Was there a chance this would be different? Maybe, but I figured the only thing I had to lose was $6 and time. I haven’t completely written off New Adult as a category either, I’ve read titles I’ve really liked, but I’ve been hard pressed to find anything from McGuire that would suggest there’s some narrative growth and resonance that’d connect with me personally. There were some reads that worked the same way with me for Samantha Young and other NA authors. Tucker’s “Ten Tiny Breaths” series and hated all of them save for “Five Ways to Fall” – I figured there was a chance that my mind would change in the progression of a series (and I’ve been impressed since following K.A. Some might ask me: “Rose, you hated this series from the beginning, and you were still willing to give this series a chance?” I did end up paying the $5.99 for this from a gift card I had on Amazon (which I assure you, I bought other books I knew I’d enjoy). Well, two things happened in the time between me reading “Beautiful Redemption” and this book: my bookish friend moved away (she and her husband both got job ops in another state, which made me happy for them and sad at the same time), and another, I pretty much had to decide whether I’d still foot the bill for reading this. We can read it between us and discuss them when they release.”

She asked me if I was going to continue reading this series after the second one, and I said “Yeah, might as well – it’s two more books.

We had ideas and discussions about McGuire’s expansions and New Adult as a whole that were food for thought, and I wish I could telegraph everything that we were able to discuss. I actually had more fun buddy reading this series with my bookish friend (with whom I’ve read the first two books in this series) than flying solo for this read. I debated a little while as to how I’d write this review, but for the sake of summary, this will be half discussion, half (constructive) venting. The inside on the other hand – different story.

The nicest thing I can say about it was that the colors in the cover scheme were nice. I’ll admit there were a few moments when I genuinely laughed (the “Macho Pikachu” line was funny, dangnabit), but it was such a slog to get through this crap that instead of taking me hours to read, it took days. No imagination in the plot or character resonance whatsoever. Initial reaction: Nope, this book was the worst in this series so far, and narratively showed more of a decline in the writing style.

Jamie mcguire maddox brothers series