5 stars!

4.5 stars!

This was delightful. At first, I'll admit, I didn't like Mitch. But he definitely grew on me. I liked the way he was there for Charlie, saving him a few times, and sticking up for him at other times. Charlie was just a sweet baby and I love him.

Some of my favorite parts were:
- The zucchini. Any reference to the zucchini.
- The swoony dance Mitch & Charlie had at Ellie's wedding
- The last chapter (iykyk)

Some Details:
Pairing: MM, Mitch & Charlie
POV: 1st Person Dual
Tense: Past
HEA?:

Spoiler

Yes

Breakups?:

Spoiler

No

Strict Top/Bottom?: No
Angst: 1/5
Spice Frequency: 1.75/5
Spice Level: 3/5

Milestones (beware of spoilers!):
First Kiss:

Spoiler

36% : Chapter 12 / Page 105

First Frot:

Spoiler

56% : Chapter 21 / Page 166

First Oral Sex:

Spoiler

60% : Chapter 23 / Page 179

First Penetration:

Spoiler

77% : Chapter 30 / Page 229

First L Word:

Spoiler

90% : Chapter 35 / Page 268

Proposal...and stuff:

Spoiler

97% : Chapter 37 / Page 287

I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.

I should start by saying that the concept of this book and the major plot points were very interesting. I can tell that even more interesting events will unfold and more shocking details will be revealed in the next book. I’ll admit that some of the revelations at the end of this book surprised me; these details were well hidden, but not in a way that I felt the author purposefully misled the readers. People who like dark romance and thrillers with spice may really enjoy this book.
Also, Paval (the kid) was adorable and there is no way to improve on him. His character was 5/5.


Other notes:
- The Instalove. Don’t get me wrong, in general I LOVE instalove. But the way it was written in this book didn’t make sense to me. It was close to the fated mates feeling, but this isn’t Pnr so it was perplexing as to how the characters had these feelings. And it wasn’t just lust. They were like: We are in love and also you need to be a 4th father to our kid.
- I feel like the book didn’t move forward for the first, like, 80% (except with sex). Not much happened with the plot for most of the book. The characters had the same conversations and narrations over and over.

Well, this was adorable.

I adored Henry. He was a sweet, sassy angel baby, and he deserved all the special changes that he wanted. I found his backstory to be super interesting, and same with the plot line of the book.

I also loved Caden. He was exactly what Henry always dreamed of, and vice versa. He knew instantaneously that Henry was it for him, and it was written in a believable way that didn’t leave me confused at the instalove. They just fit together like puzzle pieces.

I loved all the side characters too, which makes me want to read more of the series.

One issue I had:

Spoiler

At the beginning of the book, Henry says he’s allergic to apples, but by the end of the book Caden is serving Henry apple slices. I thought this was gonna be a plot point and maybe some medical issue and Caden feeling like a bad Daddy… but nothing happened. So that makes me think it’s a continuity mistake in the book. I’m just mentioning it bc it tripped me up a bit and made me anxious for an issue that never materialized lol.

A solid 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5

4.5 stars!

This pleasantly surprised me, because I read another review that mentioned some things I thought would bother me- so I avoided reading this book for too long. Surprise, surprise- the things mentioned in the other review didn’t bother me! I loved this.

Tru, Will, and Coop were all so lovable in different ways, and they all supported each other. I really enjoyed watching how they all came together.

Spoiler

I do wish that Coop became official with them sooner in the book so that we could see their relationship working for longer.

3.75 stars!

This was enjoyable. Listen, you need to go into this book knowing what you’re getting into. If you know ahead of time that you’re reading a book about a vegetable shifter, then you can assume it’s gonna be a bit weird.

4.5 Stars, rounded up to 5

I have complicated feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it wasn't what I wanted it to be? I don't mean that in an awful sense. I'll get into the details later, but a large portion of the book wasn't what I was really craving.
On the other hand, it was so freaking good that, like, it didn't matter what I wanted from it. I definitely mean no disrespect to the author when I say the book wasn't what I initially wanted; on the contrary, I'm saying she knocked this outta the park and pushed past my preconceived notions of what this book "should be." (I mean, what would that even mean, right? She wasn't writing the book for me, and I know that.)

Ok so, some specifics.
- Sera. Gods, I love this girl. She infuriates me. I hate her. I love her. She's the best/worst. You know? The way her character is written is so clever and sassy. I love her narration. Her actions also frustrate me to no end.

Spoiler

She only halfway committed to any plan regarding Kolis. She wasn't bringing down the building to try to escape, but she also wasn't playing nice to get him on her side. For 55% of the book... just not committing to a solid plan.

Granted, it was necessary for her to behave the way she did in order for things to work out the way they did. This is not a diss of the plot. I'm just saying her actions didn't make sense to me, and she didn't know things would work out from her actions, and it frustrated me.
- Ash. Love him, no notes. Just wish there had been more of him in this book.

Spoiler

We had very very little of him for the first 65% of the book, and ... well that's not what I wanted.

- Structure of the book.

Spoiler

Most of the first 65% just felt like an excuse to give the reader more information. It was probably necessary, but maybe it coulda been...fewer pages of that? It felt excessive. At the same time, it was interesting, and the way Sera's POV is written is entertaining.

So I'm not too upset about it; I just want to explain why the book wasn't what I expected.
- In a lot of situations, it seems like everyone just stands around talking when they should be, like, escaping or something. Drives me nuts. Is probably done on purpose in the book. I think it's even referenced. And they keep doing it. lol
- The Spice. Fates, it was incredible. There wasn't a lot of it for most of the book since

Spoiler

they were imprisoned separately (although they got around that at one point, muahaha),

but once the spice started, it happened a lot and it was HOT. Like for real. We're talkin' @n@l with Ash's shadowy tendrils.

My ratings:
Overall: 4.5/5
Angst: 3.75/5
Spice Frequency: 1.75/5
Spice Level: 3/5

Some milestones (beware the spoilers):
-

Spoiler

Ash is freed: pg 406 / 64% / Ch 31

-

Spoiler

Ash and Sera Reunited: pg 412 / 65% / Ch 31