Refreshing but not so well written

I like the characters, the plot, and appreciate the lack of focus on romance, but man has the author really dumbed down the writing. Sometimes it feels like the author is just telling us things directly i.e., "I hid the potion in my hair which is why seth & cale didnt find it", okay... I didn't need to be told that. I can deduce that she hid a potion in her hair when she pulled it out of her hair.

And although our mc IS intelligent, the way it's written makes me feel like the author is trying to convince US that she's smart, rather than the surrounding characters. We know she's smart and we know WHY she's smart. But the writing is too directed to the audience, it plays off like the author is just saying "Think this" "Feel this" rather than writing in a way that readers would be able to come to that conclusion themselves