dejreads's reviews
34 reviews

I have came to conclusion that I don't think I like mess/messiness in the form of a book, only in the tv shows I watch. It took me so long to get to through this book because of me being a quite slow reader and also work just been treating me like a punching bag, and Magnolia and BJ treated me like another punching back every time I opened the book.

The book caught my interest because someone on TikTok mentioned that it gives off Gossip Girl set in London vibes. If you know me, Gossip Girl is one of my favorite shows (I am one out of maybe 4 people who enjoyed the reboot too lol). If definitely check all the boxes of young adults that was practically born with a silver spoon in their mouths and just basking in the glory of luxury, I adored that vibe. However, the roller coaster of Magnolia and BJ nearly made me internally scream.

One moment they're sharing a bed with each other. The next they're slobbing on someone else to make the other jealous. I felt like as a reader, I was their couple's therapist and neither one of them isn't trying to let me get a word out.
I just felt like the book didn't really have any actual plot other than Magnolia and BJ's toxicity when in reality neither one of them should be dating each other if I'm going to be honest with myself. I would have loved a balance of Lodon elite drama, Magnolia/BJ's relationship drama, and character development for both of them...but it just fell flat for this book.

I am still on the fence on reading the other books apart of the Magnolia Parks universe though.

If you are a sucker for messy storylines and couples, this book is for you. However, it was not my cup of tea.

I was in a reading slump before I signed up for Kindle Unlimited (again) and stumbled upon this book. I'm unsure if I remember seeing someone promote this book on TikTok, but I've always been interested in reading it. As a girlie who adores historical type of tv shows from across the board, kdramas, Reign, Game of Thrones, etc—I knew I would love it. From the first chapter, I got tugged into the story of Shala & Young Ji. Even though the story follow their bond, it was so wonderful to read about them as individual characters, from Shala being a warrior badass to Young Ji being a king of kindness. The one criticism I would say is that the book was extremely fast-paced, but I wouldn't take points off of it because I felt like Feara W's way of describing the world Shala and the others made up with how fast the story was moving. Then on top of that, it's another part of Shala and Young Ji's story after this. I just want to say that these two are probably my Roman empire, I think about how their love story blossoms a lot.

P.S FAVORITE QUOTE — “Your eyes are my stars. They guide me through my emotions. Your body is my earth. It settles me and forms to my own. Your talent is my sword. Your strength is impeccable. Shala, you are my world. I do not understand how I lived without you.” He paused. “The moment you take your last breath, I will follow you. We are one soul. Say we survive the war, let us produce offspring....”

Feara W. you did your thing with this book !

This book altered my brain and universe, that’s how good it was. Kennedy Ryan may be one of my favorite authors because I just couldn’t put this book down when I would sit down to read it. The way she wrote both Yas and Josiah just made my heart feel so warm inside. I can not wait for the second book in this series though.

I have always been skeptical about books that involve characters experiencing trauma in spaces like school, work, etc because it can be extremely discomforting for me. However, Ace of Spades was just so well written. I always found myself reading one chapter and telling myself “one more chapter won’t hurt”. It was so hard to put this book down when I sat down to read it. The two main characters were just so different but when it came to finding and solving the ultimate mystery/problem in the book—they contrasted each other so well. Such a wonderful read if you want to read something that will leave you at the end of your seat as you continue to read.

i am very skeptical of non black writers writing black characters, so i was entering reading terms and conditions guided. however, lauren asher did pretty well with writing iris. while reading, i saw myself in iris as a black woman. especially considering her viewpoint on love.

the chemistry between declan and iris was there. i adore sunshine/grumpy trope. i adore fake dating trope. so y'all should know i was going to eat this up. anyway, i wanted them to have sex so bad by the time the tenth chapter hit. however, lauren asher did a wonderful job of building that tension up so when iris and declan did have sex—as a reader i felt every freaking emotion from both characters. the adorable thing of declan and iris sending words in different languages about how they feel, was so cute. declan making everybody use a certain font because he researched that it's better for people who have dyslexia aka what iris has thought hinder her progress in life. loved their dynamic.

i also adored iris and cal's friendship. at first, my biggest concern was the fact that iris didn't have any black friends. idc how you were raised, every black person have at least one black friend. i feel like lauren asher could have gave iris another lil friend that was black. however as the story goes on, i did kinda altered my view on this point because it's revealed that iris puts her personal life on hold for her job which hinders her making friends. buutttttt it would have still be nice to have more than four black characters mentioned in the book.

one thing that did irk me was that during the last argument, declan didn't beg enough for me. hell, he didn't beg enough for me during his and iris first argument. like i do feel like iris forgave him too quickly in a sense with both the arguments they had in the book. declan daddy issues had me heated like bitch go to therapy. also siri play not my job by flo.

so yes, this is me saying that i am adding declan to the toxic book male lead list.

overall, it was a good read. the sex scenes were good. there weren't a lot of sex scenes though, which i didn't mind. similar to multi chapter fics, i don't like books with a lot of sex scenes/smut. simply because i like a nice smut to plot ratio. the plot was good for a stand-alone book. i don't plan on reading the other two books in the series though, but i have heard good things about the fine print and i'm sure the final offer (i believe that's what the last book is called) will be just as good because hello it have cal (which to me is the best kane brother hehe).