To me the synopsis didn’t indicate that it was a fantasy set in our world so when Tamsin used a cell phone I was so confused for a few minutes. But that quickly changed because I really liked how the author approached it and mixed the two (a typical fantasy world and the ‘normal’ world) together. Bracken really did a good job at it, which made my reading of the book easier because I was able to enjoy myself without having to work too hard on tying the two worlds together. As Bracken did such a good job on that – all I had to do was sit back and enjoy the ride. 

There are a lot of new terms in the book that I had to learn. I was reading on my Kindle so I was able to highlight them all in a specific colour and just refer back to them at any point in the book – that helped a bit 😅. But as I carried on I got more used to the terms that they used and I didn’t really need to go back to look back when they were first used. Maybe the published version has a Glossery, or I hope so. 
 

I absolutely love messy characters. I think when they’re written well they can be so fun and relatable to a lot of us. Tamsin was definitely both cases here (written well and relatable as a messy character) as I loved her so much. She was hands-down my favourite character of all, with Emrys being a close second. I loved that we got to read through Tamsin’s perspective and therefore got to know her. If it were from her brother’s perspective or maybe even Tamsin’s POV but Third Person and not First Person – I think we wouldn’t have gotten to know her so much because she is so closed off. 

I loved seeing her character development – how she went from not wanting to make friends with others, being closed off. Then slowly becoming someone who wanted to open up to others and start making friends. Her character growth was also testament to Bracken’s writing because not every writer can do character growth like that. 

Emrys reminded me of that moment in the romcom movie where their parents (usually their dads) want him to be this type of person, like play (American) football. And then the character (Emrys in this instance) turns around and goes “No dad, that’s YOUR dream!” While that character in the movies is a very cliché character. That was Emrys to me 😁 Although the character might be a bit cliché but I actually really like them. And I really loved Emrys’s character! He was sweet and snarky, smart and a character I didn’t know I’d love entirely! 
 

 The writing was amazing – there was so many quotes that I highlighted, even though this was an arc and I can’t really share them in the review. I know now why people love her writing so much, I can definitely see why. She is fantastic at writing sentences they just make you feel “oh I felt that.“ And obviously a lot of the writing is linked to the characters, so no wonder I liked it. 

I do love when enemies-to-lovers is accompanied by reluctant allies or they’re forced to work together. I love those two tropes together, they just chef’s kiss. Emrys and Tamsin were absolutely fantastic together and I cannot wait to see more of them in the next book. They popped up early with their banter and I was HERE FOR IT every single turn of the page/tap of the screen because YES. Fuel with your hatred until it turns into something more 😂 
 

Tamsin and Neve’s friendship was so sweet! I didn’t expect to like Neve as much as I ended up doing but I did, which I’m more than happy with. Neve is like that character who just sits down next to you and goes “Hey, we’re gonna be friends now” and you just have to accept that 😄. 

I just think that Tamsin needs a hug or a very warm blanket (whichever she’ll prefer) and a big bowl of soup with some very fresh bread. She goes through a LOT in the book and the child NEEDS sustenance and the knowledge that someone cares. There’s a point where she thought of others and I was like a proud mama because she’s thinking of others!! She’s learning and growing!!