heart felt for Charlie as she always felt like she had to be on top for everything. She helped to make her siblings feel like they could act like children without realising that she's also a child. I also liked that her parents made sure she knew they appreciated and loved her, their relationship with her was very sweet.
Charlie's relationships with her siblings were so sweet to see as well. I've mentioned multiple times in various posts that I really adore good sibling relationships. This is definitely a case for the good ones. They cared for each other and wanted to keep each other safe. And still bantered as siblings do!
The plot and the mystery was done so well (as always with her books). She makes the mystery so intriguing you certainly don't want to put the book down! I did predict most of the plot twists but I didn't mind it in the slightest because of how well it was done. I grew up with Enid Blyton so I'm always down for kid detectives and Charlie and her siblings were joys to follow.
When I say I want a gothic novel this is what I want. This dark, atmospheric story that absolutely captivates every one who dares enter its pages. You can't stop yourself from reading it. I'm quite certain in saying that you will cancel your plans to continue reading this book because I probably would've.
I read the audiobook and it was a fantastic experience. It definitely added to how much I enjoyed reading this as I'm not so sure I would have had the same level of enjoyment had I read it as a book. The two narrators were very well chosen and they enhanced my reading so much that I don't think they could've chosen better narrators if they tried. They also added to the experience of the audio and how much I enjoyed it. Even if you don't listen to a lot of audiobooks I think this one would be an amazing start.
But also I would love a physical copy to be able to annotate as I went along. There were so many amazing quotes that I heard and wanted to highlight, I wanted to see them written down on a page. Yes, I suppose that's why people buy physical copies as well
Not that I need to start another series (I know how many ongoing series I have, I just don't want to know) but I liked this! It was a good start to a series and kept me engaged throughout. I hope I get approved for the next ones because I definitely want to carry on with them.
I loved the Arthurian inspirations! It was fun and I liked the addition of the Fae – a genre I'm happy to be exploring more of. I liked that Boleyn focused on Morgan and not Arthur as most retellings/inspired books tend to do. She's a strong character, wants to prove herself, and she wants more for herself. I always root for the characters who have this fiery need to prove themselves.
I'm thanking Boleyn a ton because she added the line: “who did this to you line” to the book. Instantly I wanted to read it quicker because that line will always get me to read a book faster. The line comes from the other main characters and while he seems to be your “typical brooding bad boy”; of course you find out he's much more than that. I always enjoy seeing the path that a character takes and specifically how he ‘ll walk his path. Plus I get to see the romance blossom over the series
Going Dark is certainly more than what it appears to be on the surface. At first it speaks of a simple relationship between two people who seem to lead simple lives – and dating each other in what also seems to be a simple act. What you get from their relationship looks easy and happy, or so it seems. And I really enjoyed that – seeing how it changes from looking like an easy relationship to something much more.
I'll be honest, I was not that interested in Amelia from the beginning. I didn't like how she was written or how she acted. But then as the story progressed more and more things started to come out about her and she became more likeable. But only a bit because I still found her actions and the path she took not the best one for her, Did I understand why? Yes. Did I like any of it? Not so much. Of course I'm not going to sit here and say “here's what I'd do differently” because I haven't lived her life, I haven't gone through what she's gone through. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though.
I think that's why I rated it 4 and not 5 stars – because I wasn't a fan of her actions and the reasons behind them. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. I don't know if my rating would change if either her actions were different or if I could understand them more.
The characters were interesting to get to know and I liked everything we learnt about them. I am most certainly not interested in influencers – even if they push the narrative that they're down-to-earth and don't put on a farce for the camera. For me when you start to gain a large following you're inevitably going to make the decision to pull back a bit – show less of your life, keep some activities private because they mean a lot to you. You might even take a few classes or courses surrounding anything social media marketing. So all of Amelia's pushing to show that's super down-to-earth and doesn't really care about her following – I didn't buy it at all, any of her personality. Maybe de la Cruz purposefully wrote her that way, maybe it was just my personal feelings.
Josh was an interesting case as I originally did like him. That also changed as the book carried on. I actually thought I as I liked him less I would like Amelia more – but that didn't happen, which was interesting to me. I can't say much without spoiling the book but I liked seeing how he dealt with Amelia going missing and everything that came from that.
We get some flashbacks of another girl who went missing two years ago who never received the attention that Amelia Ashley received. Of course a good reason (for that) is because Amelia is very famous and has other famous connections. I found it interesting the connection the one character (Harper Delgado – whom I really liked and wanted to know more of) made between the two. Both pretty girls, both this and that, but the previous girl had nothing done for her the way Amelia had. It really shows the truth about any missing case, really. That some missing people aren't deemed as important as others for various reasons – popularity, money, mental state, even race as a reason as to why they are missing – even though the ‘reason' is lack of evidence.
I definitely want to revisit the book now having read everything so I can see if there are any puzzle pieces to be found before the big reveal. Probably will wait to see if it'll get an audiobook and reread it that way. I have read a mixed media book as an audiobook before (These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall) so I know that I'll like another one.
I love mixed media in a book and while I liked what we got I also would have been very happy with even more. Amelia Ashley is an influencer and I felt like there should've have been more focus on her posts and her journey as an influencer. Especially as we got more into the story, I would've loved to have seen more time dedicated to that.
I think this year either I really like the first book of the series (this book, The Stardust Thief, The Girl from the Well) or I dislike it/dnf it (Lightlark, The School for Good and Evil). Luckily, this definitely wasn't the case with this book. I went in expecting an interesting plot and characters. What I got was something much more. A fascinating, intriguing plot, rich world-building, and compelling characters.
I liked that it had a bit of a retelling and I really liked that the book was inspired by Korean mythology. I liked that I had to look up what different terms meant (or that I sometimes didn't have to because context clues were enough). Though I had an audio copy so I looked at others' reviews for the spelling first. Next time I'll definitely read a physical/ebook version so I know how to say and spell the words (because I'm not familiar with them).
Lina, being the main character, was well-written and lively, and fun to follow. She loves her sister, Eunbi, so much that she's literally willing to try to kill a Dokkaebi Emperor – a powerful spirit in Korean mythology. When she speaks of her sister, it's of love and affection and you can understand her reason for doing all this. You want her to complete the task because it means she'll see her sister again. There's a bit of chronic pain representation in the book because Lina's left leg is damaged from a (knife) injury, and I'm guessing nerve damage too, by the sound of it. The pain she felt when she landed wrong or fell and hurt her leg – I felt that all throughout – in fact I think my legs were also reading the book and wanted to join in.
At first I thought it was another immortal falls for the 17-20 girl (Lina's 18 or 19) book – but turns out that Dokkaebi age much slower than humans – so he's technically twenty, and also centuries old
Wren and Asher were two characters I loved basically from the get-go. Asher's sweet personality and the way he gets just about everyone to like him almost instantly had me liking him easily. Wren was relatable with having her walls up and I liked seeing how she went from “nope I have x amount of rules. Can't break them” to “whoops, another rule broken for Asher.” Which, I mean, is understandable because Asher is very adorable.
Most of the secondary characters I liked. Kamala – Wren's friend – I really liked. She was funny and a good friend to Wren – cared, comforted her. Dale was just annoying all around – he didn't raise himself in my eyes at all. If other readers liked him – that's their choice. I suppose there was an instance here and there where he was sort of okay, but that happened when I had already made up my mind about him. That meant I wasn't interested in changing how I thought about him.
I quickly sussed out Wren's mom's personality when she first appeared on the page. I would groan every time she was in a scene because I knew whatever she said would hurt Wren. And she kept proving me right! I also got annoyed with Wren's sister because I felt like Wren should've been the older sister and Zoey the younger? Like Wren's personality is very much older sister – how she thinks, how she views their mom; while Zoey's is a younger sister's view (that's just my thoughts on the matter, of course). I liked Zoey slightly more at the end of the book and I wonder if the sequel will follow her or Kamala.
I love the fake dating trope – don't mind reading it over and over again and this was a cute one! I appreciated what was done here with social media – expectations, downfalls, and the various issues it can bring. I felt like it did a good deal of that without being too preachy – which could happen very quickly when an older author is writing teen fiction.
The reason (or one of them) why I like the fake dating trope is because I like seeing how the characters develop. Sometimes they're friends who agree to fake date but strangers fake dating (for whatever reasons) is also pretty popular. I'm good with either (strangers or friends) but I do enjoy strangers a tad bit better? You have them both trying to fit into each other's friendship groups and trying to establish that you are, in fact, dating this person while also getting to know them.
It's even funnier in this instance because Wren has to now act like she actually knows Asher and things about him (because she's filling in for Gemma) – even though they're are the strangers fake dating trope. It gave me a lot of second-hand embarrassment – which is another reason why I love the faking dating trope. There's something about awkward squawking at a book when a character is being awkward.
The plot was (mostly) sweet and the pacing easy. Very glad there's no animal harm/death in here – so so glad. West did a good job in making the animal characters their own characters – and they were sweet and I loved them. It's such a a quick read that you won't see the time flying by.
I didn't feel like the third act breakup was unwarranted – definitely something I knew was coming and I liked how it was handled. Wren should also go to therapy. I hope she gets that because she really needs it. I also liked how they made up – it didn't feel too unbelievable for me (I mean they're also teens so they wouldn't have all the emotional maturity feeling like most adult romances do).
Merged review:
Wren and Asher were two characters I loved basically from the get-go. Asher's sweet personality and the way he gets just about everyone to like him almost instantly had me liking him easily. Wren was relatable with having her walls up and I liked seeing how she went from “nope I have x amount of rules. Can't break them” to “whoops, another rule broken for Asher.” Which, I mean, is understandable because Asher is very adorable.
Most of the secondary characters I liked. Kamala – Wren's friend – I really liked. She was funny and a good friend to Wren – cared, comforted her. Dale was just annoying all around – he didn't raise himself in my eyes at all. If other readers liked him – that's their choice. I suppose there was an instance here and there where he was sort of okay, but that happened when I had already made up my mind about him. That meant I wasn't interested in changing how I thought about him.
I quickly sussed out Wren's mom's personality when she first appeared on the page. I would groan every time she was in a scene because I knew whatever she said would hurt Wren. And she kept proving me right! I also got annoyed with Wren's sister because I felt like Wren should've been the older sister and Zoey the younger? Like Wren's personality is very much older sister – how she thinks, how she views their mom; while Zoey's is a younger sister's view (that's just my thoughts on the matter, of course). I liked Zoey slightly more at the end of the book and I wonder if the sequel will follow her or Kamala.
I love the fake dating trope – don't mind reading it over and over again and this was a cute one! I appreciated what was done here with social media – expectations, downfalls, and the various issues it can bring. I felt like it did a good deal of that without being too preachy – which could happen very quickly when an older author is writing teen fiction.
The reason (or one of them) why I like the fake dating trope is because I like seeing how the characters develop. Sometimes they're friends who agree to fake date but strangers fake dating (for whatever reasons) is also pretty popular. I'm good with either (strangers or friends) but I do enjoy strangers a tad bit better? You have them both trying to fit into each other's friendship groups and trying to establish that you are, in fact, dating this person while also getting to know them.
It's even funnier in this instance because Wren has to now act like she actually knows Asher and things about him (because she's filling in for Gemma) – even though they're are the strangers fake dating trope. It gave me a lot of second-hand embarrassment – which is another reason why I love the faking dating trope. There's something about awkward squawking at a book when a character is being awkward.
The plot was (mostly) sweet and the pacing easy. Very glad there's no animal harm/death in here – so so glad. West did a good job in making the animal characters their own characters – and they were sweet and I loved them. It's such a a quick read that you won't see the time flying by.
I didn't feel like the third act breakup was unwarranted – definitely something I knew was coming and I liked how it was handled. Wren should also go to therapy. I hope she gets that because she really needs it. I also liked how they made up – it didn't feel too unbelievable for me (I mean they're also teens so they wouldn't have all the emotional maturity feeling like most adult romances do).
But then, that's how pain works: When you're in enough of it, there's no thinking of anything or anybody else.
Wendy Heard really wrote grief and managing grief well. I could feel and see it. It definitely made me feel more connected to Casey because I understood her more. When I started the book I wasn't really connecting to her (Casey) but as I carried on and she spoke about grief more; I did feel more connected. This is my first Wendy Heard novel so I have no idea if the theme of grief is present in her other books – I certainly hope so as I really enjoyed how it was written in We'll Never Tell.
Sometimes, grief seizes me in a violent grip, and when it does, I almost double over in pain. I pause, breathe, try to release the image of how my life was meant to be. It doesn't matter what was destined; it only matters what actually happened. That's what I tell myself. But in reality, there's no romance in a crime of passion. There's just the ending of a life, small and quiet, and the broken people who get left behind. I like how they approached the story of the supposed ghost house and the true crime/unsolved murders. That in the end they're still people and they deserve respect. They should've received respect but they didn't get that. Instead they got a whole media circus over and over again. Every aspect of their lives were searched through and stories were made up left, right, and centre. Of course, being that the main characters run a YouTube channel there's a lot that can be said about true crime and these topics being shown in media. The world is so obsessed with true crime podcasts and they're the first ones who'll sit and binge watch unsolved murder tv shows – often forgetting that the victims were all people before all of this. Many times in fact, their families are often still alive and are witnessing the world obsessing over what happened to their loved ones. I did want their YouTube channel to have been a bigger plot point. People finding out about it, more reminiscing about other projects they did – even just a simple scene or two responding to comments or looking at analytics. They're apparently a huge channel (a million or more subscribers?) but it felt like after they went into the house the channel was simply forgotten about? Maybe ghosts are real. I don't buy it. Humans are worse than anything we dream up. Casey and the boys (Eddie and Jacob) were my favourite and I disliked Zoe – I didn't feel connected to her like I did to the others. But there's probably others who disliked Eddie and Jacob and whose favourite character was Zoe – that's what's great about reading – that we can like different characters. I hoped that I would see and believe the friendships in the book and I did! Even though I thought Zoe was the weakest one for me (personally) I could still see her friendship with the others. I think that made me like her a bit more, not enough, though. But then, we're all one of a kind. That's the point, really, in the end. None of us are replaceable. When one of us dies, it leaves a hole that can never be filled. Ever.I think this is probably my favourite quote of them all. This can be applied to any character in the book – living or dead. But it also can be applied to the reader – and you can take this quote anywhere it needs to be in your life. In this book it's referring to Casey's mom and how Casey will always be thinking of her (as is with loved ones who are passed away). The quote is also about the Valentini murders – how they were more than what was written about, and that all the headlines and articles never really seemed to get their personalities right. Which they wouldn't because they care more about how big of a story it would make and how to sensationalise it all. Merged review:But then, that's how pain works: When you're in enough of it, there's no thinking of anything or anybody else. Wendy Heard really wrote grief and managing grief well. I could feel and see it. It definitely made me feel more connected to Casey because I understood her more. When I started the book I wasn't really connecting to her (Casey) but as I carried on and she spoke about grief more; I did feel more connected. This is my first Wendy Heard novel so I have no idea if the theme of grief is present in her other books – I certainly hope so as I really enjoyed how it was written in We'll Never Tell. Sometimes, grief seizes me in a violent grip, and when it does, I almost double over in pain. I pause, breathe, try to release the image of how my life was meant to be. It doesn't matter what was destined; it only matters what actually happened. That's what I tell myself. But in reality, there's no romance in a crime of passion. There's just the ending of a life, small and quiet, and the broken people who get left behind. I like how they approached the story of the supposed ghost house and the true crime/unsolved murders. That in the end they're still people and they deserve respect. They should've received respect but they didn't get that. Instead they got a whole media circus over and over again. Every aspect of their lives were searched through and stories were made up left, right, and centre. Of course, being that the main characters run a YouTube channel there's a lot that can be said about true crime and these topics being shown in media. The world is so obsessed with true crime podcasts and they're the first ones who'll sit and binge watch unsolved murder tv shows – often forgetting that the victims were all people before all of this. Many times in fact, their families are often still alive and are witnessing the world obsessing over what happened to their loved ones. I did want their YouTube channel to have been a bigger plot point. People finding out about it, more reminiscing about other projects they did – even just a simple scene or two responding to comments or looking at analytics. They're apparently a huge channel (a million or more subscribers?) but it felt like after they went into the house the channel was simply forgotten about? Maybe ghosts are real. I don't buy it. Humans are worse than anything we dream up. Casey and the boys (Eddie and Jacob) were my favourite and I disliked Zoe – I didn't feel connected to her like I did to the others. But there's probably others who disliked Eddie and Jacob and whose favourite character was Zoe – that's what's great about reading – that we can like different characters. I hoped that I would see and believe the friendships in the book and I did! Even though I thought Zoe was the weakest one for me (personally) I could still see her friendship with the others. I think that made me like her a bit more, not enough, though. But then, we're all one of a kind. That's the point, really, in the end. None of us are replaceable. When one of us dies, it leaves a hole that can never be filled. Ever.I think this is probably my favourite quote of them all. This can be applied to any character in the book – living or dead. But it also can be applied to the reader – and you can take this quote anywhere it needs to be in your life. In this book it's referring to Casey's mom and how Casey will always be thinking of her (as is with loved ones who are passed away). The quote is also about the Valentini murders – how they were more than what was written about, and that all the headlines and articles never really seemed to get their personalities right. Which they wouldn't because they care more about how big of a story it would make and how to sensationalise it all.
It's quite funny because the previous book I read that was said to be “inspired by The Hunger Games” was Lightlark, which quite possibly wins the award for worst book I've ever read. (review still to come, NaNoWriMo is kicking my behind
I liked this book for the most part. I had the audio and liked Hailey's narrator. Unfortunately I didn't like Wes's at all. I'd waited for the audio a while and the ebook would be even longer so decided to just do it.
I like Wes – more than Noah, but Chris is still the best Jansen brother. I liked that Wes didn't share Noah's sentiment when it came to money (that it's meant to be used for everything) and that he respected Hailey a lot for having her own business.
Hailey and Wes wercute together. And I'm saying this as a person who's NOT into the friends-to-lovers trope. I'm not a fan of it. I either have to trust your recs or just happen upon the trope while reading. But I ended up liking it a lot! It fit the characters well and I'm glad it did and I liked it. Though I won't go running to read all the friends-to-lovers books anyway.
I loved Hailey almost as soon as we were introduced to her. She runs her own business and wants it to be successful. She doesn't want people to help her out with her business just because they feel sorry for her. I'm glad that Noah wasn't her love interest because I think he would very easily throw money at her and they would've clashed too much.
Wes fit her well. He gave her solid business advice without coming across as “I know better than you”. It made me like him a lot – happy to after his brother did me dirty. He did do a little “here, lemme throw money at you/the problem” but I'm glad Hailey stood up to him.
I liked how he's analytical, a bit uptight, wanting to do things his way and Hailey's just “lets do this”. It makes for a good balance and one that could go very far if they communicate well. Which they didn't do all the time. That was one of the things that annoyed me – especially in the third act breakup.
I did like this book but I do think it should've been worked on for longer. The pacing jumped all over the place and I found it difficult to keep up with “are you slow or fast now?” The plot also felt like it wasn't tied down too much – I like my plots to be neat. Especially in a Contemporary Romance book – which I don't read as much as other things. Like Fantasies I could accept a bit of a messy plot because there's so many things to keep track of. With Romance books you're always in the real world, so what's your excuse?
As I'm reading more romance books I become more acquainted with the terms and discourse surrounding the genre. One term I'm very familiar with is the third act breakup. Mostly I'm fine with them. The other two books handled it okay (the second one a little less, but I could just be feeling that because of Noah); this book didn't at all (handle it okay). I felt annoyed all throughout and just wanted to get it over with. Which I didn't like because I liked the book otherwise! I didn't understand why the breakup had to be that and why it took so long. I could see in the future they might run into further miscommunication issues if they don't work it out.
Full review to come. Much better reading experience the second time around. Helped by reading A Sorceress Comes to Call before this. Now I like Kingfisher's humour, when I read this originally I didn't get it
I enjoy urban fantasies – like I do like epic and high fantasies, especially with tons of quests available for the taking – but there's something almost easy about urban fantasies/fantasies set in the modern world (since I think urban fantasies are specifically set in cities and not smaller towns like some modern fantasies?).
I like urban fantasies/modern world fantasies because it's sort of more accessible for new readers. Also to readers new to the genre. There's less of the typical fantasy names (listen, those apostrophes and accent marks are difficult even to a trained fantasy reader!); there's not too much world-building and info-dumping because you already know most/half of the world presented to you.
Cassia's love for her sister is plain to see from the get-go. I mean she did literally go into a who ‘nother world to help save her sister. Basically all of her motivation throughout the book is focused on her sister. As someone who really likes (positive) sibling relations; I definitely appreciated seeing the love Cassia has for her. I really like Cassia and Lucas's close friendship (bit of a spoiler but they stay friends and don't go any further). As someone who's not a fan of friends to lovers in books (it has to be written a certain way), I cherish any friends who stay friends. I like how they were dependent on each other growing up and they came back to that a bit in this book and I hope the next book has that more.
Speaking of morally-grey characters, we have one in the form of Lochlan and he was great. Definitely can't wait for the next two books to see what he gets up to. I don't know if I was a fan of morally grey characters in my younger years (my word, that sounds weird to type) but I definitely am now that I'm older. Maybe it's because I can tell (most) authors have a lot of fun writing them and that makes me like them more. Lochlan is probably one of my favourites so I'm only going to say nice things about him because I usually had a grin when he was on the page.
Dual-Pov for the win! Patel Papathanasiou did it well as I liked how it went from a newcomer (Cassia) and she's learning about the world-building and the magic system and we, as the readers, are learning about it with her. And then it switches to Lucas and the way he thinks of the worldbuilding and the magic system – there's no real second guessing because he's very familiar with it. Which I liked as well because it allowed me to ease more into the world-building because of the easy way he viewed it.
I always enjoy it when I can see that the author is passionate about their writing. It shines through in their work and also wherever they talk about their work. I could see it on all of Shameez's social media and all throughout the book. It makes for a more enjoyable read – the author enjoyed writing it, therefore you can enjoy reading it.
There was a bit of found family and I relished every bit because – I mean – it's found family. What else can I say? I hope that the found family aspect is a bit better written in the sequel and that it comes easier – the camaraderie and the way the characters interact with each other.