Charm (Crave, 5)

1st person/dual povSpice: 1/5 - keep in mind this is YA so for me it was more than fade to black but not quite "smut"Oh... My... Heart!!!If you've read the series up to this point then you know that this book gives us the answers to what happened during those 4 months between book 1 and book 2 that Grace couldn't remember. If you haven't read this series up to this point then do not read this review any further because yes, there will probably be spoilers for the other books.Last chance......Ok, so we knew something went down between Grace and Hudson when they were trapped in her fortified gargoyle state. I naturally assumed that they grew closer and became very friendly during this time from the way Hudson acted in book 2 once they returned to the academy. While Grace didn't remember anything and I knew she had to have formed a connection to Hudson I didn't consider a lot of what happened here as a possibility. I knew Hudson had developed some sort of feelings for her based on his actions throughout most of the book but at this point, I still assumed it was mostly one-sided. Then of course we see what happens with his brother and then watch her fall for Hudson along the journey to defeat his father and save the world. But I still wondered what happened when they were frozen since Hudson made it seem like it was so important. Enter book 5 and it holds every single answer I knew I needed and even a few I didn't know I needed!Now I have seen some reviews complaining that this book wasn't needed. I've also seen some complaints about it being released after book 4 instead of between books 1 and 2. While everyone is entitled to their own opinions I don't agree with them. Here is why - this book was released at the perfect moment and it was exactly as it should have been done. In this book, we get to see Grace and Hudson when they first arrive in this space that is sort of between worlds. Which, as we found out in an earlier book, was a replica of Hudson's "lair" with Grace's twist on it. They go from hating each other, more so Grace hating him really, due to the information that Grace has been given about Hudson by his brother and anyone else at Katmere. He's the bad guy and not to be trusted by everyone else. Over a year goes by in this space together and while they annoy the absolute crap out of each other (which is adorably funny btw) they also get to see a side of each other no one else has. Hudson gets to see who Grace truly is even before she came to Katmere, courtesy of having access to every single memory she has. And Grace has access to Hudson's journals from when he was a boy up through adulthood. These journals are heartbreaking to read and show her the truth of Hudson Vega. That he is the bad guy everyone believes him to be so that he can be the good guy no one sees coming. He can do the hard things to protect thousands of innocent people because he has no problem being the bad guy to do so. The enemy doesn't see him coming this way and no one gets hurt in the blowback but him.Everything Grace thought she knew about him was false because the people that told her didn't have his truth. She starts to see him with new eyes as she realizes that they may never make it back to Katmere. Next thing you know they are forced out of this sanctuary and on the run from a threat unlike anything they've encountered before. When it becomes clear they aren't going to be returning to Katmere ever again they set out to just survive. To build the best life they can in this new home they've found. They are all each other has now and as they grow even closer they begin to fall. (Obviously, we know at this point what happens with the whole mating bonds thing in the end but remember in this timeline, in this book, Grace doesn't know any of this yet.)This is why we needed this book. We needed to see the two of them fall in love, to see the journey they took together and the life they were building. The home they fought to protect in this new place as well as back in our world. We see a side of Hudson that no one ever has. He is finally living a life that, while it has a few minor drawbacks given the environment of this new world they're in, he never thought was possible back home. It's a clean slate for him. We learn more about what he went through as a child and the decisions he made that led him to what everyone thought was his death. We also see a love that grows and blossoms into something unbreakable.Now here's why we didn't need this book before now... If we had gotten this book after book 1 then nothing in book 2 would have been a surprise. We would have known Hudson wasn't the bad guy from the start. We would have known about his connection to Grace. We would have seen so much of Hudson so early on that we couldn't fully appreciate who he is as a character. In my opinion, it would have ruined books 2-4 to have all of this information beforehand. Because looking back, and knowing what I know after reading this book, I love him even more. I can appreciate how he kept all of this to himself once they returned to Katmere without Grace's memory. I can appreciate how he was prepared to step aside and allow Grace and his brother to be together so long as Grace was truly happy, even if it meant the only happiness and love Hudson had ever experienced was snatched away from him. This utterly broke my heart if I'm being honest. In fact, every single moment between the two of them over those 3 books I am now looking at with new eyes. All of this makes the love they share, the fact that we get to witness them falling in love twice under these wild circumstances, and despite everything thrown at them, so much more satisfying in the end. So no, we absolutely didn't need this book to be published at any point before right now. The author did the story as a whole justice by keeping it from us until the right moment. She did Hudson Vega justice, as he is one of the most selfless and loving characters I've ever read without sacrificing any of the snark and confidence I love in the "bad boy" persona. He is perfection!Grace is pretty awesome too, but we've had 4 whole books of her coming into her own. For me, this book was all about showcasing why Hudson is so special, as well as giving us the backstory we needed before going into book 6. This is how you tell a story, people! This is wonderfully thought out and planned in a way that slowly gives you all the answers you need but just enough that it keeps you coming back for more (and not bored in my opinion) until you finally reach the finale. And considering how things went down in this book and where they are going in the next one I have a feeling it's going to drag so many emotions out of me only to reward me with the perfect ending.Even though I don't want it to end, because I'm not yet ready to say goodbye to Grace and Hudson, especially Hudson lol, I also can't wait to see them get the happily ever after they both deserve!

Absolutely loved the whole book! Definitely reads the others first. The story of the past was great and explained so much!

What happened during the missing four months while Grace was stone? After coming to Katmere Academy, Grace finds that nothing in her world is as it seems. Now, she is surrounded by Vampires and any and all dangerous creatures she always thought were myth, the most dangerous of all is Hudson Vega. Somehow Grace ends up trapping Hudson and herself in her mind while she is stone. They are trapped together for months, but time doesn’t run the same while trapped in stone. The longer they are together, the more frustrated they become with each other while also growing closer. How are they going to get out and back to their family members and will they be able to do it before it’s too late.For anyone that has read the Crave series, it is easy to fall in love with these characters and the story created. Tracy Wolff has crafted a world that fans of Harry Potter and the Twilight universe will love, and this latest installment will give readers an inside look at what happened when Grace and Hudson were trapped inside her mind. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, but enjoyed the time spent reading it. While I did enjoy it, I wouldn’t say it was my favorite in the series; to be honest, it could have cut out two hundred pages and been just fine. Those two hundred pages caused it to drag some in the middle and had me skimming the pages at times.The story of what happened with Grace and Hudson while she was stone is something that readers of the series have been wanting to know for a while now. The dynamic between these two is sensational, so much tension driving the story forward that it is hard to not fall in love with what you are reading. I did miss the other characters from the previous novels that added to the dynamic. Even though this series is marketed to teens and young adults, I would not recommend this to younger readers because of the sexual aspects and language. For older more mature readers this will be great addition to a fantastic series.