If I have to pinpoint one thing that didn’t work for me it was single pov. I think the love interest, Adrian had much more to offer to not have his own pov.

You can’t write about racism in sports and not give your poc character his voice. Wyatt wasn’t bad, he was written with utmost care and when he said I didn’t think about that (the racism aspect) it was the most real thing in the book but I don’t think that was enough.

There was a sweet love story but tbh there was too much of family interference from Wyatt's side and that is why there fight after Wyatt's dad's visit didn’t make sense to me, especially when it was something they could have talked about.

One thing the novel does right is fake dating, there is actual setup for the two of them to be photographed, media around them is planned and I loved how the fake dating trope was written in the story without it looking like what was the reason.

Vaughn and Yulian's chemistry carried this book because there was no plot. It took me a while to finish this one compared to KTV that I inhaled like oxygen. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.

The tension between Vaughn and Yulian was there since the first page and it was a wild experience to see how they finally get together.

Plot wise this book was weak and I didn’t even care about it after 50% I was just there for the couple and their moments.

But still there were a couple of things I think would have made it a better read for me:

• Yulian's relationship with Kayden? How did he fit into all this? There was nothing about it in KTV but I thought that was intentional and we will get the answers here. Apparently not.

• I wanted at least one scene of when Killian was looking for Gareth from Yulian's pov since he went to the mansion. The serpents weren't really as mentioned as the Heathens but I am guessing that would be more in Cyrus's book.

Last but not the least, I don't know if anyone else has noticed or not but HTV completely ruined LoG timeline. Niko-Bran wedding 2 years after doesn’t makes sense. Nikolai and Vaughn probably graduated the same year and that was the year Brandon proposed so how were they getting married in Italy. Add in the GoW details the wedding should have happened at least 2 years after the proposal.

Came for Kaleb, stayed for Avery. And ended up not liking Kaleb.

The last time I felt pissed with a character who weren't supportive of their partner during their struggle but only aggravated them more was Final Offer by Lauren Asher. Kaleb was not as bad as Lana but still some of his actions pissed me off.

Before delving into it I would like to say that the two people who had every right to hate Avery for the rest of their lives are Keene and Aspen.

Kaleb's hatred (and it felt like that even if he denied it) felt reasonable only in the beginning. And I was team make him. feel bad for what he did until it started getting too much especially when Avery knew what he did was shitty the minute he did it.

Firstly, I didn’t like it how he was okay with having his brothers already have a opinion about Avery especially when it doesn't concerns them. Sure keep an eye on them, intervene if a situation arises but what happenend to letting kids form their own opinion. They weren't going to understand the nuances of the issue at hand they are 11. In the end one of the boy was not able to see past it.

And then wanted to get Avery fired because of his personal opinion even if he was doing well at his job.

And then then everything that happened in the end. He made a big deal of Avery flinching from his touch around his father. You can be hurt by that but there are better ways to say it rather than You have not changed at all. His years of shame and disgust isn't going to go away like magic in few weeks. You are coming from a place of privilege where your home was a safe place. Even Keene, who owes absolutely nothing to Avery understood him better than the one claiming to be in love with him.

And finally, the sex scene, the first time where they went all the way, Kaleb's don’t make me regret it didn’t sit right with me. From my pov Avery was the one in the vulnerable position truly giving himself to Kaleb. What Kaleb said sounded like I am doing you a favor, don’t make me regret it.

Now that I have gotten that out, let me get to the good parts, I loved Avery, he hated himself for what happened and there is no punishment bigger than that, but I loved how he worked on himself with the least amount of help. The bond he develops with Elijah who was the only one who was truly in his corner was so adorable and perfect.

I love C.E.Ricci's work but this is ny first 3 star book from her and that makes me a little disheartened. But there is always more :)

Reckless games characters ranking:

▪️Keene ▪️Avery ▪️Aspen ▪️Kaleb (Only because there aren't more characters to put above him)

Sometimes you have to trust an author whose books always work for you with a trope you don’t like. This was so much more than second chance, it was forbidden but if I am being honest it never felt wrong.

Ariana and Shane are back in each other's lives but she is now married to his boss. I loved how smoothly their relationship was mixed in the plot that for a long time I was completely fine with them taking slower steps. The push and pull made sense, the chemistry was always their and the flashbacks were at the right point to give more depth to the story.

The Goddess of followes Naia, a goddess who is probably the weakest in all her siblings and is subjected to a lot of cruelty over the centuries. She finally gained freedom at the cost of a blind curse she ties herself with.

I don't know what I expected from this book but I was a little disappointed. Because this was boring for the most part. It was too domestic for my expectation of a romantasy.

Naia was a little bland, I felt sorry for her but I also wanted to scream at her like girl grow a spine! She was oldest in the group and yet didn't look like it at all.

Ronin was just there. I needed more of him to form an opinion.

All the stars I have given to this book are for the world building and the characters I like Cassian and Theon (I really think he will get a book too)

"Before me stands an endless abyss, behind me crawls my demise."

The legend of the Nine Tailed Fox is a reimagination of the Chinese mythology with an enemies to lovers romance at the center of it.

The world building is phenomenal and Katrina Kwan's storytelling shines throughout. I was engrossed from first page itself and could not put this book down.

The banter between the characters, the main characters and side characters were top tier, there is found family, trials to cross hell, and a mythology woven in the world itself.