This book does a great job organizing the legal history that led to the perpetuation of racial segregation in the United States. Various examples are given of legal rulings in different states that had long term implications for black and Latinx people for generations to come. This includes both maintaining black people living in poorer parts of the country as well as preventing them from advancing socioeconomically. I appreciated that there were also thorough explanations for how loopholes for found for laws and mandates that were passed to protect the civil rights of black people. The book draws connections that aren't the most intuitive and makes you think critically about the implications of historical decisions. It also really makes you think about how laws passed today can have consequences for generations to come in the same way as in the past. This book is concise and informative and provides a great point of reference for anyone interested in racial history in the U.S.

I was very satisfied with the ending. The characters seem fulfilled by the end, but I think some people won't necessarily like how open-ended it is. The story is told from the points of view of Lia Mara, Harper, Grey, and Ren. We get more insight into what Ren has gone through behind the scenes that help explain his actions. In addition, we witness the layers of complexity in the relationship between Ren and Grey. This is a tale of forgiveness, brotherhood, and friendship and I appreciated all of those elements that were brought together in this last installment. 

Grey is probably my favorite character, but every point of view in the book brings something to the table. There was also a climax for the plot points established in the previous book. The story felt continuous and flowed well. The characters had reasonable motivations for their actions and there is space for understanding all of them. I appreciated this trilogy a lot and I think it's a really good portal fantasy with an interesting plot and characters. The ending is not for everyone, but I still think this series should be given a chance.

I'm not a huge fan of the friends with benefits trope, so I think that's part of what contributed to me not liking this book as much. Dylan and Danny feel like three-dimensional characters, but their physical relationship started so quickly that I don't feel like there was enough emotional buildup for their eventual romantic relationship. They do get some moments in the book when they're just hanging out as friends, I just wish there were more of them. Danny and Dylan have great relationships with their group of friends, which I appreciated. It's a quick fun read if you like a decent friends with benefits story, it's just not the trope for me.

I always enjoy romances about married couples because I feel like it gives a more realistic depiction of how romances can play out in the long-run. Aiden has become engrossed in his work and his struggles with anxiety have compounded to cause strife within his marriage with his wife, Freya. both Aiden and Freya have forgotten how to garner intimacy and make each other feel wanted within their marriage. There is amazing discourse pertaining to anxiety and perceptions of body image within the story that are addressed well. There is also further discourse about how coming from a broken home affects a person's handling of relationships into adulthood. The issues presented within their relationship feel genuine and realistic. We get glimpses of what Freya and Aiden in their better moments as well as their worst. What is clear throughout the plot is that they love each other. Both of them are flawed and they are a great example of how the strongest relationships are still made up of imperfect people and require effort to work. There is also a strong focus on the importance of vulnerability and communication within a relationship. The tone of the story is light hearted while still addressing a lot of marital issues that I think people in long term relationships will be able to relate to you. 

Freya's family is also the best, wanting the best not just for Freya but also for Aiden because they consider him family too. I appreciated that there was the acknowledgement that when you marry someone you also become a part of their family. Aiden and Freya's relationship is the focus of the story, but I appreciated that the platonic familial relationships in the story were also given importance. Being married should not diminish the importance of platonic relationships in your life and I think this story drives that point home.

All in all, the characters were likeable and their journey was interesting and nuanced. I would highly recommend it if you like second chance romance with strong familial bonds and likeable characters.

I have friends who have anxiety and have described what panic attacks are like for them. There is a scene in the book where Aiden has a panic attack and it did an amazing job of garnering the realism of what panic attacks can be like despite not having experience with them personally. Despite being very high functioning, Aiden represents how crippling anxiety and panic attacks can be for people suffering through mental illnesses like that. Apart from that Aiden's anxiety medications affects his sex drive. A lot of medications for mental health have side effects and it was nice to see the effect it can have on men specifically. Erectile dysfunction isn't discussed very often in general, especially not in younger men, so it was great to see Freya being so supportive of Aiden when he confessed his struggles with this to her.

 

I was very happy with the representation in this book. Ren is a huge cinnamon roll and Frankie is rough around the edges, but a good person underneath it all. I think Frankie's personality was well connected to her background and her characterization made sense throughout the story. She has had to deal with her autism throughout her life making her socially awkward.  She's not rude or unapproachable on purpose, it just takes her more effort to read social situations because she is autistic. She also has early onset rheumatoid arthritis which has made her feel like a burden to others. This has made her develop a strong sense of independence and made it difficult for her to feel comfortable accepting help. I've worked with patients who have rheumatoid arthritis and the symptoms depicted with Frankie is reasonably accurate, especially the morning stiffness. Usually patients that get on a medication that is efficacious for them have remission of most if not all of their symptoms. However, patients that don't have complete remission usually get trialed on other medications as well as analgesic medications and physical therapy to faciliate function. We never really go into detail about Frankie's exact medical status, so I can't comment on the accuracy of her residual rheumatoid symptoms and her use of a cane. I should also probably note, I'm not a physician, these are just observations I made based on my experience with patients who have this condition in a medical office setting. 

Ren is a very sweet and friendly love interest. His family is huge, loud, and nosy, and he's grown up keeping the peace with his siblings which probably contributes to his friendly demeanor. He's very non-judgmental and charming which helps him balance out Frankie's personality. They have a great connection and I loved seeing their friendship grow closer and eventually become a romantic relationship. Ren sees Frankie for who she is underneath the rough persona and Ren gives her a safe space to be herself that allows her to open up more. Moreover, I liked that Frankie and Ren had strong connections to their cultural backgrounds. I have a strong connection to my cultural background, so it was easy for me to relate to that aspect of their characters. Frankie and Ren's use of their family's native languages was fun to see because it reminded me of my own family. Ren and Frankie sharing aspects of their respective cultures was a way for them to be emotionally intimate with one another and I loved those parts of the story most. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading other books in this series by this author.

I think this installment helped greatly expand the lore of the world which felt like it was lacking in the previous two books. We discover a lot more about the gods as well as Poppy's heritage. By the end of the story you can tell there is a lot more left to know about the world and based on the next book being released by the author, she will be delivering on that.

Casteel, Poppy, and Kieran are pretty well established characters at this point, so there isn't as much character development for them in general. There is more focus on the plot in this book than in previous book, which I appreciated since the previous books felt much less eventful. The author strikes a better balance between plot, world building, and character development than before. 

We have seen Casteel be assertive and protective of Poppy and I was happy to see that sense of protectiveness be reciprocated by Poppy. It shows that there is trust and affection on both sides of the relationship that wasn't as present there before. Newly married to Casteel, Poppy takes a more active role in Atlantian politics as a new royal family member. She is an outsider and we get to see how she handles opposition to her new role. She has a newfound sense of confidence and independence and her naiveté is mostly gone. She handles obstacles in the plot with maturity and is as vicious as Casteel when she needs to be, which was great to see.

My main issues with the book were pertaining to the flirting between Casteel and Poppy sometimes occurring at inappropriate times. In additoin, I would have liked to spend more time with side characters like Kieran. Everyone in Atlantia is interesting and I feel that as the world continues to be development we'll also learn more about side characters. Overall, a solid installment and I'm looking forward to more.

The characters in this romance were likeable and I liked how positively Maddie's nude modelling was portrayed. She is recovering from an eating disorder and is using nude modeling as a way to help her with her recovery. Luke is an aspiring artist that struggles to balance with his family's expectations of him and what he wants. Both of them are very different people on paper, but they have a lot more in common than meets the eye. They also help each other work through their insecurities once they learn to communicate better. Despite being such a short novel, the relationship had decent pacing. I do recommend if you want a quick romantic read.

This novella is an exploration of mental illness with an element of supernatural fantasy. The story focuses on a couple and there are romantic moments in the story, but it is not by any means a romance. The story is sad and shows the detrimental effect mental illness can have on the quality of life of someone as well as their spouse. I appreciated the commentary there was on how cultural background can affect the willingness of someone to seek professional help for mental illness. The story is compelling with a sense of mystery. This is meant to be a prequel to another book and it did a great job of leaving me intrigued and wanting more. I am looking forward to reading the full novel that follows the events in this story. The characters have a lot of potential to be developed and the fantasy elements are tied to the Latinx backgrounds of the characters. I am really glad I finally picked this up and can't wait to read more books by Naley Gonzalez.

I appreciated the unique concept of this story. However, I feel like there was not as much character development as I would have hoped. There is a strong female friendship at the forefront of the story. Despite enjoying the strong friendship, the romance lacked development. I like Bastien and Ailesse as individual characters, and the romance between them had potential but felt rushed. I would have preferred waiting until the next book for them to get together. It would have allowed the tension between them to build and given them more time to get to know each other better. The side characters are likable, but I just didn't feel invested enough in the story to continue reading the sequel. Overall, if you want an easy to get through adventure story that's easy to get through, this might be enjoyable for you.

I am not as invested in the romance as I wish I was. I might get back to this one later, but it won't be right now since I feel like reading other things.