I didn't realize this was the authors debut as it is incredibly well done and captivating. There's twists full of secrets, magic, and history and a complex murder mystery. This is YA that feels a bit more on the mature side and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much, despite the twins being 16. I think the author did a good job making each character different and well fleshed out. I've seen many reviews says this would make a great tv show and yeah I could see this being on the CW or something like that, it just has that kind of vibe.

I only give a handful of romances 4 stars and above, they're usually pretty average, but this was so worth the hype imo!! A cowboy romance? Brother's best friend? Steamy? Sweet? No third act breakup? The gift that keeps on giving. I truly fell in love with these characters, their wit and banter, and their romance. I've read a lot of romance lately where the sparks weren't there but OH MY. There wasn't just sparks there were flames. 4.5 for sure.

Cowboy romance just hits different tbh. There were so many things to enjoy about this. Plus size rep, talk about grief and death that felt genuine, believable romance, and personal growth that is tangible. I'm not the biggest fan of friends to lovers but this was an exception. Knowing each other since childhood and becoming lovers was so satisfying to read here.

I knew I would like this but I didn't expect to fall in love with Mellie, Kase, and Ty like I did (and ofc Nova the pupper.) I loved the storyline and that Mellie and Kase got out of that awful situation and brought into a life full of people that love them. This definitely got me emotional and hearing Kase talk about his dad to Ty like he did... I wanted to ✨kill✨ that father. TW for abuse but this is still a super sweet love story.

It was cute and had some relatability with the family issues but it was so unnecessarily long that it droned onnnn and got sooo boring. I think a lot could've been cut out and the story would've been fine. The ending was nice and it was still enjoyable but I probably wouldn't ever reread this again.

This read was based entirely on the cover and then the premise sounded pretty good...but nah lol. The pidea of this book? Interesting. The details of the historical events and the terror these people lived through? It felt thorough and grim but I could appreciate the detail the author included so we could understand. The writing? It was lovely...for a while. Eventually, the story dragged on and the writing dropped off and some events me go "what???" Ultimately I just didn't care for this.

I really don't understand the hype. It got boring so fast and I stopped caring about the characters and the plot, so much so, that I can't be bothered to give a more detailed explanation of my dislike.

Definitely not a favorite. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but I thought the magical elements could work but it just didn't. I didn't like any of the characters, they all made shitty decisions, the plot was boring, and honestly the romance was dull. I just couldn't get into this but I will still read anything Leigh Bardugo puts out. I'm only giving it three stars because I liked the idea and the prose itself was lovely.

Vulgar and disgusting. Mia Sheridan, you should actually be ashamed of yourself.