3.5⭐️ I struggled with this book because there was a lot that didn't connect or make sense to me- mainly the actions, or rather, reactions of the character; however, I did still enjoy reading it. Every time I found myself bothered and thinking I didn't like this, something would happen that brought me back to enjoying it- so there lies the struggle to decide whether I was liking it or not. To be honest, I think I may just be a little bit too analytical for this series. Someone reading more for vibes would likely really enjoy it.
THE POSITIVE ✅️
✅️ The smut was smutting. The scenes are well written and hot 🔥. Loooooooved that touch of MM play thrown in.
✅️I like that FMC Salem instinctively knows how to use her magic on a basic level. This was something I originally planned to criticize - that one minute she didn't know magic existed, and the next, she was just doing it with no instruction. It seemed a little too easy and unrealistic….. but, then I thought about it and realized that I actually liked that it didn't take her a whole damn book to figure out how to access and control her magic- like other books I've read in the genre (cough cough, ZA). I mean, if this was something she was born with and a natural part of her, it makes sense that she should be able to instinctively access it and figure out the basics. So thank you, Dakota Wild, for not making us wait an entire book while she tries to figure out how to scratch her ass. 😀
✅️I’m in love with the hell dog. “Satan”, so cute! I'm positive it was not intended this way, but after he licked Salem’s leg, I can't help but picture him like Beastly from Care Bears. I kept trying to remind myself that he's supposed to be big and ferocious, but it just didn't help.
✅️One of the men, Garrison, still didn't “engage” with one of the FMCs by the end of the second book, and I'm here for it. I love that the author left a new connection for the last book. I find that characters getting together for the first time is always the hottest and once everyone has been together a couple times, it gets boring- so spreading out when the FMC gets with all the men in a why- choose is really smart and keeps a 3 book series exciting.
✅️I like that the chapters are short and to the point. I love that there is no incessant inner monologuing- that drives me nuts.
THE NEGATIVE ❌
❌️There was a little bit of ambiguity regarding how Salem looks, which bugs me because it made it difficult to commit to the way I was seeing her in my mind during the story. In the first book, Pierce describes her body as “lithe”- then in this book, she is described as having “generous curves”. So which one is it? Because it doesn't make sense to be both - You either are skinny and lithe or you are thicker with “generous” curves.
❌️Did she seriously just get her power regenerated by being fingered by one of her men while fighting a monster? Wow, that's really….. silly. At the end of the day, this is a smutty romance novel, and some people might think that a witch that regenerates her power via sexual acts is clever. I, however, am not one of those people. I am too analytical, and I find it silly and totally unrealistic- but this is just my personal preference and no hate to the author.
❌️Although I liked that Salem didn't take pages upon pages to figure out how to use her magic on a basic level, I did feel that the way she handled finding out that she was a witch with magic was unrealistic. She didn't even know that witches and magic were real and when all of a sudden it turns out they aren't just real but she's one, she accepts it like she would accept finding out she has a mole on her ass or a hidden talent for unicycle riding- no big deal. Now, I understand that she didn't have time to process any of it before her new fuck buddy was “killed”, so she was heart broken at first- but, heart broken or not, if I found out that witches are real and I am one AND I have magic powers, I'd be whirling with emotions and curiosity. It felt like it was way too long in between her learning this and her actually acknowledging it. I just felt that she was a little too blase` and chill about it all- it felt unrealistic.
It also made very little sense to me that she wouldn't contact her grandmother immediately after her grandmother sent her a poisoned pie and finding out that she comes from a long line of witches. After the pie was sent and everything went down, she didn't know for sure if her grandmother tried to kill her or someone else put poison in the pie, you would think she would pick up the phone asap to find out what's going on and to seek support from her family- and yes, I know her family is not very supportive of her, but that that point she would have still thought they would care about her being poisoned/killed
❌️Salem and Walker kill both the mother and grandmother in self defense.Walker says “we have to clean this up”... and then he sets the curtains on fire and they leave. Seriously? Wow, great “cover-up”! 👍 The grandmother was shot. Starting a house fire will likely not burn the bodies well enough that the police won't know the cause of death. Also, they were the ones to see them alive before the fire and the aunt and her husband know that- so why aren't the police questioning them?
❌️It also didn't make a lot of sense that Salem inherits her grandmother's wealth when her grandmother has living kids, and also, her grandmother disliked her and wanted her dead. I needed some kind of justification for this. It could have been easily addressed so that it made sense.
❌️The end of chapter 40- the scene where Lukas pushes Sky's ex, David, off the cliff.
I found this scene to be unrealistic in a few ways:
First, so Lukas tricked David into meeting him- for what reason? Was he planning to beat or murder this innocent kid just for insulting Skye when he dated her? Like, what was the point?
Second, physical logistics of the scene was off- Lukas had him by the collar, holding him up close to the edge of the cliff so his feet were dangling and his toes we barely touching the ground, but somehow the kid had the leverage to grab Lukas’ arm in an attempt to “throw Lukas off the cliff”? Make this make sense because I'm struggling to picture this in my head while reading this sequence of events.
Third, and most ridiculous and unbelievable is Sky's reaction to watching Lukas murder her ex. Sky has been portrayed as a fairly wholesome, levelheaded and decent young woman, but yet we’re expected to believe that she witnessed her ex be murdered by her new boyfriend just because he insulted her body size, and instead of running, screaming, being in fear for her own life (considering she knows Lukas is possessed by a demon) she feels grateful that someone cares enough to kill for her- and then she strips down and has sex with the murderer while looking over the cliff at the mangled dead body of her ex. WTF? So she's now a sociopath? I'm sorry, but I don't find it even remotely believable that a normal well adjusted 21 year old girl would watch someone she once loved be lured to a cliff and murdered needlessly and then not feel an ounce of remorse or fear.
“He thrusts his hips, sliding in and out of me. “You see that down there? He can never fucking hurt you again, baby.” My eyes flit downwards as Lukas fucks me from behind.”- again, all this kid did was break up with her because she had gained weight and then came crawling back apologizing and trying to get back together with her. Granted, shitty behavior but hardly punishable by death. I'm pretty sure calling him a small dick douchebag and blocking him would have sufficed.
“Maybe I’m darker than I ever thought possible, letting this man that has my heart and body fuck me while we gaze down at my dead ex below. His body begins to be picked apart by crows as the water laps at his feet.” - Ummm, since when do crows “pick apart” a person 5 minutes after they died? This scene just kept getting worse and worse!!!!
❌️More editing oversights. There are some awkward sentences, grammar errors and punctuation mistakes.
Eg. “I’ll be damned if I only rely on a man on recharging my power.”
Overall, I'm looking forward to reading the next book to see how this story ends. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes smutty why-choose paranormal college romance and is not overly critical, but just reading for vibes