Once again I had some likes and dislikes, but I did enjoy this, even more than the first book! Warning that this review contains *SPOILERS* for the previous book.

For one thing, I felt the writing improved and felt more natural, flowed better. It also felt more age-matching, if that makes sense, more like it was for mid/older teens (which is what the characters are, older teens) instead of younger.

The romance started to get a little overdramatic with the repeated angry arguments and sudden grabbing kisses, but maybe that’s just the boring adult in me talking, I probably would’ve eaten that up as a teen 😄 There was lots of push and pull in the relationship, Jasper knowing he doesn’t want anyone except Max but still saying they can’t be together for Max’s safety and for the safety of the pack that is currently in a weak position. Honestly, that sort of angst and tension can be fun, I do enjoy it to an extent.

I guess this is a very mild spoiler about Katie’s relationship. I felt like the polyamory was handled a bit weirdly at first, but it got better. Katie basically demanded both her partners be ok with sharing and acted like they were ridiculous for not immediately wanting to do that. But they are teens, so it makes sense they don’t always know the best way to do everything. Eventually they did sit down and truly discuss it and acknowledge the importance of communication.

Speaking of that relationship, Simon and Todd felt more like a sort of comedy sketch than actual characters. Every mention of them was just them bickering and arguing and crossing the finish line of a race at the same time because they were literally fighting as they did it, that sort of thing. It felt a little over the top in a book that was otherwise fairly realistic, but also, it was fine. Not really a big deal for these two to just be sort of ridiculous in the background.

I’m still confused how I’m supposed to feel about Jasper’s dad, though maybe that’s the point. Sometimes he seems likeable because of how he’s supportive of Max and Jasper and trying to help Max. But I haven’t forgotten how harsh and controlling and abusive he was to Jasper. And Max did call him a bad father, so maybe the author hasn’t forgotten either. He’s just a complex character, I guess. People can be good in some ways and bad in others.

I’m also still confused about the friendship between Max and Katie. I thought maybe I overreacted in the first book about how they didn’t seem to have a great friendship, but the weirdness continued. Trying to be good friends and make time for each other and be there for each other sometimes, but being not-so-great other times. Maybe this is also meant to be a realistic portrayal of how friendships are sometimes, especially when you’re still learning and growing as a teen? I mean, I know all my friendships weren’t perfect.

(I think I keep getting hung up on certain things not because I think they’re bad, but more because I can’t quite figure out the author’s intent. But maybe that’s ok and I should just go along for the ride.)

Max is a likeable character though, and he had growth about accepting himself and realizing the importance of community. There is a nice general message forming in these books about queer community and changing things for the better.

Overall, despite mixed feelings about a few things, I enjoyed the book and felt pretty sucked in! I wanted to keep reading.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2024 // Format: Ebook via TTS*