*2.5 stars, but i can round up for jem content ig :/
EDIT: not the 2 stars LMAOOOOO pls don't attack me
(triggers at the end)

i don't know, y'all,,, this had a lot i should've liked: lots of queerness, drama, action, a murder-mystery plot. but every single one of those was not done well, at all.

any of these relationships frustrated me, and i think i've outgrown feeling any kind of pain at relationship drama within cc books. decisions were weird at best, down right idiotic at worse, there were times where characters acted completely different to what they'd been doing previously, and any relationships that began to build in this story weren't fleshed out enough for me to feel bad when they ultimately parted ways- in true cc fashion lol.

im booboo the fool, i know, i think it's time for me to hang it up with these books lmao i'm glad people are still enjoying them and these characters like trust me, i adore most of the characters in this book; but when odd subplots and romantic ties outdo character development, i gotta look the other way off.

not mention that ending was weird and rushed,,, or how they forgot abt the murders.

(reading half through this, i'm realizing maybe this isn't a 3 star read oop-)

i have more on my mind but it's much too late to conceptualize everything- i shall end with one thing i enjoyed in this story: the growing emphasis on mental health issues within the group of characters. we see it most in addressing matthew and his substance use issues and i'm really glad we got to see glimpses of what substance abuse can do to individuals. (though the ending kinda gave me the icks regarding this, i hope it's resolved differently in the next story

as i am weak, i shall be finishing this trilogy. too far in not to, but after this, i'm hanging up the steele

trigger warnings for
loss of a loved one, grief, past abuse, trauma