I feel like maybe Dade is not quite the author for me, but she does such a lovely job of skewering Game of Thrones and name checking fanfic that I can’t help but read her work.
While in Spoiler Alert I felt like April was a really vivid character with flaws and strengths that made sense to me, I felt like here I understood and enjoyed Alex but found Lauren a bit hard to get into. It’s not to say that I didn’t empathize greatly with her arc–she’s always put others first, and is finally learning to put herself first–but it’s hard to get into a character whose entire M.O. is glass walls.
That being said, I so very much enjoyed Alex and the way that Dade writes his infectious, ADHD-tinged energy. It’s a masterclass of show don’t tell, with Alex’s ping pong topic jumping giving you exactly what you need to understand who he is as a person. Who wouldn’t be in love with someone who can carry the conversation on regardless of your energy level (I’m not projecting, no sir)?
As always, Dade’s Alex’s barely (like, BARELY) disguised disdain for the way in which Game of Thrones God of the Gates gives me life. There are way fewer AO3 interludes this time around, though, which is a pity.
One other thing I thought very cool–this book doesn’t take place following Spoiler Alert the way that other interconnected romance novel series do. Instead, a decent portion of the action happens simultaneously, so that you recognize events from the prior book in this book (e.g., the press conference where Alex goes rogue and spills his AO3 penname). It’s a great conceit and one that I’d be interested to see other authors push! Maybe they do, and I just haven’t seen it 😀