An intriguing character-driven mystery that reminded me of a one-act play. The story will come out eventually, but can you guess how it will end?

When Crew nearly drowns during a party on their beach, Nixie plunges into the ocean—and fierce rebellion against her father—to save him. As the two explore the strangeness of each other’s worlds in stolen moments on dry land, they’re caught up in a whirlwind of intensifying feelings.

Rebellion’s easy when you focus on what you hope to gain. It’s a million times harder when you realize what you stand to lose.

Ah, what a shame, what a shame... Such a beautiful title and cover, such an interesting-sounding premise but ultimately a very forgettable and disappointing book.

I really had high hopes for this, I find the topic of cults quite fascinating and frighteningly, they're an even more relevant topic these days than they really ought to be in 2022, but this book did nothing to explore the topic. 

This was not so much about a girl brought up sheltered and unaware in a terrible cult, not realising just how strange or strict her way of life was until an outsider showed up - which is what I thought and what would have been more interesting to read - as it was about a girl brought up fully aware of the weirdness of her living situation and of the real world, who's a bit bored. I feel missold.

Nixie was not particularly likeable. I struggled to find any reason Crew would have been so enamoured with her. Her characterisation was puddle-deep and she made erratic swings, particularly near the end. The ending was just bad, bad, bad. I was rolling my eyes hard by that point.

I think this book's main problem was how surface-level everything felt. Shallow characters, slim to no plot and nothing of interest explored.

So yep, this was not very good and I don't recommend it.

2 stars ★★

ARC reviewed in exchange for an honest review

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

Whew, well I'm almost relieved to have finished this one unscathed. When I went to check out what my Goodreads buddies had rated it before I started there was everything from 1-star reviews to 5 stars so I just didn't know where I'd end up at.

I think a lot of CoHo fans might have been a bit non-plussed with the genre shift as well so that could explain the wildly varied ratings. It hasn't given much away in the blurb so I won't either, but just to say this isn't your typical CoHo rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it contemporary romance, there's a very definite twist.

Also, it's entirely from the male character's point of view which I think is also unusual for her. I don't claim to be an expert on Colleen Hoover at all, I've only read 3 or 4, but it was definitely a different type of story than I was expecting.

So did I like it? Ehhhhhmmmmmm... kinda? I feel like I've definitely read better books in this genre and I felt a little restrained only being in Leed's head although I fully understand the reasoning for that in the story. The last 20% of the book was a nice twist I didn't see coming. But, honestly, when I grab a book by Hoover I want waayyy more romance than this so... eh. I give it a wishy-washy 3 stars.

★★★