Bryce and Hunt attempt to keep a low profile and move past the events of the spring, but a secret of Danika's pulls them back into the Asteri's orbit in this sequel to House of Earth and Blood.
Well, I'm not going to lie - I feel pretty conflicted about the latest installment of the Crescent City series. Some people are going to love this genre blending story filled with elements of romance, mystery, paranormal, and fantasy. It's rich with morally grey characters and spectacular settings. And yet, I felt very disconnected from it all. When characters were placed in dangerous situations or surprising secrets were revealed, I felt ambivalent. And, probably worse yet, I guessed almost every single plot twist - yes, even the huge, big reveal at the end.
SJM tends to use the same plot devices to move along her stories in all of her series. The egregious one, the one I hate the most, is the "dead friend" device. I find it too convenient that Danika just happens to be a part every major reveal - she's literally the ghost of Alison Delaurentis from the Pretty Little Liars series. Guys, I can't tell you how hard I rolled my eyes every time one of Danika's little "secrets" came to light. It was almost always followed up with "But, Bryce, she loved you more than anyone in the world." Mmm, okay book, I think you might be trying too hard to sell that narrative to me and Bryce. It would be fascinating if we discovered Danika had kept all these secrets because she had some nefarious plot or selfish interest. But no. No, her motives, despite the secrecy and lies, are always shown as "savior" oriented.
Something SJM has improved upon is her ability to integrate passionate and spicy love scenes. Several people commented on disliking her sex scenes in previous books, but I thought it was really well done here - at least between the main love interests. I will admit to being uninterested in the random hook up encounters secondary characters have with NPCs, but that's always been a pet peeve of mine.
Could it be I've burned out of SJM books? Probably. It's happened at one time or another for all of my beloved authors (even romance queen herself, Nora Roberts). The Thone of Glass series is one of my all time favorite series; A Court of Mists and Fury from the ACOTAR series one of my favorite books. I think, for me at least, it's time to bow out of this series. I might or might not pick up the next installment depending on my time and interest. If you've never read a SJM book or if sweeping fantasy romance books are your jam, you should give this a try.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Read if you like: 💖 Romance | 🧚 Fantasy creatures | 🤯 Cliffhanger ending
Find it: Amazon | Goodreads
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