Although this is a spoiler-free review, it's long, so the rest of the post is hidden beneath the cut.
The first thing I have to say about this series in general is how in love I am with the focus on non-romantic relationships. Alan and Nick, Mae and Jamie, and now Sin and Toby, all of these siblings' relationships are placed at the forefront of the novel, with friendship taking second place and romance taking third. I cannot tell you how rare it is to find a book that not only focuses on relationships outside of the romantic persuasion, but where the friendships are not thrown aside at every chance of a romantic one. And as someone with four siblings, I get easily annoyed with 'only child' tactic used repeatedly by authors who prefer to work with a limited cast. My siblings are my best friends, and I love seeing close relationships between siblings reflected in literature.
I also love the romance though, and I really liked seeing my favorite ship of the series (Nick and Mae) from Mae's point of view to complement Nick's from the previous book. I have more thoughts on how this relationship is played out similarly to one of Alan and Nick's fights in book 1, but that involves spoilers so I'll save it for my spoiler-filled book review.
In terms of plot and readability, I'd have to say this is one of the better books I've read lately. As you can see from my list of current reads in the upper right-hand corner, I've been stuck on a few books for quite a while. This is the only one that has taken precedence over things like getting ready for wedding showers and going to sleep at a reasonable hour. It still took me a while to finish it, but that was partially due to misplacing the book for a week and a half. I thought the writing style was strong, engaging and interesting, and the plot was tight with good pacing. There were some twists I saw coming, and some twists I didn't. While this book was not exactly a 'life ruiner' like Unspoken, also by Rees Breenan, I appreciated not having my heart broken by the fictional characters I love. I am seriously contemplating ignoring the four other books I took out from the library (listed in my last post) and just taking out the third book in this series.
Which brings me to the most important part of the review (for you, at least). I've just gushed about this book for the last three paragraphs, and yet I still plan on borrowing the third installment from the library instead of buying it. Which begs the question, do I recommend buying this book, or only reading it? Like I've said before, I like to read, and if I owned every book I'd ever read or planned on reading, I'd be crushed to death by my own library. I personally try to only buy books when a) I know I will probably reread it, b) I want to lend it to my friends to read it after I'm done, c) I want to write/highlight in it (not a common urge but it happens), d) it is a book I feel I should read and want to have it on hand for convenience as a reminder that I should read it, or e) my library doesn't have a copy. Despite my crazy book buying habits of late, I usually err on the side of caution and borrow from the library when I can.
That being said, I do want to own this series eventually, but not until I find a version with cover art that I like. (Yes, I am a cover snob.) I'm not a fan of the US cover, but the UK cover is so pretty! I mean, just look at that broken font! Also, while I have no problem picturing Sin in my mind, Mae with her bubblegum pink hair continues to elude my mental grasp for some reason, and so I like having the constant reminder right there on the cover page. Unfortunately, I can't imagine how I can get my hands on the UK version anytime soon.
US version UK Version
Well, that's all I have to say about the book for now. I'll post the spoiler-filled review/book talk soon.
Happy reading,
Katie
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