THE IRON KING By Julie Kagawa

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE IRON KING By Julie KagawaThe Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey #1
Published by Harlequin Teen on 1/19/10
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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MEGHAN CHASE HAS A SECRET DESTINY—ONE SHE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth.

For Meghan is the daughter of a mythical faery king…and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Short and Sweet Review

Meghan is one of those girls who just knows that her life isn’t the best but her sixteenth birthday is coming up and nothing is going to ruin that. When her younger brother Ethan starts seeing things Meghan just brushes it off, until Ethan is actually kidnapped and taken into the faery world. Meghan knows she has to rescue Ethan and that’s when she learns that her best friend is actually Puck from A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and her father is the King of the Seelie court.

The Nevernever isn’t what Meghan expected but she’s determined to get Ethan back. Meghan meets Ash the Prince of the Unseelie court. Let me just say this is my second time reading this book and I came back for the romance between Meghan and Ash. These two are like Romeo and Juliet, they’re not supposed to be together but they can’t fight the obvious connection they have. The romance is great and I can’t wait to see how it progresses in the next book.

Anyway Meghan spends a few days at court and then she leaves to find her brother with the help of Puck, a cool cat named Grim (he reminds me of the Cheshire Cat), and Ash (only because they made a bargain). The group learns that Ethan was actually taken by someone named the Iron King and he’s pretty hard to find mainly because he shouldn’t exist. We also learn that people are searching for Meghan because she’s powerful, she belongs to the Summer Court but can fight off the ill effects of Iron.

I enjoyed rereading this book and seeing most of what the Nevernever is like. The pacing is great and the book held my interest with all of the new information and twists and turns it took. I’m excited to read the next book especially now that Meghan has to embrace being fey.

SCARLET By Marissa Meyer

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SCARLET By Marissa MeyerScarlet by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 1/1/13
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 464
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Short and Sweet Review

In France we meet Scarlet Benoit whose grandmother has disappeared. Scarlet is looking for any clue that could lead to where she is but she doesn’t realize the kind of danger her grandmother could be in until she meets wolf. Wolf is from Luna and has been modified and is in Queen Levana’s army. Scarlet reluctantly teams up with Wolf to try to find her grandmother and ends up running into members of wolf’s pack who are looking for information about Princess Selene that Scarlets grandmother would have. Cinder on the other hand is breaking out of prison and that’s where she meets Captain Carswell Thorne. Together Cinder and Thorne escape and make it to his ship and they end up going to France because Cinder is also trying to find Michelle Benoit for information about her past.

Every book in this series just gets better and in this sequel we meet Scarlet, Wolf, and Thorne. Scarlet just has a fire about her she’s not afraid to do what’s right and she’s not going to back down. We learn that there’s things that even Scarlet didn’t know about her grandmothers past so she’s surprised but she’s still determined to save her. Wolf is an interesting character he was made to serve the queen but he wants to break away, which is why he helps Scarlet. I think the bond that Scarlet and Wolf form is cute, they really look out for each other. Carswell Thorne is like comedic relief. Thorne is a serial flirter and it’s funny because not everyone is trying to be wooed by him and sometimes he doesn’t get it. We see Scarlet and Wolf go around France looking for her grandmother and fighting off others who have been modified like Wolf. Cinder and Thorne on the other hand are fugitives who are trying to evade capture. I love that we also get to see more of Iko but this time she’s the ship that Cinder and Thorne are in.

Now we have a few more characters joining Cinder and each character is important to helping Cinder take down Levana. I’m just excited to read Cress next and see where our characters will end up!

CINDER By Marissa Meyer

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CINDER By Marissa MeyerCinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 1/1/12
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Short and Sweet Review

Cinder is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. We follow our main character Cinder who is also part cyborg and lives in the commonwealth of China. Cinder lives with her stepmother Adri and two stepsisters Pearl and Peony. Cinder also has a super cool android named Iko. Anyway Cinder works at the market as a mechanic and is basically the breadwinner for the family and is treated like dirt by everyone except for Peony. One day Prince Kai comes to Cinders market stand to ask for help fixing his android. The sparks between Cinder and Kai fly and Cinder knows that she doesn’t really have a chance with a Prince so she tries to fight off her feelings but he does ask her to go to the ball with him. Cinder is obviously told she can’t go to the ball and unfortunately her sister Peony ends up getting Letumosis a disease that has killed millions. Cinder is blamed for this and Adri signs Cinder up for the cyborg draft which subjects cyborgs to be tested on to find an antidote. It’s there that the head scientist realizes that Cinder is not only a cyborg but Lunar and she needs to keep a low profile because Queen Levana of the Lunars is coming to the Commonwealth and she won’t want Cinder alive, because Cinder may be the only one who can stop her. It’s interesting to see how some Lunars have powers and others don’t. Cinder never knew she was a Lunar until she met Dr. Erland who was able to tell her things about her past that she didn’t know, like she’s the lost Princess of Lunar!

Cinder is such a fun and different take on Cinderella. I loved the futuristic elements and that Cinder is a mechanic and a cyborg. Iko is a great sidekick to Cinder. There was a lot of world building and it’s great. We’re introduced to some characters that are going to be paramount in the next three books in the series and just rereading this book I see a lot of things that I may have missed the first time around. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series and Cinder is just setting everything up for what’s to come in the next installments. This series is a lot of fun and I love retellings and it’s going to be fun rereading this series and seeing where Cinder will end up and who she’ll meet.

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY By Susan Dennard

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY By Susan DennardSomething Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1
Published by HarperTeen on 7/24/12
Genres: Historical, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved.

So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Short and Sweet Review

Eleanor’s life is kind of falling apart, her family is running out of money, her brother is missing, and the dead are rising in Philadelphia. Eleanor goes to the Spirit-hunters, they were hired by the city to help stop the rising dead. Eleanor feels that they can help her find her brother because she feels that he’s in a certain kind of trouble only the spirit hunters can help with.

Well Eleanor is just trying to stay afloat, because her brother has been gone for a while and isn’t really helping with the family finances, Eleanors mother is trying to have her meet a wealthy suitor to marry. Which is where Clarence comes in, his family is pretty high in society and him and Eleanor go on a few outings but something is off with him and he knows somethings about Eleanor’s brother. After Eleanor’s brother doesn’t come home she goes to the spirit hunters which consists of Joseph, Jie, and Daniel. This trio is pretty busy but they do admit something weird is going on with Elijah’s disappearance. We learn about the trios past and we see them struggle to gain the support of the city. Eleanor decides to start helping the spirit hunters so that she can get the answers she wants at a faster rate.

This book was fast paced and there was a lot going on. I liked that Eleanor was determined and she wasn’t afraid to do things that would make her look bad in society. The spirit hunters are great I like that they each had their own specialty, Joseph with his knowledge about the dead, Jie is great at defense, and Daniel is their inventor. I will say the ending wasn’t the best mainly because we see a character who was mentioned but wasn’t really in the story until the end. Overall this is a fast read and an interesting take on zombies and I like that it takes place in the 1800s.

SEVEN DIRTY SECRETS By Natalie D. Richards

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SEVEN DIRTY SECRETS By Natalie D. RichardsSeven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D. Richards
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 11/2/21
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 267
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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I know seven dirty secrets:

One caused the fall. One did nothing. One saw it all.

One didn't care. One used their head. One played the hero.

One was left for dead.

On her eighteenth birthday, Cleo receives a mysterious invitation to a scavenger hunt. She's sure her best friend Hope or her brother Connor is behind it, but no one confesses. And as Cleo and Hope embark on the hunt, the seemingly random locations and clues begin to feel familiar.

In fact, all of the clues seem to be about Cleo's dead boyfriend, Declan, who drowned on a group rafting trip exactly a year ago. A bracelet she bought him. A song he loved. A photo of the rafting group, taken just before Declan drowned. And then the phone calls start, Declan's voice taunting Cleo with a cryptic question: You ready?

As the clock on the scavenger hunt ticks down, it becomes clear that someone knows what really happened to Declan. And that person will stop at nothing to make sure Cleo and her friends pay. Can they solve the hunt before someone else winds up dead?

Short and Sweet Review

Last year on Cleo’s 17th birthday her and a group of friends went on a rafting trip where her ex-boyfriend Declan drowned. This year on Cleo’s 18th birthday someone sends her a scavenger hunt which insinuates that someone knows that something more happened on that trip than Cleo and her friends are admitting.

The book starts off on Cleo’s 18th birthday and she discovers a mysterious gift that none of her friends have given her and in the gift is clues it’s basically a long scavenger hunt. This scavenger hunt sets Cleo on edge because the clues are places that were important to her and Declan. We see flashbacks and learn a lot about Cleo and Declan’s relationship, unfortunately there was domestic violence. It was interesting to see Cleo and her friend Hope follow the clues and try to figure out who could be behind everything. This book reminded me of I Know What You Did Last Summer, where someone dies and someone saw and wants revenge. Cleo was an okay character she was kind of naive, but I did like how determined she was to solve the mystery and keep her friends safe.

This book was okay it was kind of predictable and Cleo found herself in some dangerous situations. The ending was okay everything was wrapped up and explained and it really did remind me of the book I Know What You Did Last Summer, there were a lot of similarities.

MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE By Alex Light

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

MEET ME IN THE MIDDLE By Alex LightMeet Me in the Middle by Alex Light
Published by HarperTeen on 7/12/22
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 378
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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Eden had her best friend Katie—she didn’t need anyone else. But then there was Truman.

Katie’s older brother, the artist. The recluse. The boy with the innocent smile and the dangerous eyes.

Eden had never really known Truman—not until the night of Katie’s accident. That was the night they’d finally let each other into their orbits—only to have the sky come crashing down on them.

With Katie in the hospital and Truman fleeing from his grief without a word, Eden is left alone to grapple with her own pain. But when Truman returns to the city, can Eden let him back into her life knowing that their first kiss is what tore their world apart?

Short and Sweet Review

Edens best friend is Katie and all Eden needs is Katie, but Katie is in a coma and now Eden needs to navigate life without her best friend. Truman is Katie’s older brother and after her accident he left for a couple of months but he’s back now and Eden is trying her best to avoid him. Both of them are dealing with guilt but what they really need is someone who understands. But can these two be in the same place long enough to talk about everything that flipped their world upside down? 

The book goes back and forth between Eden and Truman’s POVs. I didn’t connect with either character, I think that was mainly due to how they talked to their friends and people who cared about them, Eden could have been a lot better to her roommate Ramona. I don’t feel like a lot happened in this book. We see Eden try to go through life day by day and we see that she’s either thinking about Katie or Truman. Truman on the other hand is back in town and he’s an artist so the book explores that.  The romance between Eden and Truman fell flat for me, it’s the basic girl has a crush on her best friends brother, but what made this worse is that after the accident Eden says she wants nothing to do with Truman but she can’t stop thinking about him. I didn’t like the back and forth between this relationship and there were too many negative feelings involved for this relationship to ever work out. Eden also works at a restaurant with a guy named Manny and that restaurant was one of the main settings. Manny and Ramona start a project towards the end of the book and I was upset to see that it wasn’t mentioned ever again. 

Overall this was an okay book. I feel like it covered the characters grief well and it was interesting to see how Eden dealt with Katie being in a coma vs. Truman. I just wish the characters didn’t feel so flat there was no character growth and the back and forth romance didn’t work for me. 

PANIC By Lauren Oliver

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

PANIC By Lauren OliverPanic by Lauren Oliver
Published by HarperCollins on 3/4/14
Genres: Contemporary, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Short and Sweet Review

Panic is a game played in Carp by graduating seniors. Panic is a high stakes game where the players are putting their lives on the line and the last person standing gets a reward. Our main characters Heather and Dodge both have different reasons for joining. Heather was basically an impulse decision and Dodge wants to play for revenge. In the book we see alliances formed and broken.

Panic is basically challenges that are supposed to be dangerous and risky and we see a large group of seniors dwindle down until we get to the final two. I honestly was kind of bored, I thought the challenges would be more exciting but I personally didn’t think so and some of the things that happened were just not necessarily unbelievable but just the probability of these things happening are low. The law enforcement in Carp is also a joke, Panic has been going on for years supposedly but the cops have never stopped it even though they’ve been “trying to.”

We see Heather’s home life which isn’t great and although it wasn’t her motivation to win it becomes her motivation to win especially after a string events happens that leaves Heather and her younger sister homeless. Dodge on the other hand is trying to get revenge for his sister who competed in Panic and had an accident. Natalie and Bishop are also characters and their Heathers best friends but Natalie makes an alliance with Dodge and she’s basically using him because she knows she’s not going to be able to make it to the end. Natalie is Dodge’s love interest and I didn’t like the “connection” between the two, she was using him and he was infatuated with her so he was like a little puppy dog. Heather on the other hand had Bishop as a love interest and he was always looking out for her but I feel like she didn’t know exactly how she felt about him. Anyway the ending was okay it wasn’t special and didn’t seem realistic. This was an okay book I thought it would have been better if I could connect to the characters and then maybe I would have felt something when they were doing these dangerous challenges.

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END By Adam Silvera

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END By Adam SilveraThey Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Series: Death-Cast #1
Published by Quill Tree Books on 9/5/17
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

Short and Sweet Review

On September 5, Mateo and Rufus get a call that within the next 24 hours they’re going to die. Mateo and Rufus don’t know each other but they’re both looking for a friend on their last day for different reasons. Mateo to get out there and live his life to the fullest on his last day. Rufus is trying to make a new friend after his funeral gets crashed and his other friends become preoccupied. I loved the friendship between Mateo and Rufus, Mateo is more cautious than Rufus but Rufus helped Mateo loosen up and actually enjoy his day. I liked seeing both boys try to wrap things up and say their goodbyes and also going to this center to have some things from their bucket list crossed off. We see Mateo and Rufus live their final day and I really loved this book and these two characters even though I knew how it would end. I laughed with both characters and cried with them too. This book really makes you think about how you would live your last day if you knew you were going to die. This book was heartfelt and also heartbreaking in the end but it was beautiful and I can’t wait to read the next book!

SUPERNOVA By Marissa Meyer

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SUPERNOVA By Marissa MeyerSupernova by Marissa Meyer
Series: Renegades #3
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 11/5/19
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy & Magic, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 560
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Nova and Adrian struggle to keep their secret identities concealed while the battle rages on between their alter egos, their allies, and their greatest fears come to life. Secrets, lies, and betrayals are revealed as anarchy once again threatens to reclaim Gatlon City.

Short and Sweet Review

Everything has come to this, the end. The real battle is about to begin and Nova and Adrian will have to fight what they believe is right in their hearts.

Adrian is a renegade all he knows is being a hero. Nova is an anarchist disguising herself as a renegade but after all the time she’s spent with the renegades she’s trying to decide if taking down the renegades is really what she wants. Nova has conflicting feelings about everything going on, she doesn’t fully agree with either side, but with the anarchist she’s like their leader and even if she doesn’t agree they’ll go on with their plans.

This was an amazing conclusion to this series. I remember starting this series and thinking that I wouldn’t finish because I thought the first book was so slow but I’m glad I continued on. There’s a lot going on in this book, but in a good way. I think my favorite part was seeing the characters especially Nova and Adrian struggle with what people wanted them to do but knowing in their heart what they really wanted. The both of them grew a lot and I did like their relationship, the enemies into lovers trope except he doesn’t really know that she’s his enemy. There’s a lot of things that were revealed, twists and turns, and things that just keep me turning the pages. I love all of these characters and it was kind of intense to see how everything would turn out. I don’t want to spoil anything but just know that the battle and ending of this book was perfect.

I loved this series and would definitely recommend it!

FANGIRL By Rainbow Rowell

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FANGIRL By Rainbow RowellFangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on 9/10/13
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life--and she's really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to.
Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Short and Sweet Review

Cath is a Simon Snow fan, her life revolves around the book and she even writes her own fanfiction. Cath and her sister Wren used Simon Snow to cope with their mother leaving them. Wren has moved on from the fandom but Cath hasn’t. Now that they’re going to college Wren has told Cath that she doesn’t want to be roommates and now Cath feels like she’s all alone.

Fangirl is an okay book. After reading it I realized there really wasn’t a plot. Its 400 pages of us following Cath trying to navigate college and her love for Simon Snow. Cath is obsessed with him and I’m sure if he wasn’t a fictional character he’d need a restraining order. Cath is in college now she doesn’t like change so she’s struggling, her sister Wren wants to venture out but Cath still acts like she needs her hand held. Cath has a roommate Reagan who also has a friend named Levi and because Levi and Reagan are friends Levi is over a lot. Cath and Levi start a relationship it’s alright. Honestly everything about this book is just meh. If things don’t go Cath’s way she freaks out, has a meltdown, and then shuts down. Its very off-putting. Basically all we see is Cath living her life in college and there’s not much more to it. On the plus side we get to see excerpts from the Simon snow series.