BETTER THAN THE FIRST.

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But I just think that this series isn’t for me. And I’m calling it after two books, here’s my thoughts at least.

I did like the set-up for this one. The Western setting and cattle drive was unique and kept my attention. All of the drama with others and everything else that kept happening luckily had me wanting to see what happened next.

The romance was a bit insta-ish for me. I do admit that Flynn and Linnea really grew on me and I thought the ending was really sweet. There is just ~something~ about Hedlund’s female main character’s in this series that I do no jive with. I think the personality qualities are laid on reallllllly thick and it doesn’t come off well to me as a reader.

This was better than the first book, even if I don’t plan to continue the series I know it’s a favorite of others!

Overall audience notes:
- Western Christian Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, gun violence, loss of life, animal death, childbirth, loss of parents 

Reread October 2023: OHMYGOSH the angst in this book is off the charts.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my early audio copy!

DEVASTATION.

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The way I gasped at a particular scene near the end. Holy wow. Gotta give it up to Stephanie Garber. I wasn’t super on board with this series after the first book (but still enjoyed). I took a bit more convincing here and then realized just how attached I had become to these characters.

Jacks and Evangeline have great snarky banter. I love the give and take and that they got a lot more softer moments here. There’s an intense and undeniable pull between them that I can’t wait to learn more about. I think Jacks is too much of a hidden character, even after two books. I want a few more layers peeled back on him so we can get the raw intensity of his past that I know is coming. Evangeline bothered me a whole lot less too and I think it’s kind of fun to be apart of her mindset as she handles all of the fates and prophecies.

Things occasionally felt bogged down by the tangents of story telling. Gratefully they did actually connect back into the main plot so I didn’t feel lost for long. The audio was fantastic! I loved the narrator and it made for a great listen.

I’m of course, very much curious where this series is going to continue onwards to. There’s plenty left open and I adore Garber’s writing and her passion for love conquers all mentality. I’m going to be sitting in a puddle of anxiety until I get my hands on the next book.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: make-outs
- Violence: med/high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: physical altercations, near death experiences, kidnapping, magical weaponry 

ON THE SLOWER SIDE.

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This finale had everything I wanted, and 200 pages I didn’t need.

I loooove these characters. The strong friendship and found family through war is powerful and I couldn’t get enough of the continual support offered over and over as things only became more dire.

The romance between Max and Tisaanah melts me too. I thought the steam in this felt a bit random (like, gotta throw it in here because this is the only chance!). There relationship though was sweet. And intense and I love the partnership they formed over the course of this series.

This was filled with beautiful writing and many lovely sentiments about life, love and more. I really liked the ending and thought it worked out well for all parties. Everyone got the deserved ending and I looove a epilogue at the end. There’s plenty of action and politicking mixed in with the world building and magic system.

I look forward to Broadbent’s next book!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy + Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: 3-4 open door
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, physical and magical altercations, weapons violence, descriptive torture scenes, massive loss of life, grief depictions 

NEW FAV.

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This is now my current favorite in the series. HOW I LOVED THEM.

Calder and Hadley have my whole heart. I loved this combination of second chance + friends to lovers + unrequited love. It worked so well and they were just so sweet on each other!! It’s fast paced and full of longing and hope. Many sentiments had me swooning and loving every moment.

These continue to lean towards the dramatics and I don’t care one bit. I love the suspense elements that keep me on my toes. Just when I thought the end was near, BAM, someone else came out and chose violence that day and I was on pins and needles trying to read fast enough to get to the resolution. I love all of the protective heroes and everything in this small town.

Hadley’s Mother is still enraging and hoping that continues to resolve over the course of the series.

Overall audience notes:
- Romantic Suspense
- Language: some strong
- Romance: three very brief open door
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, extreme cyber bullying, near death car wrecks, child endangerment, stalking 

I’M HOOKED.

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I am hit or miss on the time-travel romance concept (hello Outlander, the best of them all). BUT. This one had me feeling all the things and I am hooked on finding out where it goes next.

The setting is one of my favorite aspects for its uniqueness. 1912 in Charleston, South Carolina? With swoony men with a southern drawl? LOVE IT. I like the bit of mystery that was added to it that helped paved the way for the fact that this is a trilogy.

I have some questions about the magic that causes the time-travel. I would love a bit more information of that and when Serene switched time periods I did find that it dragged a little.

BUT, the ending?? That was WILD and I have no idea where things go next. I look forward to unravelling the story and seeing what happens next.

Overall audience notes:
- Time travel romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: multiple open door
- Violence: med/high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, loss of parents (recounted), physical altercations, infidelity 

Tricia Levenseller books are some of my absolute favorite YA reads. She is an auto-buy author for me and once again, has hit it out of the park. I was a bit neutral after the first book in this duo, but this ending, AMAZING.

I loooooved Ziva. The social anxiety rep here feels so spot on and I could relate 1,000 different ways to how she was feeling talking to others, making friends, and being assertive when the time came. Ziva showed great character growth and the ability to listen and learn how to communicate with those she loved.

The ROMANCE. SO DANG SWEET. I adored Kellyn. I liked that they got a lot more time together and that there were legitimate relationship struggles they worked through. It was authentic and I liked how both parties learned to COMMUNICATE and lean on one another as a bond of trust deeply formed. Oh my gosh they were just the best y’all. And some well placed pet name use had me swoooooning.

There’s also a beautiful sister relationship here. Temra and Ziva have one of the tightest connections I have read about. And I liked they way they were always there for each other and also could say, I can do this myself, too. There was a great give and take and acknowledging ones’ place in the world.

Within all of this greatest was a solid plot of action and battles. I love that I felt like nothing overshadowed one plot aspect over the other. There was balance between the romance, the big plot, friendships and subtle quiet moments. I devoured this book and anxiously await Levenseller’s next great read.

 

I’M HOOKED.

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Oh wow. This book took over my entire day and I would like to thank it for that. It’s been a bit dramatic, but y’all. TRUST ME. Lean into the drama of this small town romance with a great dash of suspense and let it woo you like it did me.

I adored this romance. The dynamic is perfectly plotted. A small dash of enemies to lovers with character growth and communication for days. Hayes and Everly were so dang sweet on each other that you couldn’t help but cheer them on.

The family dynamics are loving and complicated. I like this whole group so much and look forward to the future relationships that are sprouting from this book.

The suspense portion had me in alllll the feels. I was anxious to know what would happen next and surprised by the final details. Even when I think I have it nailed there’s always a bit more that weaves it’s way out.

Overall audience notes:
- Romantic Suspense
- Language: some strong
- Romance: three brief open door
- Violence: med/high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: a father with mental health issues, kidnapping, PTSD, domestic abuse (recounted), assault, gun violence 

Eh, I didn't like Remi.
But it was mostly cute and I liked the fast pace.

OHHHHHHHMYGOSH.

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Hands down. One of the best duologies I have ever read. EVER.

I will do my best to maintain vagueness about how this all ends up.

OKAY SO. I LOVED THE ENDING. It gave me everything I was hoping for and more. Sebastian got this really solid story line that fit perfectly for him in this scenario. Bri got the story she deserved with her history unleashing all sorts of chaos (in the best way). I loved how she approached new things before her and also went after what she wanted most. Finn is my favorite (no surprise) and I loooove having him along for this ride. ALL GOOD THINGS.

I can’t tell y’all the amount of emotions I went through while reading. It was up, down, all around. Mostly a lot of ANGST. And begging the bookish universe to give me what I wanted. As soon as I saw those moments happening, the giddiness would not subside. Gahhhhh I LOVED IT.

This has been incredibly difficult not to breakdown every nuanced aspect of why this series is amazing.

SO PLEASE READ IT THEN I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: brief open door
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of life, physical and magical altercations, weaponry 

 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC.

FAIL.

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Oh how I wasted an evening reading this book.

This is marketed as a ROMANCE, so I fully expect my main couple to spend time together and have some flirty banter, maybe some angsty looks and be begging them to kiss. This second chance romance gave me none of that. Most of pages were spent dissecting other literature books (like Beowulf) for the main characters PhD program. I did not care. I still do not care.

There was also a lot of obvious page filler scenes. Gimmicky games like, two truths and a lie, scrabble, a quiz night. They didn’t add anything to the story because they barely even involved the love interest, Colin.

I had some other issues with other page filler things as well. And I never felt connected to the romance. I think I was exhausted from skimming over a lot of hoopla that anytime the couple actually had tie to talk (or actually, argue) I wasn’t feeling it.

I’m going to stop here, this one just did not work for me.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: some
- Romance: one open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: fat shaming, emotionally abusive father