Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

Ah, I love A.M. Strickland! This book did not disappoint! It's gay, romantic, vampire, and dark academia...so perfection. The storytelling and world building was done really well BUT I wish there would have been more details on the classes and courts and some characters because I feel like they could have been fleshed out better. Overall, this book was intriguing and exciting from the start and I loved it.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

I was SO excited to read this but it ended up being just okay. It started off intense but it pulled me in, but as the story went on, I found myself not liking any of the characters but Sloane and it made me dislike the book. There were so many secrets and scandals and that definitely kept my interest, but ooof I hated Whit and wanted to DNF because of him alone.

Wow, I loved this more than I thought I would! The characters were lovable and had fantastic dynamics between them as well as complex back stories that I could connect with. The world building was well done, the politics were intricate and well written, I also loved the medieval period aesthetic/atmosphere, it was so fun!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

Wow! First, I really loved how fast paced it was it definitely kept my attention. Second, I loved how our main character approached the crime solving here, investigating the link between murders/lore. I think the missing girls and the residents believing a legendary "character" is to blame was a unique concept. It was a really great atmospheric mystery that had a chokehold on me!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

There was a lot of elements going on that could've been messy but I think the author wrote in a way that kept it together and made sense. I loved the element of true friendsh but also a serial killer and private island. There were a lot of predictable moments but I still enjoyed the story, super fun and a fast read as well!

**potential spoilers**

It started out pretty slow but I didn't mind it because it allowed for excellent world building. We learned about the elemists and Emery and Liam and the sickness in their community. I do wish that Emery and Liams characters had been fleshed out a bit more, I didn't particularly care for them. The love interest was NOT who I thought and that betrayal at the end? YIKES.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

This was so good! So many secrets. So many twists. I fell in love with the characters and they were multi dimensional and felt raw and real. Perfect atmosphere and mystery elements, and that plot twist? Wow. It was done so well. I can't believe this is a debut because this was that good.

Lynn Painter is my new favorite romance author! I fell in love with our main characters (even Blake) and the story from the first page. It was such an adorable meet cute and I loved how the romance progressed. Blake didn't feel like a grump to me he just seemed serious and to value honesty and truth. The characters felt well fleshed out and I adored all the little moments that lead to their ending!

This was definitely a sweet romance but I also loved that we got to see our main character grow and find herself. I feel like the characters were fleshed out pretty well and the daughter was the cutest thing! I also loved the raw emotional moments. I didn't realize this was second in a series but that didn't hinder me from reading it!