Sarah Dass

When Reyna's mom died, Reyna gave up her dream of leaving Tobago to go to art school with her friend Olivia, and dedicated herself to her mom's hotel, the Plumeria. She loves the hotel and is good at managing it just the way her mother would have wanted - but that also means she's resistant to changes the new employee wants to make, and resentful when her friends leave the island to pursue other dreams (even if, like Aiden, they didn't have a choice about moving). Aiden has become a show more successful musician, and his friends plan a surprise birthday trip for him back to Tobago, putting him and Reyna on a collision course in this modern-day twist on Jane Austen's second-chance romance Persuasion.

Quotes

What was it going to take for me to realize everyone moved on except for me? (183)

All we'd done was fall into an old rhythm, lured by a familiar beat. It was a dance we knew by heart, but like all songs, it had to end. (255)

"If you ever have children, I guarantee there will come a day when you realize they are their own person, with their own personality and desires that have nothing to do with you." (Reyna's dad, 288) show less

3.5/5
Great mystery with plenty of twists and turns. Rounded down for the love triangle.

Book CW // blood, death, bullying, occult practices, violence, cheating

Selina has always been the outcast of the small Caribbean island of St. Virgil. She's the daughter of a police detective father and a psychic mother. Selina has never believed in the abilities of her mother or the stories of the island, much preferring to stick to herbology and science. After the vicious attack that killed her father show more and put her mother in a coma two years ago, she now lives with Muriel, her mother's best friend and the mother of her ex-boyfriend Gabriel. She works with Allison, her friend, at her shop providing fake psychic readings and remedies. Allison is the sister of Edward, the guy she's seeing. Life isn't perfect, but Selina feels more normal than she had years before.
But when her ex, Gabriel, shows up, things start getting hectic for Selina. Murders start happening that are very similar to the attack on her parents. Wanting to find answers and solve the case, Selina has to team up with Gabriel to dig into the mysteries of the island. But both of them are in for more than they bargained for as their beliefs and feelings are tested to their limits.

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This book was pretty good. I liked all the characters and believed that they were portrayed quite authentically with honest flaws and motivations. I could understand everyone's point of view and it was nice to see nuanced antagonists instead of purely evil people.

I liked the world building, although it was mostly contemporary and there wasn't a lot of description of the rainforest or anything. It felt real and I loved the inclusion of the flowers and plants for Selina's work.

I didn't like Selina's feelings towards Gabriel in the beginning. I think she was horribly unfair to Edward and when given the chance she chose to be selfish, which isn't the first time she's selfish either. It really annoyed me. I hate love triangles, especially ones like this.

The plot twist was really great. I didn't see it coming. The pacing was pretty good, really ramping up at the end and hitting you with so much. I really liked how strong the ending was. I liked the folklore and the people who believed and who didn't. It's a wonderful book and the cover is gorgeous! show less

I loved this retelling of Persuasion set in Tobago. Reyna's mother has passed and she and her father are struggling to keep their hotel afloat. A group of celebrities, including her ex-boyfriend, visit the hotel and her perfectly ordered world is tossed upside down. Although it's a loose retelling, the book has an atmosphere all its own. The story is soaked in the food, music, and culture of the island and you can't help but be swept away.

"If you're doing something you don't love it'll never show more be great because there will always be a piece of you holding back." show less

I wanted to like this more than I did. I was excited to read a YA novel set in the Caribbean and the author did a great job with the setting. The cultural and geographic references were wonderful. But the characters felt off to me. Sometimes they read as too young, sometimes as too old. There was no humor which I like in YA and a lot of the problems felt contrived. I found it really hard to believe that the father was letting his 17 year old run a resort. I also found it unbelievable that show more she had never left Tobago, not even to go to Trinidad. show less