Fire in the Ice

DNF @ 16%

Sorry, but I just don't have it in me to finish this one. The writing style feels like it's somewhere between middlegrade and YA, but the characters are supposed to be grown adults... who are acting like ridiculous children.

Both Kevin and Tyler have massive entitlement issues, though Kevin's are far worse. Kevin acts like some kind of scorned lover despite Tyler having never wanted a relationship when they were younger because - rightly so - Tyler believed a three-year age gap in high school was a bit much for them to try dating. (Kev was 15 and Tyler was 18, so it was probably also literally a crime.) Kevin never let go of his schoolboy crush, to the point he took Tyler's friendship as proof that they had a chance in the future, internally celebrated when Tyler broke up with his boyfriend, and got pissed when Tyler's attention refocused from him to a new boyfriend later. Basically: they grew distant as friends, but Kevin took it as some kind of 'lead on' and rejection because... reasons? Then, when they reunite later - both adults who should reasonably be expected to have moved on from any schooltime crushes - and Tyler drunkenly propositions him for a one night stand, Kevin acts as if Tyler's just murdered his puppy or something.

It's just too much ridiculous, melodramatic, keep this shit between highschoolers where it makes sense drama. I made it all the way to the point where they were bickering at each other about it, with Kevin acting like the whole world fell apart because his friend he has a crush on doesn't text him every waking hour and Tyler not quite acknowledging that clearly his proposition had caused some damage. Just... stop. Stop it, grow up, act like adults, please.

Perhaps I'd have seen this through out of curiosity, if there were any other redeeming qualities. But honestly, I don't like the writing style. It's too rapid-fire, with random time skips between paragraphs sometimes. Characters are introduced with barely anything to associate them with, so they're impossible to keep track of as individuals. (Granted, I didn't realize I was reading the third book in a series, so maybe there's supposed to be assumed knowledge there?) And both Kevin and Tyler have chapters in their first person POVs - which already makes me grumpy, because I loathe jumping POVs when a story's told in first person - but their voices are so similar, it's almost impossible to tell them apart. Even when they're on the same page together, arguing.

The writing style just isn't for me. I'm not invested enough to make it through the ridiculous drama. However, I might still give the previous two books in the series a shot, if only because my experience has often been that book series get worse with time so there's potentially something good in the backlog.