This was...well....a book. Over-dramatic towards the end. I'm curious enough to read the second book but I also recognize that this is a little campy.

There was a lot of potential for this story. Fake dating tropes are always my weakness but about halfway thru the book I lost interest. I blame the background characters. They took me out of the story and I felt it didn't add anything to the story when they were around. The romantic leads were fun but I didn't feel much when the happy ending was presented. I was entertained but I was also indifferent at the end.

Thank you to Netgally, HarperCollins Publishers & Avon for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

Edmund, can you just not?

My first read on this lazy first day of 2019 was Michael McDowell's brilliant The Elementals. Southern Gothic at its best. The horror is a slow build but the creepy sensation that something isn't right was there already on page one. McDowell is a genius and I look forward to exploring his other works this year.

The audio edition was so engrossing. I appreciate the different retellings of fairy tales scattered throughout the story. Connolly has created a timeless story and it's one of my favorite reads so far this year.

What the actually living hell, Rachel? That's how you ended the book?