Covet is the third instalment in Tracy Wolff’s Romantic Paranormal Fiction book series, Crave. This book picks up almost immediately where the last left off, for everyone this time, and after the bombshell dropped at the end of the last book, I was thankful for that. Grace seems to have the knack for multitasking heavy content; with the end of school work needed to graduate, an impending coronation, royalty out to get her and so much more. It is anyone’s guess how she does not drown under the weight of it all, but Grace is never alone in her fight. But who and what is out for blood now?
Covet allowed you to explore more of the supernatural world with Grace as she left Katmere Academy, and in doing so you get to meet all kinds of wonderful and sometimes scary creatures. I hope we see more of the other Courts in the upcoming books, as I enjoyed seeing that side of the new world Grace is in and out of all the new characters introduced in this book my favourites were Calder and Remy. I cannot wait to see them again, because, despite the horror of the place in which they all met, it was so nice to see her bond with people outside of her school. One of my favourite aspects of the Crave series so far is that Grace is never alone; she has created a family out of her friends. Sure, most of the time she has to contend with her overwhelming thoughts by herself, but when it comes down to it, she has so many people that love and support her. People she can count on to fight in her corner, even if sometimes she can’t always work out their motives.
I also enjoyed the real-world aspects and topics that were handled in this book, such as the completion of school and realising the friends you have now may not last a lifetime. How everyone deals with their grief in different ways and how death is not the only cause of it. How panic attacks can hit you in the most inconvenient times and how shameful it can feel to experience them, and how hard it can be to move on from your first love. All of these were relatable to me and I’m sure to many readers.
Of course, I have to mention Hudson in my likes. Grace and Hudson’s bickering/ flirting made me laugh a lot, but not only did they bring humour, but you also got to see them fall for each other. Grace fell because I’m fairly certain Hudson fell for Grace immediately. Hudson pushes Grace in every helpful way- pushes her to fight for herself, but will back her corner and protect her if he has to. I love how he knows exactly how to help her when she needs it. Maybe it is all those months in her head; maybe it is the mating bond, or maybe he pays attention because he wants to because he loves her completely. It was so nice to see this romance blossom throughout the book because it differs from Jaxon and Grace’s bond. They fell for each other because they were both grieving and lost in the darkness of their minds, and they found each other to latch on to, and because Jaxon wanted someone to save and Grace wanted to be saved- that was what they had. Grace had a lot of personal growth in this book and it was so nice to see her slowly accept that that is not what she wants anymore. She wants someone to love her and respect her for who she is, and that is what Hudson does. Although she was slowly coming to terms with it, I believe it was The Aethereum that bought her closest to that conclusion, even though she did not admit it until later.
As always I had some favourite chapter names, my favourite being Chapter 78 – ‘Dungeons and Dragons: The Grace-Loses-Her-Shit Edition’. The name made me laugh, but I loved the chapter as well. There were a few chapters that I loved for different reasons; Chapter 126 – ‘I Love You to Death (Whether I Want To or Not)’ was sad and then when I read the extra Hudson chapters at the end it became a little sadder, Chapter 135- ‘Punch Drunk’ was just funny and Chapter 154 – ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ was a hallelujah ‘pick me, love me’ moment that I will always adore! I have to say Tracy Wolff had some really beautiful lines written for Grace. One little paragraph in particular that gave me goosebumps was one of Grace’s thoughts. I will not write it, as it will give too much away; but it was the last paragraph of Chapter 158.
As much as I have been enjoying a lot of the characters that this book allowed me to meet, it was the main characters that started to annoy me. I found myself reading this book very stop and start, and having to escape into a comfort book of mine. Mainly because every time Jaxon was in the book I was beyond irritated. I loved every time he was not, which is odd because I loved him in the first book, but as this series is progressing the more he seems to grate on me. I am finding him almost draining, sucking the life out of moments, and maybe that is because he is struggling in it, or perhaps it is because Hudson brings the humour but the only time I actually liked him was at the end, and I think it is because so much action was happening around him that I did not mind his presence.
Another thing that I disliked, to the point of wanting to throw the book across the room was one choice Grace kept circling back to internally; it started in Chapter 101 and finally ended in Chapter 154. I wanted to grab her and scream ‘There are so many other options!’. I had threatened to flush the book if she made that choice, and thankfully she did not, but the threat was very real.
My final dislike is more of a pet peeve with Tracy Wolff’s writing. I myself am British, and I love some of the things Hudson says. The repetition of said ‘British’ insults or phrasing had me rolling my eyes. I love Hudson, and I do not believe that will change, but the final chapters from his perspective were too much. We do not say all of those sayings constantly, and it got to the point where I audibly said ‘I get it, he’s British’.
In all honesty, I have struggled with rating this book. I’m not too fond of half-stars and I have been sitting between two ratings for the entire book. I did love a lot of it, but I almost stopped enjoying reading it because of those disliked aspects I mentioned above. Ultimately I think the disliked stuff has stuck in my mind the most, and therefore I will be rating this book Three out of Five Stars. I will be reading the next one, but sadly I am not as excited as I have been for the previous books.
I would recommend this to those that love young adult or fantasy books, of any age. Covet has action and adventure, no less than would be expected of Grace. But it does touch on some more grown-up topics compared to the previous two books, and Tracy Wolff has written a note for those that may be triggered. ‘Author’s Note: This book depicts issues of panic attacks, death and violence, emotional torture and incarceration, and some sexual content.’– I personally would rate the sexual content as a bell pepper, but then I’m not exactly the intended audience. The world Tracy Wolff has created for Grace is very intriguing and I’m interested in seeing what else will be discovered in the next upcoming books.
Favourite Quotes
““I’m looking at you,” he answers. “That my doing so means I can also see your panties seems like that’s more on you than me.””
page 35
“Because something about it, something about the snide comments (on both sides) and the bickering back and forth, sometimes if feels an awful lot like…foreplay.”
page 63
““I was half asleep. No, I takes that back. I was three-quarters asleep. I can’t be held responsible for what I say when I’m barely conscious.””
page 361
“Dark and deadly and devastating – that’s basically how I’d sum it up, and not only because I’m a whore for alliteration.”
page 498
““The key isn’t to try to live life regret-free. It’s to always try to make the best decision you can in that moment, because regret’s going to come whether you like it or not.-””
page 529
“Because for me, Hudson’s love is endless.”
page 632
Finer Details
Title: Covet
Author: Tracy Wolff
Pages: 680
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication: 2021
Language: English
Rating: 3/5