Calumet by Ali Vali

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I thought this was going to be a second-chance romance (for those paying attention, my favorite romance trope) but it was actually the exact opposite. An “I’m totally over my first love and have an awesome new love but have a lot of baggage to deal with from everything that happened when I graduated from high school” romance.

I was really digging the first half or so but then things moved in directions that were either too much, not enough, or just outright off. The too much happened with repetitious descriptions and narrative, the not enough was how I felt about pretty much everything Iris. She was given a POV early on but we really don’t get to understand much about her or her world. Which leads to the just outright off parts which also were mostly focused on Iris. One of the biggest for me was her relationship with Daniel, her husband. I mean, initially he’s cast as a bully and mean-spirited and all he and Iris seem to do is yell and fight with each other. It was awful. But then Iris says that she loves him and is her best friend. WTF? Very mixed info happening here…

Anyway, I loved Margot and her parents more than any other part of the book. Jaxon was fine but I never could connect with her. She was very much like many of the author’s other strong, handsome, loyal, smart, and sexy butches. So, I mean, you know what you’re getting when you read a Vali book.

If you’re a fan of Ali Vali’s novels, you’ll very likely love this one. It wasn’t my favorite but it wasn’t my least favorite either. Wilbur and his den lessons made it all worthwhile.

Thanks to BSB and NetGalley for the ARC!