Actual rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5
I definitely liked the idea behind the book! A wizard whose destiny is to protect humans ends up falling in love with one, just like his great-grandfather — who had tasked his lineage with that mission — had centuries prior. However, there were a few elements that could have made a huge difference to the story and reading experience, had they been taken care of and properly executed:
Repetition:
I noticed that repetition dominated the book in different aspects:
"He needs her.
He needs to see her smile again.
He needs to be able to hold her as she falls asleep in his arms."
And there are seven following sentences with the exact same structure. I understand the aim was to emphasize the MMC's feelings and need for the FMC (and don't all girlies need a man like that? 😜❤), But I think the above-mentioned sentences were enough to achieve that. The same thing happened in Quinn's POV, too.
Also, nearly every paragraph in both POVs started the same way: She wanted, She said, He thought, He felt. So naturally, the overuse of both pronouns was apparent.
The pronoun "She" was repeated 5382 times.
The pronoun "He" was repeated 3737 times.
The word "Filming" was used eighteen times. And in my opinion, that was sixteen times too many. It could have been replaced by multiple words or expressions to refer to Quinn's profession.
Character and plot development:
I believe what makes a paranormal romance stand out are the magical and otherworldly elements it contains, but there were barely any to mention in IPOS.
Characters:
We've already established that Treyton was a wizard, and he held the power of "The Blaze" which made him the strongest among his peers. That's where the "Show, don't tell" rule comes into play because we were only
told
he could annihilate his enemies; we were not
shown
. What made that power so exceptional?
It would have been nice to have a more detailed description of what life on Idyllcadia was like; were there any important landmarks or historical monuments? Was it a kingdom or did it have a political system? Were all Idyllcadian people tasked with protecting humans or was it only Trey's family? If it was the former, then who was Treyton's great-grandfather to convince the entire land to pursue such a mission? If it was the latter, what was the rest of the population's purpose? Why have an entire population and a parallel world, when it could have simply been Treyton's family holding powers and living among humans?
I found it quite astonishing that Quinn chose to dismiss the bits and pieces Treyton had shared with her throughout their relationship. Any person in her shoes would think he was part of some cult, but after hinting at not being from Earth, several times? She just...ignored it?
"She clearly didn't think her boyfriend was invincible. Even when he told her that he usually pretty much is when not on Earth and that with her, he was especially vulnerable, she brushed it off."
"I'm wearing it as a constant reminder of my singularity. Of the fact that I'm a being of two worlds. I'm wearing it to never forget that I am different and strive to do things differently than my predecessors."
Wouldn't the most logical reaction be to wonder whether your partner is mentally sane? Or even book them a therapy appointment? I mean, if anyone I know ever came to me and was like: "I'm not from earth." My immediate response would be: "Are you okay?" It might sound cliche, but I think that's the normal human way of thinking. You might brush it off if they said it once or twice, thinking of it as nothing more than a silly joke, but not when they mention it so many times.
I'd say IPOS served as the blueprint for the Black Ops duology, minus the paranormal part, as it was written prior, and here's why:
The similarities were too noticeable. First, there were allusions to both MCs being "Perfect" made by each other, then came the fact that both Treyton and Quinn loved vintage cars; it was also mentioned quite a few times that Treyton hates lying, and let's not forget about how Trey was referred to as being "So sweet and soft" Which, if you've read the Black Ops duology, you'll remember that Oliver and Mila were the same.
In addition to that, Quinn and Treyton were trying to fix the "Failing system" of the filming industry and the Idyllcadian one, just like Mila and Oliver fought to right the "Failing system" of the law and the criminal world. Furthermore, Quinn's orientation, as well as the chronological order in which she dated the people she met before Treyton was the same as for Mila. Treyton's friendship with Ashlyn also felt quite similar to Oliver's with La Luz. I think changes needed to be made to differentiate the characters. Trey and Quinn could have had different personality traits and hobbies, to make them more unique.
Plot:
There didn't seem to be any apparent plot. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it felt like the book only aimed at sharing the MCs' longing for one another, and sure, that plays a big part in the romantic aspect of the story; that's the goal behind each romance book after all. That being said, for it to be considered a paranormal romance, there needs to be as many paranormal elements to the story as there are romantic ones, which was not the case. I personally would have loved to see Treyton's power in action during combat.
Something else that caught my eye was the presence of several chapters that were full-on smùt or had multiple smùt scenes and others with the characters endlessly pining for one another. The thing is, those chapters/scenes did not contribute much plot-wise and felt more like fillers. I think some could have been replaced by ones providing more insight into the magical realm.
Treyton praising Mila for her idea of having a civil conversation with the Joneses as if he couldn't come up with that all on his own, then have him share it with his father, and for the Joneses to have agreed to a truce seemed rather unconvincing. Wasn't the Joneses' aim to take over earth and its inhabitants? Which was why Trey's family was tasked with protecting the human race, and the Joneses just agreed to give up their evil plan? Did I get it wrong? I'm not gonna lie, there were a few parts that got me pretty confused while reading, and this was one of them.
Conclusion:
I think the book has good potential. Some additional work on the copy and developmental editing would definitely make it quite a decent story. This was my third read from Marie, and although the reading experience was different, I still am looking forward to future work from her ❤