Honestly, this book was hard to rate. I was pleasantly surprised by the first book in the series, HOPE FOR THE BEST, and I went into this read anticipating high stakes and strong friendships.

This book definitely nailed the strong friendships aspect. The cast of characters was diverse and tight-knit, and I appreciated their family/friendship dynamics.

However, stakes-wise, I found this book pretty lacking. 3/4 of the book the main conflict from HFTB was hinted at, but nothing was brought to light, causing it to drag. Without the stakes and conflict, the story felt like nothing more than characters going through their day-to-day life with a few random events thrown in.

Lafleur set this book in an intriguing world, and I would have loved to see it be explored a bit more. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case, and I left slightly disappointed. Despite all this, I would be eager to read the next book in the series.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free advance copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

i really enjoyed reading this book, I had enjoyed the first book in the series. This had what I wanted in a sequel and the characters were just as good as they were in the first.