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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.0
Finished reading: June 30th 2023
“Pawpaw always said Baumgartners are natural-born bullshitters.”
WARNING: I guess it's unpopular opinion time again!!
I enjoyed the first Darling Investigations book when I read it last year, and I admit it took me longer than expected to finally pick up the sequel. I fully expected to have a great time with Blazing Summer as well, because I liked the mix of cozy mystery, romance and banter in the first book. I'm not sure what exactly went wrong while I was reading this sequel, but somehow I wasn't as charmed by this story as expected. It might have been my fickle reading mood acting up again, but it was all just too over the top and cliche for me. I mean, I get that the plot has to have obstacles for Summer to overcome, but seriously? Was it really necessary to throw that much shit at her? Basically, there were a lot of characters treating her horribly, and she doesn't even really stand up for herself either. True, she does save herself a couple of times, but she also lets others walk all over her at the same time. I wasn't as entertained by the plot either, as it just all felt too forced and convenient. I admit that there were some funny and redeeming moments, but as a whole I can't say that Blazing Summer lived up to expectations to me. I'm starting to think that I might just have to leave her work be for now...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Car accident, Body shaming, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Drug use, Alcohol, Misogyny, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, and Sexual assault
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