Autumn Reed

I enjoyed this. I thought the concept was interesting and found it more enjoyable than expected. The characters were fun and were different enough to not get boring. I do feel like some of the dialogue was stilted and was very clearly just there to force the plot along. Things would suddenly rush along during dialogue scenes and we’d get a whole bunch of story all at once which I didn’t like. Otherwise I thought this was a decent read.

I'm glad I stuck with this series. This book got much better. I thought Haley was more relatable and the things she was struggling with were believable and made her a realistic, dynamic character. I am not a fan of Ethan. I kind of hope he is gone for good.
Chase is my favorite!!! Then Theo. Then all the rest except Ethan. Ethan doesn't even make the list any more. And its not that he did anything wrong per say, but I just don't care for his behavior.

I have mixed feelings about Phoenix...
1. Drugging and kidnapping her is not okay. These guys knew her for 2 days.
2. For someone who has been isolated her entire life, she is oddly okay with the drugging and kidnapping.

So, let me set you up here with the background. Haley has been VERY isolated nearly all of her life. Her dad home schools her (but not really since she didn't actually get a diploma because he didn't want anyone to know she existed!) and she has 1 friend. But, she turns 18, show more finds out the truth about her mom's death and her father's flee from danger and the next day her entire life changes. Her house burns down and she is rescued by (initially) 3 hunky strangers. Now, here were my issues with this set up. 1, the guys are not that much older than her yet already running ops for a PI firm.... and 2, she is WAY to comfortable with them for someone who has just had all this info dumped on her. So, I am suspending my own beliefs here because, despite my issues, I was really kind of interested in where this story was going to go!

But, I do think there is an interesting story here in Phoenix. What is up with the people hunting her dad? Where is her dad? What the hell is she going to do with her life (she doesn't have a diploma and no experience with anything-seriously?! What is she going to do with her life?!).

I feel like the 2nd half of Phoenix was more about establishing the characters so I tried to get past my issues with how they ended up there and engage in the story.

Since I listened to this, I have to comment on the narrator, Emily Lawrence. She did a good job overall. Her voice sounded 'young enough' for an 18 year old girl, and she didn't overdo the male roles to the point it was distracting. There were a few times the narration bothered me (way certain words were pronounced or voices were done) but they were minimal and likely attributed to me being a picky bitch that day :)

 

• POV: 1st (Haley)


• Tears: no


• Trope: reverse harem, secret identity


• Triggers: so, obviously, the drugging and kidnapping isn't okay and I think for anyone sensitive to this subject, reading about how blasé they all are about it could be really upsetting


• Series/Standalone: series


• Cliffhanger: yes-nothing is solved when the story ends!


• HEA: unknown at this point

The Ghost Bird series by CL Stone, The Veil Diaries by BL Brunnemer, The Ariel Kimber series by Mary Martel...then you will probably like Phoenix!

 


Phoenix





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The story is getting interesting. I actually like all the guys. My biggest issue is that Hailey is one of those 'good at everything' girls. She is hot, every guy she meets falls for her, she can sing, she can kick butt. Seriously, I get tired of reading about heroines who are amazing at everything yet still act like they have no idea why everyone loves them. Its annoying.
I wish the story had focused a bit more on the mystery about Hailey's dad but overall it was still an engaging read.