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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I just love this series and the easy to understand but expanding lore of the families and the magical lake/town. Loved the romance and the FMC being somewhat of a black sheep as a nature lover in a family of gothic necromancers. Just really charming and escapism story that somehow feels real.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
I really enjoyed this one. Would have probably been a 5 star read if I wasn’t comparing it to how much I loved the first. Same small town vibes and cozy feel, I just connected to the characters much less.
Enemies to lovers? ✅ Small town romance? ✅ Witchy vibes? ✅ Reverse grumpy sunshine? ✅✅✅
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I will say it again and again, I'm not typically a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope. This was not the exception to that rule. I was so excited for this book and while I did overall really enjoy this book, the romance portions were lackluster for me. Rowan was so self righteous and mean at the beginning of the book, that it was hard for me to root for them to get together. His disdain and prejudice for her family was unwarranted and simply unnecessary. How hard is it to just be polite to someone in a public space, especially if you're being forced to work together? Once they got together it was sweet and a little steamy, but ultimately fell flat for me.
That being said, I'm still in love with the world-building of Thistle Grove. I love all the descriptions, history, magic and festivals we got to experience in this book. I still want to book a flight and travel there immediately if it were a real place. The Bitters as a haunted house was still just as spectacular as the first book. I also loved Issa as our main character. She was spooky, bad-ass and fashionable and I loved it. The description of her anxiety and panic attacks felt super real and I related so much to that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but, in my personal opinion, it didn't quite live up to the first book. Of course book 3 is on my Most Anticipated List for next year and hopefully that one will blow me out away.
That being said, I'm still in love with the world-building of Thistle Grove. I love all the descriptions, history, magic and festivals we got to experience in this book. I still want to book a flight and travel there immediately if it were a real place. The Bitters as a haunted house was still just as spectacular as the first book. I also loved Issa as our main character. She was spooky, bad-ass and fashionable and I loved it. The description of her anxiety and panic attacks felt super real and I related so much to that.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but, in my personal opinion, it didn't quite live up to the first book. Of course book 3 is on my Most Anticipated List for next year and hopefully that one will blow me out away.