3 out of 4 stars
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Astrid is recovering from the death of her ex-fiancé. She is overwhelmed with grief and depression when a new friend, Sage, enters her life. Sage helps Astrid deal with her grief and other past traumas. With a new view on life, Astrid attempts to date again. As a result, she ends up in a love triangle. Unfortunately, drama and tragedy seem to follow Astrid. While dealing with her complicated relationships, past secrets and betrayals reemerge that could ruin Astrid's life.
The Kokuran II: In Full Blossom is the second book in the series. However, it works as a standalone as Mack gives enough backstory to catch the reader up on the current state of Astrid’s life.
When I first started reading this book, I had a hard time getting interested in Astrid’s story. A sufficient amount of the beginning narrative is Astrid thinking a lot and doing nothing. While it makes sense that she would be passive due to her grieving, it was frustrating to read. I think the beginning could be improved by having more action and more two-way dialogue. The dialogue in the book is mostly characters monologuing to each other in unrealistic ways. At times, the writing was repetitive with Astrid thinking and saying the same things over and over. This repetition paired with all the exposition slowed the pacing of the beginning chapters.
The energy of the story picks up when Gigi's (Astrid’s grandmother) health takes a turn for the worst. Gigi leaves Astrid her journals to read. Astrid also receives a video from her mom, Di. The journals and video correspondence were some of my favorite parts of the novel. These items tell the stories of Gigi and Di. Gigi's and Di’s lives are filled with great trauma and resilience. They are both quite stubborn and active characters. Astrid, on the other hand, is very passive at the beginning of the novel. However, after she learns about her family's past, she becomes proactive in confronting her past and seeking answers about her lineage. From this point on, the story quickens its pace as many secrets are revealed.
While I consider myself quite intuitive, there was one twist in the story that I didn’t see coming. This revelation wasn't something Mack threw in to shock the reader. Mack skillfully left subtle clues throughout the novel.
While all the drama was fun to read, my favorite part of this story was the discussion of sensitive issues including mental health, sexual assault, grief, and trauma. I felt that these issues were written with great empathy. I found the characterization of characters who suffered from mental illness to be very sympathetic. Even when they were making horrible mistakes, I found their actions to be understandable.
Other than the slow beginning, the only element of the story I didn’t care for was the love triangle. The scenes between Astrid and her love interests were not romantic or sexy. I think the descriptions used in the sex scenes were childish. For example, Astrid refers to her sexual secretions as "my lava". Also, there was not enough romantic buildup between characters. Mostly, the love triangle felt like a distraction from the more significant plot lines.
By the end of the novel, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I grew to like Astrid. The ending gave closure to the main plot points but left enough unknowns for Astrid’s future that I am eager to read the next installment.
I decided to rate this 3 out of 4 stars. I found no errors in the novel. Therefore, the book seemed professionally edited. I took off a point for the slow beginning and the flawed romantic storyline. However, all the family drama and surprising revelations make The Kokuran II: In Full Blossom a worthwhile read. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a good twist and like reading about flawed characters. Due to the sexual context of the book, I would only suggest this for adult readers. Readers should be prepared for scenes depicting sexual assault and abuse.
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The Kokuran II
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