once this picked up it moved along really well. definitely trippy to read this in 2023. characters are developed despite there being so many of them. FMC being 19 and marrying a man who's 40 years older was ..... a Choice.

really fun writing (obviously). i love the dynamics between the trio and percy's narration continues to be one of the best things about the series. i understand the desire to be back in this universe and writing these characters, but honestly, rick, LET HIM TAKE A NAP. every time he mentioned how tired he was or how it hadn't been that long since the end of HoO, i was pulled out of the story. percy ily get behind me i'll protect you

cool premise i haven't heard of before and well-developed hero and heroine. but there was literally no reason for it to be that long.

soooooo mid

 sadie and julius are academic rivals at their school, where both of them fight for the top spot in literally everything. sadie tries hard to be the perfect student, friend and daughter, but in order to do this, she has to push down her own needs and feelings. the only real way she gets them out is by writing emails to the people who piss her off and never sending them. but when the emails get out, suddenly everything she's worked so hard for is gone. her classmates hate her, the principal doesn't like her anymore, and julius - who received more emails than anyone else - is suddenly in her life more than he ever was as they're forced to work together. i really enjoyed sadie's growth in this novel as she works on not being such a people pleaser. although she wasn't the most likeable character, she was very real and i think her progress was interesting to read about. her relationship with julius was a fun enemies to lovers, although by the end i didn't feel like there was enough to warrant how serious their feelings were. all the tension was very well executed and i was loving the back and forth between "i HATE you" and "wait i don't hate you at all." there was a bit much going on at times, especially with sadie's family, but it did all build up nicely. the embarrassing high school cringe is very present, too. 

i will never get over this beautiful book

saso ily

was so confused the whole time, retelling stuff wasn’t very clear, fantasy was thrown in so sporadically it didn’t work

valentina is working so hard this summer to be a better captain/soccer player/friend/person/sister/girlfriend? and break the cycle of generational trauma baby please go to therapy

really loved the ensemble cast and the romance was well-developed !! vale was a bit frustrating as a character sometimes (definitely not the most loveable) but it's all contextualized and she is 17 at the end of the day, so i always understood her even if i didn't love her. no knowledge of sports needed but i surprisingly enjoyed the soccer stuff. racquel is a great writer and you can see her growth from ophelia to this book. 

cutie pies! ending was very dramatic but whatever i can get behind it