Julia had the most amazing character development in this story and she is really what made this book outstanding. It is very clear that a if there is one thing that all of the magic users in this book have is ambition and their mental health issues. Magic can really screw you over and that seems to be the ongoing theme in this world. Quentin isn’t nearly as depressed as he was at the beginning of the first book and he’s become more self aware of his bad decisions, but his ambition keeps getting him transported into different worlds and into trouble. Julia is acting quite strange and no one really knows what happened to her in the time that everyone else was in Brakebills. We slowly find out more and more and her story ends up being both amazing and tragic. It also strongly reflects the loss Quentin had by the end of the first book. Furthermore, it reflects how Julia has grown as a person. I’m assuming we’ll be seeing Quentin grow more and learn from the consequences of his actions. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Julia either. I’m looking forward to it.

I did not finish this book. I got halfway through and I think the main problem I have with the series is the pacing. I feel that the author really wanted to focus on character development, but she spent so much time on it that by the time the plot really got going I stopped caring about what happened to anyone. The world is amazingly unique and intricate, and the characters are likeable, but I just never ended up feeling attached to any of them. I hope that this review doesn't discourage anyone from reading this series, because I think there is definitely an audience for it, I am just not a part of it. I do plan on trying to read other books by her because I've heard that they aren't paced quite like this one. We'll see how that goes.

I vaguely remember reading this book in high school and I recently met Alex Flinn in person at an author event at a local bookstore and she spoke about her debut and her synopsis of the plot for it. I didn’t recall most of the plot nor did I remember my feelings on it when I initially read this book, so I decided to reread it. I really like Alex Flynn’s very different approach to addressing the topic of an abusive relationship. The story is told from the perspective of the abuser, which is rare to find. It was incredible to see how Nick rationalized what he had done and we don’t really know what happened between him and his ex-girlfriend Caitlin until the climax of the book since he is an unreliable narrator until almost the end. Nick loses friends and is ostracized in school because of his actions. However, he spends a good portion of his time acting like the world owes him an apology rather the other way around. It’s not until events in the story that end in a tragedy serve as a wake up call for him to realize that he’s done something wrong and needs to rectify his behavior in the future. 

The plot takes a very optimistic approach to Nick’s journey as in the end, he recognizes that he is an abuser and decides to take steps to rectify that to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case for abusers and more often than not they become repeat abusers. Overall, it was an incredibly didactive story and I think it’s a great book for anyone looking to address a topic as heavy as abusive relationships with teenagers. The writing is easy to follow and the teenagers in the book read like teenagers. I’ve often bumped into books like this where you can tell the author is trying a bit too hard to sound like someone a lot younger and it falls flat. I don’t think that’s the case here and the topic is addressed really well. A very unique debut that is worth a read.

**Very mild spoilers**

It was clear from the beginning of the book that Ella was hiding something from Alice. In the end, Ella did deceive Alice but for all intents and purposes she was still a mother to her that raised her with love and gave her a new opportunity to write her own story rather than be stuck in a fairy tale. I appreciated the magic in this world as it had a very dark tone and displayed that magic is powerful and amazing, but is just as dangerous. It was very reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy writing in terms of the way all magic has consequences and stakes. I really like that, especially right after reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman that similarly explores the dangers magic can bring. 

Finn was my favorite character in the book. It’s a shame we didn’t really get to spend as much time with him as I would have liked. I’m hoping that we get to see more of him in the sequel. Alice is really prickly on the outside, but that’s largely a product of the instability she has been raised in. Finn is friendly, charming, and warm, but he’s also never been homeless or had to face the harsh realities of poverty that Alice has. Alice isn’t very likeable compared to Finn because of this in the beginning, but by the end of the story they have grown to really appreciate each other as friends. I’m not sure if their relationship will develop into a romantic one. Finn implies that he might like another girl by the end of this book and honestly I like him and Alice as just friends currently. However, if the author writes it well enough, I think I can get on board with them as a couple. The book ends in a way that lets it stand on its own without a sequel. I’m hoping the next book is able to live up to all of the excitement this book delivered on.

I know Cletus noticed Shelly had OCD in the last book, but I didn’t know quite how deep her mental health issues went. I’m glad we got to explore it in this book. I would say the book does a great job of exploring how Shelly struggles with her mental health and how it affects the relationships she has with people around her. It’s clear it’s caused a rift between her and her brother and nephew. It is one of the things Beau and her learn to overcome as their relationship grows. Her mental health isn’t romanticized and is shown to really be a stumbling block that she consistently has to work at in healthy ways such as going to therapy. I liked how it’s clear that if Beau is going to be in a relationship with Shelly he also must consistently be involved in her treatment because her OCD is a part of who she is and will always be there. I haven’t seen such a great depiction of a mental health issue in a book in a while and this was a breath of fresh air. I have friends that have anxiety disorders and this is really accurate as far as the way anxiety tends to make you rationalize irrational thoughts and fears.

I really enjoyed that Shelly was the one that took the initiative in her relationship with Beau. She came off very strongly, so I can understand why he was a bit hesitant about it at first. Shelly became attached to Beau reasonably quickly, but I think a large part of it is that he seemed so understanding of her as well because he’s a nice person. I can’t imagine that most people would have been as open to helping her speak to her therapist the way he did and even agree to accompany her to a session. I’m sure she wasn’t expecting their relationship to blossom quite the way that it did. People tend to perceive more attractive people as having their lives together and it seems that Beau is one of the few new people in Shelly’s life that saw her as more than just a pretty face. I appreciated being able to see Shelley and Beau grow to be able to work together efficiently not just within their romantic relationship but also as coworkers. It’s a good example of how people sometimes don’t just get along well at first and have to work a bit harder to get there. Both of them were bringing baggage into the relationship and were willing to work with the imperfections they saw in each other. At first I was slightly concerned that Shelley might become codependent on Beau due to her OCD, but I’m glad that he was able to be there as support rather than a crutch. It was also really cool to see such a talented female mechanic in action. Pretty and smart pretty much sums it up with Shelly. She is more than her looks and it was great that Beau eventually saw that despite his slip up on their first meeting. This was enjoyable to read and one of the best books in the series.

When I first started reading this I was afraid that we were going to get one of those friends to lovers plots where one party is moping around because their friend hasn’t noticed their romantic feelings. In a lot of plots like this this usually occurs because the whining party hasn’t bothered to clearly communicate their feelings and just expects the other person to wake up one day and guess that their intentions go deeper than that of friendship despite never showing any indications of that. I was pleasantly surprised that that is not the case. Levi at first seemed to be someone who just hadn’t grown the courage to tell Joss how he felt. However, we later find out that he actually confessed his romantic interest to her when they first met and she rejected him. Joss is very closed off about her feelings and that makes her that much harder to approach. I can understand why Levi bided his time with her and waited until he thought she might be in a better position emotionally to accept his feelings. At no point did it feel like he was being forceful or pressuring her. Their relationship flowed very smoothly and Levi was very respectful of Joss’s wishes. It was nice to be able to see Cletus and Jennifer again. I like them a lot as a couple and it brings some nostalgia to see them even if it’s just as background characters. A nice romance overall that I was left really satisfied with. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

I was super happy to be reunited with all of these characters. Riden and Alosa’s relationship took a turn for the better and the angst between them was built up super well. They continue to develop a trust and respect for one another that becomes stronger than it was in the first book. It was very satisfying to see them finally be together as a couple because they had to work through so much baggage in order to get there. Besides that, the most interesting part of the story was seeing Alosa see her abusive father for what he truly was. He manipulated Alosa her entire life and cared about what she could offer him rather than her well being and loving her as his daughter. It’s a shame that she was not able to be reunited with her mother earlier, but it was great that she was finally able to know how much her mother truly always loved her. This sequel offers closure on a lot of loose ends from the previous book and develops the characters to be even stronger than before. I love the lore behind the magic and the sirens in this world too. I pre-ordered Levenseller’s next book, The Shadows Between Us, and I’m looking forward to it after reading this duology. I can’t wait!

I’m usually not a huge fan of the childhood friends to lovers trope, but Roscoe is like a cute puppy that just kind of grew on me. It was really interesting to see that Roscoe’s unique way experiencing the world since he has a condition that gives him such a vivid memory. In theory, it seems cool that someone can have a memory that is that good, but at the same time it also means that you don’t ever forget the bad things that happen to you in life. In this case, getting rejected by Simone when they were teenagers hit him really hard because of it. I don’t necessarily agree with how Roscoe let Simone hanging cold turkey, but I do understand why he did. I think I would have probably made that separation more gradual, but I’m sure he was emotionally overwhelmed at the time. I continue to appreciate that the author explores the notion of men not fitting into the stereotypical gender roles, such as Roscoe being the one in the relationship to have no sexual experience. Reid did a great job of showing how a healthy couple should communicate during sex and the development of that aspect of their relationship felt organic for it. This story also explored the implications of being in a mixed race relationship in a small town. We haven’t really gotten any important characters that aren’t white in this world up until now, which given the setting is a bit more acceptable than usual since they are in a small town in the middle of Tennessee, but it was nice to get some diversity in and have it being addressed so respectfully too. We get to see Simone helping a friend understand how they can be an ally against racism while also allowing her to keep her autonomy. Very well done! Besides that, one of my favorite things about this book was also learning about Roscoe and his relationship with his career. He seems to be someone that has a really strong passion for what he does, which is how it should be because veterinary school is expensive and difficult. Overall, a very cute story about the youngest Winston brother.