This book to me couldn’t top the second one, but it was still a very good read. What I most liked about it is that even though you got a “happy” ending, it was still reasonable. The stakes were high, people who had to face consequences did, and the ending made sense. I guess that’s why it wasn’t better than the second one, this was a logical result to the surprising plot points from book two still very good. Unsure on whether I want to read the following books since this felt like a very good ending to the series, so I’m reading other books before deciding!

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brooke_w's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i love the mystery of it all and i’m desperate to read The Brothers Hawthorne now

thoughts while reading

p19: oh dear

p104: it’s chess!

p125: he sounds a lot like tobias hawthorne

p133: NIV! why didn’t i catch that?!

p136: ok. who the heck is this?? is this bro tryna tell us

he’s tobias’ other son

or something??

p158: xander’s giving off joel vibes

p191: oh gosh what is eve doing there?

p252: if this isn’t the sweetest thing jameson has ever said 🥹

p253: uh huh, well i did wonder

p291: surely not…

p323: hmm, well this is a tricky situation

p329: i’m desperately trying to work out what even is the best outcome now that

toby’s thrown the first match

p340: she’s not gonna win is she

p358: yep that’s pretty much what i expected

quotes

"Yes, you do. And it doesn't even matter, because I'm not putting on a show here, Heiress. I'm not playing at being overprotective or pretending that, for once in my life, I want to do the right thing. I love you. I would die to protect you. I would make you hate me to keep you safe because damn it, Avery—some things are too precious to gamble. This is who I want to be, for you."

"You make me see myself as a person who's capable of anything. I would jump out of a plane with you, snowboard down the side of a volcano with you, bet everything that I have on you—on us, against the world. You don't get to run off and take risks and expect me to stay behind in a gilded cage of your making. That isn't who you are, and it's not what I want. You, have always made me bold. You're the one who pushes me out of my comfort zone. You don't get to box me back in now."

Content Warnings