There were moments when this felt like some of my favourite childhood friends to lovers second chance romance books, but set in 802 (!!)—which I love even more. The first book in this series was excellent. I enjoy this author’s characters, love the medieval setting, and I’ve liked how her plots ebb and flow.

But—there was a subtle yet thoroughgoing reason why this second book didn’t work for me.

I’ve noticed that I have two very strict mental categories for second chance romances. I want them to either be:
❄️ lighthearted and sweet, or
❄️ angsty and ripping my heart out

And this book was just neither fish nor fowl.

It had a lot of lighthearted features—like, family and friend cameos from book one, a heroine who healed cute animals, a good boi hero, and very little holding them apart. But it also had a lot of angsty features—like, tense interactions, adventure-danger, and a villainous love triangle.

I ended up reading this story kind of wrong? I wanted it to fit into one of my second chance categories so bad that I mentally downgraded half of the story (the lighthearted half, because you know I’m trash-for-angst). And then whenever it was a cute animal or sweet family moment part, I’d be bored? Even though those scenes weren’t inherently boring?

Why am I like this?

I received this book as an arc and the thoughts are all my own.