The Second Death of Locke

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the eARC and Hachette Audio for the ALC. I definitely struggled with my rating and review of this one. On the one hand, when it was good—it was REALLY good. On the other hand, if I wasn’t listening to this one on audio, I probably would have quit out of boredom. Pacing was a major issue. While the world building and political maneuverings were intriguing, the first 40-50% of the book was so slow. I kept listening (to the amazing accent of Samara MacLaren, by the way) and wondering when something would happen. Now…the romance. Grey and Kier are childhood friends who OBVIOUSLY are in love with each other but also blind of the other’s feelings. There was so much yearning in the way that makes you want to yell into the void “just kiss already!!” And I loved them finally getting together and being open about everything. And maybe it’s because they knew each other so well, that it felt like once they were together, there was no further relationship progression. Because they had already done that part, perhaps? Overall, I think this book was enjoyable and will find their perfect audience, but it sadly wasn’t a five star from me.