can we please normalize novellas with bonus content... and i feel like there was no better way to do one for this series than the annual competition! omg i missed them and i'm so happy that this was in sloane's pov! it's only right for the series to open and close with the same narrator; it's truly a full circle. i think this was a perfect way to tie all of their stories together and set it up for the new trilogy! i hope this isn't the last time we see them... but still very excited for tourist season!! thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc! :)

i didn't really care for violet as the main character... she's on somewhat of a secret mission that doesn't stay a secret for long, like barely tried to be discreet. and when she discovers the curse, she understands everyone's fear behind it, but doesn't understand calvin's reservations that stop him from pursuing a relationship??? be so serious for a second. and the ending was very underwhelming for me lol, but i will say i did really like calvin! i think he might be my favorite character in the book. calvin added good and cute banter into the book and he was just misunderstood fr. percy is kind of up there for my favorite characters, and that's crazy because he was barely even shown! i did have a fun time reading this, but it was lacking in different areas; it was both fast and slow at the same time. it took a while to finally make any sort of progress on her investigation, and then shortly after we suddenly know the reasoning, and then it's just answers back to back. i feel like calvin's pov would've been cool to add even if it was just inserted in like the second half. thank you viking books and netgalley for the arc.

i think the genre i need to read more of is dystopian fantasies.. i always enjoy them but i forgot about it completely until i pick another one up. i was very intrigued by the plot and it did not disappoint! whenever i go into a book blindly i always try to guess the love interest and i was wrong w this one (i figured it out quickly though). and i am very happy i was wrong bc the storyline is soo much better with him than it would’ve been with the other dude. i think the timeline and build up of their relationship was done so well.. i live for a good bodyguard romance! #NASShole <3 i will say that i got frustrated w sivon bc she blindly and easily trusted people she barely knew and struggled to confide in the people she’s known her whole life like be so fr right now. thank you to simon & schuster and netgalley for the arc! :)

this one made me think about a lot of things…. and idk if i liked that LOL i liked the book a lot but it put a lot of things into perspective for me. if you hate being perceived consider this a warning. i would genuinely hate nothing more than to be a contestant on this show. not only would i know how negatively i was perceived by my coworkers, but then continue to allow millions of other people to know about that and perceive me in a similar way…. i couldn’t. i really couldn’t. i genuinely hate being perceived and doing that show would be like a personal hell for me. the whole time i would be freaking out and thinking about everything i’ve done up to that point that would make more than one person nominate me…… no thank you. on the outside, the game seems to be somewhat lighthearted about them finding the mole who would be considered “the normal one.” it was all fun in games until he (and i) realized it wasn’t just a game. i felt so bad for him because he genuinely thought he was doing something nice for his coworkers but instead they found it strange and were uncomfortable. he’d thought that would be something positive about him and not something negative. monologue saying “once you’ve lost too many points, no amount of extra points will make you catch up” ….. i had to turn off my phone. LIKE DONT TELL ME THAT WHILE IM QUESTIONING MY EXISTENCE PLS! but seeing it change from “i want to find the mole” to “i hope someone thinks im the mole” was so disheartening to see.. thank you wildfire and netgalley for the arc! :)