mssamanthanagel's reviews
133 reviews

I was so excited for the next installment of this series - imagine my surprise when I realized that only 5% of the book carried the plot forward and it was, essentially, a filler. I think this book might have been a cute idea if the series was already finished - making this an extra book, as it is primarily a retelling of the first book from Casteel’s perspective. I highly recommend the audiobook, as reading the authors pass at a male POV made me cringe. The narrator has an amazing voice (except when he’s doing Poppy’s voice).

This book also made me feel uncomfortable at the amount of times he coerced and crossed clear boundaries of consent with Poppy.

This was a very enjoyable prequel! It helped me get to know the protagonist more, and it was fun to see the stories in this book referenced later.

I read this after ACOTAR, and it’s important to note that it is not that high quality when the series starts here. I found the first half incredibly challenging to get through, but if you can skim it, just do that.

If you wished that Bridgerton included the humor of Schitts Creek while solving a murder, then that’s what this book is! I was laughing out loud and smiling while reading this. So charming!