I overall enjoyed Tremble quite a bit—not as much as Quiver, but I liked Kas more than Ale, and I LOVED Ale, so there's that. Aiyana was a bit immature at times, but overall likable. The whole conflict of why she couldn't be with Kas was drawn out when it really was such a quick, easy conversation that could've been addressed very early on. This book was all about people's minds changing over time, so that part felt disjointed? I also do not like it when books are heavy with pet names/nicknames, and while I loved the way the nickname Kas had for Aiyana was connected to her family name, it gave me the ick very early on in the story and appears sooooo much. It ultimately took me out of the story quite a bit and I had to brace myself for when I knew it was coming and consciously skip that line.
I thought Victoria did a great job writing a character with endo, and I loved how inclusive the book was of Aiyana's Cherokee heritage, customs, language, the politics surrounding her existence, etcetera. Her parents were a breath of fresh air, and they balanced out a few of the more intense parts of the book. However, I have a similar complaint with Kas that I did Kat—their Puerto Rican and Filipino heritages are not written about/embraced by them, and I wished I saw that since Aiyana so proudly embraced hers. I also loved how this story is interwoven with Ale and Kat's, and how frequently the cast of characters appear in Tremble because of it. This is ultimately a double-edged sword though, because it also made Kas and Aiyana feel somewhat underdeveloped. If you've read Quiver, you've gone through some of these scenes with these characters, albeit not from their perspective. In those scenes I already knew what was going to happen and found myself wanting to skim (I would never though because I'm so obsessed with words).
Speaking of words, I recently realized I love, love, love books that have texts/emails between the FMC and MMC, and that is plentiful in Tremble. The spice here was phenomenal; no notes. I overall love Victoria's writing, I find it refreshing, fast-paced, and engaging. And, once again, as a South Jersey native, it warms my heart to have these characters frequent places I know and love (although I don't think I can visit that farm again omg?!?)!
I'm excited to keep going with this series!
4 ⭐️s
4 🌶️