1 and some change.
I had to force myself to finish it.
I couldn't connect with any of the characters. Spice is non-existent for those who care.
For new readers, there's a descriptive, painful, first turn that goes on for awhile for whatever reason, and descriptive SA by the "mate/love interest", for a specific reason, but thought you should know(also goes on for awhile). Don't remember a TW.
This reminded me of why I don't like reading books with young FMC. They believe themselves to be mature and adult but are constantly proving that they, in fact, aren't. Don't get me wrong, there are some books out there that are a bit realistic in how they portray 18-20 year olds, but this isn't one of them. It felt like a grown person writing a severely "hormonal" female lead that is surrounded by yes-men. Could tell me Alora is a severely spoiled 14 year old emotionally/mentally, and I'd believe you.
Don't get me started on how badly it was arranged, either. It's on a pay-to-read app(Tapon), and it doesn't appear to have been edited other than to insert chapter images that are only there for pause. Not thematically because it immediately just gets back into it as if there wasn't any sort of pause, but mostly to cut runoff conversations/paragraphs/scenes. I could think of a few places where a pause would've been thematically good, but they were nowhere in sight.
Anyways.
The FMC started out fine, a typical sad girl with tragic backstory, so it was a bit understandable in her constant need to cry... 😒
However, as the story progresses, SHE believes herself to be stronger/tougher/doesn't need a man, and yet... almost on every other page, there's a paragraph of how she feels like crying or throwing up(?) or can't forgive/forget him. I'm not joking, I have them tagged, and it's more frequent as the story progresses. Which is horrible because at some point, in this 400+ page book, she's supposed to come into herself. She doesn't. She believes she has, but as a reader, we get insight into her emotions and thoughts, and they have only gotten worse and more childish.
Her inability to just TALK is absolutely astounding. She has a habit of assuming absolutely everything and being horrible to those around her, and then when finding out the truth, she ONCE AGAIN feels like crying/throwing up or becoming so childishly infuriated that she ONCE AGAIN takes it out on anyone around her.
I've seen her seriously apologize once.
Just the one.
And it was because she, unsurprisingly, assumed something, and instead of asking or talking about it initially, she got gross.
The worst part is she realizes she's being "hormonal"... I'd say a bitch, but it doesn't stop her nor prevent her from ultimately taking it out on someone eventually. There are many notes and highlights where I wrote "this isn't about you shuuut uuuuupppp" for this very reason. She's also gets into the habit of comparing herself and at one point compares her and Cole's relationship with someone else's. Someone that did something absolutely horrible to their mate and thinks that Cole did the same to her and gets ONCE AGAIN in her feelings and takes it out on him. When...???? What he did is absolutely nothing compared to what the other did. Other than THAT.
I get it, Cole was a constant hot and cold, seeking approval from his father, and was willing to drop her for the good of the pack. However, again, she found out the truth, saw how genuinely horrible and hard that decision was, said she understood even tho it hurt, and didn't blame him. Can ya guess what she did... of course, AFTER wanting to cry and throw up and taking it out on someone around her? She blamed him for absolutely EVERYTHING and... AGAIN... instead of talking it out/ASKING, she assumed and became insufferable.
Something happens where Cole asks her to give him a minute to process THIS VERY SERIOUS LIFE CHANGING THING, and she basically says, "F that. You don't get your time. I don't like you being silent."
HUUUUHHHH?!
She wanted and got her time, but apparently, he isn't allowed that. We see some growth in Cole, but not Alora. Who we're supposed to be rooting for.
Also, Meds...Mads.. whatever, just seemed very stereotypical. Specifically, the "loud latina bff that's always cursing" stereotype. It's weird. It makes me feel icky and cringe, especially when Alora starts saying "skanky puta" because she heard it from her the first time they met??? I don't have to be latina to feel this way, but I am, and it's hitting something in the brain.
Absolutely returning this. I don't understand the high praise, but to each their own.
Tl;dr
No. Extremely childish FMC.
Writing is not great, and whole ass "chapters" felt like filler. A lot of them did.
Only reason it got any stars is because the plot and world could've been amazing in a more polished series, but because of how it's written/arranged it all feels like an info dump without actually informing you of anything and the FMC is insufferable.