husnaibrahim_'s Reviews (393)

Well at least we got a cute ending. We suffered through endless promises in the last chapter and I’m really hoping they keep them.

I can’t say I enjoyed reading this book at all. It was annoying and almost everyone was insufferable! Almost everything that was happening just managed to piss me off and when I was finally starting to enjoy the book, they just started with their bickering once again. 

I cannot for the life of me understand why it took them four years to reconcile over something so stupid. Honestly if I had been in Violet’s place, I would have moved on from James long ago because how is it that a man in of his age doesn’t understand that trust and communication is part of the foundation of a marriage. Yes I know he has daddy issues and needed to get through it but it was annoying how everyone thought Violet was the cause of their rift when all along it was actually his stubbornness that fueled it all!

However, I can not put the full blame on James. I was expecting Violet to be way more regal and way less immature than that. How is it that when every one of her schemes didn’t work out she somehow managed to come up with a very ridiculous and an even less likely one? And why were their friends all so involved in their marriage? I felt like they mostly just assumed that Violet was an insufferable wife, ruined the marriage and is refusing to reconcile when all along James had more blame to it than she did. This alone has made me realize that I would probably not enjoy the other books in the series at all especially not Jeremy’s. 

I did enjoy those moments we got to see their care and affection for one another but I think I would have preferred if we got a bit more look at it from their past too rather than just the tellings. I also think what kept me going with this book was all the frustration and the need to know what really caused their fall out. I can see why others might like this book but it’s certainly not for me.

I have never been this frustrated, confused and this intrigued while reading a book. I was trying so hard to understand the plot and where the book was going. I was so convinced that Aunty Bidemi was the mother and that Esohe was just being an insufferable mistress. Its probably because Aunty Bidemi put in more effort in caring for Remi’s welfare and Esohe always just gave up too easily when it came to the baby. 

The author also kept mentioning so many things that convinced me that some greater power was messing with them and the house but then it ended up not even doing much for the plot. She definitely also did a good job depicting how some Nigerian men are in relationships and how they view cheating. I think this book shows how what they think so little of can come back and bite them and their family back in the ass. 

I also strongly believe that a lot of the confusion in this book could have been avoided. Why didn’t Bambi just ask Esohe to clarify why she thinks it’s her baby in the first place? I’m also really hoping that his ex girlfriend doesn’t just take him back now that he has nowhere else to go because this man needs some serious character development when it comes to relationships.

I think I really enjoyed this book because it had me at the edge of my seat wanting to know who the mother really is and how Bambi was going to handle it. Plus the frustration that came with the miscommunication definitely added to it’s appeal. I’d definitely be reading this book again! 3.5⭐️

It was a good book but I don’t think I can say it was great. 

I really liked how the author highlights the negative impacts of failed marriages on kids and how it affects their views on relationships. I think it was realistic without going in too deep. 

However, I probably would have liked this book way more if they both just communicated properly! I do believe they communicated well but it wasn’t really enough. I can’t quite figure out why Retta didn’t let Duncan know who Chris was to her and why it was so important for her to attend this wedding. I feel this would have saved us some misunderstandings. 

I know she might have thought it wasn’t important and probably not necessary but it’s the little things that add up truly. A lot of things that happened after the ‘wedding’ could have been avoided if they BOTH communicated properly. I think it would have also been nice if we got to see more of Duncan and Retta’s personal lives outside of family issues.

There was so much I liked about this book and then there were also things I didn’t like.

Right from start, they form an instant connection. Which is good cause there’s no escape. I mean one is human and the other isn’t so It was refreshing seeing them kind of unlearn and relearn the things they knew about each other’s people. But there’re also things I didn’t like when it came to this. I felt we could have gone deeper into this whole different background thing but all focus was just on the surface like the whole different food and looks thing. 

I mean we know he finds her hideous and she thinks he looks like a dead eel. You’d think it’ll take them a while to be affectionate with each other because of that yet it was just too easy with them. They were always soo touchy with each other, so it was kind of hard to convince me that they were supposed to be repulsed by one another. It was like they were too perfect. They always had the perfect response, perfect communication, perfect emotions to situations, perfect in a way it was almost ridiculous. I mean when two people from different cultures and upbringing come together, there’s bound to be some miss understanding and such along the road, but they were loyal to a fault. 

Maybe it’s because they are both spares to the throne and have kind of come to terms with their roles in their respective kingdoms and all. It’s also possible they have each just decided to give their best to this marriage but I just don’t know. Something about it didn’t appeal to me.

Then there was the whole lifestyle change. Especially when it came to Ildiko. She was too perfect on that aspect. I mean she’s human(Kai). So how is it that she was ready to give up her whole life to sort of become full gauri?? She might not have directly said it but that was exactly what was done. She stopped wearing her own cultural clothes, hardly ate human food even tho she didn’t like some of the gauri food. And why is it that Brishen always complained about human food when she hardly ever said anything about his own food? It was annoying cause it felt like she was the only one adapting and making an effort.

I think it would have been better if there was a fusion of cultures when it came to them but there wasn’t. Don’t even get me started on the whole sleeping schedule thing. It was impractical because we know she’s not gauri so she’s going to need sunlight to thrive in the long run while he won’t. Yet she had to completely change her sleeping schedule to match his. This book had a good world building and would have been so good if both cultures were infused in a way. I mean I know it’s said that they can’t have children but you never know. If they eventually do have children, it would be powerful to see a fusion of the two lifestyles in some way. 

I did like her determination though. Even though I didn’t fully agree with it, it was nice to see her trying hard not to be left out. I also really liked the humour and the friendship that came with it. Even though it felt like they were more than friends but trying to pass it off as just friends, the transition to lovers was done nicely. Plus it was great that she wasn’t a virgin and kind of knew what she was doing too. I also liked that they both weren’t going to let his mother walk all over her. It was nice to see them being a united front. 

I’ll probably read the second book because I’m kind of looking forward to seeing how we continue from that chaotic ending. Plus I want to see what his mother is going to do now.

So many things about this book rubbed me the wrong way but the thing I hated the most was how almost everything Lydia thought about seemed to revolve around John. It was like he was all she seemed to think of. 

Honestly it would have made so much sense had it been that they were so in love and we could see and feel their love but it all seemed like a mere crush. Or even an infatuation at best. Every time she would mention how she wonders what he would think of her if he found out this and that about her family, it just made me laugh because I never even would have gotten the impression he truly liked her if he hadn’t kissed her.

Yes it might have been subtly shown that he had feelings for her but it was too subtle which was why I never really cared for him. What did they even truly know and like about each other?! And Catherine? She was just purely insufferable!

I understand that she always saw Lydia as somewhat of a competition. That is not really far fetched since they are siblings but almost everything she did was just annoying. First it was the whole thing with her brother (I’m so glad he never made an appearance in the book). Then it was just her constant berating of Lydia, the games she was playing with people’s lives and then her justification for all those things. I wish we got to see her have a proper final conversation with Lydia, then maybe I would somewhat pity her. And don’t even get me started on their parents who seemed to have little to no interest in their own kids.

What also confused me the most was how this book was supposed to have a lot to do with witches but we spent more than half the book without really seeing any of it. And then when she finally came to terms with what she was, we didn’t get to see it much in action. It would have been nice to see more of her using it for something that didn’t have to do with just John. 

Maybe I’m letting my dislike for John and Lydia together cloud my judgment and I’ll probably think differently later on. For now though, I simply found it frustrating, too slow yet so empty. I did however like her relationship with her younger sister. Plus her love for books was something I enjoyed reading about.

This was a nice and easy read. I really liked their chemistry and was really looking forward to seeing how Trav adjusts to his new role. 
I kind of wished the author did more of showing than telling in some parts especially after their reconciliation. 

It was really nice finally seeing the female mc being the boss instead of it being the other way around.

I also kind of felt the author might have intentionally not focused too much on the Trav’s military past in Afghanistan for a reason.

It took me so long to finish this book because I was scared of how Jude would react to the proposal at the ending but I’m glad I finally got the courage to go through with it. 

I really liked this book because I saw so much of Jude in myself. The way she’s always so unsure of herself, always downplays who she is and what she can achieve and definitely her sense of style. She’s so formal but in an endearing way and her character development was well written. Her friendship with Darcy and Brenna was so nice to see cause they all are so different from each other. 

I liked that her relationship with Aiden but I just felt it lacked some depth to it. It was obvious that they were attracted to each other from the beginning and their love and connection for the whole fairy folklore helped bring them closer to each other. However, I would have loved if we saw more of what Aiden really is. With him we got more of telling than showing. We learned about his past and what he plans to do with the family business but that’s about it. I think we didn’t get to see enough of who he really is. 

I always enjoy how great Nora depicts witches and celtic folklore so I definitely can’t wait to start Brenna’s book!