I really love the concepts in this book. We've got a woman who cleans magical crime scenes, and she's passionate about studying magical animals. The book doesn't shy away from talking about the chemistry of her magical experiments either.

The protagonist's involvement in the plot of the book was clunky tho. It felt like the book was always reaching for flimsy excuses to continue. I wish that she had been given more personal stakes connected to the plot, instead of feeling like "well I guess I have to do this now, because of [flimsy reason with plot hole]" every other scene.

Historical fiction with a touch of romance. I didn't love how the split timeline made it difficult be be invested.

Some really cool premises. But, wow, most of them have terribly unsatisfying endings.

Tower of Babylon 2⭐
Understand 2⭐
Division by Zero 3⭐
Story of Your Life 4⭐
Seventy-two letters 2⭐ (least favorite)
The Evolution of Human Science 3⭐
Hell is the Absence of God 3⭐
Liking What You See 4⭐ (my favorite)

I love the movie Tangled, and this book worked well as a reimagining of it. I admired how the book took some of the movie's iconic scenes, while still holding its own identity. I think this book can be loved by both Tangled fans and people who have never seen the movie.

I loved the characters in this book! Our POV characters, Ren and Fitz, are given solid motivations and conflicts, loveable personalities. Their relationship is very cute.

One of the downsides of this book for me was how focused it was on the physical relationship between Fitz and Ren. Though it is a closed door romance, much of the plot in the second half of the book is revolving around the question of "Will these two go all the way? Look at that, they have to share a bed again. Maybe they will finally kiss this time, maybe they'll do more than that?" It was like the book didn't know what it wanted to be, because while the content didn't go farther than kissing, the tone and internal monologues of the characters tried to go much farther. It ends up in a middle ground that doesn't feel like it will satisfy any readers, either the people who are looking for closed door romances or the people who are looking for spice in their romances.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Fun, twisty, flirty

Excuse me while I throw out my reading plans in order to read the next book ASAP

Loses a star for the way the romantic entanglements were handled. Otherwise fantastic, solid end to the series.

This series keeps getting better. I love every installment.