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illyanadallas222's review against another edition
5.0
This series was probably the most unique and extraordinary series I’ve ever read. Probably in all of 2021 thus far.
When I first picked this series up, I was probably too baffled by how “extra-ordinary” it was. There were such emphasis on locations, entertainment references, literary references and everybody was so original, that I found it all quite jarring at first. Not to mention how I also found the female lead a bit too much of hot mess. So I put it down, and promised to start it again, when I wanted to read and learn the lives of such ‘full’ characters another day. Come April, I picked it up again, and given my state of mind I couldn’t put it down. And subconsciously I started annotating locations, restaurants, books and streets I wanted to journey through, thanks to this series. Julian, the male protagonist was probably the male version of ‘Tatiana’ from Paullina’s Opus Magnus, The Bronze Horseman. Dare I say he is the modern male inspiration for all us women in 2021: Kind, handsome, humble, relentless, unassuming, a boxer (
When I first picked this series up, I was probably too baffled by how “extra-ordinary” it was. There were such emphasis on locations, entertainment references, literary references and everybody was so original, that I found it all quite jarring at first. Not to mention how I also found the female lead a bit too much of hot mess. So I put it down, and promised to start it again, when I wanted to read and learn the lives of such ‘full’ characters another day. Come April, I picked it up again, and given my state of mind I couldn’t put it down. And subconsciously I started annotating locations, restaurants, books and streets I wanted to journey through, thanks to this series. Julian, the male protagonist was probably the male version of ‘Tatiana’ from Paullina’s Opus Magnus, The Bronze Horseman. Dare I say he is the modern male inspiration for all us women in 2021: Kind, handsome, humble, relentless, unassuming, a boxer (
shrook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
leannerobb's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
sarah621's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
What an odd reading experience this trilogy was. This last book was the one I liked the most, where I finally felt I found a Mia worthy of Jules and a Julian who I could understand and believe in. It was worth the wait.
readingmumofboys's review against another edition
4.0
This trio loft is no bronze horseman, and jules is no Alexander, but I still very much enjoyed it. The first book I was just just like what the hell am I reading??!!! But the second and third books were great!!!
mandabee90's review against another edition
5.0
WOW! Just wow! I was not expecting anything of what happened. Talk about six degrees of separation and what a way of bringing the past events into the present and vice verse. Definitely my favourite novel of the trilogy; and I’m so glad it changed pace compared to the first two because the second novel started to get a bit repetitive for my liking. A fantastic read!
astoryuntold's review against another edition
4.0
Gut wrenching but still beautiful, the last instalment in End of Forever had it all (well, almost).
This series might have been about two people's epic love story in the beginning but I think in the end, it was all about Julian and about his personal journey as a son, a friend, a partner. He is the main focus of Inexpressible Island and Mia just compliments his story.
I have to hand it to Simons, her storytelling is magnificent. All the twists and turns will have you sitting at the edge of your seat going "No way!" almost throughout. She knew where she was going with the story from the first page of the first book and it showed. The way the story came together was the most beautiful part of the book for me.
What made me drop one star, was the actual ending. Not that it was particularly bad, but after all this anticipation about what would happen on Julian's last journey, it was a bit anticlimactic imo. I personally don't think a HEA suited these two. I know Julian and Mia had been through so much and they deserved it, but a happy ending comes in many forms. It doesn't always mean a beautiful wife and a baby shoved in the last 10 pages. I didn't like that history was re-written to their advantage with no actual reasoning. Unless it was confirmed that Julian did that full circle "meet Mia-time travel-get lost in the caves-meet Mia" multiple times and the re-writing of history is finally him being lucky and living the best version out of 10 or 100 of tries. Then, yes. I accept the ending. But none of that was made certain. Maybe it was sort of implied, but I can't be sure.
Honestly, after Julian got rescued and he "started" his life again and met Mia, I had this sense of foreboding, emotionally preparing for her to die. But not only she didn't die, everything was changed on top of that and I thought "Oh, Ok. Was that it? Why didn't he do that from the beginning then if that's all it took...?" Also, at some point I thought that Mia is the one who time-travelled and came to find him for a change the way she was written, acting all obsessed with Julian from day one. But no, not even that. So even though I was very satisfied with how Julian's story turned out, I was disappointed in how Mia's story concluded. Then again, I was never fond of Mia :/
To readers starting this series now: if you get past the 1st half of book 1, then you are good to go. It only gets better from there.
Paullina Simons is a master when it comes to epic romances, end of story.
Remember: this is a deeply heartbreaking story, bordering on really depressing. Not for the faint of heart.
This series might have been about two people's epic love story in the beginning but I think in the end, it was all about Julian and about his personal journey as a son, a friend, a partner. He is the main focus of Inexpressible Island and Mia just compliments his story.
I have to hand it to Simons, her storytelling is magnificent. All the twists and turns will have you sitting at the edge of your seat going "No way!" almost throughout. She knew where she was going with the story from the first page of the first book and it showed. The way the story came together was the most beautiful part of the book for me.
What made me drop one star, was the actual ending. Not that it was particularly bad, but after all this anticipation about what would happen on Julian's last journey, it was a bit anticlimactic imo. I personally don't think a HEA suited these two. I know Julian and Mia had been through so much and they deserved it, but a happy ending comes in many forms. It doesn't always mean
Honestly, after Julian got rescued and he "started" his life again and met Mia, I had this sense of foreboding, emotionally preparing for her to die. But not only she didn't die, everything was changed on top of that and I thought "Oh, Ok. Was that it? Why didn't he do that from the beginning then if that's all it took...?" Also, at some point I thought that Mia is the one who time-travelled and came to find him for a change the way she was written, acting all obsessed with Julian from day one. But no, not even that. So even though I was very satisfied with how Julian's story turned out, I was disappointed in how Mia's story concluded. Then again, I was never fond of Mia :/
To readers starting this series now: if you get past the 1st half of book 1, then you are good to go. It only gets better from there.
Paullina Simons is a master when it comes to epic romances, end of story.
Remember: this is a deeply heartbreaking story, bordering on really depressing. Not for the faint of heart.
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