Gold

"Yo what???? This book was vastly different from the rest of the series but also ties together all the back story we were missing. We got so much from this book and I’m excited to see where the finale will take us. Also the last couple of Auren chapters???? BOYYYY"

"I took a little break between Glow and this one and I’m so glad I did. I think the space increased my patience with letting the story unfold. Slade’s rage is palpable and I was here for it. We continue to get more POVs that can be frustrating at times, but I know are adding to the depth of the story and the development/arcs of the characters. I officially have yet another man to love in this series, which brings the total to THREE. Raven Kennedy writes men than rival SJMs men….I said what I said. Immediately started Goldfinch. "

"⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 (This review will contain #spoilers) I expected better, honestly. Gold lacked effort from a good author. I noticed that there was a decline in the story after Gleam, like Kennedy is dragging out the plot for no real reason, choosing to shove romance down our throats instead. Let’s start with said forced new romances between the barely unique OsrikxRissa & MalinaxDommik (the former’s emphasized in Glow). Both couples have a lot of “I’ve only known you for 2.4 days, but there’s something about the way you piss me off - especially when you say something sexual - that really affects my body” energy. I get the love for popular tropes, but they’ve been recycled without a slight change in dynamic within these couples. It’s lazy. Man is smirking dom. Woman is bratty sub. Personality? Hah. I could de-identify the dialogue between each respective couple & I doubt many would know who’s who; they just lack their own unique voice. The development is incredibly rushed and again, forced, unlike Auren and Slade’s romance that at least allowed some sort of kinship to happen before connecting them. The two couples were metaphorically pushed together like Barbie and Ken dolls by the author after demanding “now kith.” Not to mention the completely inappropriately placed sex scene towards the end of the book - what was that? I love spice, I do, but seriously? Read the lifeless bodies in the room. The story manages to progress, but not nearly as much as you’d think after almost 700 pages. A good portion of what I read was filler & dialogue; disappointing for the 2nd to last book in the series & after the slow Glow. The ending was unnecessarily too complex - why are we adding on more crap when none of the current crap has been handled? These last two books have been the edging scene in Glow. I’m ready for Goldfinch solely because I just want an end, though I predict a lot of convenient moments will arrive with a bow on top in order to recover from Gold’s ending in one book."

"Not good, definitely didn’t love book 5. Story development lacked big time. Besides Queen Malina who had the best character development. There were some great moments. But I could have done with less visual and more story telling. Also I love the trope when the mmc would burn the world for his girl. But Slade’s fell very short for me. I hated how it was written. Also, the last trope, which I won’t spoil. Was awful especially since there’s only one book left. Raven could have done a novella for the side characters and gold/goldfinch could have been one book. We had enough tropes in the last few books, didn’t need to add more. I’m really hoping the final book is amazing and she can tie everything together."