I liked this story - I did think all the themes were overt and the "oh....these people are people too?" element lacked some depth. But I did appreciate the character growth and continued commitment to family and community.

I had such high hopes for continuing this duology and I was unfortunately disappointed. The writing style was drastically different, in a way I didn't like, and there was SO MUCH packed into this second book but in a way that felt rushed and overdone.

I think historical fiction just isn't for me. No shade to the book and no issues with the content.

This was everything I want from a romantasy book. There was tension building, quality side characters, dialogue that felt realistic, vulnerability, twists, everything. 

Now I just get to be mad the next book isn't out.

I didn't love how this book was much more plugged into the influencer slang than the first book. I also thought that the MMC behavior was pretty baseline. I get that Sol was coming from a terrible place - I just didn't resonate with the "this man is so amazing because he listens to me" when that should be pretty table stakes. I also felt like the language around his autistic boys was educational in tone rather than us experiencing what their life was like throughout the book.

I did love the solidarity of friendship and family throughout the book, and I really appreciated how Sol handled everything with her daughters.