Ummmm excuse me?! I am unwell!!! I wasn't prepared for that ending at all!!!! Book two me please!!!!!

I will admit I was hesitant in the beginning... I wasn't really getting into it but somewhere around 30-40% I found that I literally couldn't stop reading lmaoo!

The Characters: 🖤 Shadera - this girl was toooo strong for me!! I loved how she was still very much soft inside. Like definitely had a heart of steel but at the end of the day, she was just a woman who experienced way too much loss for her age. Definitely full of feminine rage! 🖤 Greyson - omg! I don't even know what to say with him. A true lover boy fr. There were bits where he made me mad but I couldn't really complain about any of his actions in all honesty. 🖤 Lira - I'm not gonna lie I didn't think I'd like her in the beginning.. I was convinced she was 100% under daddy's thumb but she surprised me fr 🖤 Callum - my mf boy Callum!! He was so smart and I truly hate what happened to him. I wasn't expecting any of that!! But also is it weird that I enjoyed his little torture questionings? 😂

Thoughts: I just feel like... I need a drink or something lmaoo. The way my mind was spinning at the end is insane! So much happened in so little time and I was just like 🤯🤯🤯

I truly truly cannot wait for book 2!!! I have questions that need answers!!

Ummmm did I just stay up to 6 AM reading this book?? Yes. Yes I did. And I'm not ashamed to admit that 😭

I'm sorry but I loved this book soooo much!! Like everything about it was just 🥹🥹

👫🏾 The Characters:

💜Jaz: first of all... I loveeee me a FMC with locs!! 😍 okay anywho- Jaz! Love her downnn, but sometimes I just wanted to take her and smack some sense into her cause ma'am.. F them people fr but I loved how real she was honestly. I absolutely hated her backstory and seeing all she had to go through but I'm so glad she had Addie to help her through everything.

💜 Lamar: listennnn! We love a man who speaks with actions and intentions then follows up with words!! I was not at all disappointed by him! The true definition of "whatever you want, it's yours" and I very much enjoyed seeing it.

💜Addieeeeee: probably my fave character in the story!! And that's saying a lot because I absolutely adore Nina but baby Addie was dropping gems the whole book!! Had me crying and taking notes!

📓 The Plot: I loved everything about this plot in all honesty. Th beginning friendship to budding romance to undeniably in love 🤌🏾😍 I loved that their relationship progress felt real, and you could really feel the chemistry between Jaz and Lamar while reading. It didn't feel forced, it was all perfect! The side plot revolving around Jaz and Auntie Addie's relationship was so real and legit had me crying real tears!! I'm sure we've all had an auntie or older family friend who gave Addie vibes so the whole situation revolving her literally gutted me 😭😭

🥵 The Spice: The spice was spicing honey! That's all I got to say 😂

🫶🏾 Favorite Quotes:

📝 “You have everything you need within you to thrive. You’ve existed for long enough. Now it’s time for you to live. You need to ignite that fire within you.”

📝 “You.” His eyes bored into mine. “It’s the way you look … the way you speak … the way you think … the way you make me think. I felt you, and I liked what I felt. I like being around you.”

Overall: Definitely a 5-star read for me and I expected nothing less from Danielle Allen! This book was everything I needed! Definitely preordered my shelf copy and if you made it this far in my review then you should too!

Okay I'm finally going to bed now! Thank you so much Danielle Allen, NetGalley, and Tor Publishing Group for an early release copy of this book! This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and I'm so glad I was able to read it early! All thoughts are my own!