i much prefer the decorated green cover over the illustrated one. writing was fine. i learned some new words and the difference between pulled and clipped wool. i liked matti's pov in the beginning because i found his financial insecurity relatable. but when luca's pov came, i felt like it was more exposition than exploring his inner character thought like it'd been for matti, so that threw me off and deducted points. setup felt too hasty. must say though, pacing was good and i didn't feel particularly bored at any point. in later chapters, luca's character had a more nuanced personality and his undiagnosed adhd symptoms were amusing to witness (and relate to). i loved the jay family dynamic—they're all wonderful. luca's identity reveal was definitely a surprise. i didn't think of that as a possibility. also corvus vane's backstabbery and the sabotage of jay house also came as a small surprise. it's a nice popcorn novel. i was turned off by the instalust at the beginning, but i got used to it a little. there wasn't enough emotional intimacy for me to get into it fully tho. the nature of their relationship felt more physical and sexual than any real depth. like seriously, they don't even utter the words love and it isn't even explicitly used to describe what they have. that's not my thing, so that's a minus for this book. the smut parts were fine (still no emotional nuance, but at least it pulled off physicality well). i am a little disappointed that nothing came of matti learning to use a sword. it would've been cool if he could've been embroiled in a spontaneous duel and put all those lessons learned from luca into use. umm yea, that's the review ig. not good, not great, but not bad.
