Book Review: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Kelley Armstrong for the eARC in exchange for a review of this book.

I have this memory. When I was a kid, I used to take dance classes. Class would end and I'd go out to the lobby area, where my Dad was sitting with a book. I'd give him the sticker I got at the end of my class and he'd put it on his bookmark, which was covered with stickers from me and my little sister. I'd stare at the covers of the books he read, wanting to know what they were about, because my Dad liked to read horror novels. The one I remember specifically is one called Dead Voices. If you look it up, the cover art is different shades of green, with people coming out of some water in various states of decay, their eyes glowing and focused on you as you stare right back. It's an image that has stuck with me for decades, literally. Because at one point in this book, Sam sees something coming out of the water and my mind filled in the rest with that cover art image and being a child and starting to understand fearing the things you can't see in the dark. And I sat there with this book in my hands and thought, whelp, I don't need sleep, right?

I've read so many Kelley Armstrong books. Not ALL of them, but it is a goal of mine to read as many of them as I can find. I love her A Rip Through Time series, which just released it's fourth book last week. I've read the Cainsville series and the A Stitch in Time series. I even have several Rockton novels that I mean to start once I finish last week's new release and I own nearly every Women of the Otherworld book out there. So when I saw that Armstrong was releasing one-off horror novels, I eagerly got my copies and sat down to read. I liked Hemlock Island for the most part, but there were so many little things that just irked me and I couldn't let them go, so LIKE is all I can say for that book. I just finished I'll be Waiting, and it actually took me a couple of months to finally finish it, which says a lot about my general attitude towards it. Suffice to say, I loved the writing and the general premise of each book, but blast it, those villain reveals just would not stick the landing for me. I wanted to be floored and creeped out and then turn around and give the book to my Dad, because he's where my fascination with the horror genre came from.

I'll be buying a copy of THIS BOOK for my Dad, no doubt about it.

I do have this pre-ordered. It's one of those books that I saw was an upcoming release from one of my favorite authors and just automatically added it to my cart. All the while eyeing it with some trepidation because of my experience with the last two horror novels I've read from Armstrong. I had my fingers crossed and maybe even held my breath a little as I started reading this book. I finished it in less than a day (I did end up falling asleep somewhere in those 24 hours since I opened this book yesterday, where I dreamed of waterlogged people grabbing my feet from under the bed, always a good sign that a book has gotten under my skin.) I devoured the first quarter of the book before starting dinner for my kids and then spent most of the night reading while feeding my infant a bottle and rocking him to sleep.

This book grabbed me from the start. It follows Sam, a woman who thanks to the stipulations set forth in her grandfather's will, has to stay at the lakefront cottage from her childhood. It's a place she hasn't set foot near in almost 14 years, since the last time she was there she witnessed her beloved father burying the body of a boy her age and then subsequently killed himself. Her grandfather didn't believe the story she told and now, in order to inherit the land the cottages sit on, she has to spend a month in her parents' old cabin. It's one last way to stick it to Sam that she had to be wrong, forcing her to confront the trauma of her past in order to move forward with the money she desperately needs by inheriting the property.

It's the kind of plot that is in a lot of horror stories out there right now. The main character has to go back to their childhood home and deal with the demons in their past that haunt them both literally and figuratively, in an old, sometimes derelict property. I'm sure it's the basis of several stories soon to be released this year. What sets this one apart is the background to the property. Turns out, the area around Payne's Hollow, named after Sam's family, has been riddled with disappearances going back for at least a century. Sam has always heard things out in the woods and had grown up knowing to never set foot in the trees or enter the water after dark. Nothing to question about what is seemingly good safety advice. Except over the course of the book, Sam starts to realize there is more than a little warning about the trees and the water. Because something wanders the land the Payne family has held onto for centuries, and it has now set it's focus completely on Sam. The why of it all, is what makes this book work, but for spoiler purposes, you have to read it to find out the reveal. I got to the ending and then went back and reread passages that stood out to me, highlighting how that reveal not only works but just gives the book that oomph that makes it stick in your head, and yes, finally, I LOVE a horror novel from my favorite author. Third time's the charm.

The writing is concise, revealing suspenseful tidbits in due time, enough to keep the reader guessing and turning the pages, needing to find out what happens next. Because I lied, I DO need sleep, but I had to keep reading this book, I couldn't just put it down, look what just happened, 5 more pages, 10 more pages, oh look an hour has passed by, fine, I almost dropped my phone because I'm exhausted, I yield to the need for sleep and the obvious bloodshot eyes I see in the mirror. And then as soon as I woke up, I continued reading in between feeding my family and myself, and doing my utmost to keep my toddler entertained while my infant watches us all in wonder.

I respected Sam as a character. She does her best to manage what she can, working a menial job while living in a rundown apartment, so all her money can go to keeping her mom comfortable in a home that can take care of her thanks to an onset of early dementia. Sam is barely keeping her head afloat and in the back of her mind is the trauma of what she witnessed her dad doing and now the deal she has to suffer through because of her a** of a grandfather had me squarely in her corner. I believe in hard work and determination, and people finally getting what they deserve and I wanted all of that for Sam and even her aunt Gail, who went with her niece to the cabin to keep her company because she didn't want Sam to suffer alone. I loved Josie, the daughter of the Sheriff and a deputy in her own right, who tried her hardest to make Sam feel welcome, providing the right presence to keep Sam focused as more and more gets revealed in the story. I even came to like Ben, the caretaker of the property, who has his own agenda to deal with concerning his connection to the Payne family.

I didn't get the connection from just the title to the classic Irving story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I should have, but it is placed front and center within the first few chapters, and I loved how Armstrong takes pieces of that story to make something that much more twisted in terms of familial secrets and monsters that go bump in the night. As I've already said, I finished this fast, which is a plus for me. And even though it goes fast, the book is not lacking in any way. I had questions and suspicions, and everything was answered and revealed in ways that made me smile because yes, that is so wow. I'll be reading this again when it's released later this year. I want to rave about more, but I'm trying really hard not to spoil the book. I usually read the endings to a lot of books I start reading but I managed to contain myself this time, and I did not regret it. I want other readers to share that same experience.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I loved this book. Really and truly, just loved this book. Everything worked, the writing, the characters, the reveals, the ending. When I get my hardcover, it will live on a shelf next to my other favorite stories, where I'll pull it out whenever I'm in the mood to be just a little scared. Read if you like T. Kingfisher's A House with Good Bones. I'm going to go read that one again this weekend.

Book Review: Zomromcom by Olivia Dade

My thanks to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Olivia Dade for the eARC in exchange for review of this book.

When I first opened this book and started reading, my first overwhelming thought was simply this, "Olivia Dade, how I've missed you!"

Seriously, the banter, the quips, the overall feeling just left me smiling because I've read a lot of books by Olivia Dade, so by now when I get to read her books, I know what I'm going to find. It's the reason I keep going back and reading more books by Olivia Dade. These books end up almost comfort reads, the kind of books that I randomly think, yes, I'm going to read that again RIGHT NOW, because it fits the mood I'm in. I've been looking forward to Zomromcom since the book was announced and for me, it did not disappoint.

Zomromcom is about Edie Brandstrup, who lives in the Containment Zone, which means she lives near a compound that keeps a horde of zombies from attacking the general public. These zombies were created by the government, and there are a lot of protocols in place to keep the people safe from another breach. The book opens when Edie is just returning home for the day to find a zombie on its way to attacking her neighbor. She runs to intervene and is surprised when the man she thought was a little dim not only manages to save them both, but also turns out to be a vampire. Max wants to keep Evie safe in the shelter he's created in his home but Edie is the type of person to go out of her way to save other people, which means diving headfirst into danger to warn their neighbors before it's too late and the zombies destroy everything that gets in their way.

The plot is straightforward, what is given in the synopsis is exactly what we get. I respect that because nothing bugs me more than starting a book based on a synopsis that turns out completely different than what I wanted to find. Edie has a goal, save as many people as possible. Max's goal is to keep Edie safe. The government created zombies to be weapons, but they carried their development too far and lost control of their creations which resulted in a massacre when the zombies got loose twenty years before the start of this book. When the zombies needed to be contained, supernatural creatures came out of hiding to help drive back the horde and save the world. Which is how vampires, witches, telepaths, fae, trolls and other manner of creatures are now a part of the makeup of this world.

And this world is interesting. It goes without saying that zombies are a large part of practically everything nowadays. There are movies, shows and books dedicated to zombies and the people who have to deal with a world in which zombies exist. As a result, for a new "zombie" book to stand out, it needs to do enough to stand apart from what has come before and Dade's book manages to make enough tweaks that made me invested in the story but also left me with so many questions, questions I hope will be answered in sequels to this book (yes, sequels, plural, because I think there is enough here to at least be a trilogy, if things can work out that way). The motivations behind the creation of zombies and the reasonings behind their apparent escape are the points that drive this book, and for me there was not a dull moment in this story. It moves fast because Edie and Max have a countdown, they have to stop the zombies and warn the world in a matter of days. Even when the characters had to take some time to rest and heal, it did not feel like a slog to get through the book. In fact, by the time the ending hit, I knew it was going to leave me wishing for more pages. The book just worked for me in keeping my attention, making me smile and laugh at Edie and Max bickering, and making me care for every character that they meet along the way.

The best way in my mind to describe this is that trope, how does it go? The grumpy/sunshine trope. Edie and Max fit that perfectly, so if you're familiar with romance novels, that is what you can expect. The characters are introduced with ease, allowing readers to learn a lot about Edie and Max with just a few pages of their being in the same vicinity as each other. What I enjoy about Dade's books is the quick wit shown in the dialogue. The pace of the book goes quick, mainly thanks to the rapid back and forth between Edie and Max. Even the side characters are given enough development that I hope we get to see more of them in the next installment. Nothing felt superfluous, or out of place. Dade even adds in a fun tidbit, which is that Max's first name is Gaston, which automatically makes Edie think of the Disney villain and the song that goes with that character. And because Edie is that type of person, she makes up so many iterations of that song to bug the heck out of Max that it is a beauty to behold, laughing the whole time while managing to sing along with her because come on, almost everyone knows that song.

Honestly, I want to go back and read this again. I want to talk about this book with people who like zombie movies and romances. I respect the fact that Dade took a chance and tried something new with a supernatural romance. If there are more books by Dade like this one, I need to find them asap.

Rating: 9.5 Stars on my ratings scale. Why not 10? Because it just ended and I want more already. And I have no idea when I'll be able to hear Edie sing another "Gaston" song to Max, which is a travesty, if I do say so myself. Olivia Dade, I salute your "Gaston" songs by the way. If there was ever the perfect villain song to incorporate into your work, you chose the best one by far.

Book Review: Leo and the Crazy Genre Hitel by Tsvi Jolles

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for eARC in exchange for a review.

There are things I loved about this book. After reading the first book, I liked the development of Leo into being more confident about himself. Book 1 had Leo more likely to stay introverted and to dwell on what other people thought about him to the point where he almost kept himself from trying new things. In this book, Leo takes chances and goes to work at a hotel, rolling with the problems that come up with guests and his coworkers without losing his stride too much.

The plot was interesting, the idea that the hotel that Leo works at for the summer sometimes plays refuge for book characters that are fleeing the bad endings of their stories. However, not enough was given of this interesting idea. The book, as in Leo's story, had two book characters as guests at the Magnolia Hotel, and that was it. There was not enough explanation for how they managed to get out of their books to enter Leo's world. There was no information about how book characters knew to go to the Magnolia hotel to begin with.

The other half of the story was Leo trying to save the Magnolia Hotel from being torn down. Again, a plot that could have been a great way to show how Leo has matured, to show how he uses his interest in books to connect with people and draw more attention to the hotel but the main part of this storyline involved some methods that had me scratching my head. I don't want to spoil the story for future readers but I will say that the twist almost seems to come out of nowhere. It didn't meld enough for me to feel satisfied with the ending.

In terms of characters, I feel like readers weren't given enough time with some to have their connections with Leo feel genuine. Leo's best friend Shane, from book 1, is mentioned a couple of times but is never seen on the page, even in a text message, which makes no sense to me in an age where teens have the whole world at their fingertips with just a phone at their disposal. Missy Carter, who is in charge of the book club mentioned in the synopsis, is seen hanging around but is largely missing until Leo really needs her to help him save the hotel. Mr. Jenkins returns from book 1 but after helping Leo figure out a breakfast problem for the hotel, he whisks Leo's Mom, María, off to a vacation in New Orleans. It kind of felt like the characters needed to be written out for Leo to have to fix everything on his own. Also, honestly, it did not sit well with me that an almost 14-year-old was left alone for a week while his parent went on a vacation, a deserved break or not, as Leo claimed it was for his mom.

Pacing was a little weird at times. Leo would talk about Missy as if he knew quirks about her, predicting how she'd react to something happening on the page, and I was left thinking how does Leo know this? Did I miss it somewhere because Missy was literally missing for a large part of the story. Things like this left a disjointed feeling between points of the story.

In the end, I feel like this book had too many ideas trying to take center stage. I wanted more downtime with Leo learning the ins and outs of the Magnolia Hotel and its inhabitants. I wanted more time with runaway book characters and Leo helping them to take charge of their fates and forcing their authors to make their stories change for the better. If there is another book for Leo, I hope it takes the time to sit with Leo like book 1 did, so readers have a chance to see his growth, rather than being kept at an arm's distance while he runs around trying to save the world.

Book Review: The Shattered King by Charlie N. Holmberg

My thanks to Netgalley, 47North, and Charlie N. Holmberg for the ARC in exchange for a review. 

I will preface this by saying I remember reading Holmberg's Paper Magician series and really liking book 1, being disappointed by book 2, and not much about book 3. In fact, I haven't sat down and read any Holmberg books in quite some time. Don't get me wrong, I've bought nearly ALL of them over the last few years. I just haven't read them.

This book has changed my mind.

I'm actually a little grateful because now I have this whole list of books to start making my way through and that's great because something will have to distract me while I impatiently wait for news of the next book.  (My guess is duology, based on what I've seen but I could see this working as a series, focusing on other members of Nym's family, maybe. Either way, in my search I signed up for Holmberg's newsletter and found out about a kickstarter coming up this summer, which I've set to notify me on launch when it goes live.)

The plot is somewhat straightforward, exactly as given in the synopsis. Nym Tallowax is a healer, the eldest of her siblings and their main source of income, who has spent the last 8 years keeping her family together and afloat since the loss of their parents. A letter summons her to the castle and Nym is forced into trying to do what others have not managed and heal the broken and ailing second born son of the king. Nym managed to make one small fix and is now being forced into serving the prince as his personal healer, leaving her family to fend for themselves. All the while, the country is drafting men in preparation for a possible war.

In terms of the story itself, I still have so many questions, but that's a good thing because it is practically guaranteed that I will be back for book 2. In fact, I have this book added to a list of physical books to preorder when I have the means to do so, that way this book can live on a shelf with other favorite fantasies. I was intrigued from the start with the idea of craftlock, which is what Nym's healing is referred to as, with mentions of two other specialties being mindreading and soulbinding. Craftlock itself is meant to be illegal in Cansere, Nym's home, and is punishable by death, but healing is allowed because the queen is desperately trying to find someone to fix her son.

I wanted to know more about the way her magic worked and I wanted Nym to get back to her family after feeling the unfairness of not only having her eldest brother drafted to the army but then essentially being forced to report to the royal family to see if she could heal Prince Renn. It was such a great hook for me, playing on the heartstrings and making me angry for a young woman who is just trying her hardest to live her life the best she can with what she has.

Add in a mysterious illness keeping the prince from ever truly being whole and it's all a well-oiled storyline. The writing keeps the story flowing smoothly, giving enough information to keep the reader guessing. Some of my theories didn't pan out, others did, and I was happy with each reveal and development. Nym's point of view never gets tiresome, despite how long the first quarter of the story felt (there is only so much inhumane treatment of our lead I can take before it wears on my heart too much).

In terms of characters, Nym is a well-rounded character, strong, stubborn and intelligent enough to reason her way through most things that come at her. I appreciated her backstory, the tragedy that has shaped her, and felt particular heartbreaks were treated with respect enough that it felt natural in the reveals and the progression of the story. Nothing seemed too much or out of place, although her stubbornness could be a little frustrating but it's par for the course of a story like this. The main character can't be too perfect, after all.

The book's second lead, Prince Renn, started out as what one would expect from a member of royalty, spoiled and demanding, until Nym arrives to set him straight. In fact, he kind of reminded me of Colin from A Secret Garden, as a recluse in the castle with a mysterious ailment who eventually, with the influence of friends, gains physical strength and independence. The two of them, Nym and Renn, paired together were the right balance for a slow-burn romance that will hopefully be more realized in the next installment. I liked how it was shown that Renn was changing for the better, with the things he changed for Nym in the castle, and the way he pushed back against his overbearing mother and stood up to his bullying big brother. Changes like this work best with actions and every change in Renn felt well-earned.

The side characters are all mostly well-developed, with the main focus being on Nym's family and Renn's family, including his guards, with enough detail to make their pains and struggles come across as losses to the reader. They may not have been on the page the majority of the time, but I do feel like we got to know them all well enough, which shows Holmberg's talent as a writer.

This makes me want to point out the magic system. I read the Acknowledgements page and thought it was a brilliant idea for Holmberg to set a challenge to create a magic system that seemed familiar and yet wholly unique to the story. I remember being similarly impressed with the magic in The Paper Magician series (that paper heart is something I can still remember this many years later), so it did not surprise me that one of this book's strongest assets is it's magic system. The idea of the lumie was just complex enough to keep readers engaged and the fact that each person's lumis has a different form made it easy to see just how imaginative Holmberg has managed to make this story. There have been similar ideas done before, I'm sure, but this stands apart for me, and as a result, it makes me that much more determined to read more books from Holmberg in the near future. 

The setting is a little vague, enough for readers to fill in as the story goes on. We know the story takes place in Cansere, and that the neighboring kingdom, Sesta, has decided to start attacking the country's borders. There have been attempts to talk to the leader of Sesta, but nothing has come forth from that. As a result, Cansere has started drafting men into their army in preparation to defend themselves. The talks of war are circling around the castle, mentioned by other characters as a threat always in the backs of their minds, just out of arm's reach in a way. By the end, it culminates in a cliffhanger that makes me hope that book 2 was a little closer to being published than I think it is.

If I had to say there was anything weak about the book, I might say the pacing was too vague in the sense that I lost track of how much time Nym had been in the castle. There are mentions to changes in seasons and a certain number of weeks having gone by, but it wasn't enough to keep the timeline straight. The story focuses a lot on the day to day of Nym trying over and over to make enough healing changes to Renn, and how Renn uses those improvements to change himself by learning to fight and going out of the castle to explore, that it all kind of blends together until something comes up, usually a social event to show the characters in a different setting and around new people. Not really a disadvantage to the story, but it couldn't hurt to have some more specifics thrown in now and then. When the conflict reared up and set the last few pieces of the story in motion, I remembered the line about Spring, the season, when it was brought up but not enough to really feel the tension of the unexpected coming sooner than the characters thought it would happen. It was what I knew was coming, the WAY it happened was jarring, but I didn't remember what time of year they were in, only that it was still snowing outside, and that was about it.

In the end, this book was exactly what I wanted to read, a fantasy with a slow burn romance and a new and unique magic structure. I greatly enjoyed the experience and plan to read the book again when I have the chance. Read this book if you want something like V.E. Schwab and Diana Wynne Jones, mixed together.

Rating: I'm making this 10 Stars because I'm hoping the next one is everything I want to finish the story, with a resolution that makes me feel like wow, okay, let's go back to the beginning and read it again, and then I lose track of how many times I've read these books in the years to come. Fingers crossed.

Book Review: What Happens in Amsterdam by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Originally Written: May 14, 2025
 

I liked it but I didn't love it. It is kind of hard to put into words what kept me from falling in love with this book. It had two cute leads, supportive side characters and whatnot but it didn't knock it out of the park for me.

I think my main gripe is that the relationship depended a lot on the falling in love when they were teenagers thing. I get it, first loves are eternal, you never forget them. I speak from experience, I've been with mine since I was fifteen (don't ask how old I am, suffice to say we've had decades together). BUT, if the present day romance was going to call back like it did to make the whole "second chance romance" trope work, I think readers needed to see those scenes in present tense. Dani told the reader about what she remembered about Wouter first time around and I just wanted to see all of that for myself. Having Dani remember different things just kept it at a distance which left me feeling a little eh about their love story.

I also feel like readers don't have a chance to really get to know Wouter outside of his relationship with Dani. He's close to his family, he loves his home? What else? Every moment with him was focused on his relation to Dani, whereas Dani interacted with Iulia, her parents, her sister, and countless other people. So we know alot about Dani, but only know Wouter as an extension of her almost, which doesn't help sell the love story.

Another thing is that at some points it felt a little like we were stuck in neutral, waiting for more to happen. Dani is trying to find a job, doesn't want to admit she's in love with the man she married, is tired of lying to people, tired of how she doesn't feel like she measures up to some ideal miracle story, lather, rinse, repeat. By the time everything blows up, because that's always the way it goes in these stories, I was just a little *shrugs shoulders* about it all.

I will say I was happy to see our previous happy couple, Chandler and Finn, still going strong on a vacation in Amsterdam. Theirs was the romance I was waiting to see in a different form between Dani and Wouter.

The story was sweet. I appreciated the focus on Dani's mental health and how that was shaped and what it meant for her to get the balance she needed. It just wasn't enough to make me love her character. It bums me out, when all is said and done.

Rating: 7.5 Stars

Book Review: I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong

Originally Written: May 13, 2025
 

It was okay. Started out really well, kept my attention but once the reveals start, I just thought meh. I'm not a fan of generational madness and revenge plots that happen because how dare the villain actually get their comeuppance? They should not have had to suffer because they killed someone, so let's convince the gullible to believe it was all lies and let's kill some more.

Oh, good grief.

I read this because it's Kelley Armstrong and the next Rip Through Time novel is almost out, and I genuinely enjoy her books. I just don't seem to connect much with her one-off horror releases. Not that I'll avoid them in the future. There's a release coming up soon that I have pre-ordered, and I will try again to see if I love that book, but you know, my expectations aren't that high but fingers crossed to be pleasantly surprised.

Maybe horror stories just aren't for me anymore? The villain always ends up some lame idiot who thinks they did no wrong and can't let go of the fact that they are the bad guy and not the hero they are in their heads. By the end of the books, I want the realization to sink in that they are F'ed up in the head and going away for a long time but it's never that ending and I get tired and bored of their wheels spinning, repeating their claims.

Phooey and bah humbug, apparently.

Rating: 4 .5 Stars

Book Review: Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Originally Written: April 20, 2025
 

.........blegh and hmmph.

I was a little charmed to start with. Which is good, the book needs to hook the reader. But then we get to the following morning, the one where Clark tries to get Riley fired and I just felt an automatic shutdown of interest in their story.

Their battle escalates from there and I just wanted to skim over everything because I do not support characters who not only fight, but fight dirty, in a romance.

The way I think of it is, if a person wants to go and get their cards read, that is THEIR business. I am not going to march into the shop and say the person is a fake and a charlatan for reading tarot cards or for conducting a séance or anything else. It is not MY business how someone else chooses to deal with anything unless it is a threat to themselves or others, as in it is going to result in bodily harm or worse.

So what if Riley said she could break curses? If they wanted to hire her, for the love of everything in the world, why the hell did Clark get himself all twisted out of shape and decide to get rid of her? And then we readers are supposed to see their tension as they struggle with their professional lives intersecting while working through an attraction to each other and I just called FOUL every time they made eyes at each other, or more like every time they were in the same room.

*sigh*

I'm going to take a moment and compare this to Fan Service, Danan's most recent release, which I just read. In that book, FMC Alex does not like MMC Devin because of a bad fan interaction from when she was a teenager. He made a comment that she overheard in which he states she's so weird and is going to die alone because of an elaborate costume she created for the fan convention. She's understandably heartbroken and has been sour on him ever since. When he needs her help, she keeps her distance. She's wary of his charm and measures everything he says against that experience with him.

When Devin sought out Alex's help, she made sure to get what she needed, money, so she could help her Dad with medical bills. She wanted to blow him off but she took the higher road, paid yes, but still willing to put it some hard work to help him out. When they eventually rehash the encounter, they are able to have a cathartic talk about both sides of what happened. It felt organic, and as a reader I was rooting for them, despite what had happened in the past.

This book did not have those moments of growth. The reflection needed to make the love story about true love and not lust that makes you blind and stupid. These two characters continually hurt each other, again and again, and I was not happy. I was more interested in the story about the curse and I wish there were more chapters to show a past timeline, just to give me a break from Clark and Riley.

I've decided to read Danan's books going forward, not backward, in releases. Danan knows what they are doing, they can make a charming book and characters. I just think I am better off reading from this point forward, where hopefully the growth of characters is par for the course, and not left at the wayside like this book did. I just can't support a love story where the fights are meant to draw blood to prove their points. It just makes me side eye their connection and think their story has an expiration date. It was not cute or fun, and if it's not that, what then do I have to root for?

Rating: 2.5 Stars