carolina ୨♡୧ ִ° ⋆'s Reviews > Reckless

"oh but you are my undoing. my deliverance. my downfall disguised as a deity. you are my ruin. call us even. call me crazy. i dont care. just… just call me yours."

Honestly, I don't understand why this book is almost 400 pages long, when half of that would have been enough to tell this story. Unfortunately, Reckless suffers from second book syndrome and feels more like an extended novella than an actual novel. There is no plot, not much happens outside of Kai and Pae's relationship, there is hardly any new information apart from what Pae's father's diary reveals and I don't know if Lauren forgot it, but where is the fantasy? Take away a few little things and Reckless can be marketed as a romance.

「“You are my proof of a paradise,” he murmurs with a quick flick of my nose.」

I enjoyed the last few chapters the most because they were more entertaining and faster paced. For me, the story dragged and the middle was boring. And I wanted to see more character development and I'm upset that it didn't happen, I can't say I know these characters better than I did before because that would be untrue.

ˏˋ꒰Paedyn Gray ꒱ˎˊ

She annoyed me so much, I didn't enjoy reading her pov. I don't know how to explain it, but I didn't feel connected to her at all, and the parts that were supposed to be more emotional did nothing for me. And I know that's not a me problem, because I'm a very emotional person. Her characters lack depth, that's all. I don't have anything else to say about her, my mind is blank.

「“My blood is only useful if it can manage to stay inside my body. My mind is only useful if it can manage to not get lost. My heart is only useful if it can manage to not get broken. Well, it seems I’ve become utterly useless, then.”」

ˏˋ꒰Kai Azer ꒱ˎˊ

Look, I'm just a girl and Kai is fantastic. Even when he says things that should sound cringey and lame, I eat it up. I love him, I loved reading his POV, he's my favourite thing about this series! I think it's pathetic how obsessed he is with Pae, but I also find it endearing. I want a man to be that pathetically in love with me! I wish we saw more of his inner struggles outside of his feelings for Paedyn. There was such a great opportunity to explore his feelings about his father and Kitt and his role as the enforcer, but Lauren just focused on his feelings for Paedyn. What a waste!

「“I may be a monster, but if you cut me, I'll bleed. And if you break my heart, Pae, you'll break me. So, if even a sliver of your soul longs for mine, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to deserve it.”」

ˏˋ꒰Kitt Azer ꒱ˎˊ

His pov was unnecessary, I don't even know why it was included. I enjoyed reading it but it added nothing to the story. Again, a wasted opportunity, Lauren could have used his pov to build the character, add more depth, and she didn't. I don't hate Kitt, I actually pity him and I don't think he's a bad person, but he is pathetic and what he did at the end was so ridiculous.

「“I’m tired of writing from the villain’s perspective.”」

𓍯𓂃𓏧♡ Paedyn and Kai

They're cute, I love their banter (although sometimes it’s excessive, we don't need banter in every chapter) and their final scenes were great! But the back and forth between them was so annoying. I hate how they kept saying it was all fake when it clearly wasn’t. I know it was a way for them to justify what they were doing, but saying "pretend" every five seconds had me constantly rolling my eyes.

I was hoping to see more tension and angst between them after the events of the first book, but their kiss happens very early (I was not expecting it so soon) and the hatred felt forced.

「“If she is Shadow, then I am Flame. This girl is the very thing I can’t seem to escape—can’t seem to go anywhere without the remnants of her following. Where I am, she is. Whether it’s in the flesh or in the fragments of my mind. And where there is a flame, there is always a shadow. She is my inevitable.”」

There's some development in their relationship that I really liked, but the ending upset me. After everything that happened, Miss Roberts chooses to do that? And the worst part is that it's predictable, I don't understand why some people said the ending shocked them, I saw it coming from a mile away.

[If the next book has a love triangle, I will sue Lauren Roberts. I hate that trope.]

I must also mention the writing, which I really hated at times. There's not much improvement compared to Powerless. I feel like all the flaws I overlooked in the first book were so obvious to me now, maybe because this book was so stagnant, so it gave me time to focus on those things.

Although I definitely enjoyed some parts of the book, hence the 3 stars, overall this is a very disappointing sequel. I hope the next book will be better and includes an actual plot. And a word of advice to Lauren - girl, please get a better editor. This book has a lot of typos, it's not a good look!