Kendall

This is the last book of the series, and in my opinion, it may be the best one of them all. This book had all my favorite tropes: Grumpy X Sunshine, Fake Marriage, small town romance where he falls first and HARD. This book was such a unexpected surprise. The romance was sweet, and swoon-worthy. There was also a lot of action / plot points. I feel like a lot of romances just have a lot of internal wrestling of feelings (which don’t get me wrong…that’s great), but this book had a lot of actual things happening that helped the feelings part occur. I really devoured this book in a day.

The characters were also all so likeable. Evan was truly grumpy fisherman and Melanie was your average insta influencer, but it really worked. I don’t like to slam other author’s books (really…. you like what you like. I just may not be a fan), but I feel like this book did what Tessa Bailey was trying to do in It Happened One Summer without the poorly done spicy to cover up the massive plot holes. They had chemistry and a short timeline that they were falling love with each other, but it felt…realistic? if that is even possible. I mean he learns to take selfies for her, shows her how delicious poutine is, and bought her fake eyelashes cause she ran out even though he had no idea what he was doing. If that doesn’t have you swooning, I don’t know what will.

The ending is also not one to be scoffed at. Overall, the book was all about taking a chance on love. I really enjoyed how the ending played out. It felt realistic for the couple. It wasn’t rushed, but an actual compromise which is kind of rare to see. I didn’t feel like strangling either of them over miscommunication issues, and that is saying a lot.

If you have ever liked Sandra Bullock romantic comedy movies, you will love this book. It truly is a mix of the Proposal and While You Were Sleeping. I can’t recommend this book enough. Even if you didn’t like the others, I really recommend this one. It felt different in such a good way.

Get your tissues and buckle up! This one is not for the weak. The book starts with gut punch: Ember’s military father who is away on leave…dies. His death sends everyone reeling, each in a different way. For the main character, Ember, it means she is making all the decisions that her mother normally would if she wasn’t so grief-stricken. Trying to keep afloat, Ember runs into Josh Walker who was a hot, flirty guy she went to high school with only now… he grew up. And he is willing to be there for whatever she needs.

Military romances are not usually my thing, so I was a little surprised that I ended up liking this one. I will say there were a lot of elements that had me rolling my eyes (the miscommunication trope is STRONG in this one), but I did enjoy it despite that. I think the romance, while a little angsty, did have some swoon worthy moments. I mean, if a cute guy who plays hockey, hung out with my younger brother, and said he would be “whatever” she needed… I’d be sold.

Somethings that I liked about this book:

- The twist. I don’t know how Rebecca Yarros does it, but she can turn the smallest little information into this big twist that leaves you rethinking all the past conversations. I won’t say what the twist is (NO SPOILERS HERE, YA’LL!), but I did go, “Wait a dang minute…!” Even though it is a twist, it is really believable in the realism elements. It isn’t shock for the sake of shock.

- The romance - I will say it again, the “whatever” nickname and storyline had me swooning. It was kind of dreamy, let’s be real. I found myself yelling at Ember to just get with the man already.

Somethings that I did NOT like about this book:

- This book needed way more of a plot. Outside of the initial shock of her father dying, I feel like the book is a lot of the same. She goes to class, runs into Josh, tries to fight her feelings for him, and has an emotional overthinking session about her feelings. I felt like it could have had a bit more in terms of events and still had the emotional element.

- The Angst and miscommunication. It was kind of CONSTANT. She was always pulling away and it got old after a while. I would have liked if I could have seen them happy for a good part of the book.

- The ending. I won’t put any spoilers, but it felt…. like a cop out. I didn’t feel like any other their issues necessarily got solved. I will say, I saw that there is a later book in the series where we return to these characters again. I assume that is when things will be solved, but it just felt a bit… unresolved and I didn’t appreciate that.

The book did deal with a lot of tough subjects like grief and what it means to be in a military family / relationship. If those subjects are sensitive to you, I may advise caution. There were several moments where I was a bit taken back, and I don’t have those ties.

This is the first of the series, and while it isn’t my highest rated book ever, I did enjoy it. I will be reading the next one to see how it ranks. If you enjoyed any of Yarros’ other contemporary romances, you will probably like this one. If you miss the Nicholas Sparks movies from the 2010’s, this book is also for you.

There aren’t enough words to describe how magical this book is. It poignantly tells a story of a girl who yearned to travel and be wanted by her parents on their exciting Egyptian expeditions. Suddenly, her parents are presumed dead… missing. This devastating event sparks the opportunity for her to finally go to Egypt and try and find out what happened. At every turn, she is thwarted: by her Uncle and his attractive assistant, Whit, under the guise of keeping her safe. By the rough Egyptian elements. By the corrupt underbelly of British exploration. This book tackled so many topics: female independence, colonization, exploitation, familial obligation… and so much more. Not only that, it did it in a way that kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting more.

I couldn’t write a review of this book without touching on the element of Magic Realism that this book had. It was so beautifully done! There was magic buried deep in objects and only certain people can unlock it? not only that, but each object has a unique and quirky advantage?? SIGN ME UP! Despite the story being obviously grounded in the history of British colonization, the magic was so utterly believable. I also loved how the magic was used to foreshadow the many twists and turns this book had.

Speaking of twists and turns… the plot was gorgeous. It wasn’t all adventure and fun. There was a really good balance of shocking events, brooding tension between characters, and quiet reflection from the narrator. *This* is how you are supposed to write historical fiction.

Finally… the characters. They are TOP TIER! They are endearing, funny, and full of flaws and mistakes. Inez is beautifully confident and wildly loyal. I don’t know how many times her stubborn nature had me laughing and cheering her on. She is definitely everything I want in a female lead of a fantasy book. Vulnerable but not taking anyone’s shit. On the other hand, Whit legitimately had me swooning every scene. He was charming and yet effortlessly aloof and mysterious. Also, I absolutely loved the fact that we occasionally got to see Whit’s inner narrative. It wasn’t every other chapter (as that probably would have been too much for a character that is supposed to be mysterious ;p), but it was spread out every so often. It kept you wanting to come back for more. It added a whole other layer of suspense as we got to see answers before Inez did. It is worth noting that this book is by no means spicy, but the way the romance was written… OOO! It was so tense and full of sparks. I couldn’t wait for another Inez/Whit interaction to come across the page. I wish every romance had the kind of chemistry and banter these two had.

This book felt like “Tangled” set in an 1890’s Egyptian expedition. What more can a reader ask for than an independent female character whose magical powers reveal long-kept secrets all while being followed (and protected) by a handsome rogue? I will say…. this book ends on the most shocking cliffhanger after the wildest ride that was the last 60 pages. My jaw was on.the.floor! Despite it giving me the worst book hangover I have had in a while, I loved this book. I cannot wait to read the second book, and I recommend you read this as fast as you can too. You won’t regret it.

I wasn’t expecting to like this one as much as I did. One thing that I loved about this book was the length. It is a LONG romance, but it fits the plot. Maggie moves to the town for a big house renovation that will take months. It makes sense that the book is long and full of different events that reflect it. It also made the romance *that* much more believable. Maggie is scared of change, and Silas is trying to change her view on that and of him. Changing one’s view on the world isn’t going to change in a week or two.

Of course, I also loved all the characters in this book. It starts out small, and as the story progresses, you become introduced to more and more characters that you love. It really ends up being a found family (but I would have never guessed it would end up that way from the first couple of chapters). This book was honestly full of great surprises in that way.

Finally, this book was really funny. I enjoyed the dialogue and the absurd happens that are (unfortunately) totally normal for a house renovation. Maybe times, I found myself chuckling and highlighting passages.

I would highly recommend this book. It was cute, funny, and heart-warming.

I wanted to like this book SO much, but it just missed the mark. This book had some really good elements. For instance, I really liked the dialogue. It was quirky and a little off, but I mean that in the best way. I found myself chuckling a lot especially during the scenes where the entire “team” got together. I also liked the characters (for the most part). They were all unique with full backstories and contrasting qualities. The one character that I found lacking was Jack. His whole vibe was “mysterious and suave”. While this is all great and dandy, the mystery never lifted. There was never a point where I really got to know more about him. I couldn’t get invested in his character and subsequent wellbeing when he would disappear and pop in with no explanation. Because of this, I didn’t really root for the “romance” between him and Simi. It seemed very superficial. At times, she seems to flip how she feels for Jack in a single moment, but it never made sense. If you are mad at someone, them flirting with you is not going to solve anything. She also didn’t ever learn anything about him, so I am not sure why she was so insistent that she wanted to be with him. Speaking of things that I am unsure about, there were a lot of logistical plot holes when it came to the “team” and the heist itself. It felt like it was all thrown together and just magically worked. I was expecting some sort of “Ocean’s 8” movie and instead I got a version that would be a Wish-app equivalent of a heist story.

I wanted to love this, but it was just too poorly written that I couldn’t get behind it. I also think there is a sequel, but I most likely won’t read it as I doubt I’ll remember half of what happened in this book and I certainly will not be re-reading this to refresh my memory.