It’s Dolly Parton! I downloaded this on a whim and I’m so glad I did. I’ve seen some really cool copies of the book in the wild and I might have to get one. Anyways, I learned some really cool things about her that I didn’t know before. She’s literally so sweet and caring. I saw someone say that she’s an Angel walking among us and I don’t think that’s a crazy thing. One thing, I didn’t care for was that it was kind of like an interview in a way. It kind of threw me off at times. She talks about so many of her songs and what they meant to her. I didn’t even realize how big of a writer she is and all the movies/tv shows she’s a part of! It was so awesome to learn that not only is she amazing at songwriting, but to see her take part in so many different things. I really love her book project too!

This might be my first super spoiler-y review but the content is too important. This has a major trigger for me: infertility. This is about to get very personal. I bought this book to get into a meet and greet with Coho! It was awesome and she’s awesome. This is a signed copy, which I cherish. Why hadn’t I read it yet? The universe knew that I couldn’t handle it at the time. I prefer to go into books blind all the time now. I don’t even have to read the description and CoHo is an auto-buy author. When this book was released, I was deep into my infertility treatment journey. I was just about to start my first IUI. There’s absolutely no way I could have handled reading this then.

I started this book late last night and finished it way early this morning. I stayed up way too late but I just had to know what happened. I’m having a hard time getting my thoughts in order so this might be a bit rambly. Like all her books, her writing is gripping and before you know it, you are in way too deep to even think about stopping.

Oh, Quinn. One of the things that Hoover did was get the turmoil we go through. Unless you’ve been in it, you have no idea. You can think you do but you really don’t. I was her. I went over 5 years doing all the same things and going through the same emotions. I remember dying a little inside every time someone announced a pregnancy, asked me when “we were going to have a baby,” seeing mothers complain about motherhood. You might be thinking, that’s selfish and irrational. It absolutely is but yet it is not. You try so hard not to hate yourself because you cannot do the one thing you should be able to do. Her reaction with her sister? I’m jealous because she handled it much better than I did, which I still regret. I had people walking on eggshells around me. My best friend, gosh I love her, sent me a very long text when she was telling me about her second pregnancy. I am tearing up just thinking about it right now. I hate that she couldn’t just say, “I’M PREGNANT!!!” but had to do it gently, which I needed and love her for. I understood Quinn because she wasn’t acting crazy. She was trying to survive being heartbroken and shattered. I remember the long showers too. All this being said, she handled it the wrong way with her husband. She shut down and she didn’t communicate her feelings. This is something that brought my husband and I closer. We cried together, we held each other, we went through it together. I completely understand her thought process of devastation with the idea of sex. It becomes clinical and chore. It gives you so much hope to be crushed month after month. It was so unfair to treat Graham that way because he was also going through it.

Graham was amazing most of the time but also at fault. He should have been open to hurting Gwen because not communicating was their downfall. It hurts, it hurts really bad, but that’s how you grow. You can’t pretend and then wonder how it all went to hell. At the same time, he went through a lot with Quinn. She was unfair to him and he was a rock for so long. I don’t completely blame him for what happened because it was on both of them. The love letters though were amazing. ❤

Okay, here’s where my issue is with the actual diagnosis. Ectopic pregnancies are very common but what happened to her is not. Surgery is something that can be necessary but the most common is losing a tube and not your whole uterus. I actually know a few people who had to have this done and lost a tube but not their uterus. I am not a doctor though but that sounded extreme. Also, when I found out it was endometriosis, I was even more confused. I have it and had it removed the year before I got pregnant. It wasn’t my main issue because it’s mild but it’s removable with surgery, in a lot of cases. It’s treatable and I’m a bit unsure why they had tried all these things but nothing to treat her endo.

Overall, I loved this book and I could not put it down. It probably has to do with the fact that I relate to it so much. The writing is just as I would expect from Hoover, amazing. I appreciate Hoover tackling such a hard topic. It really needs to be talked about more because it’s more common than people think. The isolation is hard and feeling like you can’t talk about it makes it worse. It’s one of the things I would change. I would be honest and not care if it made people uncomfortable.

Just like the first book this book is a quick read. I flew through this but it could be because there was so much going on. We have so many different parts moving that I found it hard to put down. I needed to know what was happening next. Although, there are times that I felt like we didn’t spend enough time in certain places and situations. It didn’t suffer from the “second book syndrome” because a lot of things do progress rather quickly.

The worldbuilding in this book has expanded and I loved learning so more about the Alanga. We learn more about the past and how that comes to play now. We delve more into the bone-shard magic too. Lin starts to embrace her power and it was great to see that come out in multiple ways. I am still not sure how I feel about the way Lin delved into the Emperor’s memories but I loved learning more about him and his motivations.

“You’re the Emperor. You’re powerful. People have to have an opinion of you. They won’t all be good opinions. At some point, you have to just do what you think is right.”

The women in this book have a much bigger role and I was all for it. Ranami and Phalue are a couple I’m struggling with. I love how Phalue is so optimistic but it’s almost too much. In her position, I would think she would be a little more level-headed about things. I get that Ranami is supposed to be that for her but she also crosses the line and goes too far. They need to learn from each other and grow together.

Even though I’m all about the female protagonist, my favorite characters are Jovis and Mephi. I can’t even explain how much of a delight Mephi is. He’s so moody and yet the perfect companion. I love him so much! The companions pretty much steal the show in this book. I cannot wait for the next book because they are just getting better and better.

“A song isn’t impenetrable armor. They write songs about dead people too, you know.” “But are they quite so catchy?”

Lin and Jovis have come a long way since book one. Although, I’m not really feeling the romance between them. Somehow, it feels like it came out of nowhere, and I just don’t feel emotionally attached to that relationship. It kind of hinders some of the moments in the book because it feels forced. I do like them on their own but not so much together.

One of the biggest issues with this book was predictability. I saw every twist coming and from far off. I was hoping to have a big shocking twist or moment but that did not happen for me. Even though I saw it all coming I still enjoyed the story. I love the world and the characters that Stewart has created. I’m really looking forward to the next book!