I was insanely excited about this book because I adore this series. How is this book 5?!?! Anyways, I'm so sad to report that I was let down with this one. I'm very confused about the direction that Johnson wants to take in this series. 

Let me start with what I did like... 

I still love Stevie's friends and their personalities are such a great mix. Nate is just my whole heart! I loved that they would do anything for Stevie and each other. 

The actual murder case was cool and I was really interested in it. I didn't quite work it out as fast as I had hoped but that's good! I liked the fact that they were in another country and they were learning about it. It really was the perfect setting for this mystery. 

Now, let me talk about some things that I had a lot of issues with...

It's no secret, the whole series, Stevie is just so self-involved. It's even worse when she's working on a case but in this book, she goes too far. The way that she treats her friends is unacceptable. I hate how they just come to accept that this is the way she is. When she's not working a case she's "adrift" and her head is in the clouds. She doesn't plan for her future and just doesn't do much. Stevie, my girl, you need some therapy and some major help. There is more to life than chasing/solving a case. Your friends deserve better from you too. 

There is so much personal drama in this book that it takes away from the actual mystery that is going on. I hate what Johnson is doing with Stevie and David. I get that you need to create tension and drama but this was not the way. We are in book FIVE and this should not be happening. It's enough... I'm getting so bored with the maybe or maybe not. 

Lastly, this book only wraps up one thing but there are several open endings. We have to be getting book 6 (I hope!!!) and will I be reading that asap? Maybe so. I just hope that it's a better installment than this one. 

Overall, I did like this book and I highly recommend reading this series. I flew through this book and read it in two days. In a long series, you have to know that they will not all be winners, and that's the case here. I am still looking forward to book 6 because I need answers!

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's/Katherine Tegen Books for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I had the option of downloading all of this series last fall. I decided to go with just the first book to see if I liked it. I am so glad I did that. I do feel bad that it took me this long to read, but it was a struggle to get into. I'm not sure if the writing style was for me.

The best thing this book has going for it is the characters. There are a lot of grey characters and you just don't know who you can trust. Senlin, our main character, has an insane amount of character development in this book. To see where he starts and where he ends up is pretty amazing. I do agree, kindness and making friends, are always the way to go. We've got a good cast of side characters that he picks up along the way. I loved Edith and her spunk.

The concept of this world is very interesting. It did take a while to have it all click because it's not what I was expecting, at all. Once things start to fall in place, things did start to pick up for me. I think there are a lot of elements that were a bit overwhelming and had me struggling to keep up.

I can honestly say that I haven't read anything like this before. It was strange, cool, and original. I do think it doesn't quite hit the fantasy genre as much as I wanted. I'm unsure if I want to continue the series but the ending was really promising and I kind of want to know what happens next!

This was my second book by Hahn and I am now a fan! The premise of this book was so intriguing that it made it hard to put down.

Shelby, Cameron, and Lyle all grew up in Hollywood. Cameron gets out but Shelby ends up losing herself and then leaving. There’s a bit of romantic tension between all of them. Well, I mean between Shelby and the boys. There are some times in this book that I found it hard to like any of the characters, to be honest. It was mostly the beginning when they are all terrible people. I didn’t love the way they treated each other and Cam would just turn into a ghost and be gone.

When Shelby finally works on herself and her trauma with her mother, I liked her a lot more. Her change was pretty big and I loved how she found her calling. I did like her romance with Cam but I wish they would have been more honest with each other. There are so many missed opportunities from not communicating! I think that Cam made some big steps to patching things up with his family too.

Lyle is a character that I hated from the start and that didn’t change. haha. There are some amazing supporting characters in this book. I loved Shelby’s dad! He was the best! I think a few of them might be the star of upcoming books?? If not, they should be!

This was a sweet second chance romance with a lot of angst and some spicey moments! I think that both of them had great character development throughout the book too. I can’t wait to see what Hahn comes out with next!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.