Manga Review: Is Love the Answer?

Rating: 4 stars

A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual. A complete story in a single volume, from the creator of “Mine-kun is Asexual.”

When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She’s never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just “hasn’t met the one yet,” but Chika has doubts… It’s only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there’s a word for what she feels inside–asexual–and she’s not the only one. After years of wondering if love was the answer, Chika realizes that the answer she long sought may not exist at all–and that that’s perfectly normal.

I first heard about this manga from a fellow book blogger on WordPress that I follow called The Book Raven. She had written such a wonderful review of this manga about a subject that I feel like I still need to learn more about that made me decide to check it out for myself to see if I’d enjoy it just as much as she did.

And let me tell you, Is Love the Answer? didn’t disappoint. It was a simple short manga telling the story of young Chika who’s always felt different from her peers because of never having fallen in love with another person. She had a lot of doubts, wondering if there was something wrong with her and wanting to know why she didn’t feel the way about romance her high school peers did. It’s only when she goes to college and meets people who’ve had somewhat similar experiences that she discovers the word for her experience and begins to question what love looks like for her and what that means.

I enjoyed reading this manga because of how relatable the character Chika is to me. While I don’t completely have the same experiences when it comes to love that Chika does, I felt like I could relate to her character because, for the longest time, it took me a while to pinpoint for myself how I develop feelings for people when it came to any of my relationships in my life. Like Chika, I struggled to identify how I feel when it comes to romantic relationships. And also like Chika, when I learned what that was for me, I also found myself curious and wanting to look more into it to see if it’s something I truly identified with or not. So for me, this book was a good read because it helped me feel validated about my experiences and also learn more about asexuality and what that means and looks like for those who identify as asexual.

What I also enjoyed when it came to reading Is Love the Answer? was learning more about different sexual identities that fell under asexual. I felt like I read about a lot of terms I hadn’t heard of before which has made me want to look further into them just so I can know even more about them. I also enjoyed this aspect of this manga because along with seeing those terms, there were characters in this story that identified as them too so that allowed me as a reader to see how those sexualities can potentially look.

If I had to choose anything from this manga that I didn’t particularly like, it would have to be how short of a read it was for me. I finished this manga in one sitting and was sad about it because of how much I was enjoying what I was reading. I wish it was a little longer because I wanted to continue seeing Chika learn more about herself and see her relationships with the friends she made along the way develop more.

But as a whole, Is Love the Answer? was an enjoyable manga to read. I haven’t read too many mangas in my life, nonetheless any recently that I’ve decided to review here on my blog. But I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it, especially for anyone part of the LGBTQ community and anyone who wants to read young coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own identity.  

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my review of Is Love the Answer?! If you enjoyed my review of this manga, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.            

Book Review: Open Minded

Rating: 3 stars

After nine years of dating, Holly is sure her boyfriend Will is going to propose. But instead of popping the question, he shocks her by suggesting they open their relationship to date other people.

For the last three years, Fliss and her boyfriend Ash have been in a happily open relationship. But now that they’re turning thirty, he wants to close it, throwing Fliss’s whole ethos of living life on her terms rather than society’s expectations into question.

When Fliss overhears Holly crying in the toilets during her first date in nine years, they decide to ditch their dates and have dinner together. They strike up an instant friendship with Fliss agreeing to teach Holly everything she knows about being in an open relationship, while Holly, who’s been with one person for almost a decade, can help Fliss try monogamy.

Fliss is willing to give up dating other people if it means staying with Ash, and Holly is willing to try anything if it means she gets her happy ending with Will. But perhaps both Fliss and Holly will learn that there’s no one size fits all when it comes to relationships . . .

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

Open Minded was an enjoyable book for me to read as Holly and Fliss are both relatable characters struggling with opposing issues. I enjoyed seeing that as the story was told from both their perspectives, so it was interesting to see what was going to happen in regard to their relationships once the two of them became friends. I enjoyed seeing this sisterhood between the two of them and how it came about and seeing them going to each other for advice when it came to the issues in their relationships and how to deal with them.

I also enjoyed seeing their relationships with the guys they were with and seeing everything play out. While I didn’t necessarily like all of the guys and the relationships Holly and Fliss had with them, I enjoyed seeing these two different relationships. I also found both Liam and Rowan’s characters an interesting dynamic in these stories as Holly grapples with her now open relationship by dating Liam while Fliss struggles with keeping Rowan as just a friend now that her boyfriend wants to be exclusive.

While I found these aspects of Open Minded enjoyable to read, there were some things with the story too I disliked. One of my dislikes had to do with the lack of Holly and Fliss actually taking each other’s advice when it comes to their relationships. I feel like they both go to each other for advice during their friendship and seem like they’ll take what the other is saying to heart. But from the beginning, Holly lies to Fliss about why she and Will are in an open relationship and Fliss doesn’t initially listen to Holly when it comes to her “friendship” with Rowan. As a result, I feel like a lot of conflict happens in this story that wouldn’t have occurred if Fliss and Holly took each other’s advice.

Another issue I have with this book is how both Holly and Fliss handle their relationships. With Holly, the issue I have with her relationship with Will is that even though they’ve been together for nine years, I felt from the beginning that there was something off in their relationship. It wasn’t until later in Open Minded when she was dating Liam that I realized how little Will actually listens to her and that she wasn’t standing up for herself in their relationship. There is also very little communication between the two of them too because Will decides that they are going to have an open relationship but then never communicates with her what he wants from it. Then once it’s no longer working for him, Will doesn’t say anything and expects Holly to just be with him again.

With Fliss, the issue with her relationship with Ash was communication regarding their relationship becoming exclusive. Ash asks about the two of them becoming exclusive and Fliss just goes along with it but then there’s no further discussion about it. I feel like the issue is more on her end though as when she realizes that she can’t be exclusive, she doesn’t discuss things with Ash until she makes a reckless decision that almost cost them their relationship. It isn’t until she’s without him that she realizes that while she doesn’t want to be exclusive, she wants to continue having open relationships but wants to be with him while being in an open relationship.

As a whole though, Open Minded is an enjoyable read that has you seeing relationships in a different way. While I know for myself an open relationship is never something I’d personally do, this book allowed me to see what an open relationship can be like for those involved. Open Minded has a publication date of November 12, 2024, for those interested in checking out this book.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my review of Open Minded! If you enjoyed my review of this book, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.

Book Review: The Harlequin Crew Series

After having read the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series and Dead Men Walking duet, I figured I might as well continuing reading books set in the same world. Since I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read in this world so far, I figured I might as well give The Harlequin Crew series a try to see how much I enjoy it. So to kick these reviews off, let me start by talking about the first book in the series, Sinners’ Playground.

Sinners’ Playground (The Harlequin Crew #1)

Rating: 4.5 stars

Dead girls don’t feel pain. But they like the taste of vengeance.

Maybe that’s why I came back to my hometown. Because it sure as hell wasn’t for the surf. But what else was I supposed to do when I found myself in Sunset Cove with twenty bucks to my name, the key to my enemies’ secrets hanging around my neck and a mouth full of grave dirt that wouldn’t wash clean?

I hate the Harlequin boys.

But this is the perfect opportunity to take what they owe me. Because once upon a time, they broke my heart, stole my life, and sent me away from everything I’d ever known.

Fox, JJ, Chase, and Maverick. The four names tattooed onto my heart more permanently than any of the ink on my skin. They don’t just live in this town anymore, they rule it. And the view here may be beautiful, but the sun, sea and sand hide dark secrets.

The gangs. The lies. The violence.

It all lurks beneath a veil so thin that once you’ve seen through it, you can never close your eyes to the truth again.

But I don’t plan on closing my eyes. I have four devils set in my sights. And this dead girl no longer has anything to lose.

This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance, and jealous/possessive themes.

This book is a wonderful start to this series as I was immediately hooked to Rogue’s story and the story of the boys who stole her heart and broke it. What I enjoyed most is the overall story, the setting of Sunset Cove, and all of the characters that as a reader I’m introduced to.

What I enjoyed about the plot is that from the beginning, it hooks you in. The main female protagonist, Rogue, is a dead girl walking who returns to her hometown of Sunset Cove after ten years, promising to get revenge on the boys who broke her heart and kill the man who tried to kill her. Of course, doing those things isn’t going to be an easy task as she was told if she ever came back to Sunset Cove again, she was as good as dead. And the guy who tried to kill her is the leader of a dangerous gang called the Dead Dogs and an enemy of the Harlequin Crew, the gang that rules over Sunset Cove and whose leader is one of the boys who broke Rogue’s heart ten years ago. I enjoyed the plot in Sinners’ Playground because I knew there was no way Rogue was going to be back in Sunset Cove again without the guys she once loved knowing she was back and was interested to see how everything played out for everyone in this book. And where the plot went once Rogue was back didn’t disappoint, keeping me on my toes and continuing to read to see what would happen next.

What I also enjoyed about Sinners’ Playground was the setting of Sunset Cove. It’s interesting reading a book series that takes place in a beach town that’s run by a gang. But I also like it too because I love going to the beach. So even though Sunset Cove is rough around the edges, I feel like I enjoy this setting for this series because I feel like I can imagine a lot of what’s happening in the story pretty vividly. And even though it’s not a typical beach town, I still feel like Sunset Cove could be an interesting town to go to for vacation.

I also love the characters as well. I felt like as far as female protagonists go, Rogue is an overall badass. Now I’m not going to say I agree with all of the choices she makes because I do sometimes feel like she makes terrible decisions. But I also understand that she’s used to depending only on herself ever since she was made to leave Sunset Cove ten years ago, and she doesn’t want anyone trying to control what she does even when she’s being told it’s for her own good. So I actually feel like I understand a lot of the choices she makes, even the really terrible ones. And considering all of what she’s been through, I don’t blame her for the way she acts towards these guys when she’s back in town and they know she’s there. But I feel like she’s a wonderful female protagonist and enjoy her character here. I also like JJ and Maverick as well because I feel like out of the guys she knew, both of them seem to understand her the most regarding what she wants. Which I find crazy, considering how much Maverick hates Fox and his crew because of what happened that resulted in Rogue leaving ten years ago. I also find them to be the most interesting characters out of the boys Rogue used to love out of the four in the group. Their background and stories interest me the most as well, which I think helps as I want to understand what they both went through during the time Rogue was no longer in Sunset Cove.

If I had to choose anything with regards to what I dislike from reading this first book in The Harlequin Crew series, Sinners’ Playground, it would have to be the way Fox and Chase act when Rogue returns. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely like both their characters because I know the way they act in this book isn’t going to last for the whole series. But I wasn’t fond of them in this book when I was reading it. What I didn’t like about Fox here is how controlling he is when it comes to Rogue and how much he freaks out whenever she manages to get away. It’s not like I don’t understand that he’s trying to protect her, both from his father Luther who is the one who promised her death if she ever returns to Sunset Cove, and from the man who tried to kill her even though she hasn’t told him in this book yet who the one responsible is. But at the same time, I feel like he goes way too overboard with it sometimes. I also don’t like how possessive he acts with her by claiming her as his girl when she hasn’t agreed to be with him at all. I know he did it to offer her protection in his gang, but it’s just too controlling for my tastes so I don’t like him all that much because of it.

With Chase, what I dislike is how much he hates Rogue even though he’s one of the people responsible for her leaving Sunset Cove. While I get a lot of his hate has to do with how much his heart hasn’t fully healed from her absence and not wanting her to destroy the lives of the people he considers family, I also find it frustrating. Because I know from reading the chapters from his perspective how much he actually still loves her, whether he truly wants to admit it or not. And instead of admitting those feelings and facing them, he’s determined to get her out of Sunset Cove and making sure she doesn’t want to come back. His overall hatred for her is what results in the way Sinners’ Playground ends, and while I don’t necessarily hate the ending of this book, I hate how much Chase is giving into the hatred he feels towards Rogue because his plans to get her away from the men he calls family is only going to end up backfiring and hurting the people he cares about the most more than anything.

Despite how much I dislike Fox and Chase and the way they treat Rogue in this book, I enjoyed reading the first book in this series and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next in the second book in the series, Dead Man’s Isle. 

Dead Man’s Isle (The Harlequin Crew #2)

Rating: 4.5 stars

I’m the girl who no one wanted. Or the one who got away. Depending on who you ask.

Either way, betrayal and heartache have been my friends for far too long and it’s time for me to start over.

I gave the Harlequin boys a chance to change. A chance to prove that history wasn’t just set to repeat itself. But they failed with spectacular colours.

Maybe it’s time for me to stop running. After all, Sunset Cove has been living under the Harlequins’ thumb for far too long. It’s time to set our demons free and let them burn this place to the ground. Who knows if I’ll survive the fallout? But I guess I’ll soon find out if dead girls can die twice.

This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties.

Just like Sinners’ Playground, I enjoyed reading Dead Man’s Isle immensely. What I enjoyed with this book is that I felt like I got more of a peak into Maverick’s character. A lot of the chapters from his perspective gave a lot of insight into what his life was like after Rogue left and how he started up his gang against the Harlequin Crew. And I enjoyed reading his chapters because I felt like I had a better understanding of his vendetta against the guys he used to see as his brothers. I also felt bad for him too though because you could clearly see how dark his life had become and how much pain he had in life once Rogue was gone.

What I also enjoyed about this book was how it picked up where its predecessor left off. In this book in the series, you start to see some of the consequences of one of the character’s actions from the decisions he made at the end of the last book. You also see Rogue make a lot of big decisions here that initially surprised me but then didn’t when I thought further about them. I understood she made these choices so that she could continue living in Sunset Cove and get back at her ex who tried to kill her. And I’m here for it because I’m interested to see how she gets back at Shawn for everything he put her through before she came back to Sunset Cove.

What I enjoyed about everything that happened in this book is that I feel like the plot keeps picking up. The main plot in this book focuses on the rivalry between the Dead Dogs and Harlequin Crew and the war that both gangs are in with each other while Rogue continues working on her plan to destroy the men who broke her heart. I enjoyed every minute of this story because things just get more intense and take a turn I don’t expect. So I find myself becoming enamored with the story and excited to see what will happen next as these guys fight for Sunset Cove and to keep Rogue safe from Shawn.

I also enjoyed continuing to see her relationships with Maverick and JJ. Even though it’s clear how much these two guys still dislike each other, it’s also clear to see how much they both care about Rogue and making her happy too. I also enjoyed Rogue’s relationships with Fox and Chase in this book too more than I did in Sinners’ Playground. What I enjoyed with Fox’s character in Dead Man’s Isle is the references made to other books that I’ve read before (one of which is another series by these authors) as he decides to read some of the romance books that JJ has to see what he can do to win Rogue over. I still don’t like how controlling he acts towards Rogue in this book, but I don’t feel like it’s quite as bad as the first book in the series. With Chase, you could see the guilt he felt over the big decision he made that ruined his relationship with Rogue. And I felt bad for him because of how much he was beating himself up over it, especially felt bad too when Fox and JJ discovered what he’d done. I know a big part of it for me is that his character is someone I can relate to because of what he’s been through, and I understand his feelings when it comes to Rogue and feeling like he’s not enough for her. He goes through so much in this book and with the way this book ends, I know he’s about to go through a whole lot more trauma than he deserves.

If I had to choose anything about Dead Man’s Isle that I dislike it would have to be Shawn’s character. Don’t get me wrong, he makes for a wonderful villain in this series. But I hate him as a whole so much. He reminds me of some guys I’ve dealt with before in the past with regards to the way he treats women. He’s also just a really annoying character as well as he’s one of those villains that just opens his mouth and talks a lot when he’s coming out on top. And I really really am excited to continue reading the books in this series to see Rogue and the guys she loves bring about his death and downfall. Because I know when it comes, everything these characters have been through because of him will be worth it.

Overall though, I enjoyed reading Dead Man’s Isle. It does a wonderful job picking up where its predecessor left off, gives me more insight into one of my favorite characters from these books, shows me more of a relationship between two of the guys Rogue loves, and shows some character development between two of the guys I wasn’t as fond of in this book’s predecessor. And while I hate Shawn’s character despite how good of a villain he truly is, I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Carnival Hill to see how this series continues to play out.

Carnival Hill (The Harlequin Crew #3)

Rating: 4.5 stars

I thought that I was broken before, but my damage never tasted as bitter as this.

The Harlequin boys are more than just a memory now. More than a daydream of our youth and an idea to cling onto. They’re my greatest weakness and my biggest regret, but I’ve started to realise that coming back to Sunset Cove was always my fate.

My heart beats to the turn of the tide here. My skin only warms beneath this sun. And my soul will only ever be home on these streets and with the men who grew out of my memories.

But nothing is the same as I remember and the time for childish games is coming to an end.

I may want to pretend that the last ten years never happened, but the nightmare I lost myself in has followed me home and I can’t keep ignoring the things I once did to survive.

The question is, will my mistakes be the end of me and my boys? Will the choices I made then change everything now? And will the life I never wanted steal away my only chance at the life I’m afraid to wish for?

This is an enemies to lovers contemporary series where the girl will end up with multiple love interests and all of the characters are in their late twenties. Trigger warning: this series features gangs, violence, dark romance and jealous/possessive themes.

I really enjoyed reading the third book in The Harlequin Crew series, Carnival Hill. What I enjoyed about reading this book was the plot continuing to do a wonderful job of continuing where its predecessor left off and the character development Chase and Fox go through. The plot in this book in the series shows extremely well how serious this war is between the Harlequins versus the Dead Dogs. Shawn is out for all of their blood and won’t stop coming after them until he gets what he wants. And he puts our heroes (especially our boy Chase) through hell. This book in the series is extremely dark as everyone realizes how big of a threat fucking Shawn is to their unit. And I loved every minute reading it to see where the story would go for this cast of characters as I rooted for them to bring Shawn to his end.

I also love the character development between two of the guys in the series that give Rogue the most trouble as they both realize what they’ve been doing when it comes to her is wrong. I also think what helps for my enjoyment of the character development here is that Chase did a lot for everyone in this book. He went through so much trauma in this book that I found myself having to hold back tears after he was able to escape it. And even when he escaped from it, he was still dealing with what he went through even though he was no longer dealing with it. And even though it was terrible to behold, I enjoyed it for his character because it strengthened his relationship with Rogue. While Fox at times here still acts all overprotective/possessive, I did find him more enduring and not as overbearing as in the previous novels. I think it’s because I understand him with it even though it’s not completely okay either. But I’m excited to continue to see his character develop and realize he doesn’t need to be that way with the people he loves.

Let’s not forget too the amount of character development Rogue goes through in Carnival Hill. Yes, there continue to be times where she doesn’t make the best decisions, but I have a hard time being annoyed with it because of the strength she shows in this book. She knows what Shawn is like and still makes the big sacrifice she makes at the end of this book even though she knows what will happen to her for making this choice. While I wasn’t overall happy with the ending in this book, I understood why Rogue made that choice regarding the men she loves. It made sense to me because if she felt like she stood a chance of being able to end this war without losing her guys, why not take it? It was painful to read and see how it played out and I was very sad about it, but I understood what Rogue was trying to do. I hated how it made all of them feel when they watched the video she made, but I understood it all the same. I feel like her making this choice, knowing what it could cost her made me love her character even more as I understood very well what she was getting herself back into but doing it because of how much she loved the men that made up the center of her world.

I also love the development between Rogue’s guys. I know I saw some of it as well in Dead Man’s Isle, but I enjoyed it even more here. Especially when they are working together in moments where you wouldn’t expect it. The best example that comes to mind here is Maverick being the one who saves Chase from Shawn and brings him back to JJ and Fox. Didn’t expect that to happen until it did and hearing Maverick’s thoughts on it made me realize how much I love their dynamic and how it’s coming together for them. Especially since you can see in this book that Maverick is no longer fighting his feelings when it comes to his friends he grew up with regarding when one of them ends up still being alive. I feel like his relationships with JJ and Chase (hell, even Fox near the end) develop well here and I was happy to see them all together. I’ve also found Fox’s dad, Luther, to be an enjoyable character in these books recently and enjoyed his presence in this book. His relationship with both Fox and Rogue I enjoy seeing and am excited to continue to see more of his character as these books go on.

I know I already mentioned this earlier, but I really hated the way this book ended. Yes, I understood the reasoning behind what Rogue does, but it doesn’t make it any easier to read. I would say it was my least favorite ending with these books so far. But I’m also looking to cheer Rogue on in her quest to kill Shawn and do whatever it takes to accomplish that task. At the same time though, seeing how Rogue hurts the guys she loves was really difficult because I knew them believing her lies will cost her in her quest for vengeance.

But despite the ending, I enjoyed reading Carnival Hill and was excited to read the next book in the series, Paradise Lagoon despite how much darker I knew things were about to get for Rogue and her guys. 

Paradise Lagoon (The Harlequin Crew #4)

Rating: 5 stars

I made my choice. I took the hard way out. Now all of our fates are riding on the dice I’m about to throw and luck never was on our side.

I was whole once, with my boys in this slice of paradise we’d carved out for ourselves, but in the time that we were parted we grew up. Grew apart. And as much as I might have yearned to reclaim that girl with the sand between her toes and the sun on her cheeks, it’s time I admit that I spent too long in the shadows to ever truly be her again.

My heart may be breaking for the men I left behind, but I know that I can make that pain count for something, because I’m no fool believing the pretty promises of a mad man.

No. I’m the assassin he just opened his fortress to. And now that I’m inside, I intend to repay him for every moment of suffering he has inflicted upon me and my boys.

Shawn Mackenzie thought he killed me once upon a time. Now this dead girl is back to return the favour.

Out of the books in the series so far, this one is my favorite. All of the characters in this series went through a lot of character development in this book and I enjoyed it. Especially Fox as even though he was still a little stubborn and hard headed, he truly realized the error of his ways when it came to being overbearing with Rogue. And Chase finally realized the error of his ways when it came to Rogue and in this book, began to do the right thing when it came to their relationship once everyone was back together again. JJ and Maverick’s character development in this book came through both of them continuing to get along with each other and working together to get Chase into their group. But they also had character development through forgiving Rogue’s actions at the end of Carnival Hill and doing what they could to help Rogue through what she went through because of Shawn. Rogue’s character development in this book is great because she realizes how strong she really is and how much these guys truly care for her. Yes, she and Chase still have some trauma that they are dealing with because of Shawn, but they both also realize they have people in their lives who love and care about them that they can go to for support.  

In comparison to the other books in this series, Paradise Lagoon was really dark and touched on some heavy subject matter, such as sexual assault, rape, and abuse. But then it also had some light moments too where you could see all of these characters’ love for each other shining through. I saw this especially through Luther’s relationship with his sons, Fox and Maverick. You can see how much he cares about Fox and Maverick in this book and realize the error of the choices he made that resulted in their fractured relationship with each other. You also see development in Fox and Maverick’s relationship with each other too. When this series started, they both hated each other because of what happened that resulted in Rogue leaving Sunset Cove. But now that the truth has come to light regarding who was responsible for Maverick’s trauma, you start to see these two working on building a better relationship with each other.

I also enjoyed reading chapters in this book from Luther’s perspective. I feel like you learn a lot about him through his chapters and enjoyed getting to read his thoughts on everything going on in his gang. I especially enjoy his chapters when it comes to interacting with one of the leaders in the cartel that’s in this book, Carmen. I find their interactions interesting because it feels like there might be more between the two of them than the working relationship that’s being portrayed. I also enjoy their interactions because I like Carmen’s character and enjoy seeing her in this book as I last saw her in the Dead Men Walking duet. Granted, she does make an appearance in previous books in this series too but seeing her and Luther’s interactions I enjoy so wanted to make note of it here since they interact a bit in this book.

Speaking of characters from other books, Brooklyn, Mateo, Brutus, and Niall from the duet also make an appearance in this book. And Tatum and some of her guys from Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep have also made more than one appearance in this series too. But in this book, I enjoyed seeing all of these characters again because of the relationships they develop with some of the main characters in this series. The way Brooklyn and Fox interacted in this book for example, I found to be one of my favorite moments because I never expected the two of them to end up getting along in the way they do. With Tatum and her guys, I enjoy seeing their interactions with Rogue and her guys in this book because you see Tatum and Rogue’s friendship growing in this book. And with their friendship, you get to see these characters and how they interact with each other, and I love it because of how much I enjoyed reading the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series.

Even the ending to Paradise Lagoon was great. It left me hanging, wanting to know what was going to happen next and how the story of these characters was going to come to an end in the next book in the series in their fight against Shawn. Overall a good book with a lot happening that made me excited to read the last book, Gallows Bridge to see how this story would end. 

Gallows Bridge (The Harlequin Crew #5)

Rating: 4 stars

Every story comes to an end eventually. Maybe ours was never meant to have a happy ending.

I was back in my hometown at last, surrounded by the boys I’ve loved for my entire life, and I’d finally had everything I’d ever wanted. But fate never was kind to this dead girl, and we aren’t done fighting to claim our happily ever after.

This might not be a fairy tale, but I swear on all I am that I’ll defeat the villain of our story before it’s done. The only question left to answer is whether or not we’ll all live to see him die.

I’ll do whatever it takes to get revenge for everything Shawn has taken from us and claim the ending we deserve. But it’s gonna be one hell of a ride to get there.

This is the final book in the Harlequin Crew series. Beware of dark themes, devious villains, and beautiful men with blackened souls. This series is part of the United States of Anarchy universe and there are some characters which cross over with other series in this world including Kings of Quarantine and The Death Club, but each dark and twisted tale can be read independently.

As a whole, I enjoyed the way this series comes to an end. It was nice to see Rogue and her guys finally have an upper hand in their fight against Shawn and see how they get back at him. But I will also say this is my least favorite book in this series because there were some aspects here I didn’t quite like too because they didn’t make sense to me, which I will get into shortly.

What I enjoyed with this book was seeing everyone finally together. I feel like Fox finally realizes here how much Rogue cares not just about him but all of the guys in their group and starts accepting it. He gets character development here that I wasn’t expecting when he realizes that while he can’t always be in control of the people around him, there are times when he can and that’s okay. I also enjoyed seeing them all together because with some of the flashbacks, you get an idea of what their dynamic was like before, and seeing them as adults you realize their dynamic hasn’t changed even after all the years apart. I felt like I was seeing them as their younger selves, and I was happy that they could have each other in their lives again like they used to. I also enjoyed how things came together for the blood relatives of Chase and JJ in this one. It was nice that Chase’s dad finally got what he deserved, and it was nice to see JJ’s mom happy as I felt like these family dynamics concluded the way they needed to for these characters.

What I also enjoyed about Gallows Bridge was seeing the characters from the other books in the series I mentioned during my review of Paradise Lagoon. I enjoyed seeing them here too because I felt like they all played an important role with what was going on in this final book and enjoyed seeing them all being in each other’s lives. How they help Rogue, JJ, Fox, Chase, and Maverick here was great and I was happy to see it.

I also enjoyed them getting back at Shawn for everything he put these characters through in this series and some of the epilogue too. What I enjoyed about them getting back at Shawn was that they basically did what he did to Chase in Carnival Hill but for a longer time. While I wasn’t at all expecting that (though I know they wanted to make him suffer for everything he’d put them through), I found their revenge on him great and was interested to see how they were going to end his life. And that didn’t disappoint me either because I felt like he needed an end that guaranteed he wasn’t coming back and how that happened here I felt like was a good way for that. I also enjoyed some aspects of the epilogue too though not all of it. What I enjoyed with the epilogue is what ends up happening to Sinners’ Playground as I wasn’t expecting that place to end up making a recovery the way it does. It surprised me, but in a good way as I knew that place played such a big part in these character’s lives that it was nice to see they could have that place back again. I didn’t really care too much for any of the other epilogue chapters because it didn’t make sense to me considering how much Rogue and the rest of the characters were against that happening in the first place. I also wasn’t fond of it because of how JJ, Chase, and Maverick reacted to the news, especially with everything these characters had been through up to this point in the series with Rogue. It’s not like I don’t understand why since that’s something none of them wanted either, but it rubbed me the wrong way because it almost felt like they were considering abandoning Rogue because of it and that bothered me.

What I didn’t care about regarding Gallows Bridge was the plot as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been wanting Shawn’s death since I started this series and was excited for it to finally happen. But the events leading up to it here just felt off to me. What probably doesn’t help is that I feel like Shawn himself changes course with regard to what he’s going to do when it comes to the Harlequin Crew and Rogue. From the start of the series, he was going after all of them because he wanted to take over Sunset Cove and break Rogue. But then in this book, he changes direction and decides he’s going to kill Rogue because he knows it’s going to hurt these guys. It’s not that I don’t understand why considering how things go down at the beginning of this book. But it felt like once he made that his plan, he didn’t think through everything when it came to planning that to happen. Yes, he had some ideas that he executed successfully in order to try and get what he wanted. But I feel like he didn’t think through the whole thing and come up with a backup plan in case his initial plan went wrong. I feel like if anything, it just proved Rogue’s point when it came to their relationship and him needing to make her feel like he was the center of her world. I also feel like it’s what resulted in his downfall as he had plenty of opportunities to get away from them once he was outnumbered in the beginning of this book. But he chooses not to and decides to continue going after them by looking to kill Rogue instead.

Besides the execution of the plot, I also felt like it took a while to get to the part in the story where they get the upper hand against Shawn. I think a big part of it is because a lot of Gallows Bridge was more focused on character development between Rogue and her guys than on killing Shawn. I say this because a majority of the book I saw these character’s interactions with each other more than anything happening with finding Shawn and killing him. While I didn’t mind it, I feel like Shawn didn’t play as prominent a role as the villain in this book as he did the rest of the series as he wasn’t in this book quite as much until the last bit. And since he’s the main villain in this series, it didn’t make sense to me that he was gone for a majority of this book until the climax of the story.

What I also didn’t enjoy with this book was Luther. More specifically, his absence in this book once one of Carmen’s men saves his and Fox’s life. Since there were a couple chapters from his perspective, I expected him to have more involvement here like he did the rest of the books in this series. But instead, he takes off at one point and leaves Rogue and the guys to handle Shawn. As a whole, I like his character and seeing his interactions with Carmen and was just surprised how absent he was in this book when he was heavily involved with what went on in Sunset Cove before.

But as a whole, even though this book isn’t my favorite in this series, I’ve enjoyed reading The Harlequin Crew series. I enjoy Rogue as the main female lead and how strong she was through everything she went through here and I love the guys she surrounds herself with and getting to read their story. I loved getting to be in Sunset Cove as it made a wonderful setting for everything that happens here and seeing all of the character development these characters get through to get their happy ending. This series got really dark but there were a lot of heartfelt moments with these characters that made this story enjoyable to read. I also enjoyed getting to see some of my favorite characters again from Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep and Dead Men Walking and seeing them interact with the characters here. And I’m glad I read these books because I enjoyed them so much and highly recommend this series to anyone wanting to read a dark romance series that takes place in a beach town with mob and gangster violence as a part of the story.

Thank you so much for reading my review of The Harlequin Crew series! If you enjoyed reading my review of this series, please leave a comment below and check out another one of my blog posts.    

Book Review: Dead Men Walking Duet

After finishing reading Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series and reviewing it, I decided to read this duet as I heard one of the character’s perspectives was someone from the series who’s character I enjoyed meeting. The duet also takes place in that series’ world so was looking forward to reading this duet and see how I enjoy it. So let me begin by reviewing The Death Club, the first book in this duet.

The Death Club (Dead Men Walking #1)

Rating: 3 stars

Chaos. Carnage. Killing. The three Cs that make my life complete.

I know killing technically doesn’t start with a C – but wouldn’t life be better if it did? Just like it would be better if the Devil was my boyfriend, Santa wasn’t a d*ck and I didn’t live under a bridge.

I wished for my life to improve, but it didn’t. I was kidnapped, sold, sold again, stuck in a death game, sold AGAIN and now I’m living in a serial killer’s basement.

Oh, and there’s another dude down here who lives in a cage and doesn’t talk. I call him Dead Man on account of his soulless eyes. He either wants to kiss me or choke me out. I can’t decide which I want most.

Anyways, my hot, tattooed, muscular insane Irish captor thinks I might make a good hit woman once he trains me up. Which is a freaking insult by the way as I’m already the best killer in town. Ask anyone. Except the cops. Don’t ask them or they’ll send me back to that creepy asylum where they gave me the crazy pills. But shh, that’s a secret.

Want to know another one? I quite like it here. Every day is anarchy and that’s my favorite flavor.

So I think I’m gonna join The Death Club and let my freak flag fly.

This is a brand new dark menage series set in the same world as the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series with character crossover. Each series can be read independent of each other, and the lead female character will end up with more than one love interest.

This book is an interesting start to this duet. However, The Death Club isn’t my favorite read out of the books by these authors I’ve read so far. What I enjoyed about it though was the characters and their development as this book went on.

It was nice to read chapters from Niall’s perspective. Especially the chapters that crossed over from Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep because I was able to read his thoughts at that time when those events happened. I enjoyed his character in those books, so I was really excited to read and learn more about his character in this book and he didn’t disappoint. I also enjoyed the perspectives of Brooklyn and Mateo because I feel like they are interesting characters with interesting stories. And I enjoyed seeing Brooklyn’s dynamic with these two guys as this book went on because you can see how much she cares about both men and how much they also care about her. I especially enjoyed Brooklyn’s character because her thoughts and dialogue remind me a lot of how I am, so it was nice to read a character who reminded me a little of myself. I also enjoyed her development because you see her begin to trust these guys as the story goes on since she reveals to them the truth as to what happened to her that made her the way she is.

What I also enjoyed about The Death Club was the suspense that happened with regards to going after the people that helped destroy Brooklyn’s life. I felt like the moments in this book that really stood out to me and made this book an enjoyable read for me was when these characters went off killing people. I felt those moments here really stood out to me because you found out more about these characters and there were moments where things could’ve gone horribly wrong but then didn’t. I also enjoyed the way this book ended because the two characters who really didn’t like each other had no choice but to work together and I love that was something that happened here. Especially because I didn’t feel like I knew how things would play out considering everything I knew up to that point in this story. But seeing them working together was such a wonderful thing that I was really happy to see.

I would say my biggest complaint concerning reading The Death Club though is the story itself. The book starts off interestingly when these characters are introduced, and I see what happens to them that leads to the particular moment in the story. But then I feel like once Niall offers to train Brooklyn to be a killer like him, the story doesn’t really go anywhere for a majority of the book. There ends up being a whole lot of either Brooklyn or Mateo attempting to end Niall’s life and being unsuccessful but that’s really it for most of the plot. The way Niall attempts to train Brooklyn to be a killer is interesting but then whenever she doesn’t do things EXACTLY the way he wants, he accuses her of not being cut out for killing and wonders why he bothers with teaching her anything. And this happens EVERY time he’s training her, no matter what she does just because she’s not doing things the way he wants her to.

Overall I enjoyed reading The Death Club because I find these fucked up characters to be interesting. But the plot doesn’t go anywhere a majority of the time until near the end when Brooklyn leaves and decides to go after two of the people who hurt her on her own and what happens after that as well. I found each of the characters interesting, just wish there had been more with the plot besides when these characters go off and kill that added to the story. But because of how much I enjoyed these characters and the way this book ended, I also read Society of Psychos to see how this duet would end.

Society of Psychos (Dead Men Walking #2)

Rating: 3 stars

I’m the prince of death. A son of carnage born of wicked deeds and sin-filled nightmares. Nobody understood me. Until her.

My Spider. The wild girl I claimed from a sea of violent men. But others want her too…

The enemies who lurk within my walls seek to steal her from my grasp. They’re my captives, but maybe they’re the answer to my greatest fear too. Because the Grim Reaper shadows every move I make, and he’s always watching her.

Perhaps I need a ring of warriors to surround my little psycho and protect her from death’s claws. Because now she’s stolen my black heart, I can’t fail her like I’ve failed before.

This is a dark romance series where the main character will end up with more than one love interest. This series is set in the United States of Anarchy universe. All the series in this world can be read independently but if you’d like to enjoy the crossover characters then you may also want to check out Kings of Quarantine and The Harlequin Crew.

This was a good way to end this duet as I felt like this book did a wonderful job at picking up where The Death Club ended. It also gave us another character in the story that I wasn’t expecting but that I found myself wanting to know more about since he wasn’t in the first book.

I felt like this book did a wonderful job at tying all of the loose ends together with these characters and going after the people who ruined Brooklyn’s life. I continued to enjoy reading Niall, Mateo and Brooklyn’s perspectives and seeing how this story was going to play out. Angry Jack was an interesting addition to their group, especially when Mateo is the one who uncovers his story and how he ends up in the institution where he met Brooklyn. I would say I especially enjoyed the dynamic here between Mateo and Angry Jack as I feel they have a whole lot in common than you expect.

I also love that I finally see development between the guys Brooklyn cares about. Both Mateo and Angry Jack have a reason to hurt Niall but because of Brooklyn, I feel like that quickly changes here when they all work together to go after the people who ruined Brooklyn’s life. And I feel like Niall undergoes quite a bit of development in Society of Psychos when he realizes his relationship with Brooklyn isn’t like his last one and he actually starts to let go of his past.

If there’s anything with this book that I have criticism for, it’s the same criticism I had for The Death Club. Don’t get me wrong, the story that is here is interesting. But I found there were some moments here in this book too where the plot didn’t move forward. I also found a lot of the deaths of the people who ruined Brooklyn’s life were very anti-climactic as I felt like there was so much build up for them only for Brooklyn and her guys having very little difficulty in killing them. Still interesting in some ways, but very anti-climactic and disappointing too.

As a whole though, I did enjoy this series. I enjoyed getting to meet such interesting characters with dark stories and seeing how everything played out for them. It was nice to see chapters told from Niall’s perspective because I enjoyed his character whenever he made an appearance in Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series, and I was glad to see him get the happy ending he deserved even if it wasn’t what I expected. Just wish the plot moved a little more quickly, but still enjoyed these books, nonetheless.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my review of the Dead Men Walking duet! If you enjoyed my review of this duet, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.       

Book Review: Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Series

When I first started reading this series, I initially was thinking of having two reviews of the series since there were a total of four books. But because of how quickly I’ve been going through these books so far, I’ve decided against it and am going to do this one review where I talk about the whole series in this review, starting with the first book in the series, Kings of Quarantine.

Kings of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #1)

Rating: 4 stars

Cruel. Heartless. Quarantined. The ruthless boys of Everlake Prep never saw lockdown coming.

But the virus isn’t their number one enemy. I am.

And as if being confined to a boarding school for the elite wasn’t bad enough, now I’m stuck in isolation with the boys who hate me most too.

Saint, Kyan and Blake. The Night Keepers. Or so they call themselves. They’ve embodied the Native American legend which lives in this valley, taking on the role of the monsters who lurk in the forest. And though they act like beasts, they may also be the most tempting creatures I’ve ever seen.

With the virus escalating and my dad’s name splashed through the news, my entire world is falling apart. What he did has cast a dark shadow over me. And the Night Keepers want to make me pay for his crimes.

Then things went from bad to worse when I touched the sacred rock. A rock which supposedly holds a curse to bind me as the Night Keepers’ slave. And as crazy as it sounds, I decided to play along. Because there are things about me they don’t know. Things my dad has hidden from me for years. All I can be sure of is that I have to find a way to escape this school. But until then, those savage boys are making my life a living hell.

As the virus sweeps through the country and the world twists into something ugly and unknown, the kings of this school become true monarchs. Even the teachers bow to them now. And I’m kind of glad about that ‘stay six feet away from one another’ rule, because without it, I know they’d rip me apart.

At least there’s a silver lining. I’m cozying up to Coach Monroe. My hot as hell, brooding P.E. teacher who has a vendetta of his own against the Night Keepers. And with his help, I may succeed at doing more than escaping the clutches of these heartless fiends. I might even destroy them along the way.

My father taught me how to be strong. How to prepare for the end of the world. So this isn’t going to be the end of my world, mark my words. But if I’m able to use my mind and body to bring these assholes to their knees, it might just be the end of theirs.

This is a high school bully RH series with off the charts angst, dark themes and is not for the faint of heart. Prepare to enroll at Everlake Prep. Bring your hand sanitizer, face masks and toilet paper to barter with, but don’t expect to hold onto them for long. Because it’s time to go into quarantine with the Night Keepers. And everything you own now belongs to them.

Considering how much I’ve enjoyed reading the Zodiac Academy series by these authors, I’m not too surprised that Kings of Quarantine had me hooked from the beginning. I’m not sure if it’s a combination of the main female being a total badass despite what’s she going through at the hands of the Night Keepers, the Night Keepers themselves, or both, but I enjoyed reading this book immensely from beginning to end.

What I love about Tatum’s character is that despite how these guys treat her, she continues to pick herself back up. Yes, there are moments where you see her fall apart, but she always ends up picking herself back up in the end despite how things get. I also love that she talks back to them even though she knows doing so might make things worse for her. I also enjoyed reading Saint, Kyan, Blake, and Monroe’s perspectives because as the reader, I get to see things from their perspective and get an understanding of why they are the way they are. And I saw as I read this book that things aren’t necessarily what they seem. While I do find their treatment of Tatum abhorrent in this book, I also enjoyed seeing the dynamic between them and her as she becomes one of the few people who stands up to them and the comebacks she has are wonderful. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Coach Monroe here as once she tells him how these guys are treating her, it was wonderful to see that she had at least one ally on her side who was willing to help her come up with a plan to get back at them for everything they do to her.

I also enjoyed learning about the Native American legend that these boys were trying to embody as I found it to be a fascinating aspect of the story here. Especially once Tatum finds herself embroiled in it by touching the stone rock. I know that’s when her life basically became a living hell, but I still found the whole thing interesting anyway because I was wondering how it would truly end up affecting their relationship.     

Another favorite aspect of Kings of Quarantine I enjoyed was learning about the Hades Virus, which is basically this series version of Covid-19. I felt bad for Tatum because of her father being blamed for the virus spreading into the world and killing people and becoming the most hated girl at Everlake Prep because of it. But the story of it and how its spread impacted the school in this book was eerily similar with regards to Covid-19. Especially when the Night Keepers take it upon themselves to squirrel away all of the toilet paper and most of the rest of the supplies from the school’s kitchen and what ends up happening as a result of that later in this book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Kings of Quarantine despite how rough things were for Tatum and couldn’t wait to see how the ending impacted what happened in the next book in the series, Kings of Lockdown.

Kings of Lockdown (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #2)

Rating: 4 stars

The sex tape

The fish stew

The Unspeakables

The storm

The font

The bathtub

The ice

The gun

The clothes

The humiliation

The shower

The letters

THE VOW

I had my chance to run from these brutal boys and I didn’t take it. The bonds between us are too strong now. Bonds of blood, oaths, betrayal and vengeance. And I intend to make good on all of them. I’ve made my list. And I won’t stop until each and every one of their crimes has been paid for.

Divide and conquer. We’re going to tear them apart from the inside out. I won’t quit until I’ve had my pound of flesh and then some. These broken boys paint themselves up as kings and stand themselves on a pedestal above everybody else. But that only means they’ve got further to fall. And they’re going to fall hard.

I know their strength now, but I’ve learned their weaknesses too. And I might just be becoming their greatest one. My father taught me how to survive, and it’s time to use everything I know about predators to lure them into my own trap.

Lies, betrayal, seduction. I’ll use every weapon at my disposal to bring them to their knees and once I’m done with them, they won’t own me.

I’ll own them.

This is book 2 in a dark romance series with love-hate themes, scenes of intense bullying, sexual scenes and may have triggers for some readers. It is a reverse harem which means the main character will end up with multiple partners.

Like Kings of Quarantine, I couldn’t put this one down. I felt like the story does a wonderful job of picking up where its predecessor left off by showing us the impact of the choices the characters made by the end of the previous book. The story continues to show development between Tatum and her relationship with the Night Keepers. But here, she really stood her ground against them to where she had the power to make rules for all of them that if not followed she could then dole out whatever punishment she saw fit. And I loved that for her as she was finally able to find ways to get back at these guys for everything they did to her.  

I enjoyed seeing Tatum and her relationships with Blake, Kyan, Saint, and Monroe continue to grow. I felt like I learned a lot more about these guys than I did before. Especially when the truth becomes revealed regarding the Unspeakables. I had originally felt sorry for them in Kings of Quarantine, but once Kyan tells Tatum the reason why the Night Keepers treat them the way they do, I felt like Tatum did. I also felt like it showed a better side of these guys as you realize they aren’t just looking out for themselves but their classmates who also attend Everlake Prep. I especially felt for Kyan here with regard to the information he reveals to Tatum regarding one of the Unspeakables in particular since what he shares is extremely personal. I especially enjoyed her relationships with Blake, Kyan, and Monroe here as with each of these guys, you can see how much all of them care about her and how much she cares about them. Not to say I don’t enjoy the development of her relationship with Saint, but there are times when their relationship feels so slow-moving. 

I also enjoyed the overall plot of this book too. Besides Tatum working on getting her revenge on the Night Keepers with Monroe, there’s a stalker at the school who has their sights on Tatum. There’s also the continued storyline development regarding the Hades Virus where Tatum finally hears back from her father who wants to meet with her. That’s when the truth regarding who unleashed the virus gets revealed and some other details regarding the virus that weren’t originally known before. A lot happens in this book that kept me engaged, wanting to find out what would happen to Tatum and these guys next.

If I had to choose anything from Kings of Lockdown that I wasn’t too pleased about, it was the ending. I felt like it ended abruptly but also with a cliffhanger that if this book series wasn’t already complete, would’ve left me upset in wanting to know what would happen next. I also just found the ending in general terrible because I felt bad for Tatum for having to endure more terrible things and for her to lose someone she deeply cared about in that way. Especially because it happened right in front of her and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it from happening.

Despite the ending though, I enjoyed reading Kings of Lockdown, and it made me excited to see what would happen in the next book in the series, Kings of Anarchy.     

Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3)

Rating: 4 stars

My father always taught me to take care of myself. He made me strong, cunning, and calculating. But my Brutal Boys made me unbreakable.

Have you ever heard the saying that it takes one to know one? Because from the very first moment I met the men I’ve claimed as my tribe, I knew that I was looking into the faces of monsters. And that really should have been all it took for me to know that I was one too.

Hiding beneath my skin isn’t an innocent girl, waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and rescue me from my demons. So I think it’s time I showed the world my claws.

I’m sick of people thinking they own me. My Night Keepers and now the members of this twisted club all need to learn a lesson in that.

I’m not a doll made to dance to their tune, I’m not a puppet intended to play a part and I’m certainly no plaything to be used and destroyed. I’m a warrior with a goal of my own. And everyone who wants to stand in my way had better get used to the idea of falling to ruin at my feet.

When everything you thought you could rely on is ripped away from you, you have no choice but to find out what you’re truly made of. And deep down in the depths of my soul, I know that I was made to survive.

I have suffered through torment, fought against my oppressors, and tamed the creatures who tried to bury me in the dark.

It’s time that everyone stopped underestimating me. I’m done being a queen without a crown. I’m ready for my coronation.

This is a high school bully romance series.

From the beginning, Kings of Anarchy gripped me. I don’t know if it was because Kings of Lockdown ended on such a cliffhanger that I was hooked to find out what happened next. And oh this book didn’t disappoint. 

What I enjoyed with reading this book in the series is that we continue to get more backstory with the guys. And I love that at this point, the focus of the series is on growing Tatum’s relationship with these guys and finding out who’s really responsible for releasing the Hades Virus out into the world. At this point in the story, you see all of Tatum’s relationships coming together and everyone truly becoming a family and I’m here for it. I especially enjoyed her relationships with Blake and Kyan here as they are probably my favorite guys in the group. Not to say I don’t like Monroe and Saint because I do. I think I can just relate to Blake and Kyan more out of the guys Tatum loves because of the personal things they’ve both been through as some of them are things I’ve also been through, such as grief over losing someone you care about.

I love that this book focuses on Tatum’s grief and feel like her relationship with Kyan gets stronger in this book due to the club and him getting sick due to the Hades Virus. There’s something wonderful that happens in this book that I was extremely happy with too which I feel like also helped strengthen their relationship and was excited to see the other guy’s reactions to it even though I knew they probably weren’t going to be happy about it.

I also love that we get to see Saint’s intelligence here. Out of the Night Keepers, he’s truly the brains and he single-handedly is the one figuring things out regarding the Hades Virus and the terribly sick club that Kyan has a membership in due to his family. I honestly feel like if it wasn’t for Saint, they wouldn’t have been able to accomplish a lot of what happens in this book concerning the knowledge of the Hades Virus and the club. I also loved seeing his dynamic concerning Monroe in this book as he actually uncovers the truth regarding Monroe’s identity here. And I love that it ends up strengthening their brotherhood instead of weakening it as it turns out Saint has the same hatred that Monroe does.

I also enjoyed seeing the stalker and Justice Ninja storyline continue to play out here and see how it ends up connecting with everything else that’s going on. They still don’t figure out the identity of these individuals in this book, but they come dangerously close at the end, which definitely gave me an inkling as to who was involved.

Speaking of endings, the way Kings of Anarchy ends definitely shocked me as I wasn’t expecting it at all. I know I probably should’ve expected it considering everything that happens here, but I didn’t. But it also made sense too because I figured the character involved with how things go here would play a bigger role than he had until this point in the story. It also made sense just because someone with a lot of power had to be involved with the spread of the Hades Virus. But it also made me all the more eager to find out what happened next in the final book of this series, Queen of Quarantine.

Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4)

Rating: 4 stars

Once upon a time I met four monsters and thought the world would come to an end at their hands.

But I was a fool. Because I didn’t understand the bigger picture. That the enemies I thought I knew would become the reason for my entire existence. My strength. My pain. My life. My love.

The big bad wolf has teeth and claws as sharp as iron, and the danger before my eyes is blinding. So blinding that I didn’t see the true danger lurking in the dark.

But now my eyes are wide open, and I see it all.

Alone and afraid and running out of time, I’m not afraid of monsters anymore. I’m counting on them to come for me. Because if they don’t, this foolish girl might be lost forever in the dark.

Queen of Quarantine was a great way to end such an invigorating series. From start to finish, this book didn’t disappoint as I felt like all of the answers I had been hoping to get were finally delivered. And there was no end in sight to the intense action that took place in this book until the very end. Not only did I get an answer to who the stalker was (though that ended up being no surprise, considering everything about this character you heard about up to this point), but also found out who was responsible for the release of the Hades Virus and in charge of that terrible club, which were in fact connected as the person responsible for the release of the virus was also the one in charge of the club.

What I enjoyed with this book was how it hooked me into wanting to find out how everything would end. With the way Kings of Anarchy ended, I knew I was in for a ride as the guys went on their mission to save Tatum. But I definitely didn’t expect some of the twists that came along as once they saved her they found themselves in just as much danger too, maybe even more so. The story about the Hades Virus and how desperate companies in the world were to get a vaccine out into the world because of how many lives were lost because of it and how that resulted in some of the events that happened in this book was interesting. It didn’t remind me quite as much about Covid-19 considering how some of the people I know are regarding that vaccine and in this book, these companies are more interested in being the first company to create the vaccine so they can make money off of people’s desperation in getting it. Even if that means hurting people who’ve had the virus and are now immune to it by using them unwillingly to create more doses of the vaccine. But it was interesting to see this connection with Covid-19 by people staying indoors to avoid getting it and how quickly this virus spread due to the absence of a working vaccine.

There definitely were some tough moments in this book. Like when Tatum is held hostage in the beginning, when Kyan gets kidnapped by the stalker, and when everything comes to a head with the person responsible for the Hades Virus being released into the world and the terrible club. But I also found some good moments here too for the characters that I enjoyed reading. These good moments made this book enjoyable even when things were tough for the characters, and I didn’t know how this book would end. I also enjoyed the rough moments too though as I felt like I learned more about these characters and how they dealt with terrible situations. And that helped me see them differently and also understand their thoughts and what they were thinking.

I would also say I enjoyed the way this series ended too. However, I hated how long it took for them to get at the man solely responsible for everything they’d been through. The way it happened in the book threw me too because I felt like they were going to deliver him a lot of pain, but that’s not how it went down. If anything, I felt like his death was less than what he deserved. But I was happy to see all of these characters get the happy ending they deserved and that justice did get served.  

But as a whole, I enjoyed reading this series. The different storylines and how they connected were enjoyable and kept me engaged in wanting to find out what happened next, and I enjoyed seeing Tatum’s relationship with these guys and how everything came together. These books were a good read and I’m sad to have finished this series, though I know I can always revisit these books again in the future whenever I choose. I highly recommend these books to anyone who’s enjoyed reading the Zodiac Academy series and anyone who’s read any other books by these authors. Also, recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading dark stories with really dark themes and doesn’t mind seeing reverse harem in the books they read.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my book review of the Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep series! If you enjoyed my review of this series, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.     

Book Review: A Song to Drown Rivers

Rating: 4 stars

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds.

Her beauty hides a deadly purpose. Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

A Song to Drown Rivers is a beautifully woven tragedy. From beginning to end, I enjoyed reading Xishi’s story as she went to the Wu kingdom to seduce their king and cause their kingdom to fall. I enjoyed reading about the Wu and Yue kingdoms and getting insight into what her world is like.

As someone who normally doesn’t enjoy historical fiction, I enjoyed this book a lot. I enjoyed Xishi’s character in this story as I felt like as she was learning all she needed to know to survive in the Wu kingdom, she was realizing how powerful her beauty could be. I also felt like as her story went on, she was developing into a wonderful character and someone I wanted to see get the happy ending she deserved.

What I also enjoyed reading this book was seeing Xishi’s relationships with her best friend Zhengdan and the Wu kingdom’s king Fuchai she was to seduce. I loved her friendship with her best friend as Zhengdan was the type of friend if I were in this situation that I’d want by my side. She’s smart, both with her tongue and blade, and their interactions throughout the story were great to read. I definitely found myself sad at how their friendship comes to an end here, but after what happens leading up to it, I also wasn’t all that surprised either as I felt like Xishi was going to experience loss at some point during the story. What I enjoyed about Xishi’s relationship with Fuchai is that there ends up being more to him than expected. In the beginning of A Song to Drown Rivers, Xishi mentions some of the things about the Wu king that she’d heard, and I feel like its discovered that most of what she heard about him isn’t quite true. If anything, I feel like most of the actions he took regarding his kingdom were due to the influence of his advisor Wu Zixu and I felt like he didn’t particularly care about running the Wu kingdom. And I feel like I enjoyed his relationship with Xishi a lot more than her relationship with Fanli as I felt like I could see what all he would do for her to make her happy. I also felt like I could feel his love for her as I was reading this book and I also felt like a part of her cared for him just as much too with how she felt at the end when she realized what would happen as the result of her betrayal. Even though I knew the odds were extremely slim, a part of me actually hoped she’d stay with Fuchai as I felt like they could’ve had a wonderful life together, politics of war aside.

What I didn’t particularly care for in A Song to Drown Rivers was her relationship with Fanli. Her relationship with Fanli didn’t feel all that real to me because I felt like she liked him due to him saving her life at the beginning of the book when they first met. I also just didn’t really see the connection between the two of them as I felt like Fanli was just too calm and serious due to the nature of his job of being the advisor to the Yue king that you rarely see his walls come down or see him express emotion. There are moments here and there where he does, but you don’t really see them often enough. What probably doesn’t help with this is that you don’t see them together enough which I feel like didn’t help me see their connection to each other. I feel like if they had been given more time in the book together, I would’ve had a much easier time seeing their relationship for what it was described to be. Don’t get me wrong, I liked his character. I just didn’t imagine the relationship between them and saw him more like a father figure.

What I also didn’t like was how tragic A Song to Drown Rivers gets. I enjoyed the book overall but wasn’t expecting so much sadness to occur. Though maybe a part of me did expect it when I realized Fuchai wasn’t at all what I expected his character to be like as that had me wondering if there was more going on that as a reader I wasn’t privy to. It made me question Xishi’s mission and whether she should trust the king of her kingdom or if she should stay in the Wu kingdom and stay with Fuchai. I also just felt like none of the characters deserved the fate they were given as I felt like Fuchai and Xishi both deserved a happier ending even if Xishi was with Fanli instead of him.

But in the end, I enjoyed reading A Song to Drown Rivers despite how tragic the story gets and highly recommend it. I consider it one of the best reads I’ve had in 2024 so far and can’t wait for its release in October this year as I definitely want to get my own copy of this book once it’s published.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my review of A Song to Drown Rivers! If you enjoyed my review of this book, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.    

Book Review: Live and Let Lionel (Another Zodiac Academy Novella)

Rating: 4 stars

This is a bonus content novella to celebrate the series coming to a close and contains 100k words of bonus content from the Zodiac Academy Series.

Savage – a short story about Hail and Merissa Vega’s love story

The Shimmering Springs – that night Caleb and Seth did or didn’t kiss…

The moment Geraldine first saw the twins.

Seth on the Moon – one Werewolf’s wanderings on the moon.

Night – that time the twins met the Ruthless Boys – with a never before published chapter!

Orion ‘blue’ alternate POV – BRAND NEW

Orion ‘Fairy Fair’ alternate POV

Darius ‘throne room’ alternate POV

Darius ‘Stars’ alternate POV – BRAND NEW

Featuring the never before seen map of Solaria!

Each chapter is introduced by Lionel Acrux, looking back on how his enemies have thwarted him and how he overcame their insufferable rebellion – BRAND NEW

I know I read several Zodiac Academy novellas last year (see reviews of Origins of An Academy Bullyand the post I did here on The Big A.S.S. Party and Seth on the Moon). So when I heard about this one that released this February, I knew I had to read it. Live and Let Lionel is a novella featuring the narration of everyone’s favorite evil villain in the series, Lionel Acrux as he talks about those rebelling against him and reflects on his own shortcomings during the events leading up to the latest book in the Zodiac Academy series, Sorrow and Starlight. This book is a bonus novella that’s been written in celebration of the series coming to a close with the release of the last book in the series Restless Stars, which is set to release on April 23^rd this year.

When I heard about this novella’s release, I was excited to read it for a number of reasons. I was curious to see how Lionel Acrux’s narrative was going to go at the beginning of each of the stories, I was excited to read more Zodiac Academy content, and I was happy to be back in the Zodiac Academy world again.

And let me tell you, Lionel Acrux didn’t disappoint. Hearing his narrative before reading each of these was amusing because of how clueless he was with regards to some of the things going on, including things happening with his own son. While he’s not a bad guy I would ever want to personally cross paths with, he’s very well-written and I enjoyed hearing his thoughts about those thwarting his plans. 

While I’m at the point where I’m ready for the final book in this series to be published, I’m also happy to get any content I can get about the characters in this world. This novella was no exception because I enjoyed reading all of the stories within its pages, even the one I’ve already read before (yes, I’m talking about you Seth on the Moon). It was nice seeing all of these characters again and seeing alternative perspectives from my favorite characters. Some of my favorites just to list a few were the Shimmering Springs, Orion ‘Blue’ Alternative POV, Orion ‘Fairy Fair’ Alternative POV, Darius ‘Throne Room’ Alternative POV, and Seth’s POV of the last chapter in Sorrow and Starlight. I enjoyed each of these stories because they featured several of my favorite characters and loved some of the hilarity that ensued in some of them.

What I didn’t enjoy about Live and Let Lionel with some of the stories is that I feel like I didn’t get enough story with the characters in them. Savage and Night are the ones that come to mind for me the most because while I enjoy the characters in both these stories, I felt like there just wasn’t enough for me. With Savage the issue I had was that I didn’t want to see just the moment that Hail and Melissa Vega’s love story started. I wanted to see what happened following and I don’t mean the stuff I already know from reading the series. I wanted to see their relationship develop into how its portrayed in Beyond the Veil. With Night, my issue is that the meeting between the characters from the Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac and the Vega twins felt a little awkward to me. I can’t explain it exactly, but it just felt strange to me, almost like the Vega twins had met the whole group before and was just coming over to hang out with everyone. I think what probably didn’t help was that I couldn’t tell completely when this meeting of these characters was supposed to have taken place during the Zodiac Academy series. I know they had probably already met Dante before at this point because of him being a Dragon shifter and there are little hints regarding events that are in the series that’ve apparently already happened. But otherwise, I couldn’t sense exactly when Tory and Darcy had met them. And that bothered me while I was reading the story because I felt like I needed to know when exactly this meeting had taken place.

Overall though, I enjoyed reading this novella as it was a good way to bring me back into the Zodiac Academy world right before the release of the final book in the series. In fact, it has me contemplating on if I want to read all of the books in the series one final time before the release of Restless Stars, or if I want to wait until this last book has come out and then read the series again from the beginning. Regardless of what I do though, I recommend those who’ve enjoyed reading the Zodiac Academy series and want more content before the final book comes out to read this as I feel like anyone who’s enjoyed the series and wants to read more of this world will enjoy this novella.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my review of Live and Let Lionel! If you enjoyed my review of this book, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.          

Book Review: #Unwell

Rating: 2 stars

Seventeen-year-old Nathan Gutierrez and his occasional crush, Oliver, plan to quit social media. Forever. Not that they’ll be missed – their only followers are friends and family.

But before he deletes the app, Nate captures the perfect shot of a fight between two popular girls at school. One upload later, his popularity skyrockets. Nothing gets views faster than pretty girls pulling hair and clawing eyes.

While most influencers are beacons of false positivity and saccharine platitudes, Nate goes the other way. He becomes an #unwellness influencer.

Want to be angry? Go for it. Don’t feel like sleeping? Stay awake. Hold a grudge? Follow your heart.

Nate’s popularity surges as he turns his high school into a buffet of sickening sandwiches, insomnia, and rage. His followers become judge, jury, and executioner. It’s all going so well–

Until someone steals his account.

The uploads change. Now, they’re not just defiant; they’re sinister and suicidal. It’s only a matter of time before someone dies.

Not that his audience cares. They’ve grown rabid. And now they’re coming for Nate.

#Unwell is YA and the first book by LGBTQ author Cameron Stone.

I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

#Unwell is a story of what happens when teenagers spend way too much time caring about followers on social media than about making actual meaningful connections and friendships. It’s a story told from the perspective of Nate, an average guy in high school who’s only connections are with his best friend Oliver, his younger brother Steve and his mother who happens to be a model. Until one fateful day, two of the popular girls at his school get into a physical fight and he posts the fight online, which instantly gains him millions of followers.

What I enjoyed about reading #Unwell was the accuracy when it comes to how some people act when it comes to social media. Nate is a character who acts like a typical teenager whenever he’s unable to glance at his phone for more than five minutes. He’s also a representation of what happens whenever someone lets their five minutes of social media fame get to their head. He literally becomes glued to his phone once he becomes popular, caring more about how many people watch the videos he posts instead of spending time with his one friend and his younger brother and mother.

Speaking of his brother and mother, they were the only characters in this story that I enjoyed getting to know whenever Nate took the time out of his day to talk or spend time with them. I especially enjoyed his relationship with his mom because she had a lot of wisdom to offer him that he should’ve taken to heart. I liked his relationship with his younger brother Steve because while he was annoying, I could see how much he cared about Nate. I also love that he wasn’t quite as obsessed with social media as Nate was throughout this book. I liked his relationship with Oliver at one point, but that quickly ended for me when he gets Nate into trouble but also because he’s responsible for a lot of the trouble Nate ends up finding himself in once his account gets stolen from him.

Another aspect of #Unwell I enjoyed was the overall atmosphere of the story. I felt like there was quite a lot of tension in this book and there were several moments in the story where things really picked up that made me interested in finding out what was going to happen next. While the overall story telling in this book isn’t the best (which I’ll get more into momentarily), I found when things were really tense for Nate, they were REALLY tense. To the point where I kept waiting for something else terrible to happen.

Now onto the aspects of this book I didn’t enjoy. I’d like to start by saying that while I enjoy the commentary this book makes regarding social media, I felt like I had to hold my disbelief regarding Nate’s popularity on ChitTalk, the social media app where he gained his millions of followers. First because of it being due to the fight at his school but also because of what happens when he posts his second video of that ridiculous sandwich that results in him throwing up. I have a hard time believing that his classmates saw that video and then decided to make their own chicken sandwiches with the chicken being the bread on the sandwich. While I understand that it was supposed to show how easily people are influenced by people on social media, I found the whole thing ridiculous and hard to suspend my disbelief. I also found a lot of the other videos Nate posts in this book very stupid and had a hard time understanding how they gained as much traction as they do.  

I also had a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that his peers at his high school didn’t know that account belonged to him until it had been stolen from him. And even more so that once that happens, how his followers act to the news that his account has been stolen. That whole chain of events I felt like while was an interesting concept, it was executed poorly. There’s very little explanation given as to why people think Nate was abducted and a clone was taking over his ChitTalk channel and even less of an explanation as to why those following his account were taking very unnecessarily dramatic matters regarding his “clone.” Won’t go into any more details than this because I’m still wrapping my head around how stupid that was and didn’t make any sense. And even more frustrating is that there isn’t any real explanation for any of it.  

Another thing with #Unwell I strongly disliked was Nate and Oliver’s characters. As individual characters, neither Nate nor Oliver were interesting people. If anything, I felt like they were both really boring people who had no personality in this book other than both their obsessions with ChitTalk. I feel like it was just by chance that Nate gained popularity on ChitTalk and not due to having a likeable personality. And then the one thing about them I thought was interesting was destroyed mercilessly. Like I said earlier, I originally was intrigued about their relationship. But once the kiss and restaurant scenes happen and you discover Oliver’s involvement in Nate’s account being stolen, what interest I had in their relationship quickly vanished. I was disappointed by this because I found their relationship with each other interesting and wanted to see how it would continue to develop. But doesn’t sound like it would’ve worked out anyway because of Nate’s uncertainty regarding his interest in Oliver, which when I look back on it makes sense because of the way Nate acts around Oliver throughout this book. Very frustrating and made me dislike both these characters even more.

Overall, #Unwell is an interesting read with commentary regarding what happens when someone lets social media fame get to them. But with the number of times I had to suspend my disbelief over an unlikeable character like Nate becoming popular on social media and how his followers react to his account being stolen, I have a hard time calling this book an enjoyable read for me.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my review of #Unwell! If you enjoyed my review of this book, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below or check out another one of my blog posts.   

Book Review: Nightshade Trilogy

So I decided with this trilogy since I’ve finished reading all three that I would just do one blog post reviewing all three of them in order and talk about my thoughts on each book. So without any further introductions, below are my reviews of the Nightshade trilogy.

Nightshade (Nightshade #1)

Rating: 3 stars

Calla is the alpha female of a shape-shifting wolf pack. She is destined to marry Ren Laroche, the pack’s alpha male. Together, they would rule their pack together, guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But then, Calla saves a beautiful human boy, who captures her heart. Calla begins to question everything – her fate, her existence, and her world and the orders the Keepers have asked her to follow. She will have to make a choice. But will she follow her heart if it means losing everything, including her own life?

So what I have to say about Nightshade is that I do enjoy it as a whole. However, there are some aspects to this first book in the trilogy that I hated, which is why my rating isn’t quite as high. But before I get into any of that, let me talk about what I like about this book.

I really enjoyed the world building that takes place in this book. You learn there’s packs of wolves, but they are known as Guardians as they were created as protectors of Keepers, the ones who give the Guardians orders and are basically in charge of their lives. In this trilogy, you learn about how the Guardians first came into existence and what their role is in protecting the Keepers. And I really enjoyed it because you get to see how the dynamic plays out between these two groups from Calla’s perspective when she’s attending school. I also enjoyed seeing the dynamic between Calla’s pack, Nightshade and Ren’s pack Banes when the two of them decide to begin the process of getting the packs together before their nuptials. I felt like it gave me as a reader insight into what life with a pack of wolves would look like in these books. I also enjoyed it too honestly because of wolves being my favorite animal and reading a trilogy that has my favorite animal in them.  

I also enjoyed most of the characters in this book. In particular, I enjoyed seeing Calla’s relationship with Shay and Ren as well as the members of the pack. What I enjoyed about her relationship with these two guys was how different they were. So with Shay, you initially believe he’s an outsider to the world Calla has grown up in. However, you quickly realize he actually has a whole lot to do with the world she’s been a part of since birth. You also see Calla do a whole lot of rule breaking when it comes to Shay throughout the book with regards to what she’s allowed to do as a Guardian. From saving Shay’s life in the beginning to reading a book that talks about the true history of the Guardians and Keepers, Calla does a whole lot of things she’s not supposed to since she first meets Shay, things that not only put her pack in jeopardy but if discovered could turn her whole world upside down. Then there’s Ren, the alpha of the Banes and the man Calla has been chosen to marry in order to bring their two packs together. He comes across as confident, a leader and charming. I enjoyed seeing him and Calla’s relationship develop as I felt like I could see how much he truly cares about Calla. I also enjoyed their relationship because I could see the chemistry between the two of them in the interactions they had. What I enjoyed about Calla’s dynamic with the two packs was how well when her and Ren joined them together they all seemed to get along. They worked really well as a team, and I was interested to see how their dynamic would continue to develop.

So with Nightshade what I struggled with when reading was the double standards when it came to Ren and Calla with regards to their relationship. What I mean is that Calla was expected before their wedding to basically save herself for Ren for their wedding day. As a female alpha, she was basically expected to not participate in any intimacy with him before their wedding or anyone. Ren, however, as a male alpha, didn’t have such expectations placed on him. In fact, Calla mentions him having dated several of the girls at their school and that was seen as being okay since he’s an alpha male. And even though Calla is also an alpha, she gets told by her mother in this book that if an alpha male wants something from her, she’s to accept it even if she belongs to another. So even though Calla is supposed to be an alpha to her pack, she’s only one in name. And these double standards played a prominent role through this book so much that I couldn’t give this book a higher rating than 3 stars because I hated them so much. Overall, I enjoyed reading Nightshade though and can’t wait to share my thoughts on the next book in the trilogy, Wolfsbane.

Wolfsbane (Nightshade #2)

Rating: 3 stars

Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer–one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack–and the man–she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

What I enjoyed when reading Wolfsbane was the continued world building that Nightshade did a wonderful job of starting the foundation on. In this book, you get the full story behind the Searchers who are seen as the enemies of the Keepers and find out the truth of their role in Calla’s world. We are introduced to their group and get to see their hideout and meet a cast of characters I found I immediately liked. A lot of this book involves explaining what’s going on to Calla so that she and Shay can help the Searchers in their quest, and I was perfectly fine with it because it gave me a wonderful idea of what was going on. I also enjoyed getting to see the Searcher’s hideout and finding out what role each of their members I was introduced to played.  

I also enjoyed how quickly the plot moves in Wolfsbane. After the events in Nightshade, everything in Calla’s world with regards to her pack has completely changed and Calla will need the help of the Searchers in order to rescue her pack and Ren. I enjoyed this plot because Calla and Shay were working with the group of people Calla had once considered her enemies in order to save those she loved. And it was nice to learn more about their world while planning their rescue of Calla’s pack as I felt like I learned a lot about the Searchers here that I didn’t already know.

I will say though that although I did enjoy reading Wolfsbane immensely due to the world building and what I learned about the Searchers, there’s several aspects of the story I wasn’t quite pleased with. Mainly that I felt like I was gaining more insight into Ren’s character without knowing it even though he was largely absent from this book in the trilogy until the end of it. I didn’t like that Ren wasn’t in this book all that much because I found that I didn’t like Shay’s relationship with Calla quite as much as I originally had when reading Nightshade. I think a big part of it was me struggling to see their attraction for each other but also because of how much Shay was actually starting to annoy me. I don’t know if a large part of it is because of him being the Scion and ever since he gets labeled that here, his character doesn’t go through any sort of development or because of how little support he shows in Calla going to save her pack. He basically writes off the members of her pack as being a casualty of war and is annoyed that they are spending any time going to save them, even though most of the members of her pack he has a wonderful relationship with. I know part of it is because of him not wanting Calla to put her life in jeopardy, but I feel like he was being selfish and showing he didn’t care about her pack who she sees as like family to her. And that made me annoyed with him here because I don’t see why he couldn’t have just supported her considering how much she’s done for him since they met. I also feel like what also played a role in me feeling this way is that I don’t think I enjoy insta-love with characters all that much as I don’t feel like you get as much chemistry between the characters in the relationship and you don’t get a full picture as to why they’re attracted to each other, which I feel like became a problem for me when reading this book as I found myself not understanding Calla’s attraction to Shay.  

What I also didn’t enjoy in Wolfsbane was that I felt like a lot of characters get killed off for no reason. I found this happened through out the book when Calla and the Searchers made their rescue attempts of her pack as during both attempts, characters were killed off that I don’t feel like should’ve been. Especially when as the reader you find out one of the characters killed off is related to someone else in the story and that what that character has been told about their parents is a complete lie. I found this character being killed off in particular bothered me because they were never given the chance to get to know/develop a relationship with their child and I feel like this character actually could’ve played a more critical role in the story instead of being introduced in this book and then killed off a little later. Overall though, I did still enjoy reading Wolfsbane despite these two issues I had with it and was excited to see how this trilogy would come to an end in Bloodrose.

Bloodrose (Nightshade #3)

Rating: 3 stars

Calla has always welcomed war.

But now that the final battle is upon her, there’s more at stake than fighting. There’s saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay’s wrath. There’s keeping Ansel safe, even if he’s been branded a traitor. There’s proving herself as the pack’s alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers’ magic once and for all. And then there’s deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. In this remarkable final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, international bestselling author Andrea Cremer crafts a dynamic novel with twists and turns that will keep you breathless until its final pages.

As a whole, what I enjoy about Bloodrose is the pacing of the story with the action. I enjoyed how quickly the story moves along as everyone works together to collect all of the pieces of the Cross in the final fight against Bosque Mar. This action kept me engaged in wanting to find out what would happen next in this final installment in the trilogy as I wanted to know how this war would finally end. I also enjoyed the final fight because you get to see everyone working together to take down their enemies and there was a lot of action during it that I enjoyed getting a front row seat to. There are some aspects to the final battle I didn’t enjoy as well, but I’ll get into that a little later here.

What I also enjoyed in this book was Ren’s return. In Wolfsbane, you find out so much about his character even though you don’t see him again until the end of the book when Calla and the Searchers save her pack. And the way things end with him and Calla in that book made me wonder what was going to happen at the beginning of Bloodrose as its predecessor ends with her going to save him and convince him to join her and the Searchers. I also enjoyed seeing him return because you saw a little bit more of his relationship with Calla and you get to see his relationship with Adne begin.

In general, I also enjoyed seeing the relationships between the side characters of the story, particularly Ethan and Sabine and Connor and Adne. I enjoyed both of these relationships because I wasn’t expecting to really read too much about either of them but was happy that Andrea Cremer gave some of the other characters’ relationships that I could read about. I also enjoyed them because while I didn’t particularly care for Sabine too much when I first read Nighshade, once I’m given her backstory, I find myself liking her more and wanting happiness for her in these books. And what she ends up doing at the end for Calla’s brother really warmed me up for her even more because I knew that was probably a tough choice for her to have to make.

Now to get into the aspects of Bloodrose I didn’t enjoy. One aspect of the story I didn’t particularly care for here was the continued love triangle between Calla, Shay, and Ren. Mostly because even though I didn’t want to admit it, I knew who she was going to choose since I started reading this trilogy. I didn’t want to admit it to myself because she still seemed uncertain in this book who she wanted to be with so I found myself hopeful that she might make a different choice. But nope, she chooses the guy I felt like she had the least chemistry with out of the two and then to make things worse, she never tells the other guy that she’s made her decision. She also spends very little time with him in this book as well, which disappointed me because I was looking forward to seeing more of him and their relationship even though I knew she wasn’t going to choose him because I found their chemistry and interactions together so enjoyable to read. And then to make things even worse here, Cremer kills him off during the fighting and very little grief is actually shown by Calla and everyone regarding his death. Also the guy she does end up choosing shows more concern that his competition’s death will change the way Calla feels about him instead of being concerned that Calla is okay. But when he died, I cried because I felt like he wasn’t given a fair shot in this trilogy at all. He went through a lot of development in these books only to end up dead in the end when I felt like he should’ve been given the chance to live. Even if Cremer had him with someone else, I would’ve preferred that happening here over him dying the way he does, not knowing that Calla isn’t going to choose him.

What I also didn’t particularly care for with regards to Bloodrose is how this trilogy ends. I like the full circle aspect of it as once the rift is sealed, the Keeper’s magic can no longer be used for these purposes again and the Guardians will revert to their true selves. But everything else with it I wasn’t too pleased about, mostly because I feel like there’s so many loose ends that don’t get tied up here. One example that comes to mind would be if the rift were to open and Bosque Mar returned. With the way this book ends, Shay would be no help whatsoever here. Also don’t necessarily know what would happen here if that were to happen. Another loose end that doesn’t get tied up is now that the war is over, what the current state of their world is. Because Keepers still see the Searchers as their enemies and the Guardians that weren’t helping out the Searchers would more than likely be confused since they can no longer shift back and forth between forms. I believe some of the Keepers were sucked into the rift along with Bosque Mar but wonder about the ones that weren’t what’s going to happen with them. Also with the Searchers, since they’ve now accomplished their main mission, what will they be doing next. I feel like all of these are valid things that this book didn’t address that I feel like it should’ve and that made me not enjoy the way this book ended and this book in the trilogy overall.

Overall, I enjoyed reading the Nighshade trilogy as a whole, even though there was something in each book in the trilogy I didn’t particularly care for that made me not like the book as much as I wanted. I found each of these books intrigued me enough to continue reading to find out what would happen next, enjoyed seeing the dynamic in the love triangle between Calla, Shay, and Ren until I didn’t, enjoyed the overall story and lore as I felt like there was a lot that happened that interested me and made me fascinated with the world I was reading about and enjoyed getting to know these characters and their story. I know there are other books that the author has written that pertain to this world (a prequel series and what looks like a series that takes place after this trilogy) that I might consider giving a read just because of how much I enjoyed this trilogy. But with the way things ended in Bloodrose, I feel like I need a break from these books right now before I pick up other books by this author in this world.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my review of the Nightshade trilogy! If you enjoyed my review of this trilogy, don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments below.