As someone who has been invested in this series since the first book, I was excited to see Ashland during Halloween. The atmosphere of Ashland never ceases to disappoint. The small town is filled to the brim with people who go out of their way to make every event within the city something special. The amount of details really made the town come to life once again. Jules and her team are once again a vital part of bringing so much of the life into the town events. The food that comes out of torte sounded wonderful, but there were times when the amount of details started to detract from the rest of the story.
This book seemed to focus on the growth and development of the town more than showing development in the storylines of our main characters. It was interesting to see glimpses of all of the characters and their lives, but I would have loved to see a few of them move forward in their lives. There are simply too many characters to keep track of that are really easy to become invested in. Jules and Carlos are at such an interesting point in their relationship at his point and I love seeing them in their daily lives. However, I really needed more of my favorite character, Lance.
The mystery is another part that should have been front and center of the book, but it felt disjointed and forced. There were times when I found myself having to take a moment to remember what was happening and who the suspects actually were. It felt as if there were meant to be other plotlines as the focus of the story, but as the story progressed, those points were dropped. The ending felt forced and abrupt, and I was left wanting more.
⅗ stars for another book that left me hungry!
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
The Novel Llama 