nicoelena_lvr's Reviews (858)

This had one of the best chapters I’ve read, it quenched a thirst I never realised I was craving. Such amazing storytelling I’m actually so mind blown. The way the pieces are falling into place, it’s so satisfying. The romance 🥹 LanaLogan my babies I will love them forever I just know. My soft Care Bears that just wanna love and be loved ugh.

The prologue chapter was the only interesting part about this book. I really thought it would be a hit since that hooked me really fast but it lost me quickly after that.

The plot was very predictable and boring. It being marketed as YA is misleading bc though yes it reads like a YA novel, there was content that was notttt YA. And it was the most unnecessary scene too like it just felt very odd to me. 

I liked the mmc a lot. He’s cute. The fmc was okay but I couldn’t find it in myself to really care about her? The chemistry and romance between them didn’t feel forced but it felt rushed and clumsy. There wasn’t any finesse to it. 

Overall just didn’t feel any connection to this book whatsoever. 

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC ♥︎

This book was definitely unique and not ur typical romance book. It portrays some real struggles and challenges faced in life. 

I couldn’t put the book down which was a big indicator that I was enjoying my time while reading. I read this in one sitting. 

The main characters were very flawed and had a lot of work to do regarding their relationship. I loved that they were complex and not good or bad but a heavy mix of both. 

It was depressing for a big majority of the book which was my only complaint. I still feel like there could have been a better or more detailed chunk of the book towards the end showing us the healthy progress in their relationship. I wish we could’ve seen them being happy for more than just the epilogue chapter. We were told it all happened and not shown which left me feeling a little bitter about reading and sticking with them thru their struggles but not really getting the fruit of all that patience. 

I’m really glad I picked this up though because it was unique in a way I rlly appreciated. 

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the ARC! ♥︎

This went by so fastttt I was flipping thru pages like no tmrw. The pacing the plot the action the romance the characters the emotions- everything! EVERYTHING about it felt like perfection. 

The way Logan is litch the sweetest soul and so competent in his job omfds such a turn on. Need this man in my bed pls and thankyewwww xxx

Lana my best girl my baby my precious soul I wanna hug her forevermore. She deserves all the good things in life and I wanna give it to her on a gold platter 😩

Also litch cried fat ugly tears the whole time reading chapter 10 plsss I couldn’t even see the page and had to take breaks just to see thru my tears 😭😭😭 

“Are you an Angel?” This quote will live rent free in my head forever 😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔 when it comes to children I will bawl my fucking eyes out for them. My soft spot and the quickest way to cut me at the knees, it’s never gna not be 😫😭❤️‍🩹

The ending gosh! I want to start the next one like RFN but I can’t bc my eyes are literally gna fall out of my head if I don’t get sleep (against my will 😾)

The gasp I just GUSPED at that last line! 

This is such a good intro to the series omg I’m already so in love with Lana and Logan. Their text threads are the cutest things ever 😩💗 they’re so sweet I just wanna put them in my pocket and protect them forever. 

Lana is THAT bitch. And the psychological aspect of this book is so yum I can’t get enoughhhh it’s litch satisfying a part of my brain that thrives on psychological thrillers. 

The writing is rlly easy to read and isn’t cringe at all. I’m lovingggg it. 

I’m litch dreading the big reveal 😭☹️ it’s gna hurt so bad. 

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It’s finally happening! 🤭

BR with bestie Char xx

Started off strong then slowly lose me halfway thru but I stayed for the fmc. There’s just something about the last name being Volkov that always screams winners to me and I’m proven right every time 🔐

The mmc (I’ve already forgotten his name) doesn’t deserve her, my Queen is too good for him. He annoyed me and was giving bland lmao the audacity. The guy would get an ego trip out of nowhere and then would try stifling the fmc. It happened too many times to ignore it. 

The BEST part about this book was illayana and her brothers. They litch carried this book on their backs. The banter and bickering had me creasing. I’m only gna continue the series for their books. 

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
Dimitri (illayanas dad) scares me 🌚 idk why he’s got a book but I’m too nosy to not read it. 

Also the characters in this book had some fucked up morals 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

When the BR with Buket finally makes it out the chat lmao

[ambulance noises blaring] 

[rushed on the stretcher]

[incoherent medical jargon being thrown about]

…fading in and out of consciousness…

*record scratch* 

*freeze frame*

You must be wondering how we got here, well let’s start from the beginning…

The second my fingers gained access to this book I cracked it open and HAD to read it because everyone I knew said this book was made for me and so I couldn’t resist I’m a simple girl. 

At first I was kinda underwhelmed?? But thought okay there has to be some reason there’s a craze over it so I’ll just be patient. Then came a turn in the story like fifty pages later and I was all yess we’re finally getting somewhere until it started to get boring again. It wasn’t until then that I realised the docu parts of the book kept taking me out of the story and I’d start daydreaming about other shit. Clace and Hoda had to scream at me to keep going, so persevere I did. And i can finally tell u that yes it was fucking WORTH IT. Idk what I would’ve done had I not stayed patient. 

It wasn’t until I think the third part of the book where I was RINSING thru the pages like it was water. I was thirsty for answers I didn’t get up once during the second half of the book for NOTHING not food not air nor water, this book became my sole sustenance for those last moments. I was so consumed with it I didn’t see anything but Kate and Heath. 

The plot twists, the mindfucks, the angst and tension kept me fed for decades to come. I truly don’t think you can replicate the feeling this book gives. You can look elsewhere but the characters you find will not compare. 

|| IMPORTANT ||

I wanted to clear smth up, there was NO cheating in this book between the characters. Shit happens but there’s a really fine line. Inferences and opinions can be made however anyone sees fit but factually speaking there isn’t any cheating. I went into it with the misconception that there is and it kinda made me a little ?? bc the whole time was bracing myself only for it to not happen. Left me confused and a lot annoyed over the unnecessary stress. 

The characters:

Kate — she’s such a passionate person. Whatever she puts her mind to she does it and sees it thru. I loved how flawed her character was and how her complexities were depicted. She was frustrating as fuck. She was endearing. She was cruel and a bitch. She was sweet and vulnerable. It’s these intricacies and nuances that I value in any written character. Her every facet added to her character and it made me love her a little more for it. 

Heath — him I couldn’t get a read on for the life of me. To be very honest he’s still a mystery. He was an open book so easy to read for the first half of the book and then after it felt like I didn’t even know who he was. There was no safety in his character which was a new.. uncomfortable feeling for me.

||| SPOILERS AHEAD ||| ur girl needs to scream about the absolute fuckery she just experienced 😝🔫

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Imma be so real the main reason it got interesting was bc the drama ramped up so high and I was living for it. 

When they became celebrities and started drifting apart mentally and emotionally? 😮‍💨 that was masochistic type shit. Idk why I didn’t just stop there (we all know why) but I kept reading. It was like watching a car skid on ice and slam into the nearest tree. You simply cannot look away. 

When he said fuck u to Bella and took Kat to the hospital carrying her bridal style (which was so hot btw) I felt such satisfaction. That bitch. Didn’t like her from day one and still don’t lmao. Never gna get over the shit she’s pulled on Kat especially to do with her physical and mental health. I’m a bitter bitch to the very end. 

The actual funny thing is that I called Bella and Heath’s revenge fuck so early in the book but clace and hoda gaslit me into thinking i was off my rocker and it wasn’t gna happen, THOSE BITCHES (I’m glad they did it tho bc it made the betrayal that much worse and a shock but fuckkkk 😭) 

at that point I felt numb bc like what the fuck?? It was crazy. I know it’s not cheating and shit but that betrayal CUT DEEP. Like I gasped so hard I almost vacuumed the air outta my room. 

I’m so glad Kat dumped him and fell off the face of the planet. Served them right, those rats. 

However, I feel like it kinda got swept under the rug after?? It was weird. It’s not the only time things got swept to the side too and it irks me to this day. 

That betrayal has nothing on/doesn’t cut as deep as the time we find out Bella’s preggo with HEATHS FUCKING BABY. 

That one shredded me 

flayed me 

shattered me. 

It felt so fucking unnecessary. And while Kat was right fucking there?? He went to Bella while she was skating with him? After she came BACK???? Unacceptable. I wanted to murder Heath. Scream at him. Shake him so hard his bones rattle. It was the most shocking shit in the book- it HURT to see him dote on another woman 😭😭😭😭 no bc what the fuck 

It was supposed to be Shaw and Rocha forever. They wasted so much fucking time. I’m so frustrated with both of them. Argh. 

**edit — after time away from this fucking book, I can finally appreciate what Fargo was doing by trying to give everyone a happy ending in her own fucked up way, like Kat not having to compromise on birthing a child, Heath getting to fulfil his by having a kid with Bella, Kat and Heath still managing to be together and get the things they want from life. It’s fucked up but I see the bigger picture (DOESNT MEAN I HAVE TO FUCKING LIKE IT UGH) im sooo pettyyyy I will hold this against Heath forever. **

It came to a point when I even began to accept that they wouldn’t be together in the romantic sense. I almost made peace with that (I was still soooo salty about it and I’m never gna deny it) I cussed hoda and clace out tho bc I’m never forgiving them for the shit they put me thru. 

AND THEN WHEN HE STARTED CHOKING ON HIS BLOOD AND DROPPED TO THE ICE???? I FUCKING STARTED HYPERVENTILATING LIKE FOR REAL I THOUGHT HE DIED DEAD 😭😭😭 EVERYONE STARTED BEHAVING LIKE HE WAS PAST TENSE AND THAT FUCKED ME UP SO BAD 🤚 I was so scared.

This brings us right back to the present, the ambulance, the fading in and out = this book was reaching its last moments with me. I was SO ready to give this book one star lmao. I was locked and loaded. Safety off. My finger hovering above the one star til the second I read that he was breathing and he’d be okay. The relief I felt 😫 ! nothing in this world I can even compare it to. WAS ABOUT TO PASS OUT MYSELF FROM HOLDING MY BREATH FOR WHAT FELT LIKE PAGES AND PAGES. 

There was so much to process here. Like what the fuck is the mafia doing in this 😭 and franny that backstabbing grimy smelly bitch!! And Dimitri? I just knowwww he stinks of piss and sprays cologne on his sweaty pits. 

AND SHEILA?? That last betrayal fucked me uppppp. I did not think she would do it. It didn’t even come to my mind that she would be behind that leak or that she’s the one that made Heath leave. So much wasted time 😫 she broke them apart and it killed me. Heath, my baby Heath just wanted to be better for Kat and she drove him away I wanna scrrrrrreeeeeeeeammmm. 

 

Also Lee? That rat bastard 👺 didn’t expect him to DIE tho. That was a shock. *Good riddance* who said that 🌝

Garrett the only green flag 😭 poor guy got shit on by everyone. I just wanna hug him. The most self aware sweet soul in the whole book 😫💗🫂

||| Spoilers Over |||

The writing:

Okay so here’s where I get stuck. The writing was so mid. If it wasn’t for the characters themselves and plot I would’ve been bored outta my mind. The writing was dry. 

The docu style shit bored me to tears. I would be so invested and then turn the page only to find the interviews like WHAT IS IT NOW ARGH?! I started daydreaming whenever it came up lmao 😭 I did not care until at least the halfway mark. It wasn’t until then that I started to actually give a shit about who was talking. 

The story drove a lot of the book but when it came to the important, plot twists and emotional scenes there wasn’t much detail?? Idk it felt like everything was happening to these characters, we were being told and not shown in any detail. 

For example: there would be a betrayal and Kat would just feel betrayed but the emotions would be described very briefly and not expanded on. It felt very rushed sometimes. 

I also hateeeee the time jumps. I will NEVER appreciate having chunks of time just missing. It feels like a copout and messy work. It ruins the momentum and detaches me from the characters which doesn’t help. It’s one of the reasons Heath isn’t as much of a loved character by me. 

Somehow all these flaws still can’t make me give this any lower than a four and half star? It’s a confusing position to be in right? Like u hate so much about it but it still gets a high rating what the fuck? . . . Yeah, I’m thinking the same thing! 

But I can also explain that too, it’s frustrating, pisses you off, rlly digs in on ur last nerve, right? well, that’s the whole point. The author did her job phenomenally in that department. She MEANT to make us hate and question and doubt the characters. They’re not supposed to be flawless cookie cutter 2D cartoons, they’re complex and hard to digest but that’s literally my bread and butter. I thrive on this shit. I love seeing the raw unfiltered messy toxic side to characters. It’s makes them human. It makes them real and gives them a life outside of the book where I can be like yeah I could totally see so and so doing or saying this in any situation. 

So as much as I hate a lot of the flaws, it’s what makes this book unique and refreshing. Not the docu style or the rags to riches story. It’s their reactions to the things that happened to them which made this a unique experience for me. 

TL;DR

This book hurt in strange ways and left me wanting while also satisfying my curiosity but just on the surface. A lot of shit happens that didn’t go the way I wanted it to. Any time I created expectations they were DEMOLISHED and then were never really built back up with the right foundations? Can u tell how confused this book made me? It’s so hard to articulate the effect this book had on me. 

But bc it made me cry die sob laugh and scream in both frustration and agony it’s getting the almost five star treatment. The way this fucked me up mentally?! I still think about this book wanting to cry tears of frustration daily 😝🔫 

ೃ⁀➷ 2.5 stars *ੈ✩‧₊˚

The first half was good and kept me interested but then it quickly came to a point where certain elements felt overused and redundant. It took away from the story and enjoyment rather than adding to it. 

The best parts about this book would’ve been that she’s 29 and the teacher x student trope but even that felt like it happened in name only. There was hardly any teaching going on and the fmc behaved like she was 20. And the academy setting was all over the place. There wasn’t any clear ground or setting which felt messy. 

The villain felt very cartoonish and cliche. It was also a little too predictable for me. Just overall underwhelming. I’m disappointed because I really had such amazing expectations from this. 

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC ♥︎

𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲:
thanku Bee for BR-ing this with me 😭 so glad I had u to vent about this with

Every ZA chapter healed and destroyed me. I cried, I laughed, I swooned and mooned. These lot had me sweating from anxiousness one second to sweating thru my pants gripping my sheets the next. Nothing in this world has given me the same high since ZA and I’ll forever chase that feeling. Bluelance and torydarius are home to me ︎♥︎

*hysterically laughing bc if I don’t I’ll cry die sob rip my heart from my chest and beat the floor with my fists*