The spice killed this one for me a little bit but otherwise I had such a great time with this one

I am so grateful to have received an arc of this book. Since last year when I first saw it, I have been immensely excited to get into it. I am a big legally blonde fan and have been going through a medieval kick at the moment. That being said, this book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but I think falls into a category of fantasy that I tend to really enjoy. This book had such cozy fantasy vibes and just had an overall wholesome atmosphere despite the backdrop of war. I think that’s why the world building threw me off. The story itself is very motivational and endearing. And then you begin learning about the political landscape and the impending war and it all felt sort of pointless. Even the lore that was thrown it felt like it could have been removed without impacting the story. It just left a lot to be desired.

Other than that, I loved all of the characters. Because of the nature of the story, I feel like we truly had the opportunity to get to know the entire cast and I had such a fun time with that. I also loved Ronan and Clia’s relationship. I’m a big fan of relationships built on friendship and that’s exactly what it was. They were truly friends before anything else. I also really liked all the side characters. They added a lot of humor and comfort to the story. Overall I had a great time. I was expecting it to be a bit more epic but was pleasantly surprised by the almost mundanity of the story as a whole. It was also really sweet to see all of the characters grow and come more into themselves. I would definitely like to see more of this world!

Holly Jackson does it again! This book THIS BOOK!! Everyone should pick up this book, but especially people who procrastinate or push things off in their lives. While this is a mystery/thriller book, it also truly felt like a warning and a love letter to life and how wonderful it could be. and not in a grand way! I loved Jet so so much, and seeing her mind shift throughout the book was equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking. Billy, the man that you are! The way he cared for her will stick with me. I just felt so emotional reading this one. Please pick it up if you get the opportunity, it's so special

These books are like drugs I really don't care I was obsessed with this

I have such complicated feelings about this one but I do think the core message will stick with me awhile

This one was a tough one to review. I always like to start with the positives though and I LOVED the characters and their relationships. It was so fun to watch them engage with one another and to see their almost caricature-like personalities shine through the page. It really was the only thing that kept me engaged.

The mystery itself was where the story lost me, honestly. I didn’t feel particularly invested in the victims and thus wasn’t that invested in finding out who did it. I’ve read other murder mystery style books, so I don’t think it was the genre; I just genuinely found the unfolding to be incredibly slow. There were also way too many characters; I felt like I kept getting pulled out of the story to try to remember who’s who. Overall, I didn’t hate it, but I doubt the story or the characters will stick with me long-term.