Ok, I’m more into the series now.

First things first, Quentin didn’t do the “one” thing or say “dear/old boy” as much, which was my biggest issue with the first book. It also helped him feel like he had more actual depth.

In fact, both Laurence and Quentin are likeable and memorable. I’m enjoying them as main characters and looking forward to getting to know them more and more.

Something this author does particularly well is write panic/anxiety spirals. Sometimes Quentin will suddenly panic and get lost in his thoughts, thoughts that just start spiraling out of control, and it really comes through in the way it’s written.

The plot was great. Not super action-packed, but plenty going on to keep me reading. Pretty much independent of the events in the first book, and resolved by the end, but with the characters and their development and relationships and lives and growing psychic powers being the connecting threads, and the ending hinted at a bigger, overarching plot or events to come.

Despite some issues I have, which I’ll get more into below, the romance is sweet and continuing to grow into something strong. They have some little emotional struggles here and there, but that just makes it even better for me, and it’s only because they feel so strongly for each other. And shit, that bathtub scene was hot. The slow burn build up to it… Laurence’s desperation… Quentin feeling things he’s never felt before… Whew!

Talking about the sex, however, feels tricky. One character loves sex and wants to have it all the time. The other has a fear of physical intimacy and has only just started to be ok with a bit of kissing at the start of the book. Characters sometimes say/think/feel/do things that are a bit problematic or not ideal. Laurence sometimes gets frustrated with Quentin and pushes him a bit. Quentin sometimes ends up in situations that make him uncomfortable or panicked. There’s a bit of a vibe that Quentin is the one who is wrong and needs to change. It could be upsetting to some readers. However, it seems Quentin isn’t sex-repulsed, he might not even be asexual, rather he has fear/anxiety around sex but enjoys it when he’s able to get past that. So he seems to me like someone who knows essentially nothing about sex and who’s just never experienced romantic or sexual attraction until now with Laurence. And viewing it that way, it’s less problematic. It would’ve been better if we had just seen Quentin clearly express to Laurence that it’s something he wants, but *shrug*. I felt it was realistic that things wouldn’t go perfectly, that characters would sometimes make mistakes or get frustrated or be imperfect. And Quentin wasn’t forced into anything. And now their feelings about sex seem to be slowly becoming more compatible.

Overall though, I’m getting into this series, and I enjoyed this book! The plot kept my attention, the psychic powers made things more interesting, the romance was sweet with a touch of emotional struggle, and I definitely want to learn more about Laurence and Quentin and see what more is in store for them.

*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2022 // Format: Ebook via TTS*