The Queen of Cliffhangers Strikes Again
Alright y'all, my fellow spicy book dragons, I finally got my copy of Bubbles! I preordered this book months ago after absolutely devouring NoFear, so saying I was excited would be an understatement. And thankfully? It was worth the wait.
Bubbles is the second book in Tate James' ClikByte series, and it was every bit as addictive as the first. We get the crazy plot twists, suspense, darker moments, ridiculous humor, relationship drama, and plenty of spice that made me love NoFear.
And once again, Tate James proves herself to be the queen of cliffhangers. That ending will make you want to throw your book across the room. But control yourselves, fellow spicy book dragons. We do not commit literature abuse in this house. Put the book down gently. Scream into a pillow instead.
Right Back Into the Chaos
One thing I immediately loved about Bubbles is that it doesn't skip over the cliffhanger from NoFear. Thank you! I needed to see what happened next. The book picks up right in the aftermath, with Noah, Ace, Skye, and Torin dealing with what just happened. More importantly, Noah wakes up to a nightmare of her own.
Three people now know her secret.
Well...shit. And Ace might remember more than anyone realizes. Unfortunately for him, he's not getting answers anytime soon. Noah's inner circle is keeping everyone else firmly outside her hospital room, and Ace is being a complete dick about Skye refusing to spill Noah's secrets.
Ace, You Have Some Groveling to Do
Ace and Noah's relationship gets messy very quickly. After Noah leaves the hospital to recover at her apartment, Ace decides patience is overrated, steals Minho's car, uses its GPS history to track Noah down, and lets himself into her apartment. Because boundaries?
Apparently not his specialty.
Their confrontation gets heated in more ways than one, but Ace eventually takes things too far with what he says, and Noah kicks his ass out. Good. Because if you want back into Noah's good graces, sir, you're going to have to work for it.
And work for it he does.
I loved getting the groveling from Ace throughout this book. Their relationship has become much more complicated, especially now that secrets are coming out and feelings are getting harder to ignore.
Welcome to Camp Beaver
Apparently someone decided the best thing for this already chaotic competition would be sending them to Camp Beaver for an entire week. Even better? All eight of them are sharing a cabin. With basically no privacy. Who approved this? Because I would like to personally thank them for the entertainment.
The forced proximity at camp gives us so many of the interactions I wanted after NoFear. We get more of the entire group together, more ridiculous arguments, more snarky insults, more complicated relationships, and Noah's inner monologue continues to be absolutely hilarious.
Team Olympus Is a Disaster, and I Love Them
The humor was easily one of my favorite parts of Bubbles.
There are conversations about "crocheting blankets" and "hunting for narwhals." People are getting smacked in the face by tree branches and tripping over roots. There are chases through the woods. Then we have the ongoing Godzilla insults aimed at Xavier. Poor Xavier.
Actually, no. Not poor Xavier. He deserves at least half of it. We also discover Noah used to have a crush on him, which is information Skye obviously handles with complete maturity.
Then there's Minho asking Noah where his dick is. I can't with these people. I also really love Noah and Skye's friendship. The fact that they're so close they call each other Twin is adorable, and their friendship continues to be one of my favorite relationships in the series.
Noah and Xavier's Fake Relationship Gets Even Funnier
Then we have the Novier shippers. Because Noah and Xavier need to keep feeding their fake public relationship, social media naturally has opinions about their dynamic. And apparently #NoahsBabyGirl has decided Xavier is the submissive one in the relationship.
Someone tries to clarify that they don't necessarily think Xavier is simply submissive. No. He's apparently a bratty power-bottom. The entire group immediately starts giving him shit. I was dying.
Their shared sponsorship doesn't make things any better. Noah and Xavier are supposed to work together on the launch of a new energy drink, but Noah arrives late to the meeting and discovers Xavier has already finalized everything. Including the flavor. Juicy Peach. Of course he did.
My fellow spicy book dragons, if you finished NoFear waiting for the why choose aspect to really start showing itself, Bubbles said: Fine. Here you go. The relationships get considerably more complicated this time around.
There are feelings developing in multiple directions, jealousy, secrets, groveling, unexpected confessions, and enough sexual tension floating around Team Olympus that I'm surprised Camp Beaver didn't spontaneously combust. We also get more insight into some of the guys.
Z opens up to Noah about his parents and even tells her about the mysterious blonde he can't seem to forget. Ace is desperately trying to repair what he screwed up. Xavier and Noah continue their bizarre combination of fighting, flirting, publicity stunts, and driving each other insane. And Noah? She's right in the middle of all of it.
The spice definitely increases from the first book, and the why choose part of this series is becoming impossible to ignore.
But Something Is Seriously Wrong
Underneath all the funny moments, relationship drama, and spice, there's still a genuinely dark mystery unfolding. And this was where Bubbles really hooked me.
Who is August messaging? Who reactivated Peaches' account, and why are they contacting Xavier? What does Rich actually want from Noah? Why are female influencers connected to the Clik Games being murdered? And who the hell is secretly in love with someone?!
Every time I thought I had something figured out, another question appeared. Tate James gives you just enough information to make you start developing theories before throwing something else into the mix and making you question everything again.
Let's Put Them in an Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital
Because sending Team Olympus to Camp Beaver apparently wasn't chaotic enough, the Clik Games introduce another challenge. An abandoned psychiatric hospital. Sure. Why not?
At first, you're trying to figure out exactly what kind of challenge this is supposed to be. A haunted house? An escape room? Something else entirely?
The competitors are divided into teams of four, putting Noah and Xavier together with Gem and Beth from another ClikByte team.
And things start going wrong almost immediately. One person doesn't even want to begin the challenge. People get separated. The creepy factor keeps increasing. And suddenly this doesn't feel like some harmless social media competition anymore.
This whole section had me completely locked in because you know something isn't right, but you don't know exactly how wrong things are about to get.
THAT FUCKING CLIFFHANGER
Tate. Ma'am. What the fuck was that?! I'm not exaggerating when I say this cliffhanger is infuriating. And apparently my husband agrees. I was about ten chapters from finishing when my husband, who was listening to the audiobook, burst into our bedroom.
I looked up at him. He looked at me. And all he said was:
"Fuck that goddamn cliffhanger."
I LOST IT. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. Then I finally finished the book around midnight. So naturally, I woke him up to essentially tell him:
FUCK THAT GODDAMN CLIFFHANGER.
Apparently suffering is a bonding activity in our household. And now we both have to wait for answers.
The Verdict
Highly Recommended For: Why choose readers, dark romance lovers, romantic suspense fans, secret identities, influencer drama, forced proximity, morally gray characters, possessive love interests, fake relationships, chaotic friend groups, groveling, mystery, spice, and readers who enjoy being personally victimized by cliffhangers.
Bubbles was another fantastic addition to the ClikByte series. I loved NoFear, so my expectations going into this one were pretty high, especially after preordering it months in advance. Thankfully, Bubbles didn't disappoint.
The humor is still there. Noah's inner monologue is still hilarious. Team Olympus continues to be one giant dysfunctional disaster. The banter is fantastic, the relationships are getting messier, and the why choose romance really starts kicking into gear. But the suspense also gets darker.
Between August's messages, Peaches' account suddenly becoming active again, Rich's mysterious interest in Noah, the murders surrounding the Clik Games, and that absolutely insane psychiatric hospital challenge, there are so many unanswered questions going into the next book.
And then there's that cliffhanger. I need answers. Thankfully, I've already preordered the third book, Peaches. And the fourth book, Sparkles. Yes, I already preordered both. No, I have no regrets. Am I now chomping at the bit waiting for Peaches? Absolutely. Bring on the chaos.
ο»ΏHappy reading, and remember my fellow spicy book dragons, before starting a book please check the tropes, and always check for trigger warnings. Nobody likes an unfinished book because the tropes aren't your cup of tea or having a bad reading experience because of unexpected trigger warnings.
