This book read like I was part of a fairy tale. I wasn't entirely sure how much of the magic was real and how much was imagined. The bridegroom was so boring, he didn't even have a name! But I really enjoyed this and loved the twist at the end that I should have seen coming. I really like how fucked up these characters are. They're like that one "AITA" response: you're perfect for each other; never change. Just don't involve anyone else in whatever you have going on. Overall, I might read this one again once it's faded a bit from my memory!
This was my very first Scalzi book. I've followed him on Twitter for what feels like forever now, and finally got around to reading a book of his. And can I just say? Top tier. Funny and well-written, and I LOVED how the main character does not have a specified gender. There's nonbinary characters with no drama around them. Just casual they/thems dropping in the chat. If you wanna read about super secret Godzilla bases where people literally travel to other dimensions to study giant monsters but have a great time doing it, I'd highly recommend this one.
I'll be real: I didn't even finish this one. And it wasn't bad per say, it just wasn't really my style, I guess. What I did manage to read I liked, but you know how when you're enjoying a book and you have to put it down, all you can think about is getting back to it? Yeah, I had no desire to pick this book back up once I put it down about 1/3rd of the way through. Oh, well. Not for everyone, I guess.
My older sister recommended this one to me. It's a romantic thriller, but honestly, the romance is on the backburner the whole time. This book made me doubt what was the truth multiple times, and even upon finishing it, I don't know what is right. Did Verity actually kill her daughter, or was that really just a writing exercise? Man, it was good.
I've been on a thriller/mystery kick lately, and this sure did scratch that itch. Also, completely unexpected twist that I really liked in the end! This was very satisfying and I definitely got the feeling of being an outsider looking in on this fucked up family.
Surprisingly, this book took me a WHILE to read. I read very quickly, and this book was very engaging, but it's more of a mystery than anything. This book is apparently based on a true unsolved murder from the 1800s. I forced myself to take it slow, because every single character in this book had a motive for murder, and I wanted to see if I could figure it out.... I didn't. But I'm glad I didn't! The murderer reveal at the end makes a lot of sense to me, and adds a whole new depth to some of the characters that I might honestly go back and read it again. I wouldn't normally read mysteries again because, well, I already know how it goes. But this might be an exception.
Hey, do you wanna fucking CRY? Because this made me cry. Even though it's set in a time period that I cannot relate to, the bond these two women share IS something I understand... as is the cancer. Just punch me in the gut and it would hurt less. 10/10, would cry again. I've got another of this author's books on my TBR and that'll probably make me cry, too, and I'm gonna like it.
You know, I was sorta expecting to cry about this book. I mean, it IS about death. That's, like, the whole premise. Dude dies, refuses to believe it, then spends his death building a new life for himself in the tea shop run by his ferryman and his Reaper. But that wasn't what made me REALLY enjoy this book. What made me REALLY love this book was the surprise gay shit! Dead guy falls in love with his ferryman! And it works out! And it's really cute!!! Man, the number of books that I've been picking up lately that have been unexpectedly gay has been a lovely surprise. Like, I was already interested in this book, and now it's gay, too? Rockets to the top of my faves so far this year.
I read this immediately after finishing "Verity." I hadn't meant to pick up something lighthearted after reading that, but I'm SO glad I did. This book reminded me of my Wiccan/pagan upbringing, and made me long for a community where I could celebrate the various holidays through the year. I loved how each family specialized in a different kind of magic, and the fact that it was also gay was just a bonus. The bisexual rep was fantastic in this one! It was a very fun read overall, and very easy.
While updating my StoryGraph account, I realized that "Payback's a Witch" was actually part of a series... and I immediately borrowed this book from my library and finished it the same day. And whoo, boy, was this one HOT. I dunno, man, I guess I'm just a sucker for men who are a lil rough around the edges but super soft for their love interests... and also enemies-to-lovers. Anyway. This book focused on Beltane, and it made me long for spring in a way I never have before. Gods, I wish this town were real so I could live there.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting to get hooked on this series as much as I did... but here we are. This book actually made me SYMPATHIZE with the Blackmoore's, who were notoriously the Shitty Ones in the other books. Also, I'm pretty sure Harper is getting better at writing really hot sex scenes, because HOT DAMN. Thank you, more please. Harper somehow manages to raise the stakes in each book without overshadowing the previous ones, and while each installment focuses on a different character, they all still interact with each other in fun ways. I think it's a really great way to build up the world! The next one isn't available at my library yet, but I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy it... I don't really like the character it features. But hey, maybe I'll be surprised!
This book took me way longer to read than I initially thought it would, but only because it was DENSE AS HELL. But holy shit, was it good. The twists at the end, the cutthroat world of academia, the way Ann is running from her past... It was all super engaging and I really loved it. Definitely a book you need to take your time reading.
I read this book for my book club, partly because it had become basically a viral sensation. And honestly? It was... fine. I liked it well enough. It took me a bit to get into the rhythm of it, as it read sorta like dense academic textbooks at first. But I dunno, it didn't quite live up to the online hype I was expecting. There were some things I really liked about it (namely the way they describe the different timelines, the almost complete lack of dialogue), but it just didn't grab me as well as I thought it would. And that's fine! I'll pass the book along to a new home and hope someone can love it better than I did.
Ho. Ly. Shit.
This book was phenomenal. Schwab is a master of switching between various time points in the story and slowly revealing information. There was a moment when I thought that Henry WAS Luc! And it was oh so much better when it turned out he wasn't. I'm also a sucker for straight up toxic romance - Addie and Luc are horrible for each other, but honestly, I would read the shit out of their story. I'm in love. Schwab has once again written some truly Fucked Up characters and made me love them. (I also loved Viscious, but wasn't too keen on Vengeful.) Anyway, 10/10, I LOVED this book.
I have determined that I don't like amnesia as a plot device. This book was interesting, but I felt I had to force myself to read it at times. Plenty of twists, and I did like how things were described and how the facts were revealed, but honestly? I will never read this book again. I can only hope that the next home it finds is with someone who likes it more than I did. I don't regret reading it; I guess it just wasn't really for me.
This was such a fun read, especially after that murder mystery that I didn't really enjoy. It was a nice balance of mystery, intrigue, magic, and family drama. I really liked the magic system in this one, and the humor was great. "Hey, so, your uncle is literally bleeding you dry to use your blood as magical ink so that he can live forever, so we're gonna get you the fuck out of here." "Okay, sure, but we're bringing my dog." Phenomenal.
Oh man, we picked this book for October book club, and I could a) pay $30 to buy it, b) wait 4+ weeks to get the ebook through my library, or c) get the audiobook immediately and just read it early. I chose the third option, and finished it in a day. The audiobook was 11 hours, thereabouts, and that time simply FLEW by. You think you can figure out who did it, but you can't. Or at least I didn't. There were multiple times that I audibly gasped during this book, and I truly enjoyed listening to it. 9/10, mildly spooky attempted murder mystery!
When reading this book, I realized 3 things. 1: I understand now why people read dark romance. 2: I understand why it is called dark romance. And 3: I dislike that the major conflict in romance novels boils down to miscommunication. You're telling me that the story is about a mafia princess and a mafia hitman, and the biggest issue is the fact that he fucked her mom 10 years ago, and NOT the fact that they're being actively blackmailed? Okay. Whatever. This book was aggressively fine, in my opinion.
HELLO, NEW DRAGON RIDER OBSESSION! I grew up LOVING the Eragon books (I'm so excited for the new one I might scream), and this is just a more intense version of those. There's dragons! There's death! There's enemies-to-lovers! There's betrayal! Goddamn, I borrowed this from my library, but I will definitely be buying it and then buying the sequel when it comes out soon. This book is over 600 pages and I read it in a day. I DEVOURED this book. Right up my fucking alley. Gods, I love fantasy and I love dragon riders!!! AHHH!
This was apparently Schwab's first book, and I think it shows. I was also definitely not the target audience, and that's okay! If I'm not 100% feeling a book, I'll give it to about 1/3 or 1/2 of the book before I decide to put it down. I made it halfway and decided I was interested enough to continue... and absolutely devoured the last 1/3. I'm glad I decided to finish it! This feels like it's aimed at a MUCH younger audience than me, though. I still enjoyed it, but I like her other works more.
I waited until I had read all of them to make my review, and whooooo boi.... This series has given me a serious book hangover. I did really enjoy it, but honestly? It's sorta mid to me. It was really fun, I liked the drama, I LOVED that the 5th book changed character POVs, but overall, I'd give this like a 7/10 for me. Will I read it again? Absolutely. I had a blast reading it. But it's kinda superficial, and that's fine! Also not quite as spicy as I expected. There's definitely spice, but not what I was expecting given the reviews online. If you like faeries, political turmoil, and moderate sex, you'll probably like this book series. I think what turned me off the most from it was the inherent sexism...
This was a very cute romance novel that I was not expecting to like as much as I did! I'm not usually a fan of romance (since the main conflict is always miscommunication, and that bugs me), but I liked this one a lot. It's between a young woman who moved out of town to escape her traumatic memories, and a young man who lost his voice in his own traumatic accident. They do lots of talking in sign language! Anyway, I had fun reading it, even if I was apprehensive at first.
I've wanted to read this for a while because it was all over booktok. And I'm not gonna lie, there were a few times it had me looking like that blushing emoji. HOWEVER. The writing could use some work. So many run-on sentences, tense mistakes... I enjoyed reading it, yes, but it was also frustrating because it was not super well-written. Oh well. Otherwise, I had a blast. What's not to love about a woman being kidnapped by the biggest mafia family in the city and falling in love with all four brothers who then proceed to have really fucked up and bloody orgys with her?
Um, hello? Yes, SJM? What the fuck?
Look, I thought I knew what I was getting into when I started this. I've read ACOTAR, I knew what to expect, right? Fucking WRONG. These two books made me cry. They made me care for the characters in a way I did NOT in ACOTAR. Holy shit, man, this book series is WAY better than ACOTAR. I will say, SJM does REALLY well with writing trauma and PTSD. I'm a sucker for modern fantasy, so I know I'm gonna be rereading the first two when the third comes out. (ALSO? THE ENDING OF BOOK 2 HAD ME HOLLERING. I literally finished it on a plane and sent like 8 messages to my sister in midair for her to receive when I landed.)
I started reading this because I've seen it on TikTok a few times, and while I overall enjoyed the three books I read, I don't think I'll be reading the next one when it comes out. Everything about it was fine! The premise was neat, I like the characters, there's some cool political tensions... but I dunno. Maybe with ACOTAR and Fourth Wing, I've got enough on my plate with regards to emotional turmoil.
I'M LOSING MY MIND. I HAVE LOST IT. YARROS, WHY. When I finished Fourth Wing, I did indeed buy it and preorder the sequel. Now that I've finally read it, I'm MAD. How DARE you make me this emotionally invested in these characters and their story. How DARE you drop a bigger bomb of a cliffhanger in this one that you did the last one. I can't handle this. I DREAMT ABOUT IT. I LITERALLY DID NOT SLEEP WELL BECAUSE OF THIS BOOK. 10/10 will read again. Fuck you.
This book was a really nice break from the emotional shit I've been reading lately. Just a neat little modern-setting Hades and Persephone story! I really liked the characterizations of all the gods in here, and damn if I'm not a sucker for Hades. I really enjoyed it!
I've had this book for a while (since April... I read it in November) since I got it through the Book of the Month club. And it was... not quite what I was expecting. It was a little hard for me to follow, but some of the reveals were neat. Having three different storylines and each one holding secrets from the reader was a little convoluted, but it was well written. I got about halfway through and wasn't even sure if I'd finish it. But I did, and here we are. I don't necessarily regret finishing it... I'm pretty neutral on it.
Yeah, remember how I said that Den of Vipers wasn't written super well? This one was worse. More orgies, though. It was aggressively fine. Actually, a little less than fine, in my opinion, but what can ya do? I read it. I will not be reading any more by this author, though.
This was a very nice break from the emotional roller coaster that has been the SJM books I've been reading. Once again, I am finding that the things that Book Men say would earn a punch to the nose if a man said that to me in real life. I'm finding that romance novels are a nice little refresher from the bullshit. This is the first of a series, and I have no interest in reading the others, but I enjoyed it!
Alright, this one's a doozy, so I'm gonna try to review them as I finish them rather than leave it all for the end like I did with ACOTAR and Crescent City. First thing's first: I'm very glad that I read ACOTAR first. So let's dive in!
So, I'm following this neat reading guide for this book series. Apparently there's multiple ways to read the books, but I'm following the "Purist" route right now. I'm not really looking forward to the confusion of the tandem read... but I'm gonna do it!
Let's start with "Assassin's Blade." This was a collection of novellas, and it was honestly really cool to read them all in a row. Like little bite-sized bits of story. My main gripe? Celaena is fuckin SIXTEEN. She's so young. Jesus. I forgot that this series was technically a YA series. But it was cool overall, even if I did know for a fact that Sam was going to die. Like, come on. "We have all the time in the world" homie you're DEAD NOW. YOU FOOL.
Next up: Throne of Glass. When I started reading this one, I was REALLY glad that I went the purist route and read "Assassin's Blade" first, if only because it gives you SO much context for Celaena. I probably would have figured out enough if I started here, but it was WAY easier doing it this way. I do, however, fucking hate love triangles. I just hate em. Blech.
Crown of Midnight. This one had a really cool reveal at the end, and made me start to genuinely feel bad for Celaena. She just keeps losing and losing and losing. When does she get to be truly happy? This poor girl has lost so much in her life, it's a wonder she finds the will to go on. I'm really sad about Nehemia, I really liked her. Also, I 100% called that Celaena was probably Fae, but a PRINCESS? Wasn't quite expecting that one. The next book should be interesting! But oh dear, there's still like 5 to go... I'm nervous.
Heir of Fire. YESSS BRING ON THE HOT FAE MEN, PLS. This one was more about healing from her traumas and rediscovering who she is. I kinda read this one and the next in quick succession, so they're kinda blending together, but I'm pretty sure this is the one where Aelin and Rowan are revealed to be carranam or whatever it is, which I fuckin CALLED IT, but anyway. Good stuff!
Queen of Shadows. Wow, I was not expecting to like Lysandra at ALL, but here we are, and she's one of my favorites. I like her a lot! While the Aelin/Aedion reunion wasn't quite what I was hoping for (I wanted him to see her and immediately fall to his knees and shit), it was really nice. I really like how antagonistic they are towards each other, even though they would die for each other. And ROWAN COMING BACK! Gods, I was getting a little annoyed with the switching POVs in this one because I just wanted to read more about Aelin, but honestly, the other characters really grew on me. Poor Dorian, his chapters were gut-wrenching. But I'm honestly excited to see what Manon does - I want her to leave the rest of the witches and go join Aelin. I am a little annoyed that there was no, like... consequence for bringing back magic? It just sorta happened, and there was the big fight at the castle, but what about all the other people in the area who suddenly have magic again? Hopefully no one goes mad. Anyway, I'm about to start the tandem read of Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. I've got them all tabbed out and everything. I'm excited!
"Empire of Storms" and "Tower of Dawn" tandem read. May I just say, I am REALLY glad that I did these at the same time. It was really cool to read an event happen in one book and then get the reactions of the other characters in the other book. It was also SUPER cool to recognize characters from all the way back in Assassin's Blade! Yrene really grew a spine in this one. I was really annoyed at the inherent ableism of Chaol getting his paralysis magically fixed - I hate that shit. Also, holy shit, Maeve is VALG? WHAT? Forcing myself to stop and pick up the other book made me actually focus on what I was reading more, so it was neat to feel more engaged. I'm so happy for Nesryn! And Manon!!! Everything is awesome EXCEPT FOR AELIN SACRIFICING HERSELF. Fuck you, Elena. Fuck. You.
Kingdom of Ash. Well, it sure is done now. The ending felt kinda... anticlimactic? I dunno, it just felt like it sorta ended, and everything was wrapped up haphazardly. I felt really bad for Manon's loss of her Thirteen, I thought that was a little unnecessary. And it just seemed like Lysandra/Aedion and Lorcan/Elide was really rushed there at the end. I'm glad it's over, and I did really enjoy this series, but of the three that SJM has writte, Crescent City is my favorite so far.
Well, this was the final book that I read in 2023! Honestly, what a banger to finish on. I LOVE this movie, it's one of my favorites, and I really love psychological horror/thriller. I really liked the way this was written, being told from a perspective of reading someone's journal they left behind, meaning there's very little dialogue. I personally love reading and writing things with minimal dialogue, so this was a cool experience! The revelation of what "annihilation" means in this context was really cool. It was neat seeing the differences between the book and movie, too. 10/10 recommend!