What a sweetly adorable light and easy read. I wasn't expecting anything too deep or emotional and this scratched exactly the right itch in my brain and my heart for what I needed. Some things are a little interesting if you really decide delve deeply into them (re: Quill has never been outside of his home but for some reason he has a cell phone?) but if you suspend that disbelief it's still a gently loving story that left me mushy here on Valentine's Day when I finished it. Quill and Liam are both just the right amount of sweet that makes sense for their ages and I have to admit I'm impressed with the sheer amount of oomph Quill can have for being as sheltered as he has been for seventeen years!



Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Definitely!



 See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: I'll admit that Quill is perhaps one of the most difficult characters to create: he's a seventeen year old (human years) dryad, the only male dryad they know of (how does that work?) and has never left his apartment home except for once when he was two. To create such a character that is as sheltered as he's been, it's surprising the amount of culture he does know. At other times, it makes perfect sense that he'd have social anxiety (how many people does he interact with?). He stands up for himself, thankfully, especially with how he first meets Liam, our LI. Liam is sweet as well, though both he and Quill deserved just a little bit more development to their characters. They aren't quite as complex as I'd want them to be, but again, in terms of just a bit of light reading, they hit perfectly.


PLOT: We have a mix of (forbidden) strangers-to-friends-to-lovers as the romance plot, as well as a whodunit plot because something is happening to the magical garden that Quill and his family grow and protect (that is also the source of their 'immortality'). The interplay of these two subplots could have done well with some more developmental edits to ensure that we're intertwining both with an even pacing. In the end, Quill and Liam are forced to work together despite a rather big betrayal on Liam's part that ultimately results in some pretty spectacular repercussions, yet they still have a HEA again due to some magic. Again, if you dig too deeply it will fall a bit apart, but for that light reading, it's enjoyable.




EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

1:5/low. A great beach or vacation read. Very relaxing.



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 


75%. I would have wished for a little more of the build up to the final climactic moments, as well as really digging deep into the repercussions. As mentioned (without spoilers), what happens is quite a big deal that doesn't really get enough time to shine in the denouement and between Liam and Quill. That being said, at least it is an HEA, so I'm happy about that. I didn't go into this expecting anything high stakes and it met my expectations which made it enjoyable.