Scan barcode
now_booking's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Despite always saying I’m not a huge fan of NA romance, I really enjoyed this one featuring stressed out teen alpha heir, Cadog, and from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks tankless high schooler, Rosie, and their complicated love story after discovering that they’re fated mates. Even though Cadog makes some dumb moves they’re understandable in the context of the plot and considering his age. Rosie is an absolute delight and I wish we had gotten to know more about her and more about Cadog and had more conversations between them. They’re both observers and not big talkers so unlike the first book in this series, there was less getting-to-know-each-other conversation. That said, this was really enjoyable and a great YA/NA coming of age story about sacrifice and what it means to discern what’s important while being a hero. I thought some of the deeper themes of classism and the entitlement of the privileged were executed really well in the way they paralleled existing policies and approaches to talking about and dealing with people who have been marginalised because of their identity, culture and way of life. This was good and I can hardly wait for the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Stalking, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent
cluckieduck's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This puts the SLOW in slow-burn and it’s to the story’s detriment - it was just supremely dull. Based on the blurb, I was expecting the drama quite quickly but it doesn’t show up until ~66%. Any of the plot leading up to that point was just a high-school bully YA novel.
Like the first book, there just wasn’t nearly enough grovelling from the MMC for the amount of crap that was doled out to our MFC. Highly disappointing.
Like the first book, there just wasn’t nearly enough grovelling from the MMC for the amount of crap that was doled out to our MFC. Highly disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Bullying, Classism, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
More...