riniya's reviews
905 reviews

I am here for the VIBES.

Is this book a masterpiece? No, not at all. Is it entertaining? Decently yes. Is it what I expected? Also, not at all.

I am a huge fan of Christina Dodd and much of her older work. She has been a huge part of my reading life since I was 13 years old, a little young I know but I had an aunt who corrupted me. I think that this is the key reason why I finished this book in its entirety despite the obvious flaws.

This book tries to blend paranormal with well.. the normal in a way that's just disconnected. The book doesn't fully explain the paranormal aspects of the story and weaves it in at the oddest of times, while insisting that the rest of the world is as it should be. I would have loved if the book leaned more into the magical/mystical/gypsy aspect of the story more, threading it into the entire family and not just our FMC, Maarja. Even the explanation of Maarja's powers are lacking and they only seem to pop up at the most convenient of times, leaving you scratching your head as to how this plot point ties in.

The thriller aspect of the story was absolutely top tier. I loved not knowing what was happening next, especially as someone actively tries again and again to kill our main couple. The book keeps you guessing as to who the culprit could be, except even here I do find one plot hole that I found was easily overlooked until you start to think about it. Regardless, everything comes to a head in a beautiful way, getting wrapped up nice and neatly in a bow at the end of the book.

The romance aspect is a bit... strange. The book leans heavily into the magical threads when it comes to the relationship between Maarja and Dante. "Fate" being used as the excuse throughout the story as to how they ended up together, rushed as it was. They had no ties between them, that we knew of, and yet they ended up in the shower together and were intimate. Then Dante starts insisting that she is pregnant immediately the next day, once again claiming "Fate". This part did make me hesitate in continuing the story, but I pushed through and again,... the vibes were there. 

This book has so many flaws but I think that's kind of where the beauty lies. It was an entertaining read and after all isn't that the point of reading? To be entertained. I would liken this book to Fourth Wing, Twilight and even Fifty Shades of Grey in that its not the best literature, but it is engaging and had me laughing.

The narrator was amazing and her voice was so soothing. She even handled the male voices well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. 

I LOVE THAT THIS BOOK PICKED UP RIGHT WHERE THE FIRST ONE LEFT OFF, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE JAW DROPPING CLIFFHANGER THAT WE WERE LEFT WITH!

OVERALL THE BOOK WAS DECENT, IT WAS SUPER FAST PACED WHEN IT CAME TO THEIR RELATIONSHIPS ESPECIALLY ONCE MINA'S TRUE AGE WAS CONFIRMED. ALL BETS WERE OFF WITH THE GUYS AND THEY WANTED A TASTE OF THE GIRL THEY FELT DRAWN TO LOVE AND PROTECT. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THAT MINA FELT BETRAYED TO A DEGREE WITH THE MEN, I FELT LIKE THERE WAS JUST TOO MUCH GROVELING BETWEEN HER AND THE MEN. HONESTLY ONCE THE FIRST COUPLE OF MEN APOLOGIZED AND EXPLAINED, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT TO REST. I DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE WAS TOO MUCH OF A BETRAYAL ON THE MEN'S PART BUT TO EACH THEIR OWN.


THIS BOOK GIVES YOU SO MANY TWISTS MY HEAD WAS SPINNING, IN A GOOD WAY. I WILL ADMIT THAT AS EACH REVELATION CAME TO LIGHT, STUFF CLICKED INTO PLACE AND YOU GET AN UNDERSTANDING AS TO HOW MINA'S FAMILY CAME TO BE AS DEMENTED AND BROKEN AS THEY WERE.


THIS BOOK WAS ON THE SLOWER SIDE STORY WISE AS MOST OF THE BOOK WAS FOCUSED ON THEIR RELATIONSHIPS, BUT ONCE THE ACTION DID PICK UP IT HAD ME HOOKED. 

Thank you to the author for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest reviews. 

(Sorry it’s all in caps. There was an issue with copying/ pasting and I didn’t wanna retype it)

Couldn’t connect with the writing. Too repetitive 

I feel like the authors do a marvelous job at bringing the world to life. They dont dump information on you to the point that you feel overwhelmed. They do a great job at distributing the explainations throughout the book, which comes across feeling more natural as we learn about the world alongside our FMC, Fia.

However, I wasn’t a big fan of the way the characters drew Out providing information. Our FMC states time and time again that she will be willing to listen and possibly help their cause if they only explain what is going on to her, yet the other characters constantly disregard and ignore this, then get upset when she doesn’t want to help. They would then thrust her into a situation she was unprepared for and overwhelm her, trying to force her hand and get mad when she didn’t do what they want. It felt a bit... off to me how this was handled.

I loved the trial situation and the way that they had magic and non-magical tests for the contestents. Fia had odds stacked against her and she still managed to overcome them but not in a super-overpowered way.

Overall it was really decent of a book and I look forward to being able to read book three!