After the cliffhanger of Lost Petal, I was incredibly nervous. Would Linnea May make her readers wait far into the second book in the duet, Fallen Petal, to know what Malia showed Petal at the end of the first book? Or would she provide us relief quickly?
Thankfully, the latter is the case. Fallen Petal resolves the cliffhanger of the first book right from the start, but we are still left with so many questions. Is J (Jayson) heroic? Is he really working for Petal, or is he taking only for himself? Will Malia expose Jayson and, by extension, Petal to Christopher or Robert? Will Petal aka Liliane remember her past? Will it affect her future? Who is she meant to give her future to?
And all of these questions kept this reader (me) reading Linnea May’s story. There is something exquisite about the writing of this story. The reader is treated as a voyeur to Petal’s life. The same cloud of confusion that Petal experiences is created for the reader as well. As the story progresses, little bits of Petal’s memory and Jayson and Liliane’s story are portioned out. Just as there is a blank state to Petal’s memory, there is an essence of a blank slate for the reader too. It allows you to drift along, hoping for the story to turn certain ways, but never really sure if you want it to go a particular way.
For me, I needed Jayson and Petal to be a couple, even though the way that Petal is presented at the beginning makes this a dubious consent story. Jayson’s actions with Petal should make the reader uncomfortable under most conventional standards. There is some BDSM and serious s$x in this story. Instead, you find yourself hoping that Jayson loves Petal, and the steps he’s taken for her life are sincere.
This book answers all of the questions of the first book. You get Jayson’s background and Liliane/Petal’s background. The history is included, and all of your questions end with answers by the end of Fallen Petal. I was entirely fulfilled with this book except I would have liked more ending. I love a good epilogue, but I would really enjoy a bonus epilogue for this story. I believe Linnea May has plans for Malia’s story. Hopefully, we’ll find more of J and Petal in her story.
Get this duet. You won’t be disappointed.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 