I do not see any BDSM tags, nor Dom/sub tags and at the very start when kink was introduced I was a little bit wary, but ultimately this turned out be not a huge element in the book and therefore was not a problem with me. There was a lot of vernacular surrounding diving and swimming and also a few moments of STEM jargon and sometimes this was a little tough to follow because I was completely uninterested in all of the diving stuff. Like most of the other Ali Hazelwood books that I have read, I enjoyed this while I was reading it but otherwise I was easily able to walk away from it and I don't think ultimately it was particularly memorable long-term. I would say the third main character of this book is Penelope, we get to see a lot of Penelope and Scarlett's friendship together, including how they are partners on the dive team and we also get to see a lot of how Penelope is still using Lukas as her emotional support person and considers Lukas to be a major component of her life. I was not clear on why Pen was wanting to continue a fake relationship with Lukas for so much of the book? This element felt underdeveloped, and I was confused as to why those dynamics needed to be present. Lukas as a main male character was super hot and essentially a little aloof but otherwise a perfect specimen, I liked how he supported Scarlett and was helpful, though I was annoyed with the trope of him giving her her mental breakthrough as opposed to the therapy that she was doing.... It was also very obvious that Lukas was down bad for Scarlett, I feel like he should have been more deliberate with Pen and firm on ending it with her so that he could be with Scarlett. I would really love for this author to write a dual point of view book, I think that it could be amazing. For me I liked the steamy scenes fine, but I wanted more time of Scarlett and Lukas together and stronger emotional development. Or maybe Scarlett just needed to get a fucking clue, I wanted to shake her multiple times. I agree with another review that pointed out that there was a lot going on / multiple side plots that kind of bogged the book down. The two biggest complaints I saw in the reviews that I read were 1) there was not enough kink/bdsm / what was present wasn't done well Etc, and 2) Penelope bringing the messy drama and being essentially The Other Woman, and all three being just unclear mixed boundaries and poor communication Etc

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book, the tone and humor took time to adjust to and though I did come to appreciate the writing style, at first I was really NOT enjoying it. Overall I didn't find this book very funny, just sometimes amusing. It was hard to be in Phoebe's point of view with her sarcastic commentary, making light of her life and surroundings while also juxtaposing this attitude with her suicidal ideation. At first I found Lila to be an interesting character but I didn't really understand why she and Phoebe would get along? It seemed more like Lila was using Phoebe to trauma dump and puzzle through her own decisions and life choices. I felt like Phoebe's ex-husband was a crappy guy, I felt that the cheating and him leaving her could have been enough to put Phoebe in the state of mind she is at the start of the book, I don't know that all of the backstory with the infertility was needed. I felt that it was kind of weird that she was so torn up over this marriage ending, reflecting on all of these low points of the relationship and how she had interacted with Matt as well as how she viewed herself during that relationship, yet threw herself into this instant connection to the guy in the hot tub? It all just felt a bit too convenient.

It was cool to read about the setting of Ghana, and though she's traveling through Ghana and that was present, it felt more like the people and culture that was stronger than the landscape. Like how people know so many different languages and regularly switch between them, and maybe have different accents depending on which language they're speaking. Like how the men and older people were quick to raise a hand to the child main character. And how superstitious people were/ yet also were so respectful of her power too, they had heard stories and I don't think she ever encountered anyone who was skeptical of her abilities? The whole book was written in a way that I thought might have some big message or moral at the end, or maybe this was a sort of parody of a fairy tale? Possibly alluding to Ghanian known fairy tales? I didn't really feel like it panned out that way with a big overall message. I felt like there was messaging about big Corporation and capitalism especially at the very end but I wanted this element to be stronger. I felt like there were some metaphors throughout the book but that I was missing them or oblivious, especially with regards to the fox that is following her. I wanted to have a stronger understanding of Sankofa as a person and her internal world, but the folklore quality and third person point of view limit this. She doesn't really even think about death much or seem to have very much philosophical thought (though she is <14). Why did she forget her name? Why did she feel that she deserved food items as she traveled around? Why was the ending so ominous? I felt left with many questions at the end. After reading some reviews: "stories surrounding purpose, the feeling of hopelessness after losing it" ? "story about corporate imperialism" - because of obsession with tech? And all of the people waiting for the newest tech? And them all loving that robot overlord? RoboCop can only function correctly while monitoring and scanning people, which is commentary on anxiety and private data breaches. "the way legends shape us while we, through retellings, shape them" "she resents being powerless in the face of her power... More powerful than one person should be able to hold" is she resentful? Sometimes "[this book] feels reflective of sinister things lurking in our own world that we brush aside or relegate to the peripheries to avoid confronting due to the inconvenience of the systemic changes it would require to properly address them." damn

I was able to pick up the second book immediately after the first, but much of the shine of the series had worn off after the first couple of chapters. Nat's ex is basically twirling his mustache of evil and his actions don't make very much sense, especially when you find out this is all over gentrification and a real estate deal?? Nat is drawn to each of her mates and they each get to spend time with her, but I definitely wanted more character depth and relationship development. As some pointed out in the reviews, there was almost too much smut/the smut took precedence over actual relationship development and connection.

This was decent, I liked that it was Australian and I thought it was interesting to have four mates who already knew who the main female character was and had their own interpersonal dynamics. I did think the pacing was kind of odd with where Nat meets Aleric but then is still with her ex...? I did actually really appreciate that she takes time to get her head and heart on board with the whole situation with her husband, she is hurt and processing and there is a lot of pages while she tries to adjust to this situation of him asking for an open relationship and then her being hurt further. I think it still felt wayyy too fast to turn around and get with the bear guys, and the fake relationship elements were really flimsy, but honestly I thought it was kind of remarkable how much connection (between Nat and the bears) the author managed to fit into this number of pages. I really loved the supportive best friend Holly, I hope she gets her own future book. I thought it was weird how the ex-husband becomes a totally evil bad guy? It was wild to see him do actions that were so unlikable, which makes you wonder how Nat managed to stay with him as long as she did?? After reading some reviews: I didn't really struggle in telling the guys apart, but it felt like they were just sketches and not a lot of character development individually. I felt throughout the book like there was sometimes information that was being purposely withheld from me. Ultimately how Nat reacts to the bear reveal felt way over the top and blown out of proportion, especially since she and her best friend had already had conversations about how much they love Jacob from Twilight and wish they had had werewolf boyfriends themselves?? I do think the guys could have done a better job there but the whole reaction was weirdly dramatic. I also saw many complaints in reviews about the cliffhanger ending, which I had seen coming towards the end but I was in the thick of it and able to dive immediately into the next book.

This was a stupid, short, underdeveloped story with insta-lust, no emotional development and the fated mates trope. There was no page time for character building nor really any depth to their relationship. There are mild dominance vibes/ his "animalistic" nature is the excuse for what he says to her, but this language did not do it for me. Overall pretty forgettable and meh for me. After reading some reviews: he is not really a 'river god' but more of a protective dinosaur shifter?? Some other viewers felt like it gave them the ick and I can understand that. Overall this was a quick read, some people liked that there was tail involvement and some people did not.