Well, this was brilliant and utterly addictive.
I'm so glad I finally gave this series a chance: I can already see myself devouring the next few books.

"Wormowood Summer" is everything I usually look for, and love, in an urban fantasy romance, and then some: apart from the absolutely lovely writing, it has both an absolutely unforgettable cast of characters, both main and secondary, and a gorgeous and ridiculously fascinating world-building.
Seriously, I've never seen something even resembling what Kai Butler has managed to create, and achieve, with her words: the complex world-building, and all the magical and monstrous figures that populate it, is fantastic and vividly depicted and the magic system, particularly the way Parker's (and the fae's) magic works is so damn interesting and fascinating.

And, cherry on the cake, the characters were equally unforgettable: I've read reviews of this series stating that the MC and the world-builing and story premise is quite similar to Hailey Turner's "Soulbound" series, but I couldn't disagree more.
There are some similarities, but I'm pretty sure that's typical of all modern day UF stories; plus, I thought Parker was completely different from Patrick. Parker Ferro is a mess, yes, and he's damaged and reckless, but he's also secretly insecure and unsure, afraid of being left by the people he loves; he's a disastrous, barely functioning adult, and a huge snarky and playful flirt as well. And he's also a sneaky, dangerous, manipulative liar and I absolutely adored how well all of his facets managed to blend together to create a complex, flawed but deeply lovable character.

On the other hand, Nick's a bit of mystery: his straight-laced, overly prim attitude was adorable, and I loved seeing him lose his cool around Parker, and his reckless tendencies. I can't wait to discover more of him, and his uber powerful, mysterious family.

Their romance is another aspect of the book that's still a bit of a mystery. Again, I've seen reviewers complain about how insta-love their relationship was, and again, I'm not sure I agree: I think their pacing was completely in tune with the story, especially considering how minor the romance aspect was for this first book and the fact that both Parker and Nick have a bit of a history. I think reading the two novellas/short stories focused on the previous cases they worked on together was hugely beneficial, and I'd recommend it for any reader planning on starting this series: those two novellas gave their relationship enough backstory to make it even more credible, less insta-love and more slow-burn-ish.
Anyway, I loved them together and I can't wait to see their dynamic play out a bit more.

I'm so damn excited to continue with this series: I feel like I've finally found that gem of a series that will keep be occupied, and obsessed, for the foreseeable future.