Book Review - The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel

 

The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel is about two people from different walks of life solving a decades old mystery that could change the trajectory of their lives. Brianna Kelly has spent her entire life at Ballymacool House and Boarding School. The headmistress Magee found Brianna on her doorstep when Brianna was an infant. The person who left Brianna on the school’s doorstep left no clues to indicate her lineage or her parents.

Brianna feels that since she spent her entire life as a servant at the school, she fears that she will most likely die in the same role. Although she feels that she is meant for something more, she lacks the power and money to alter her situation and circumstances. When Brianna isn’t working, she spends her time exploring the area surrounding Ballymacool. She looks for hidden treasures to add to her secret stash  that she has hidden underneath the floorboards of her room.

Michael Wray is a member of the Ascendancy class and the son of a local gentry. His presence was requested at Ballymacool when his unruly cousin, Adeline,  started having behavioral problems and the staff was unable to deal with her. As Michael tries to get his cousin’s behavior under control, he finds himself in the company of Brianna often. After spending a few brief moments with Brianna, Michael feels himself drawn to her.

 

As the pair spends more time together, Micheal feels that there is something familiar about Brianna. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she enlist Michael to help her find the origin of the platter. As they dig deeper, they find out a secret behind the platter that might change their lives.

 

I thought the book was an okay read. The novel moved very slowly with no story progression. The author spent more than ¾ of the book in the beginning to talk about Michael dealing with his cousin’s unruly behavior. And towards the end, when the story starts to pick up, Adeline just disappears. We don’t know if her behavior improves or is Adeline still a thorn in everyone’s sides.

 

I liked that the author weaved Irish phrases into the narration. It made me feel more immersed in the story. The book had a section in the back of the book that translated the phrases and gave readers a glimpse into the history of Ballymacool along with the author’s inspiration. I thought this was a delightful inclusion, but I would have preferred if the words were translated in story. I found it a bit annoying to move back and forth constantly to figure out what a specific word or phrase meant.

 

The ending did wrap up the story in a neat bow but I had a few questions that I don’t think were addressed. I felt that the author drew out the story and then didn’t fully address all the different storylines, such as: how did Brianna’s mother know Magee? Did Magee know about Brianna’s existence prior to finding Brianna? If you enjoy clean romance novels with a cozy mystery twist, then you will enjoy this novel.

**Disclosure - I received a free  copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

Book Review - I Kick and I Fly by Ruchira Gupta + Giveaway

 

I Kick and I Fly by Ruchira Gupta is about a young Indian girl who tries to escape her fate of being sold into the sex trade by her father.  Heera and her family are a part of the Nat culture whose people are nomadic and are unable to find work due to cultural differences  with the local peoples. Heera is a fourteen year old girl who currently lives on the outskirts of the Red Light District in Bihar, India. She knows it is only a matter of time before she is sold to provide for and feed her family. Her fate is virtually sealed, just like every other female member of her family and community.

Heera hates watching her cousin, Mira Di, live this lifestyle. Heera has seen her cousin, once vibrant and happy, now use drugs to numb herself. She also sees how abusive and cruel men treat Mira Di. As she grows older, Heera is afraid that her time to break free is running out. 

 

Due to Heera’s nomadic roots, she struggles to fit in with others at school. It doesn’t help that her best friend’s (Rosy) brother goes out of his way to torture and bully her. Heera decides to stand up to her bully and she gets expelled after hitting him. She fears that after this recent run in, that her time has become even more limited. Since Heera is no longer able to attend school, her family feels that she should start contributing to the household.

 

When a local hostel owner and activist, Rini Di, shows up at Heera's home, Heera feels that her luck might have finally changed. Rini Di is able to provide Heera and her family enough money to repay their debts and allow Heera to return back to school. Rini Di feels for Heera and her plight and wants to help the family out.

Heera is given opportunities that she didn’t have access to before and that will change the trajectory of her life. She is able to learn kung fu and readily has access to food. She no longer has to worry about her next meal. While she learns martial arts, she starts to realize that she has more control over her body than she thought. That she is more than just a commodity to be sold or preyed upon and that her body can protect herself and loved ones.

 

As Heera learns that she can disrupt her own perceived destiny, her beloved friend goes missing. Heera is determined to find out what happened to Rosy and she is willing to stop at nothing to find out the truth. When she finds out that Rosy is in New York, she decides to embark on a daring rescue mission in a country she has never been to.

 

The novel is based on experiences and stories that survivors shared with the author when they were working as activists. The book was a heart wrenching and eye opening read. I had a general idea of sex trafficking but it was very limited. Reading about Heera’s story helped me empathize with victims and made me realize it’s a lot more common than previously I thought.

 

The characters were realistic, well developed and relatable. I found myself crying over the treatment and situations that  Heera and others faced. I also found myself rejoicing when Heera and her mother found their voices and were brave enough to stand up against their oppressors.  I enjoyed reading about the Nat culture and the challenges they faced as a nomadic community.  I liked that the author included resources for readers who want to get involved or to learn more. I think this is a good read for anyone who is interested in learning about different human experiences.

**Disclosure - I received a free unedited copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

 

About The Book:

Title: I KICK AND I FLY

Author: Ruchira Gupta

Pub. Date: April 18, 2023

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 352

Find it: Goodreads, https://books2read.com/I-KICK-AND-I-FLY

"In I Kick and I Fly, Ruchira Gupta has given young readers an irresistible story, and also one that could save lives. This book is a gift." -- Gloria Steinem

A propulsive social justice adventure by renowned activist and award-winning documentarian Ruchira Gupta, I Kick and I Fly is an inspiring, hopeful story of triumph about a girl in Bihar, India, who escapes being sold into the sex trade when a local hostel owner helps her to understand the value of her body through kung fu.

On the outskirts of the Red Light District in Bihar, India, fourteen-year-old Heera is living on borrowed time until her father sells her into the sex trade to help feed their family and repay his loans. It is, as she's been told, the fate of the women in her community to end up here. But watching her cousin, Mira Di, live this life day in and day out is hard enough. To live it feels like the worst fate imaginable. And after a run-in with a bully leads to her expulsion from school, it feels closer than ever.

But when a local hostel owner shows up at Heera's home with the money to repay her family's debt, Heera begins to learn that fate can change. Destiny can be disrupted. Heroics can be contagious.

It's at the local hostel for at risk girls that Heera is given a transformative opportunity: learning kung fu with the other girls. Through the practice of martial arts, she starts to understand that her body isn't a an object to be commodified and preyed upon, but a vessel through which she can protect herself and those around her. And when Heera discovers the whereabouts of her missing friend, Rosy, through a kung fu pen pal in the US, she makes the decision to embark on a daring rescue mission to New York in an attempt to save her.

A triumphant, shocking account inspired by Ruchira Gupta's experience making the Emmy-award winning documentary, The Selling of Innocents, this is an unforgettable story of overcoming adversity by a life-long activist who has dedicated her life to creating a world where no child is bought or sold.

About Ruchira Gupta:

Ruchira Gupta has pioneered laws, policies, protocols, conventions and Best Practice approaches in the Feminist Abolitionist struggle against sex-trafficking in the UN, globally and India. Her work will be archived at Stanford Library and will be open access for students across the world to study. Her journey began as a journalist, when she made the Emmy-winning documentary, The Selling of Innocents. With the help of the documentary, she testified to the US Senate for the passage of the first Trafficking Victim Protection Act and to the UN for the passage of the UN Protocol to End Trafficking in Persons. She founded the Indian anti-sex trafficking organization, Apne Aap Women Worldwide, that supports thousands of prostituted and at risk girls in India. You can learn more about her organization here: apneaap.org

She is a visiting professor at New York University, and Distinguished Scholar at University of California, Berkley. She is the editor of a feminist journal for SAGE, Antyajaa: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change and two anthologies- River of Flesh & Other Stories and The Essential Gloria Steinem Reader. She has been presented the French Légion honneur, an Emmy, and the Clinton Global Citizen, UN NGO CSW Woman of Distinction award. She dreams of a world in which no human being is bought or sold.

Links- Instagram | All other social media- https://linktr.ee/ruchiraguptalinks

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of I KICK AND I FLY, US Only.

Ends May 6th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/1/2023

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt/IG Post

 Week Two:

4/2/2023	@gsreadingspree	Review/IG Post
4/3/2023	The Bibliophilic World	Review/IG Post
4/4/2023	@thrillersandhistoricalfiction	IG Review
4/5/2023	Lifestyle of Me	Review
4/6/2023	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
4/7/2023	Cara North	Review/IG Post
4/8/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post

 Week Three:

4/9/2023	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
4/10/2023	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
4/11/2023	@evergirl200	IG Post
4/12/2023	Author Z. Knight’s Guild	Review/IG Post
4/13/2023	@carlysunshinebooks	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
4/14/2023	Mythical Books	Excerpt/IG Post
4/15/2023	Jazzy Book Reviews	Excerpt/IG Post

 Week Four:

4/16/2023	Books and Kats	Excerpt
4/17/2023	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
4/18/2023	A Dream Within A Dream	Excerpt
4/19/2023	Midnightbooklover	IG Review
4/20/2023	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
4/21/2023	Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's	Review/IG Post
4/22/2023	The Momma Spot	Review

 Week Five:

4/23/2023	More Books Please blog	Review/IG Post
4/24/2023	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
4/25/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
4/26/2023	Breysreviews	IG Review
4/27/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
4/28/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review
4/29/2023	Two Points of Interest	Review

 Week Six:

4/30/2023

Books with Brandie Shanae

YouTube Review/IG Post

Book Review - At Home on Marigold Lane by Debbie Mason

 

At Home on Marigold Lane by Debbie Mason is about a young woman returning home to recuperate after a serious injury and a failed marriage. To add insult to injury, she then runs into the man that broke her heart years ago. Brianna MacLeod is a Family and Marriage Therapist and she feels embarrassed that she has to return home to Highland Falls after her marriage had imploded.

Bri is ashamed that she missed the red flags in her abusive relationship and feels that she isn’t qualified to be a therapist anymore. However, she loves helping others and it is second nature to her. When Bri gives up being a therapist she feels that she lost her purpose in life and she is giving up something she loves. Bri decides to move out of the inn she shares with her sister and grandfather to live by herself. Unfortunately, her plan is dashed when she finds out that she has a roommate and it’s someone she would never expect to see again.

 

Bri and her roommate concoct a plan to keep Bri’s sister from worrying about her. In the process of creating the plan, Bri ends up counseling her roommate and her neighbors. She didn’t expect that it would lead to her reconnecting with her first love.

 

Caleb Scott feels that his failed marriage to Raine is tough on his stepdaughter, Izzy. He feels that Izzy needs someone to talk to and work through her emotions with. However, he wasn’t expecting that person to be Bri. Caleb thought his feelings for her were gone when she broke his heart years ago but he finds himself falling for her. Unlike his marriage to Raine, being with Bri feels like home and comfortable. The only problem Caleb has is trying to convince Bri that their relationship deserves a second chance.

 

The novel is the fifth book in the series and it can be read as a standalone. However, I felt that there were some character nuances and storylines that were referenced that went over my head because I didn’t read the previous books. I felt that the novel started out strong and then slowly fizzled out because they were parts of the story that were connected to the previous books. The book also had a lot of characters that were mentioned once or twice in the beginning and then they would make another appearance later in the book. It was hard keeping track of these minor characters and how they related to the story.

 

The book was filled with characters who were trying to find their own paths to happiness but they could be annoying. I enjoyed reading about most of the characters but I found Raine to be very annoying. There were points in the story when she garnered some unwarranted sympathy and seemed selfless such as with her drive to build a new trauma center. However, there were many points in the story that Raine would stop at nothing to get what she wants even if it means throwing other people into the fire. 

 

Then we have two characters who seem to have something going on between them but nothing is disclosed or goes further with their chemistry. I felt that this side story did not add to the main plot and detracted from the story. I didn’t care for Caleb’s best friend, Josh. Josh seems to support Caleb but Josh never seems to be able to keep his mouth shut or read the room. Josh knows Caleb is trying to keep a secret from the town but yet Josh manages to tell everyone the secret within a few minutes of meeting the person. He then always wants to know the story but then can never keep it to himself. I am not even sure why they keep telling Josh anything since he can’t keep a secret to save himself.

 

My other annoyance is with Caleb and Bri. They know they should be keeping their relationship a secret but yet they can never seem to keep their hands off each other in public. Instead of limiting their physical embraces in public, they go at each other like teenagers as if they want to be caught. And they kept getting caught on multiple occasions but they continued acting like lovers in public. I felt like this type of behavior was unrealistic and the continuous references to previous storylines prevented me from completely enjoying and immersing myself in the book.

Book Review - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

 

 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is a spellbinding fantasy about a young girl trying to connect with her estranged father and finding her place in the world. In the early 1900’s, January Scaller was a curiosity and an outsider. She looks and acts different from everyone else. She lives in a giant mansion with her caretaker, Mr. Locke. The house is filled with treasures and priceless artifacts, and January sometimes feels that she is something that Mr. Locke has collected. She is well looked after thanks to Mr. Locke being wealthy, but she always feels ignored and out of place.

One day, January was searching through Mr. Locke’s treasures when she came across an old book. She finds herself drawn towards the book and she spends every free moment reading her newly found lifeline. January is entranced with the characters and wants to use the book as a way to escape from real life.

 

The book tells of secret doors to other worlds that allows people to travel between them. The worlds are vastly different from January’s current world and some worlds even have magic. As January delves deeper into the book, she realizes that the story is connected with her. She first thought the story was a work of fiction but then realizes the story might be true. January decides to follow her heart and search for her own magical door.

 

I thought the book was an interesting and magical read. The story did move slowly during some parts of the book where it describes January getting older but nothing noteworthy would occur. The author wrote in a beautiful lyrical prose that was overwhelming at times. I felt that it covered up the fact that there was little story progression.

 

The first two thirds of the book does move very slowly. The story starts picking up in the last few pages and the twist is very predictable. The evil mastermind is easy to guess very early on. While the book was an entertaining read, I felt like I had a hard time connecting with the protagonist. Instead of the magical doors being a gateway to an exciting adventure, the majority of the time the characters use the doors to reconnect with a loved one. The book does have an opening for a second book which seems like it would be a good read if it focuses on January’s adventures in different worlds.

 

Book Review - Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

 

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa is about a Mexican witch trying to open her own speakeasy during the Roaring Twenties, while providing for her family and coming to terms with her heritage. Luna, or Rose, depending who is asking, is a caucasian-looking daughter of an immigrant Mexican woman. Luna’s mother wants her to pretend to be White so Luna can have the best opportunities life can offer. They’ve both seen how society treats people who are different.

Luna is a descendant of a long line of magical witches which are based off of Mexican folktale. However, she is struggling to control and expand her abilities like her talented grandmother.  She wants to rely on her budding powers to make progress in her life, but it doesn’t seem that she is able to control her powers.

Luna is struggling to come to terms with her two different personalities along with handling her magical abilities.  During the day, “Rose” is a part time reporter at a newspaper. During the night, “Luna” is a partial owner of a nightclub.  Luna wants to own her own jazz nightclub outright, as she is tired of dealing with the crooked politicians and the deadly mobsters who run the underground nightlife. Even though Luna looks like a White woman, her loved ones still get targeted with violence because of the rampant sexism and racism. Luna wants to mitigate these risks by owning her own business with no ties to mobsters.

Utilizing her magical powers of charm, she is able to negotiate with criminals to keep her business running smoothly. As she’s making progress, she finds herself in the crosshair of someone who wants to harm her and her business to a greater degree than her “business partners”.  Luna is used to depending on herself but she finds herself overwhelmed. Will she be able to turn to her loved ones for help?

 

It was engaging seeing how Luna was trying to manage the two different sides of herself and trying to combine her heritage and her new life into one. I liked reading about her dreams of running her own business and how she overcame the people who were trying to stop her.

 

The book was packed with action on every page but it felt overwhelming at times. There were points though that I had a hard time following along. I felt the Spanish phrases and the terminology used during that time period made it hard to keep up with the pace. I would have liked a glossary or a translation of what something meant.

 

I also felt at times that the writing was choppy. A scene would transition to another scene without much warning or heads up that the story was moving in another direction.  It seemed as if the author wanted to broach many different social issues such as racism and sexism, but she touched the surface and didn’t really go anywhere with it.

 

I had a hard time connecting with the main character. I felt that the reader got a one dimensional look to her. The author didn’t spend much time giving her a background or explaining her magic in more detail. I felt like the novel lacked proper world building, which was confusing since she used a lot of 1920’s jargon. Luna’s thoughts were so muddled and repetitive that it made it confusing to me. The book had a lot of potential but it needed to be better edited to make the story easier to follow.

Book Review - Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin

 

Dangerous Beauty by Melissa Koslin is about a chance encounter uniting two people from different walks of life. 

Liliana Vela refuses to think of herself as a victim. She is a fighter and survivor. She will not let the past dictate how she lives her life.  Liliana witnessed her family being brutally murdered in her impoverished Mexican village before being kidnapped by the human traffickers. She was able to escape before the men made the exchange with her buyer.  Liliana is determined to take back her life after escaping from the men who held her hostage.  However, she realized that she has no connections or anyone to help her in America.  She feels she is all alone.

Meric Toledan decided to stop for water at a service station when he noticed Liliana needing help from some men that are following her.  He decided to help rescue her from these men, who he realizes are traffickers. When he realized that she had no one to rely on for help in a new country, he decided to marry her to keep her safe from the traffickers. The mysterious buyer refuses to let his prize be stolen away by someone else. Will Liliana be able to live her life free from the buyer in the end?

The book was an absolute borefest with almost no thrills or action. Liliana and Meric were one dimensional and dull. The two main characters always seemed to say the perfect thing to each other and they could do no wrong. The story got repetitive and moved slowly, with nothing happening plot wise. The author used the word “cold” to describe Meric’s personality in almost every other sentence.  I also found it weird that Meric is described as a cold, withdrawn, and prudent person, but then marries and wills all of his assets to someone who is practically a stranger to him. 

I felt that the plot and twists were unrealistic. It is mentioned that Meric isn’t a “people” person even with the people that work for him or are “close” to him. But Meric goes out of his way for Liliana, whom he just met but he simply found her too beautiful. Multiple times during the novel, it’s mentioned that Meric can’t be near her because her beauty is so overwhelming to him and he is afraid he can’t control himself. It all seems so shallow. I felt that if Liliana wasn’t beautiful he wouldn’t be willing to give her his entire fortune and help her with her predicament. The author’s description of Liliana’s beauty and Meric’s cold personality was repeated constantly to the point that  it got annoying. I felt that the author should have used that time and space to add more to the story’s plot.

The ending seemed far fetched and everything was neatly tied up in a bow. I felt that the ending didn't seem plausible. It left me with more questions about the validity of Meric’s familial connections. There were a lot of side stories that didn’t add value to the main storyline.  Liliana met a group of elderly residents and they seemed to be having fun and they even had an outing together. However, after an incident that wasn’t directly related to them, they were written out of the story with no additional mention of them. It made me wonder what the point was of including these characters for a few chapters. The book felt lackluster because the characters were bland, the story was long winded, and the plot didn’t feel feasible.

Book Review - We Are the Light by Matthew Quick

 

We Are the Light by Matthew Quick is about a small community coming together after an unspeakable act of violence occurs. Lucas Goodgame is a school guidance counselor who helps children adjust to issues that they might have at home or at school. He lives in the quaint suburb community of Majestic, Pennsylvania.  At a local movie theater, a gunman entered and slaughtered multiple victims before he was stopped. Lucas is considered a local hero because of his act of courage in stopping the gunman.

Lucas doesn’t see himself as a hero and tries to avoid the attention from others. He insists that his deceased wife, Darcy, is an angel who is guiding him. Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former “Jungian analyst”, Karl, to help cope after the deadly tragedy.

Everything changes when Eli, an eighteen year old, starts to camp out in Lucas’s backyard. Eli was a former student of Lucas and he is related to the gunman. Lucas feels that Eli is the way to heal the community and themselves. They embark together to fuel their grief and anxiety into making art while bringing in the other survivors from that night to help.

The author is well known for his other books but this was my first time reading any of his novels. The novel is written in epistolary style, meaning that it is written in the form of letters that Lucas writes.  Lucas writes and spills his heart to his former analyst to help himself cope with his grief. The writing style was an interesting choice but it felt limiting as we only got Lucas’s point of view.

I didn’t understand what a Jungian analyst was and the process. The author did explain that he was a fan of it but didn’t do a thorough job of communicating what this therapy was to the reader.  I personally felt like I didn’t quite understand it and it took away some enjoyment from the novel. The author did mention that he was going through his own struggles and that this form of therapy helped him.  I felt that the author included too many phallic/“being a man” references in the beginning. The main female character, Darcy’s best friend, Jill, does all the household work and becomes caregiver to Lucas. She has to handle all the bills, the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and budgeting while Lucas goes off on his madcap adventures and ideas. Lucas rarely considers her feelings and she is made to be seen as an annoyance or getting in Lucas’ way instead of being the life support she really is. Gender stereotypes were rampant in this book.

I felt like the plot was predictable, boring, and moved very slowly. There were a lot of side stories going on that were overwhelming at times. I didn’t care for Lucas as a main character. He seemed like a petulant child that would throw tantrums when things didn’t go his way. He seemed to be struggling with his grief and acting erratically while his supposedly close friends were enabling him.  This story might have been a great movie but it was lackluster for a book.  The visual aspect may have been a better medium for the suspenseful pieces of this book.

 

Book Review - Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen

 

 

 

Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen is the final book in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy. Tabitha Brown gives birth to a beautiful baby girl after being told in the previous book that she might not be able to have biological children. She is trying to juggle the demands of being a new parent, the needs of a newborn baby, her friends, her job, and her love life.

After experiencing a stressful year, Tabitha decides that this would be her year to achieve her goals and obtain the life she had always wanted. She plans on getting her career, home, and love life in order. Except, the demands of motherhood are draining and Tabitha feels that she barely has time nor energy to do anything.

Tabitha loves her daughter and finds motherhood fulfilling but she wants more from her life. When her beloved coworker mentions that she is planning to retire from the news studio, Tabitha is worried that she might return from maternity leave to a hostile work environment. Just before Tabitha takes her leave, she basically sets all of her ships on fire by going against the wishes of her producer. When she hears news that the station is planning to hire an outside candidate to fill her friend’s role, Tabby is afraid that she might lose her chance to the weekday anchor position that she has worked so hard for.  Tabitha is worried that she might also lose or not maintain her current position of the weekend anchor.  

She normally turns to her friends for support but they seem to be having their own issues to deal with and her relationship with her friends have been frayed since she became a mother. Alexis, her best friend, is still struggling with her marriage with her cheating husband, Rob. Her other friend, Laila, is trying to launch her own business after being fired from her last job.

Her relationship with Marc has also hit a standstill. She isn’t sure what she wants from their relationship anymore. In the previous books, she wanted to get married and settle down with him and start a family. After Marc gives her an ultimatum about their current relationship, she isn’t sure what she wants to do. To make matters worse, his overbearing and controlling mother comes to visit and has something to say about everything, including her ability to mother her daughter.

Tabitha is trying to navigate her life but finds herself failing in every aspect. She feels lonely and isolated from her family especially right now when she needs them the most. Tabitha knows that her friends and family will help her if she asks for it, but will Tabitha finally put herself first and ask for help?

I read the second book in the series and I was able to follow along with the story. However, I feel that the books should be read in order as it will help illuminate character nuances, relationships, and side story lines. This book addresses the cliffhangers that were left hanging from the previous book and wraps up most of the pending problems in the end.

I felt that the book didn’t flow as smoothly as the previous book in the series and was choppy in some places. I felt that this book was missing something, like the spark the previous book had.  The ending made me feel that Tabby still doesn’t know what she wants from Marc and her relationship with him.  The ending of the series felt underwhelming as I was expecting a lot more to happen but it didn’t. If you liked the other two books in the series then you might enjoy this book.