I didn’t read this as a kid so this is my first time reading this series and I loved it! I’m so excited to read the Heroes of Olympus series next!

My only complaints are: I didn’t need Rachel added into the love triangle but I will say this is the most accurate representation of 15 year olds navigating crushes I’ve ever seen 😂 and the whole “spy” subplot felt half-done, I didn’t even care when they revealed it because the side characters weren’t consistently included enough for me to feel the impact of the reveal 🤷🏼‍♀️

Can we get Blackjack more donuts?? He asks for them all the time and nobody is following through even though he’s doing such a good job 😠 Also I think I’m going to need to crochet a Mrs. O’Leary- I love her 😭

This is one of the best romances I’ve read in a while and it’ll make your heart feel full ❤️ It’s my new favorite queer romance too. The emotions of the characters felt so deep and real and the tension between Theo and Kit is perfect! It was also great reading a book about a queer relationship that’s two bisexuals and isn’t a man with a man or a woman with a woman- we don’t get those a lot!

Heads up, there’s quite a bit of sex in this book and the scenes go into a lot of detail. I was expecting there to be sex in it of course because it’s an adult romance and the basis of the plot is literally a sex pact- but I was still surprised by the detail! I’m not a romance reader that reads for the smut, but it doesn’t bother me. If it does bother you, this isn’t the book for you. I’d still say, though, give it a try! They didn’t feel pointless and just thrown in to be shocking/to keep up with the trend of smutty romance, there was real emotion and thought tied into them that made them feel purposeful and they felt genuinely romantic in a way that some of them made my heart melt 🥹

There’s technically miscommunication in this book, but I wouldn’t say it follows the annoying miscommunication trope. I think the characters just genuinely don’t know what they want, don’t want to hurt each other, and want to take their time to make sure they don’t mess it up. It felt way more like I was following characters that were real people thinking their actions through rather than a miscommunication trope that drags on and makes me bored waiting for them to do the grand confession. Which actually leads me to one of my favorite things about this book: it’s a romance with characters that are 28! And WRITTEN like they are 28! They reference repeatedly that they aren’t in their early 20s anymore and the distinct difference in emotion and sense of self between the ages of 16 vs 22 vs 28 which is so real!

So yeah basically I loved it

These just keep getting better- love the furthering of Nico’s storyline!