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annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
When I started the first book in this series, I was not quite sure if I would like it. After all, what the hell is an innocent, cute and naive girl like me gonna do in the world of Maffia, Elite High Schools and Bullies? However, the first book in this series was a huge success. I've been reading it with my heart racing in my chest and adrenaline rushing through my veins. It was such a rollercoaster. So, I was quite curious if the second book would give me the same feel.
Although a lot of dark things were going on, I didn't get the same thrill. But hey, maybe it's a lot healthier to not be reading books like that. In a lot of ways this book was the aftermath of the big reveal at the end of the first book and the road towards what's gonna happen in the rest of the series. It's in a way an in between book, moving the characters from one finale to the next story arc that's about to happen.
And along the way we learn a lot about the characters. Of course there already was the main reveal at the end of the first book, but there are a lot more reveals in this book. And they are not all about her. She was clearly not the only one hiding things. It's quite nice to see that the guys also have an edge to them, especially now we see our girl becoming more and more herself. The guys really need those edges to be her perfect match.
What I love is that in this book we're going into the world. The first book was all about our main character and her boys, about trying to uphold the facade and to survive the last year. However, in this book it becomes more and more clear that there's much more at play than the characters believed. And that means that they have to figure out what's going on and what they're really part of. And now I can't wait to watch our characters become a part of that world!
Although a lot of dark things were going on, I didn't get the same thrill. But hey, maybe it's a lot healthier to not be reading books like that. In a lot of ways this book was the aftermath of the big reveal at the end of the first book and the road towards what's gonna happen in the rest of the series. It's in a way an in between book, moving the characters from one finale to the next story arc that's about to happen.
And along the way we learn a lot about the characters. Of course there already was the main reveal at the end of the first book, but there are a lot more reveals in this book. And they are not all about her. She was clearly not the only one hiding things. It's quite nice to see that the guys also have an edge to them, especially now we see our girl becoming more and more herself. The guys really need those edges to be her perfect match.
What I love is that in this book we're going into the world. The first book was all about our main character and her boys, about trying to uphold the facade and to survive the last year. However, in this book it becomes more and more clear that there's much more at play than the characters believed. And that means that they have to figure out what's going on and what they're really part of. And now I can't wait to watch our characters become a part of that world!
manda24176's review
5.0
Claudia
I loved this second book. From the cliff hanger of book one we get the answers I'm sure that some of us were stumped on when we finished. Now I gotta move on so I can get all the answers on Antony. I have some mixed feelings about him and I hope I'm wrong from what happened with the ending this book had.
I loved this second book. From the cliff hanger of book one we get the answers I'm sure that some of us were stumped on when we finished. Now I gotta move on so I can get all the answers on Antony. I have some mixed feelings about him and I hope I'm wrong from what happened with the ending this book had.
daisybox's review
1.0
I didn't like this book as much as the first one. To be fair the plot doesn't move a lot, there're pages and pages of fillers.
Things that seemed important in the first installment got closure too easily here: Noah's father is dealt with – for now – in the very beginning and then Noah doesn't think about him or Felix anymore. Brutus being this big bad villain is also dealt with very quickly in a few pages at the end (which makes the reader understand he is not the main villain). Same with Chad. The author has made the choice to tie some loose ends and create new ones and I don't know how I feel about that when there're two other books after this one.
I didn't like Mac/Claudia here. In fact, except for Eli and George (who I adore!), I though the characters were selfish and Claudia had developed this "pick me pick me" personality and sorta sex kitten vibe. So annoying. I do not feel her to be genuine at all. She got close to the guys because it serve her and when they're sad/angry she wants to be close to them because it impact her own happiness. I hated that. And her always thinking about Eli when she's intimate with Gabe or Noah was weird. It's like she considers them as a package deal and she won't be satisfied until she got the three at her feet. It cheapens even more her relationship with Gabe and Noah. She wants the cake, the baker and the bakery. Talk about a toddler's tantrum.
Noah doesn't care about his best friend and chose a girl he barely knows over him, then proceeds to declare his undying love to her when they never had a real conversation before. Her and Noah having sex in the shower when Gabe had a mental breakdown minutes before is also not a good look.
I like Gabe but I don't feel any connection between him and the others. He seems to belong in another story. I'm confused on how the author is going to connect Dylan's passing with what's happening in Emerald Beach (I guess the grey drug will be the answer ?). He is definitely the comic relief character and if he wasn't there, I wouldn't have missed him.
I'm also confused on how the History teacher will be relevant to the plot. I thought for a second she'd have her own book with Anthony but it doesn't look like it.
For a girl who doesn't want the mafia life, Claudia sure does like her "queen" status. Queen is probably written a million times, I'm sick of it ! She goes from "I want to leave this city and have a normal life incognito with my lawyer of a cousin" to "I want to be the one to destroy everything". How can this be possible ? She doesn't want to be recognised, she spent 4 years hidden in a mansion and now she wants everybody to know she's the one who destroy the mafia? Isn't she aware she has lots of enemies who will try to kill her? And why is the mansion so important? Anthony seems to have a lot of money and the mansion is not looked after, who is going to buy an abandoned house when it is not mentioned once that this particular neighborhood is so elite? I'm very confused.
And please, for people in the family they seem completely blind about the giant clues thrown in their faces. I know the author puts these for the reader but in making the characters completely oblivious to their environment, I have a hard time believing they're these badass bloody murderers. When the pizza delivery guy is afraid of her, how can Claudia not think "that's weird it happened before, it's like he had seen me before" LIKE YES BECAUSE YOU LITERALLY HAVE A DOPPELGANGER AND SHE SEEMS TO BE CLOSE TO YOU! Why isn't she worried about the Malloy's disappearance when she knows they were close to the mafia? How can she still trust Anthony when he obviously hiding something?
Very frustrating.
Things that seemed important in the first installment got closure too easily here: Noah's father is dealt with – for now – in the very beginning and then Noah doesn't think about him or Felix anymore. Brutus being this big bad villain is also dealt with very quickly in a few pages at the end (which makes the reader understand he is not the main villain). Same with Chad. The author has made the choice to tie some loose ends and create new ones and I don't know how I feel about that when there're two other books after this one.
I didn't like Mac/Claudia here. In fact, except for Eli and George (who I adore!), I though the characters were selfish and Claudia had developed this "pick me pick me" personality and sorta sex kitten vibe. So annoying. I do not feel her to be genuine at all. She got close to the guys because it serve her and when they're sad/angry she wants to be close to them because it impact her own happiness. I hated that. And her always thinking about Eli when she's intimate with Gabe or Noah was weird. It's like she considers them as a package deal and she won't be satisfied until she got the three at her feet. It cheapens even more her relationship with Gabe and Noah. She wants the cake, the baker and the bakery. Talk about a toddler's tantrum.
Noah doesn't care about his best friend and chose a girl he barely knows over him, then proceeds to declare his undying love to her when they never had a real conversation before. Her and Noah having sex in the shower when Gabe had a mental breakdown minutes before is also not a good look.
I like Gabe but I don't feel any connection between him and the others. He seems to belong in another story. I'm confused on how the author is going to connect Dylan's passing with what's happening in Emerald Beach (I guess the grey drug will be the answer ?). He is definitely the comic relief character and if he wasn't there, I wouldn't have missed him.
I'm also confused on how the History teacher will be relevant to the plot. I thought for a second she'd have her own book with Anthony but it doesn't look like it.
For a girl who doesn't want the mafia life, Claudia sure does like her "queen" status. Queen is probably written a million times, I'm sick of it ! She goes from "I want to leave this city and have a normal life incognito with my lawyer of a cousin" to "I want to be the one to destroy everything". How can this be possible ? She doesn't want to be recognised, she spent 4 years hidden in a mansion and now she wants everybody to know she's the one who destroy the mafia? Isn't she aware she has lots of enemies who will try to kill her? And why is the mansion so important? Anthony seems to have a lot of money and the mansion is not looked after, who is going to buy an abandoned house when it is not mentioned once that this particular neighborhood is so elite? I'm very confused.
And please, for people in the family they seem completely blind about the giant clues thrown in their faces. I know the author puts these for the reader but in making the characters completely oblivious to their environment, I have a hard time believing they're these badass bloody murderers. When the pizza delivery guy is afraid of her, how can Claudia not think "that's weird it happened before, it's like he had seen me before" LIKE YES BECAUSE YOU LITERALLY HAVE A DOPPELGANGER AND SHE SEEMS TO BE CLOSE TO YOU! Why isn't she worried about the Malloy's disappearance when she knows they were close to the mafia? How can she still trust Anthony when he obviously hiding something?
Very frustrating.
pachomacho's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
gypsystar's review
3.0
So we got that bombshell at the end of book one about Mackenzie. Clearly this is definitely a dream come true for Noah. He was messed up over being into her the revelation that she isn’t really Mackenzie took the weight off.
Of course, now Eli is all betrayed even more than before. He’s also into her and feeling torn about. Always gotta have an odd man out.
Story 3/5, Heat 2/5, Darkness 2/5, Angst 2.75/5
Fast burn, Noah and Claudia get right back into it but then it’s pretty mellow for most of the book. There’s only a couple sexy scenes. Very plot driven read, the sexy scenes are good though just not the focus.
No virgins in this one, big push away from Eli for nearly entire book, no OM drama, tiny OW drama - h thinks Eli is involved with her friend George. Eli is not part of the harem yet in this book, Gabriel is absent for part of the book dealing with situation. Book 2 of 4 so there’s obviously a cliffhanger, all books are out so read without fear.
Of course, now Eli is all betrayed even more than before. He’s also into her and feeling torn about. Always gotta have an odd man out.
Story 3/5, Heat 2/5, Darkness 2/5, Angst 2.75/5
Fast burn, Noah and Claudia get right back into it but then it’s pretty mellow for most of the book. There’s only a couple sexy scenes. Very plot driven read, the sexy scenes are good though just not the focus.
No virgins in this one, big push away from Eli for nearly entire book, no OM drama, tiny OW drama - h thinks Eli is involved with her friend George. Eli is not part of the harem yet in this book, Gabriel is absent for part of the book dealing with situation. Book 2 of 4 so there’s obviously a cliffhanger, all books are out so read without fear.
angelastl's review
4.0
Crazy
So the queen is back. And she isn’t waiting to take her kingdom back. Crazy intense non stop story line. Great characters.
So the queen is back. And she isn’t waiting to take her kingdom back. Crazy intense non stop story line. Great characters.
nessan651's review
4.0
Wow
Wow that's all I can say I love Claudia but dam I think I love George more lol can't wait to read the 3rd book now
Wow that's all I can say I love Claudia but dam I think I love George more lol can't wait to read the 3rd book now