every book in this series is so cute and fun i'm obsessed
and i didn't even go back and reread the previous books, yet this held its own!
isaiah and keevery book in this series is so cute and fun i'm obsessed
and i didn't even go back and reread the previous books, yet this held its own!
isaiah and kenny were a great couple, and the marriage of convenience trope suited them so well. loved seeing kenny warm up to isaiah and the other characters, and isaiah find strategies to help his anxiety. both of their struggles were so incredibly realistic!...more
people dislike this book because they go into it expecting agggtm 2.0. this is not that!! (and frankly, why is that an expectation? i get that it's thpeople dislike this book because they go into it expecting agggtm 2.0. this is not that!! (and frankly, why is that an expectation? i get that it's the same author, but the premise is clearly quite different)
i liked that this was very family centric, specifically asking what a character who can't trust her own family would do. it was interesting because not only could bel not get help from family, but she didn't really have an established support system in general, whether that be friends, teachers, neighbours, etc. she was really on her own for a large portion of this book, which made it feel that much scarier.
some parts of the mystery were predictable, but the vibes overall were foreboding enough for me to not care honestly!
goddamn i love female rage, particularly when it's written by olivie blake.
and female rage in contemporaries is something we absolutely need more of goddamn i love female rage, particularly when it's written by olivie blake.
and female rage in contemporaries is something we absolutely need more of because frankly there's a whole lot of things in the real world that we should all find enraging...more
liked the ending but disliked st. vincent for a good majority of the book which wasn't particularly enjoyableliked the ending but disliked st. vincent for a good majority of the book which wasn't particularly enjoyable...more
tristanmorana are actually my faves also tristan is the only valid man ever
Original Review:
Well, I never wrote a review for this theReread #3 Update:
tristanmorana are actually my faves also tristan is the only valid man ever
Original Review:
Well, I never wrote a review for this the first time around, I think because I was so obsessed with the series that I couldn't stop reading to take the time to write a review. This book is addicting, fun, and just so great! tristanmorana are my children I love them to death
“When Aldo spoke of Regan his voice had a tendency to change, illumination rising near his cheeks. “You should see her work,” he would say the same
“When Aldo spoke of Regan his voice had a tendency to change, illumination rising near his cheeks. “You should see her work,” he would say the same way someone else might have said: Come outside, come look at the stars.”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
truly, if I could write like Olivie Blake, I would write all day and never stop. literally who gave her the right.
so I read the atlas six really early, before it became as popular as it is now, and I loved it. But you know how sometimes you read one book by an author and it’s just perfect and you love it and you’re afraid none of their other books will live up to that one? i felt that way with this book. I was scared to read this, or any of her other books, and so i put off reading this for SO LONG.
and i kind of hate myself for that because this book was utter perfectipn, but i’m also kind of glad that i read it so long after ta6 because it prevented me from comparing the two.
literally what can i say about this book? honestly, i don’t want to say a whole lot because going into it as blind as possible is just the best way, in my opinion.
what I can say is that it’s a story about two imperfect people, and it’s definitely not the romance book that i’ve seen some people make it out to be. but, GOD. it was one incredible journey reading this book.
“Can you love my brain even when it is small? When it is malevolent? When it’s violent? Can you love it when it doesn’t love me?”
finally, i read some of the critique-y reviews for this book, and while i do get them, obviously i disagree. the almost bizarre formatting and sequencing of the story just make it that much better.
“Not bees,” he said, and handed her the blunt. “Bees are for you.” She smiled at him, accepting it. “Thanks,” she said, as if he’d told her she was pretty. “You’re welcome,” he said as if he had.”
no because this book has some of the best ‘i love you’ s without actually saying ‘i love you’.
“Courage takes only a second to become foolishness. Keep that in mind.”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Reread #2 Update: I can't believe I ever thought Tris
“Courage takes only a second to become foolishness. Keep that in mind.”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Reread #2 Update: I can't believe I ever thought Tristan should be anything other than blond. WHAT was I on ???? Anyway, still love this series with all of my heart <3
Reread #1 Update: Y'all it was actually possible for me to imagine Tristan with dirty blond hair this time wow. also need the last book (the syndicator) now omg
Original Review:
⇢The Plot
I honestly thought I was over dark romance, until I read this book. For some reason, out of the various types of dark romances, I’ve always had a soft spot for mafia romances, maybe because the “dark” aspects aren’t passed off as normal and it’s understood that they’re a part of a “different world” than ours, but whatever.
This book was really fun, and such an easy read. It wasn’t too plot heavy which I liked, because it was definitely the romance that makes this book stand out, not the conflicts, although they were actually pretty interesting. Lots of good tropes, some that you usually see in mafia romances, and I was glad that some of my least favourite tropes associated with mafia romances didn’t appear in this book!
⇢The Characters
EVERYONE on booktwt is screaming over Tristan, but I have to say, Morana was my favourite all the way. She was everything I want in a heroine in a book like this- smart, strong, and super witty, and even a bit relatable in a way. Her personality wasn’t one-dimensional, and the balance between the strength and emotion that she displayed was really well written. All that’s to say that she was a great protagonist because she really came alive as a character.
One criticism I’ve seen is that she’s in her head a lot and so there isn’t enough dialogue, but as someone who is exactly like that- I found that super enjoyable, actually! Although I get why people aren’t fans.
”In that moment, the enemy had done what no one had ever even tried to do for her. He had made her feel a little less lonely. The moment would be over when the sun came out.”
I don’t have as much to say about Tristan because a lot of his character is still a mystery, but he was a good protagonist/love-interest and I felt that it was easy to sympathize with him despite his backstory and who he was. That’s really important to me because sometimes the male characters in dark romances are just insufferable or way too irritating. (Completely unrelate side note: I find it impossible to imagine him blonde. I keep picturing him with dark hair and Dante with light hair…)
Next, The POTENTIAL OF THE SIDE CHARACTERS!?!? As I write this, I’ve now finished book 2 in the series as well so I know that Dante and Amara are the protagonists of book 3, but I just want to note that they were really solid characters right from the start.
“He’d spent his life being a perfect gentleman. He’d never been a flirt. He’d never been a rogue. He hated being the center of attention, but by Go
“He’d spent his life being a perfect gentleman. He’d never been a flirt. He’d never been a rogue. He hated being the center of attention, but by God, he wanted to be the center of her attention.”
Friends to lovers at it’s finest! This book was so cute, and despite some of the darker moments, it was a relatively fun and light read!
After so many books in this literary world, you’d think that the protagonists would start to become repetitive, but Honoria was a completely unique and intriguing character! I loved her devotion to her family, and seeing the Smythe-Smith musicians from an inner perspective from the first time was both hilarious and interesting.
I also loved Marcus so much! I didn’t expect to like his character quite so much, but he was just so sweet and unlike all of the other male protagonists in this world I’ve read about that I couldn’t help but love him!
“He gave her his best smile. His best I-almost-died-so-how-can-you-deny-me smile. Or at least that’s how he hoped it appeared. The truth was, he wasn’t a very accomplished flirt, and it might very well have come across as an I-am-mildly-deranged-so-it’s-in-all-of-our-best-interests-if-you-pretend-to-agree-with-me smile.”
And as I said, Marcus and Honoria played into the friends to lovers trope amazingly! Their relationship was adorable and I honestly wish this book was longer so that we could see more of them!
“He knew her, he realized. He truly knew her. Not just the usual things. In fact, he didn't know the usual things. He did not know her favorite col
“He knew her, he realized. He truly knew her. Not just the usual things. In fact, he didn't know the usual things. He did not know her favorite color. Nor could he guess her favorite animal or food.
But somehow it didn't matter if he didn't know if she preferred pink or blue or purple or black. He knew her heart. He wanted her heart.”
This is officially the last full-sized novel in this series, and I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime with these characters. Each and every one of them has come to mean so much to me, and this novel was the perfect ending to their story. It was actually pretty different than the other books in this series because the timeline was completely unlike the ones in other books, but it worked so well for Gregory and Lucy.
There’s nothing I love more than a character who doesn’t play into the usual conflicts in romance books, so can I just say I loved how Gregory learned from the mistakes of his brothers. Of course, he made a ton of other errors, but where it counted, he was an intelligent character and it was refreshing to read of a male Bridgerton who wasn’t actively trying to evade love. It definitely saved me a few headaches.
Lucy was also a great protagonist, and I admired her loyalty and devotion to her friends and family. She may not be my favourite of the leading ladies but she was a great character nonetheless.
“Lucy nodded dutifully, all the while making a mental list of all the places she would rather be. Paris, Venice, Greece, although weren’t they at war? No matter. She would still rather be in Greece.”
Lucy and Gregory as a couple were so cute and their relationship was unique to say the least. The way they realized they cared for one another was hilarious (which seems weird but is true) and I’m so glad that we got to see so much of Kate, who played matchmaker for them!
“When this is all over,” he said, “I shall bring you a sandwich.” That stopped her short. “A sandwich? A sandwich?”
My only comments were that I wish we saw more of the other characters! I know Gregory wasn’t as close to them because of his age but since this was the last book I would have liked to see more of him interacting with his siblings.
