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4¾⭐️

Things I liked:

• Interesting, belivable characters
• Astrid’s journey
• Jordan’s journey
• Supportive friends

Not my jam:

• Leaned a little too heavily into smart people making poor choices
• Jordan's family were a little under-developed (getting less page time than, say, Iris)

Tags: #Awakening #BiPansexualMC #DualPOV #FamilyIssues #ForcedProximity #LabelsAreNotForMe #NuisanceEx #PlaceInTheWorld #StructureMeetsWhimsy #ThirdPersonPOV #WorkplaceEthics

3½⭐️

Things I liked:

• Symmetric character investment and growth
• Better romance than another of the author’s works

Stuff which didn’t really land with me:

• Cartoonish villains

Overall, it was a decent enough sports romance. Not amazing enough to drop everything else to start, but a nice easy read.

Tags: #Celebrity #ConfrontingHomophobia #DualPOV #FamilyIssues #ForcedProximity #NewInTown #NuisanceEx #Sports #ThirdPersonPOV

By which I mean: otherwise smart and interesting people making dumb choices for the drama of it all.

3½⭐️

Things I liked:

• Lindsey Dorcus does a fantastic job narrating
• Yay for gender-inclusive, interesting crew — the gayborhood of it all
• The last 20% of the book
• The magic system

Parts which didn’t really land with me:

• Lots of characters making poor life choices for little or no reason
• Power dynamics BS (as always: inscrutible, hot, kinky bosses do not hold my interest)
• Ridiculously naive heroine

Overall slightly positive, and I’d still read a sequel.

Tags: #FishOutOfWater #Gayborhood #InstaLust #MagicRealism #NuisanceEx #Pirates #SinglePOV #ThirdPersonPOV #WorkplaceEthics

The cast of characters is interesting, and the mystery is decent ... but the romance takes a (far) back seat to everything else that's going on. It's enjoyable a a piece of fiction, but isn't going to give you all the feels.