I really love this story and I loved Keane and Lianae. Unfortunately, there were a lot of other subplots on this romance tied to the series that either took away from time alloted to the MCs and also some that didn’t feel resolved at all. Like, what about the stone? What about Kellen and Constance? What about Cameron and Cailin? So many unanswered questions and it’s a bit frustrating. 

Lael’s story did not disappoint. While she’s the strong FMC archetype, she didn’t fall into the ‘not like other girls’ trope in that she turned her nose up at other women. I really loved that her character had some dimension. Jaime was also great. I would love more of Cailin and Cameron’s story. This book did have some much darker murders/deaths compared to other books in the series so far. Some descriptions were gruesome and could be triggering, especially when involving children. 

I wouldn’t say this book is romantasy, but the bit of magic and storyline related to fate and destiny was perfect for me. I loved Aiden, and Lili was also a great FMC, torn without coming across as whiny. I was a bit disappointed by how abruptly the book seemed the end but the epilogue helped bring some of the closure I was looking for and I understand why it was done in that order. Overall, I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and how the other characters in the series I love will play a role in this larger plot of protecting the stone. 

This was mostly a novella, less than a hundred pages. And if I hadn’t read all the other books in the series I don’t think I would have enjoyed this one. It also seems mostly to be a connecting story to create a crossover with another series. Overall it was a quick and enjoyable read. 

Having loved Broc since the first book in the series I was really excited for his story and it didn’t disappoint! I really like Broc and Elizabeth together and it was also nice to see some recurring characters. While these books are standalones they are definitely more enjoyable as a series considering some of the clan dynamics might not have been as clear without having read the previous books, and in this story in particular they seemed key to part of the dilemma. 

I enjoyed this book more than I expected especially considering I didn’t like Colin in the last book. I still want more of Alison and Leith, over Meghan and Lyon. I also am excited for Broc’s story since it seemed to be left open. I wish the epilogue had addressed more of the main conflict at the end of the book. But overall this was an enjoyable read. 

This was a huge let down after really enjoying the first book in the series. Meghan and Lyon are both insufferable and so wrapped up in themselves. The whole theme of inner versus outer beauty felt so repetitive and was apparently so important to the MCs yet neither of them actually seemed to put that belief into practice much. I was more interested in Alison and Leith’s story, and if it wasn’t for this secondary couple I probably would have dnf’d the book. 

This was a nice collection of poetry. Personally, I didn’t understand some of the spacing/formatting choices. 

I read this collection right after reading Loose Woman and while I really enjoyed this collection I think reading the two together really showed how the authors poetry changed over time. The writing wasn’t completely different but it still somehow felt more mature. Knowing that this collection is published thirty years after her last is amazing.

This is the first I’ve read of this author and i look forward to reading more. The prose was amazing and in a lot of ways I appreciated that everything wasn’t romanticized in a pretty way but often times felt frank and straightforward.