This is technically my second by Lake and I’ve loved both this one and 𝘕𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢. I say technically my second because I started the 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 before this one, but it just isn’t the same quality. It’s too flowery and aloof for my taste, plus, for personal reasons (and also likely because I have a BA in Religion, I struggle with it as a major theme of fictional stories because they’re usually so far from accurate that it’s off-putting for me). Even the blurb was poorly written and I struggled to glean the premise from it, and I’m glad that I didn’t give up on Lake because I discovered this gem! I like that Lake seems to be able to use just the perfect amount of every element: poetical sentiments, gothic themes, supernatural elements, and minimal internal dialogue and “self-help” lectures—which tend to be the trend of the season. On to the particulars: the characters are intriguing and diverse. Lake writes complex characters, and there are several in her stories. The plot is so fascinating and I never lose interest. The story keeps me enthralled from beginning to end. There is always forward movement, and the story never lags. The endings are nice and tidy, too. This story did have just a few issues that I felt could have been a little better. ⚠️𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙱𝚎 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜‼️: There were a few not-so-tidy threads, like the death of his friend at a young age. We find out late in the story that Lucian’s time with Jude is a hallucination, but how do we make sense of the scene in the cave where Lucian turns Solange away for having first had sex with Jude? They’re 16 and were led to the conclusion that Jude died when they were young children. And it was strange for me how everything shifted to Lucian’s mother, but it wasn’t really a tidy twist—although, I did suspect as much since Lucian had obviously been drugged by her when he had a drink with her the night of his son’s death. I also struggled with the Isa’s overly dramatic shift during the “third act break up” scene when she was suddenly weak and immature. She overreacted toward Lucian and the severity of her response didn’t fit her personality, or the situation. Likewise, the conclusion just felt a bit rushed—like it needed more of the rough edges smoothed away. The Secret Society drama was still not really clear—and not totally in a way that hinted at mystery so much as a bit of a weak area. But it’s still a superb story, and I loved every minute!