nox

The author manages to keep the knife-edge tension of the first book in an entirely new environment and, somehow, ramp it up spectacularly. The tonal shift between settings and plots between the first book and this one is pretty abrupt and something I don't think just any author could pull off, but this author DEFINITELY pulled it off.

Almost every chapter had me on the edge of my seat. I had a few broad-strokes predictions of where the plot might go but I continued to be pleasantly surprised when it threw me for a loop over and over again. It's very hard to put this book down once you start reading it; the second half of the book especially had me so anticipatory I was almost genuinely stressed at how this was all going to work out for the people I was rooting for, if in fact that was the direction it was going to go. This is only the second book in a trilogy. It wouldn't have been out of the question for them to ‘lose' and have to work even harder for a win in the final installment.

This book also pulled off inserting brand-new POV characters very well. That type of thing happening, especially when the first book was always in the same POV of the MC, is very hit or miss for me. It's easy for it to feel disjointed or for it to drag, and I'm almost predisposed to not like the new characters, but that wasn't the case here. I enjoyed the new characters immensely and, instead of making the story disjointed or annoying me by taking me away from the ‘main' plot, the new POVs went a long way in making the world even wider and more interesting.

My only slight gripe is that I don't really see where the story can go from here. To keep it as vague and non-spoilery as possible, everyone pretty much accomplished the goals they'd held since the beginning, even if everything isn't 100% settled. I'm a bit concerned that the 3rd book will fall into the trap of the author wanting to write more to make more money but the plot not actually having enough substance to justify a 3rd book. I still plan on picking up the third installment when it comes out, but I am a bit wary.

Still just as good as the first book though, and worth the read!

C.A.P.E Rating:
Characters - 4/5
Atmosphere - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5

This was an absolutely CUTTING book. I feel like most fantasies are quest-based and it's mostly framed as this big heroic thing in its own way, but the plot for this book is so much more brutal than what I'm used to from all the fantasies I've read recently. Instead of one person having a goal or a task to accomplish you get a bunch of people, most who aren't particularly close, thrown together in the middle of nowhere and forced to do what they could to survive. It was sharp and intense and I honestly loved it.

The magic system in this book is VERY intriguing. It's one of those magic systems that lean more towards being scientific in its study and execution rather than hand-wavy mystical like most magic systems. I don't think one is more superior to the other but a scientific approach is definitely refreshing to read even if it is slightly confusing at times. The whole limited magic aspect was also new and admittedly something that I wouldn't normally read on its own, but I like how they dealt with it in this book. I can tell that the author's going to be exploring the more political ramifications of rationed magic in the next book which I'm also interested in but the angle of it in this book is “we have to survive the wilderness and a mountain pass with limited and ill-fitting supplies and if we run out magic we might die” which put an even sharper edge on the whole plot.

Appreciate that the author didn't pull his punches with the brutality as well. It wasn't the worst I've ever seen but there was enough that it felt realistic and fitting with the situation.

Very interested to see where things go with Theo and Ren. Keeping it non-spoilery but we left them in a fairly interesting place and I'm excited to see where the plot takes them in book 2. I can definitely sense varying potential for drama just in their relationship, not to mention with the rest of Theo's family. Ren by herself I adore as an MC. I can related her a lot and I love how her ruthlessness and ambition continues to drive her character even in situations where it might be the norm for her to be acting differently. I'm very interested to see how her character continues to develop in the rest of the series.

Will be continuing to the next book!

This book. Is an absolute MASTERCLASS in character development.

The structure of it is that you just watch these people live their lives and see how, through knowing each other, they gradually affect each other and their decisions. I love a found family, as always, but there was just something so special about the one written here. Seeing these people all come together, all of them unhappy or unsettled about something in their life, and just watching them transform through the courage and love they get from each other makes me tear up. I came really close to crying more than a few times in this book. If it caught me in a different mood, I might honestly would have.

I adore every single character in this group, even the ones I disliked in the beginning. This is one of those “state of the human spirit” books that I only read very rarely, but a well-written one just mercilessly strikes you through the heart, exactly like this one did.

Heartwarming and incredible.

I honestly don't really know what else I can say about this series that I haven't already said! The plot continues to be incredibly compelling, the pairings continue to have depth and draw that just keeps you coming back. This was another knock out of the park for me.

I don't like insta-love but for some reason this WORKED for me. It was LITERALLY love at first sight but that instant devotion and obsession they had with each other had ME obsessed with them. It was giving light dark romance vibes and I wasn't mad about it at all!

The overarching plot is definitely kicking up by the end of this one so I can't wait to see where we go next!

C.A.P.E RatingCharacters - 5/5Atmosphere - 4/5Plot - 4/5Enjoyment - 4/5

I absolutely LOVED the plot of this one. It's been kind of routine at this point for the plot behind the romance itself to be something almost life threatening and while this one also was, it just felt so much more unique. Seeing Memory escape from years of torment and learning how to truly live was so heartwarming. I really liked her dynamic with Alexei as well; how they riled each other up to keep each other out of despair but how they never went too far and actually hurt each other.

The wider plot continues to thicken and we even got a cliffhanger this time!! I truly can't wait to see where Singh takes the story next.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it was for sure insta-love. They were mated and saying ‘I love you' in just over a month, which is crazy for a book that doesn't have a time limit like the last one did. I can deal with it because of the whole ‘true mates' thing, but it definitely gets some points off for that.

C.A.P.E Rating
Characters - 5/5
Atmosphere - 4/5
Plot - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5

The concept of this book was interesting and I'll be honest. I love crows and that was a lot of the reason I picked this up. And to be fair, the parts of this book that had to do with crows were really great!

The rest of it was not.

Honestly, the entire plot felt like a whirlwind and a bit of a mess. The goal was clear but it felt more like were whipping from scene to scene without much transition. I didn't like many of the characters except for one or two side characters who didn't get much screen time. I didn't enjoy the casual sexism in the book that no one really tried to fight against. I didn't enjoy either of the love interests (thought I disliked one less than the other, but that's not saying much). Fallon was fine in the beginning but she got really annoying as the book went on.

Not to mention she spent the entirety of the book only going on the quest so she could marry the prince, who never gave her anything worth enough to endanger her life like she did. I'm glad she didn't end up with him in the end, but I didn't like Lore by the end either. Taking away her agency at the very end and basically kidnapping her? Super sexy, I'm sure.

I will definitely not be picking up the rest of the series. Even despite my problems with the characters and plot, it also started dragging on halfway through and I had to force myself to finish it.

he threw her off a roof? threw her off a roof knowing it would've killed her if he was wrong about her powers. also called her a “pathetic little worm”.

considering this was not set up as an enemies-to-lovers, i am most definitely not interested in seeing how close this relationship will toe the line with abuse. peace.

This book was a work of art. I feel like I say that about every book I really enjoy but I truly mean it this time. The prose in this book is so dark and lyrical and lovely that I genuinely believe I will never experience anything quite like it again.

I feel like I quoted over half the book in my notes, but I'll just leave one quote here that I feel like sums up everything you need to know about this story:

‘But the girl I had been disappeared the instant you pronounced me yours.'I don't even think I have the words to describe how the author depicted their romance but it was hauntingly beautiful. Seeing it degrade as the centuries go by, as he just takes and takes and takes from all of them and expects obedience and GRATITUDE for the ‘gift' he gave them, a gift that they all looked on as more of a curse at some point.

The way there are MULTIPLE references to how he treats them like his children rather than his lovers made me physically recoil in disgust: he didn't want consorts, he wanted devotees, believers, people that would follow his every whim and word, and it never even occurred to him that they would want to fight back.

No description of mine can do this book justice honestly. If there's even a smidgen of you that wants to read this, absolutely read it.

What an emotional read.

Pay attention to the CWs on this one because this book absolutely does not hold back on the hard parts, but it is definitely to its benefit. This entire story is just so raw and brutal that reading it makes it feel like there's a stone sinking in your stomach, but you still don't want to stop reading. This is a story that needs to be told, needs to be heard.

I love how the author doesn't name The Taker until the very end of the book; names give people power, and people like him don't deserve any of it. I think Annabelle's PTSD was represented really well in this book, especially the parts where even something small: a car playing music, seeing someone checking their mail, or even just the sound of your phone buzzing can set you off.

There's one quote I marked down that I think really sums up the message of this book and what Annabelle was struggling with the most. I'll put it under spoilers but it is just an absolute gut punch to read: ‘She's responsible. She caused these feelings. She encouraged him, she was unclear, and now she's finally being clear. She hurt him, and dealing with that hurt is her job now.'

An incredible and devastating read.

This book is a love letter to people with gifted kid burnout.

I can't speak to Porter's struggles with being a person of color, but the depiction of mental illness in this book was raw and very relatable. Porter's urge to just keep going and going and being better than everyone because otherwise, you might as well not be worth ANYTHING is really prevalent to me. I reached my burnout a lot earlier than Porter did and maybe not as viciously as she did, but she still said and felt a lot of things that resonated with me.

The found family in this book is truly heartwarming. The Portland crew and the New York crew are all so very dear to me and I loved the scenes when they were all just there for each other. You can truly see how all these people just love each other so much, even when it's hard.

And Porter and Yuki were of course, adorable, even though this book very much focuses on Porter's struggles with mental illness and burnout rather than their romance, but it was a very cute bonus. The story could've stood on its own without Yuki's storyline being a part of it, but I like that it's there.

The only reason I didn't rate this higher is because the writing style wasn't for me. It wasn't BAD per se and I bet a lot of people will and do enjoy this poetic, flowery descriptive writing with beautiful comparisons every couple sentences, but it just didn't hit for me.

Overall, though, a very solid read!

This was very well done for only being around 60 pages. The atmosphere was lush and mysterious, the world was compelling, and the relationship, while formed quickly out of necessity for the short length, was quite sweet. I didn't register that this book was queer so finding out that the main character was a trans woman who has a relationship with another woman was quite a delightful surprise.

I liked the fairytale elements that the author tied in with the story, but even though some of the characters and circumstances were literally out of fairy tales I don't think they overpowered the story itself; it stood well enough on its own. The whole lore of huntresses and witches and the Red and White Queens could've easily been stretched into a full-length novel if the author wanted to, but it also worked very well as a novella. I almost wish it was a 0.5 for a series so I could read more of the world but I'm still very happy with this!

very cute, very atmospheric, very queer. a very good time!!

This whole book is just TENSE.

Had my stomach in knots the entire time. Which should be expected after how the last book left off, but still. I don't really have much to say other than this book carried on the same energy as the first and dialed it up to eleven.

Tessa still isn't doing much as a character for me, although she was a bit more proactive in this book than in the last. I'm hoping, with how this one ended, that she'll have a bigger part to play in the last book. I'm looking forward to what she'll do now that she's at the end of her rope, so to speak.

Corrick was as interesting and heartbreaking as always. I hope it gets to a point where he eventually doesn't feel like he has to fight the entire world. I ended up liking Lochlan a bit more in this book since he got more screen time and more depth when they were on the boat.

Very much enjoyed Harristan's povs. I might be crazy but I think I'm sensing a little something something between him and Quint? I could be wrong but I would absolutely be down for that if it turns out true.

Sat and ready for book three!

This was a cute little read.

I mostly picked it up because I've been reading a lot of fantasy recently so I wanted a lighthearted little romance to cleanse the palate, so to speak, and this did exactly that. Plus, a premise where two people are trying to get with their crushes/exes and end up falling for each other while helping each other do the same? Just can't resist.

I did enjoy the more serious plotlines that were thrown in there with regard to both of the girl's moms, and how they both saw themselves. Alex's mom's story hit me hardest because its something I've had to deal with personally. I didn't expect it from a book marketed to be more lighthearted than not, but I think it added to the story.

This book was a fun read, but not really stand-out to me.

Overall, this was a cute little read.

The story itself was very fairytale-esque, a bit dreamlike in places. The curse in particular has very sort of Disney effects on the world: giant mushrooms, whispering trees, and things like that. Even if most of the time it was portrayed as a bad thing I still liked it as part of the atmosphere. Wren and Tamsin were cute; I would've preferred a bit more development when it comes to the relationship between them but I can't think of any specific problems I have with their relationship.

I did have a few criticisms which ended up being why I couldn't rate this book higher than 3 stars.

First, this book is VERY YA. More YA than most YA books I've read. I understand this book is about teenagers but they made a LOT of stupid mistakes that they should SPECIFICALLY know better than to make because of the things they went through in their respective pasts. Tamsin: why would you bother to keep your past with Marlena and the Coven a secret when you KNOW the second you step foot Within that's all anyone's going to be talking about? Did you seriously think you could somehow keep her from knowing that you were banished when you yourself were afraid of the reception you'd get? In the same vein, why did Wren think she'd be able to go to the WITCHLANDS and keep herself being a source a secret? She is so shocked when they figure her out within seconds and force her to stay when this is what she's been running from her whole life! Obviously it's going to happen when she goes to the WITCH. LANDS.

The magic system is vast but its also not explained very well at all. We don't know the limitations (besides the direct cost of using magic) or if there are specialties, different systems, what exactly constitutes a spell, why some spells require chanting things and why others can be done just by snapping your fingers, so on and so forth. It's a small gripe in the grand scheme of things but something I would've appreciated having more details on.

In a similar respect, Tamsin makes it a point to say that she only keeps all those crystals and tools and such around to make regular folk feel better because REAL witches don't need tools to do magic. Except when they're staying in an inn in the Witchlands, there's a scene where she describes a bunch of witches using tools for magic. Using herbs and crystals and tarot cards and a bunch of other stuff to track the dark witch. So what is the truth?

It also slightly bugged me that everyone in the Witchlands, including Marlena, seems so shocked and appalled that Tamsin used dark magic to uhhh literally save her sister's life? Like yes of course dark magic is bad but there is not a SMIDGE of empathy AT ALL within ANYONE over the fact that a twelve-year-old girl just...didn't want her sister to die? Like they treated Tamsin like she was some evil monster when the circumstances behind her reasoning should be taken into account at least a little bit. I don't know if that was a point that the author was trying to make about how Witch society works and that should be a critique of it but it's never really expounded upon so I'm going to go with no.

My biggest gripe with this book is this: Tamsin's curse either doesn't make sense or it's executed very poorly. In the beginning of the book it's established that she's cursed to never feel love. But then it's extended to say that she never feels anything good at all. Specifically she looks at a sunset and can't find any enjoyment in it, or she can't enjoy spices on food or see bright colors. Those things don't have much to do with love, yet they're affected by the curse. The book then goes on to be written as if Tamsin is this stoic unfeeling robot who can't feel anything at all, when 1. that's not what the curse is and 2. that's proven wrong because she feels all sorts of things. THEN the book is written like she can't feel any POSITIVE emotions, when she still does that as well. She stills gets amused, she still gets nostalgic, and for the most part it seems like she keeps HERSELF from feeling positive things instead of the curse doing it. If the author wrote this curse how it;s actually laid out, then Tamsin not being able to feel love wouldn't have nearly as negative an effect on her life as it seems to. Love is just one positive emotion. She would still be able to find pleasure and enjoyment in things, she would still be able to like sunsets and certain tastes and be fond of things and people. She just wouldn't be able to feel that one specific positive emotion, so pretty much she would never be able to fall in love with someone or feel anything stronger than fondness for people. It would still be sad, but not nearly as dire as this story makes it out to be. It feels like the author set the parameters for this curse and then started changing it willy-nilly to fit whatever they felt would make the story more interesting, no matter if it made sense to the meaning of the curse itself.

Despite all my gripes though, this wasn't a bad book. I still enjoyed myself enough to finish reading it. I just expected more from it.

Writing this review with tears still in my eyes. This was absolutely phenomenal. This is one of those “state of the human condition books” and I knew within the first few pages that I was going to rate it five stars just from the writing style. 

This book will give you whiplash. You can be reading the most ridiculous, slap-stick comedy scene that has you laughing at the absurdity of it if nothing else one minute, and then a few paragraphs later there's a study on the effects of grief after losing someone you lived more of your life with than without that will have tears streaming down your face. Only for someone to make sex joke a few more paragraphs along. When I tell you this book takes you to the absolute highs and the absolute lows I mean it.

The cast of characters are so very dear to me. Everyone gets a backstory and an exploration and you end up rooting for every single one of them, even the “bad guys” even though I don't think there truly are any in this book. I was reacting to this book over text with my best friend and I told them “the main focus of this book seems to be that humans are cruel and stupid sometimes but not all the time and the rest of the time is the time that matters” and I think that holds up as the general theme and lesson from this book. That we're all just trying our best at life when we've been given no real guidebook and even though we can make mistakes and do bad things it doesn't mean that we've failed. We just have to keep trying.

There were so many quotes in this book that gutted me and stripped me raw and I would love to share them here, but you honestly wouldn't understand them unless you've read the book yourself because the author tied up so many little details and references in every moment in such a beautiful, seamless way that the thought of that ALSO makes me tear up.

And I also absolutely adore Backman's writing style. A lot of the time 3rd person books are more of a performance in the way that they're told; the art of it is how the author presents the story itself, how beautiful the words they use are. And there's nothing wrong with that, and neither of these styles are better than the other, but in this book it feels like I'm sitting down with the author myself and he's telling me this story as if we were two friends who are spending time together. And of course there's still beautiful language and imagery, but there's an intimacy he fostered here with his writing style that was awe-inspiring to witness.

One of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given.

The atmosphere of this book is the PINNACLE of what I want from a vampire story...which is interesting considering there are no actual vampires. Possibly a spoiler, but nothing in the summary actually says ‘vampire' so I thought I'd just let you know that there are no actual vampires here, just people who drink blood, but it doesn't really take away from the vampire atmosphere so I wasn't disappointed. This story is lush and dark and debauched and the overall feel of it is just so addicting.

The plot definitely had me gripped. I have a fondness for stories where someone is suddenly dropped into a court life that is every it as dangerous as it is depraved and seeing how they deal with it. Marion's ambition to remove herself from poverty by any means necessary is very relatable, and one of the best parts of any story like this is seeing how far someone like that is willing to go.

The only thing that kept me from rating this higher is that I wish a lot of things had more development. The story seemed to go by quite quickly and by the time the climax hit I didn't feel like any of the relationships had enough depth and strength to justify the choices made. This is most likely because of a few timeskips thrown in and I just really don't like when authors use timeskips to develop relationships quickly. It takes the oomph out of it to go from mild to extreme so quickly instead of actually seeing things develop. Overall this story would've benefitted from being a bit longer.

I will say though that this is the PERFECT book to read around autumn/Halloween. Immaculate vibes in that area.

It is a sad day to say that this is the very first Nalini Singh book I've rated under 4 stars. I'd like to say that I still think this is a pretty good book and the drop in rating is only because of ONE (possibly two depending on how you look at it) things:

I cannot STAND how the LI approached his relationship with the MC in this book.

Basically, Faith isn't used to touch. Changelings rely on touch so Vaughn, her changeling mate, wants to get her used to touch not only for their mating bond but also because lack of touch is a tool the Psyclan she's in uses to control her. I don't have a problem with that being a plot point. What I DO have a problem with is how he decided to do this, which was repeatedly crossing or outright ignoring her boundaries with touch, including her verbally telling him to stop and him refusing to. Not only did this make her uncomfortable and overwhelmed, it also resulted in the feedback from the touch being so bad that she falls unconscious because of it, which she TOLD him would happen and he STILL ignored. In the second instance of this happening he STILL didn't stop touching her after she fainted and continued to hold her in his lap.

I wish I could say him crossing her boundaries stopped with his plan to “get her used to touch” but I can't. Vaughn as a character is a bit more “you woman, me man” than any of the other LIs in this series have been, and that doesn't bother me in small doses but he is about twice as intense about it as the other LIs. That was more a minor annoyance. The real problem here is the absolute entitlement he feels towards her because they're mates, and he crosses the line mentally and verbally/physically WAY more than any of the others have. And that is given with this whole ‘fated mates' trope Singh has going on but he takes it too far. Let me share some quotes that made me very uncomfortable:

“The next shove at his mind was tinged with desperation. Aware he'd pushed her too far, though it wasn't anywhere near far enough for him, he let her body fade from his mind and forced himself to think thoughts she couldn't see. Not knowing the reason for their connection was probably driving Faith nuts. Good. She needed to experience the unruliness of the wild or she'd never break free of Silence. And she had to smash through those walls. She no longer had a choice.”

“Have you asked her whether she wants to leave the Net?” “She's my mate.” Of course she'd leave the Net. “I'll try to give her some time to get used to the idea, but in the end, she has no choice.”

“He crouched down in front of her, but didn't touch. He didn't trust himself enough to.” This being said when he is mad at her.

“Even as her eyes widened, the beast began to haze his brain with unforgiving need. He wanted. And he was through with waiting. Faith was his mate. It was his right to take her.”

“He was through playing by Faith's rules. The jaguar was loose and it was hungry. A roar came from his throat, rough and dangerous. Faith Nightstar was about to come face-to-face with a predator determined to possess her. No compromises. No mercy.”

“The thought of abusing her was abhorrent to him, but he was afraid of caving in to the violent need of the beast and losing his capacity for rational thought. And when he rose from the animal hunger, he might find that his claws had permanently marred Faith's skin, that he'd bitten and cut. The possibility terrified him as nothing else had ever terrified him.”

“The longer we wait,” she said, her voice that of the most practical Psy, but her eyes holding the first flicker of lightning, “the worse it's going to get. It's become clear to me that you need touch and I haven't been giving it to you.”

I don't think I even need to explain why these statements are HUGE red flags to me.

If this wasn't a Nalini Singh book, I would've DNFed purely because of his behavior towards her. I finished and rated it higher than I would have with any other author because the story and every other character were just as fascinating as they always are in one of her books. I am DEARLY hoping this is a one-off type of character because I can't stand men like this.

C.A.P.E Rating:Characters - 3/5
Atmosphere - 5/5
Plot - 4/5
Enjoyment - 4/5

Some really interesting plot stuff in this one! I'm glad the side characters in previous books are getting a chance to shine and I have to say I'm really glad we got to Dorian's book so early; I've liked him since book one and I'm glad he got his little found family.

Ashaya and Amara's relationship was really interesting to dig into. I love it when authors give us problems with no easy answers and showcase that sometimes in life you just have to do the best you can with what you've got. It'll never be perfect, but you still have to try.

Absolutely loved the family vibes in this one. Ashaya and Amara, Ashaya and Keenan, both the leopard and wolf packs, it was all so nice and comforting and a good contrast to the degrading situation with the Psy Council in the overall plot. Things are definitely going to crumble soon. I can't wait to see how it goes.

C.A.P.E Rating
Characters - 4/5Atmosphere - 5/5Plot - 5/5Enjoyment - 4/5 

This was a very solid start to a series! I feel like with most fantasy nowadays you really get a whole “chosen one, destined for this” vibe and while that can be fun, it's also fun for the protag to be someone who was just dropped into this whole situation and is trying to do their best. Karigan was more determined and stubborn than I think anyone in that position would be expected to be but that's probably what makes her the protagonist, right?

The world was set up fairly well and, while I wonder what they're going to do with the antagonist after this book's ending, I will be picking up at least the next book to find out! The magic system wasn't discussed very much in this book but it seemed interesting, so I hope they go more in-depth with it sooner rather than later. The Green Riders remain mysterious despite them being heavily involved in last ~12 chapters in the book and I'm excited to learn more about them as well.

I'm also interested in the hints of romance that were set up here. It kinda seems like it's leaning toward a love triangle, which I'm a bit leery of, but I'll withhold judgement until we get into the thick of it. At the very least this seems like the type of series that would prioritize plot over romance, so even if the love triangle goes badly it won't detract from the book too much, I'm hoping.

I'm definitely picking up book 2!

What can I say but this series continues to slay? It's a consistent slay and that's just facts. I thought the amnesia inclusion was a pretty fresh take on the series, since we did still have that instant bond/attraction type deal but with even MORE confusion/apprehension than normal because she knows she knows him somehow but she's not quite sure and I thought that was a really interesting spin on it!

And we FINALLY made some progress on the Scarab Queen! I can't wait to see where that storyline goes. I'm gonna run out of these pretty soon and then I'll have to wait until the next books comes out which sucks but I'm still very much enjoying the ride!

C.A.P.E RatingCharacters - 4/5Atmosphere - 4/5Plot - 4/5Enjoyment - 4/5

Unfortunately just didn't really connect with this one. I don't think there's anything wrong with the characters, per say, it's just that they didn't hook me like a lot of the other couples did. Maybe I just didn't enjoy being outside of the packs after spending so many books with them, even though there are only so many established characters in the packs to draw from for stories.

Most of Singh's books are insta-love by definition, but this one was especially egregious in my opinion. I don't know the exact timeline but it felt like these two only really knew each other for about a week before they were committed for life. I'm pretty sure their first charged encounter only happened like a day or two? After they met officially. With no Changeling mating bond to hand-wave it away since these two are Psy, it was a little much for me.

Also just didn't really like the prisoner/jailer dynamic these two had going on for most of the book. It makes sense within the plot, but given Katya's background this just seems like something that would need a lot of distance and care before it could turn romantic, and they just didn't do that. It made me a little uncomfortable.

The lore saved it though. We got even more insight into the Council, Councillors, and the first stirrings of what's happening to the PsyNet in the Trinity series, so I'm still super excited for the next one!

C.A.P.E Rating:Characters - 4/5Atmosphere - 5/5Plot - 4/5Enjoyment - 3/5

JUST as good as the first one, I have to say.

Once again the anxiety rep is top tier, I really do think it's my favorite thing about these books. There are plenty of other things about them that I enjoy, but I can tell this story was lovingly crafted by an author who really does understand what it's like to struggle with something like this. The difficulties that Ziva faced over the course of the plot within herself; not feeling worthy of happiness, frustration over how the anxiety affected her and her ability to enjoy life, worrying that she would just be a burden on others and that no one would have the patience to deal with it, deal with her-

It really hit home for me.

Besides that, the plot was tense and enjoyable. This book was STRESSFUL, but it was fulfilling at the same time. I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time, and the friendship/family vibes were IMMACULATE. Both of the couples learning that communication is truly what makes or breaks a relationship was also a very nice touch, and refreshing to find in a book nowadays when so many of them tend to lean on the miscommunication trope for more conflict.

All in all, a solid book. Tricia Levenseller knows what she's doing. 

got exactly what i came for, wham-bam-thank you ma'am.

This is such a gripping read. The tone of the writing is vicious and raw from the very beginning of the book, and even though there's such a sense of dread and tension throughout the entire book you just can't shy away. I had thought to myself that there wasn't anything that a fanatical religious cult could do that would surprise me by now but, even though what happened didn't surprise me, the emotions that it leaves you with are real. The disgust and the horror and the incredulity are things that can never stop shocking you.

Moonbeam's voice throughout the story was so clear and watching her try to come to terms with what she lived through and try to reckon that with what's real and what's not is both heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. There weren't very many happy moments in this book, to be completely honest, but it carried and ended on such a hopeful tone that while the story itself is a tragedy, you couldn't help but enjoy the happy ending, or as happy as you can call it.

Although I will say I did cry happy tears at Moonbeam's letter from her mom and their reunion.

Real tearjerker stuff. Fantastic read.