2.5
Cover 4; characters 2; Plot 2; Pace 2; Intrigue 3; Logic 2; worldbuilding 3; Writing 3; Enjoyment 2

THIS WHOLE ASS REVIEW WILL HAVE MILD(ISH) SPOILERS so, read at your own caution.

Yikes y'all. That was a trip I never thought I'd take with Lana. This was A) not a romance, B) not a fun time, and C) bad. Just bad. Honestly, without the rating scale (which I think after this will be getting an update for 2024) this would be a 2 star book.

I HATED Cat. HATED. LOATHED ENTIRELY. Every scene she was in made me angry. How did Delilah stand her? Ohhh right. Magic. A fancy bracelet that made her not realize that every single person in her life who laid eyes on Cat was like "Wow, something evil about that one!" and she was like, "Nah, I think I'll fuck her." Excuse me?

Also, am I the only one who was not here for their spicy scenes? They felt so awkward. I would just tune out while they were happening because it felt so ick to me. I can't explain why, but it just bleh. Something about it didn't work for me, maybe the fact that I hated Cat so much.

Delilah was a bit of a righteous snob. And like, I get it, she's been that way since we met her in book 1, and she also went through something MAJOR by having Nina erase her memories in book 3. I think I'd have a grudge against Nina too. But at some point in the book, every reader could tell that Delilah was running full force down the same path Nina had just taken and she still felt like she was so much better than Nina.

And like, girl, you're a piece of work. Come on down off of that high-ass horse and take a look around. She trusted Cat with every damn town secret and all of her personal secrets but wouldn't tell her best friend even a crumb of anything? She LITERALLY was given a choice between Cat and her best friend Ivy (who btw was the highlight of this god awful stroll through hell) and she picked Cat. She turned her back on the woman who literally did everything in her power and then some to help her get her memories back and had been there for her every damn day for a woman she'd met two weeks prior.

I'm sorry, are you okay Delilah? Because I really don't think you are.

After all of the fallout of why Cat was really in Thistle Grove because OF COURSE everyone was right about her, what does Delilah do? Calls Ivy and asks for forgiveness she doesn't deserve. But because Ivy is a SAINT, she goes to help her bff in need. And then Delilah starts to get her shit together and things start to fall back into place. The way things ended was great I liked the lessons Delilah learned and all of the new things we learned about Thistle Grove, because just like in book 3, we learned even more about the town and how it was founded.

It was perfect. Except for one thing did we really need Cat to come back? We all know the only reason she came back to town was because it can't be classified a romance without a HEA or a HFN but no. NO. There is no future in which I'm okay with these two being together after everything Cat did to Delilah. Having their relationship (or lack thereof) being the catalyst for change in Delilah, sure. Love that. Them being together after all of that bullshit? No thanks, I'm not subscribing to that nonsense. .

So yeah. I kinda hated it. After writing it all out, I'm changing this to a 2 star, rating scale be damned.

Honestly, this was the least enjoyable out of the books and I genuinely feel the ending should have gone differently. It sort of feels like the background plot and world building of the series is warping too much with this book. Also, I absolutely hated Delilah and did not like the love interest. The book got a bit better towards the last 1/3, thus the 2-star rating. Hopefully the next book will be better and this one can be written off as a fluke...