We had gotten glimpses of Axel and Rooney in previous books and I'm glad that they were finally forced to spend time together. They both end up agreeing to a mutually beneficial arranged marriage. Axel is autistic and is very used to being by himself, so it was interesting to see him realize that he didn't mind Rooney's company and liked her a lot. Despite the fact that they didn't plan on dating each other, they ended up doing a lot of things that I would expect normal couples to do together. Some of these activities included hiking together and Axel teaching Rooney how to cook. Axel was also incredibly accepting and understanding of Rooney's autoimmune condition. She was mutually sympathetic towards his needs as an autistic person which further showed how compatible they were. By the end of the book, they find ways to compromise their lifestyles to allow space for them to make their relationship work. 

I appreciated the way the representation in this book allows readers to feel sympathy for people with autoimmune conditions like Rooney and autistic people like Axel. Despite not necessarily having either experiences personally, I was able to understand their struggles through the text. I'm happy to see more romances like this for more representation for diverse experiences and I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author.  

This isn't my favorite book in the series so far, but still very likeable. Cress reminds very much of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables, wild imagination and all. Non lethal spoiler: She has a huge crush on Thorne even before meeting him. I really do like Thorne, and probably more in this book since we get to know him better and he grows as a person. He may act like an idiot half of the time, but he really is good at heart. It's amazing how Meyer is able to make time for all of these characters and weave them together into a single storyline. Many other YA novels would have done one book per character arc and not interwoven the characters throughout the series, so I appreciate this a lot. This book starts revealing many more interesting things that we didn't know before about some character's relationships to each other. There is also an excellent set up for the next book which I am very much looking forward to. Still a definite thumbs up for these  books. 👌👌👌

I wasn't sure how this polyamorous relationship was going to work out since we hadn't really gotten to know Banks much as readers before this book. Thankfully it worked out super well. Banks is incredibly likeable. Akara and Banks have an incredibly strong friendship with consistent regard for one another. They end up finding themselves competing for Sully's affections. However, despite the strange circumstances, they are able to work through feelings of jealousy and put their love for each other and Sully before anything else. Both of them are amazing friends and incredibly considerate partners to Sully. They communicate well with each other taking to consideration each other's feelings. It's a really good example of a healthy polyamorous relationship.  It will interesting to see how everyone reacts to this polyamorous relationship after that ending. 

We don't get to see many other characters as in other books, largely due to the fact that Sully and Banks are camping in the wilderness for most of the book.

I have to say that the mountain lion attack captured the level of emotions that would be expected in an event like that extremely well.

. It was interesting being in Sully's head and understanding why she hasn't been able to reconcile with Beckett. She has issues with forgiveness and her struggle to overcome that makes her a more sympathetic character as the plot progresses. We also get to see Charlie intervene on Beckett's behalf. This of course further shows how Charlie expresses his love for others through his actions.

Jack and Oscar have great banter that makes it really easy to see how compatible they are. Jack has believed he is straight his entire life and for a while is in denial of his feelings for Oscar. Eventually, as he has more time to analyze his feelings for Oscar, he admits to himself and to Oscar that he is attracted to him. It was interesting to see Jack understand and come to terms with his sexuality, especially in the public eye. Privacy is a large reason they delayed sharing their newfound relationship status.  Another factor was Jack's fear of disappointing his family. There is a lot of stigma against bisexual/pansexual people unfortunately, and Jack's fears of not being "queer enough" were also explored in a realistic way. Unfortunately, the LGBT+ has problems with gatekeeping (especially asexual and bisexual people). Jack had never dated men before Oscar. Part of his insecurity about his sexuality is tied to his lack of dating experience with men. Thankfully, Oscar is more experienced than Jack in exploring and accepting his sexuality. In many ways he serves as a supportive and loving guide for Jack through their romantic relationship. Oscar allows Jack to not feel judged for what he wants to experiment with or not, both sexually and romantically. 

This book felt like it was as much about Oscar and Jack as it was about Charlie. Oscar and Jack spend the most amount of time with Charlie. He is the solitary Cobalt that cares for his family in unconventional ways. He shows love by doing things that inconvenience him for the benefit of his loved ones (even Maximoff with whom he has only recently patched things up with). Since moving to New York, he has taken on the responsibility of supervising his siblings. He gives them a hard time for it too, albeit while continuing to help them. It's really entertaining to watch because he will annoy his siblings and give them a hard time but then immediately make a phone call to solve their problems and clean up their mistakes. Charlie is much more than just an entitled jerk. He is intelligent, perceptive, a loner, and also self destructive when he wallows. By the end of the book, Charlie and Oscar have developed a friendship built on mutual respect. 

Charlie is someone whose respect or interest is gained easily. At the same time, it is clear that he craves a relationship like that between Oscar/Jack and Farrow/Maximoff. We got a bit of foreshadowing about this potential at the end of the book that I'm hoping gets more development later on. I have a feeling Charlie is the Cobalt that most takes after his father. This is great for me considering that before the Calloways had kids he was my favorite character. I'm looking forward to seeing Charlie more often. 

Farrow and Moffy are engaged and planning their wedding. They have moved in with Moffy's parents, Lo and Lily, temporarily as they plan the wedding. We got a glimpse of Farrow's ex-boyfriend in the last book, so this time we got a glimpse into Moffy's sexual history with a side character. That felt more like a moot point for entertainment as far as plot, but it didn't take away from the other parts of the story I enjoyed. 

Donnelly is currently on Xander's detail and we keep getting hints of his interactions with Luna. I'm excited to see where their relationship goes in the future. There is a good amount of foreshadowing that they are upcoming, so we'll see how that happens. Donnelly is also plays an important role in a major shift in Moffy and Farrow's lives. 

I think it was an amazing show of friendship for Farrow to take on the responsibility of being a parent for Donnelly's nephew. Maximoff and Farrow also are a great example of what communication between a healthy couple looks like. Farrow made sure that Maximoff was willing to take on the responsibility with him before agreeing. They also share the responsibilities of parenting very well which only helps to strengthen their relationship.

We get to see how close Farrow and Donnelly, and by association, Moffy throughout the plot. If Moffy and Donnelly weren't close friends before, they definitely are now. There is a lot of loyalty and love not just within the romantic relationships of the story, but also the friendships and I love that. 

There is an exploration throughout the story of a lot of Moffy's insecurities. This includes his fear of becoming a sex addict or alcoholic. He is able to communicate openly with Farrow about his insecurities which shows the stability of his romantic relationship with him. In addition, Farrow knows Maximoff well enough to know when he is not feeling well or when he is overthinking something. He makes sure to question him about it and make sure he is doing okay. Moffy's family is also very perceptive of his mental and emotional well being because they know he is willing to do almost anything for those he cares for, even at his own expense. It is clear that despite his love for his family, he isn't perfect. He has flaws and insecurities that will never completely go away. However, he is surrounded by an excellent network of family and friends that will defend him (even from his own vile grandmother because she's terrible). I think this was an adequate conclusion to Farrow and Maximoff's story and I'm looking forward to other romances between the other couples.

I had previously skipped this book in the series because I wanted to get to the next couple, but I'm glad I picked this up. We get to know a lot of the inner doubts Farrow has about becoming a physician and the journey he takes to make a decision about where he wishes to take his career. We also learn he has some mental health issues he struggles with associated with the death of his mother when he was much younger. Farrow has in many ways been a support to Maximoff, so it's great to see his Moffy and his friends be supportive of him as well.

We do meet Farrow's sleazy ex-boyfriend. He felt like a very one dimensional villain and we didn't really get to know much about that relationship or why they broke up. However, the emotional moments between Farrow and Maximoff as well as Maximoff and his siblings that resulted from his presence were still worth having him in the story for me. We have seen Maximoff be very protective of his siblings before and this is the first time that we see how protective his siblings are of him in kind. I always enjoy seeing healthy and loving sibling relationships in books. 

I personally do have issues with the implied lack of professionalism involved with Farrow being Moffy's bodyguard. However, this is a romance series, so I've opted to suspend my disbelief for a lot of the plot pertaining to this. If hat is something you can't do you may not enjoy it as much.

This was a refreshing read. Charlie and Nick deliberate about whether they wish to come out to everyone as a couple or not. Thankfully, they have an incredibly supportive group of friends who help them understand that coming out is a personal experience and not something they have to do unless they want to. Their teachers also serve as mentors, some of whom are queer themselves. We also learn that Charlie is struggling with a possible eating disorder that is tied to his anxiety levels. Nick is vigilant of Charlie and shows how much he cares by looking up eating disorders and ensuring that Nick isn't skipping meals. It's endearing to see how the friendships and romantic relationships are healthy and how everyone uplifts each other to work through their mental health issues. I'm looking forward to continuing this series and reading more happy queer stories in the future.

This was a very wholesome read that focused on Nick's exploration and acceptance of his sexuality. Charlie is incredibly supportive of Nick and respectful of the pacing he takes to come out. Charlie's friends are also protective of him and make sure to check in with how he is doing while respecting his autonomy when it comes to his relationship with Nick. Nick also learns to draw boundaries in his unhealthy relationships in part because of how much he cares about Charlie and how he is treated by his friends. The friendships in the comic are as much in the forefront as the romantic relationships and I highly appreciate that. I'm looking forward to  continuing to read this series and recommend it to anyone who is looking for cute wholesome comics about healthy friendships as well as queer relationships.

This adaptation of Beast Boy feels reminiscent of Teen Titans and some aspects of the comics. Garfield's powers are scientific in nature, the product of an experiment meant to save his life. I liked seeing Gar in a high school setting being a normal teenager with insecurities and strong friendships. His friends were the best part for me because despite his flaws and mistakes they continue to be supportive of him and helped him be a better person. The loyalty and concern they had to Garfield was endearing. I'm curious to see Raven and Gar's relationship develop as they are both trying to figure out their respective powers. Can't wait for the sequel!