omqchristi's Reviews (728)

i really didn't care about this book. there was only one moment that i liked, and it was when it was revealed that

will had actually gone to the lake that day 10 years ago

. that hit me like a brick.

this book takes place in the present, spread over a few weeks. and it also contains a 24 hour period from the past, 10 years ago.

yea... i really didn't find anything about the love story or characters that made me want to get invested in it. also, probably not a good sign that i thought this was gonna be YA.

i already have the audiobook for the other carley fortune book (one last summer), so i'll probably still read it. it got more attention, so i'm assuming that is a better story. we'll see though...

firstly, this was not as good as book one. secondly, how the hell is this going to be a five book series? regardless, while i'm still on the high from the ending of this book, i'm here for it. because yea, the ending of this book really pulled my rating up and recaptured my attention. the fact that this book took twice as long to read as book one just tells you how i felt about reading this book. if it weren't for my book club's deadline, i'm not sure if i would've finished this as fast.

random thoughts:
- The ending with Jack

turning out to be venin.

Definitely not expected, but i like the twist. here's my issue with it: I do not give a flying fuck about this man. I cannot bring myself to care about his intentions or his role in this story. even if his role will be more of a major one in the future, i still do not care at all.
- i'm very wishy washy on my thoughts regarding xaden. one second i like him, the next i'm just done and over with him. he's so infuriatingly inconsistent and secretive that i don't know if i can support him or their relationship right now. i really wanna see how people justify 1. him being so secretive, and 2. how

xaden's second signet makes him exactly like Dain. Dain was torn to shreds in that first part and I wished there was more backlash from Violet's part :/ At least Dain's getting a redemption.

- the ending with Xaden

becoming venin.

first off, huh? how, what, when, and why? maybe this will give an ACTUAL darker edge to Xaden that i haven't really seen. maybe it'll make him more interesting or consistent. i wonder if he's gonna keep more secrets. one can hope that things will change with his character.
- the ending with Violet's mother.

i didn't love her, but even i was sad :( even sadder when she said that she was finally gonna reunite with her love.

- i still love Tairn and Sgaeyl and their whole business, but i will also say that it made me sad to learn that

Sgaeyl hid Xaden's second signet from him. betrayal :(

- also the parts with the main group trying to figure out

wards and how to set them up?

BORING

ffs why is there no pronunciation guide? according to interviews and my bad hearing:
- Ridoc is "ri- dick" not "rye-dock"
- Tairn's name pronounced "tair-IN" instead of "tair-N" (maybe? hard to tell)
- Sgaeyl is not "scale" with a g, it's "s gale" with a slight pause
- Teine is "tine", rhymes with wine
- Navarre is "nuh-var"
- Basgiath is "bas-guy-uth"

more to come later (maybe)

there were some parts that i really like and smiled to myself, but this wasn't as swoon worthy as other romances i've read.

also, not a true enemies to lovers  since

they've both liked each other all along

.

i remember liking this book more than i actually did. i thought i really loved this book, but my previous review is pretty average on it. clearly starry eyes blurred my memories of this book. or maybe it was the audiobook.

this book was nice, the second half was way better than the first half.

i normally would be annoyed at the fact that it's so obvious who Alex is, but i love the hidden identities trope too much to question it at all. i just can't help but love this trope lmao.

i'm going to keep this book at 4 stars, but just know that it's bordering a 3!

okay... so i really love YA romances, way better than adult romances. the romantic plot part at least. i obviously won't be going to YA romances for any action, but nothing in adult romances could ever compare to how YA romances are done. just the essence of them are way better than adult ones.

this book was great. not a huge fan of the almost instant romance between the main characters. there relationship seemed very rushed, but i understand why considering this book happens over only one week, but i don't mind.

the Fox family seem great and so is their yearly tradition of assassin.

overall, great book :)

nice fun bonus chapters from Xaden's perspective :)

random tidbits that i liked

 

 
and my feelings on the main characters...

this was okay... i liked the movie better i think

so this was not what i expected. i expected a greek retelling of Hades and Persephone and what we got was:

- Olympus is just a big city, where Zeus controls the upper part, Hades controls the lower part, and Poseidon controls the docks and etc.
- The main 13 "gods" are actually titles given to people, like city council titles. For example, the appointed Demeter controls the food distribution through the city. also the roles of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades are the only roles that are inherited from parent to child... because *reasons* :)
- everyone is referred to as their titles. Because the titles are both roles in the city, and becomes the default name for the individual. basically, if Persephone had really married Zeus, everyone would start calling her Hera and only Hera, even though she already has a first and last name.
- the "gods" don't really have godly or magical powers, which would be fine, but some have remnants of it, like when Hermes can relay messages perfectly. it's a bit odd.
- Hades is not like any dark romance lead ever. he is not dark at all. The only thing dark about him are the rumors about him. there is once scene where he does something dark, but he immediately regrets it and it is not a pattern of behavior, nor is it hinted at throughout the book. Hades hates death... which sucks.
- Hades gets 3 dogs, and they are named cerberus (that's good), scylla (uhh...), and charybdis (ehh..)
- at least we still get the part of Persephone staying in Hades's domain during winter time lol

basically, this really isn't a greek retelling, it's just a story that is similar to the original, and it also happens to have the same names.

overall, i'd say this book is okay. the smut is just okay. the romance is not good. the plot is also just okay. the way Katee Robert tried to do the retelling is bad.

i think reading all of Taylor Jenkins Reid's books as well as "What Happens After Midnight" has finally reset my romance brain.

I wasn't going to read anymore of Emily Henry's books, but was convinced to give this one a try by a friend. 

I debated between 3 or 4 stars, and ended up at 3. simply because this was a good book, but not one i'll ever come back to or think that fondly love like my 4 or 5 stars are.