Annnddd we’re back! Praise Jesus (ironic in this case) for sending me this book to save me from my months-long reading slump.
I had originally downloadAnnnddd we’re back! Praise Jesus (ironic in this case) for sending me this book to save me from my months-long reading slump.
I had originally downloaded this book for a 2-week trip but ended up reading Happy Place instead which turned out to be a mistake. One thing the last year has taught me is that I don’t like romance unless there’s angst, tension, and death (maybe this makes me toxic but I’m just a girl). So that’s what brings me here, reading- and devouring- a smut-ridden love story with a demon from hell who also happens to be the Prince of Envy.
Before we get in to all the things I loved, I’m gonna start with the things I didn’t since we all have eyes and can see this was no 5-star read. Unfortunately I had to dock points for the explicitly-detailed vampire orgy which I did not in fact need plastered into my brain for eternity while having a sleepover with my mother, as well as the multiple blow jobs with MULTIPLE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS. Sorry but I just can’t do the dick sucking. Once is tolerable but more than that and I’m soaking my eyes in bleach. I also should mention the use of the words pussy, cunt, and tits because how many of us actually want those in our fantasy books? That’s what I thought. Envy’s possessive alpha-male persona was a bit overdone as well and I really don’t dig that at all in general but I knew what I was getting into with this one so I tried not to complain. HOWEVER, I’m a certified hater so I’m going to anyway… and I’m just a girl.
Oh and also the book was unnecessarily long for what it needed to do. It was 627 pages but could’ve easily been trimmed down 50-100 or so pages and really should’ve been capped at 550.
*Cough* so with all that out of the way, onto the finer things.
First we have the world building. Not much to say here tbh. I’m trying not to judge romantasy too harshly on this aspect since we are told that the romance is the main plot and we shouldn’t expect much… and this book delivered. Originally, the word that came to mind was sufficient, but upon further contemplation I think it did more than that and I’ve decided to be impressed. The 2nd half did much better, especially after that major plot twist that had me shocked and falling off my bed (rip my hips). I also should mention that this supposedly comes after the Kingdom of the Wicked Series which I have not read but I think that that will do more for the world building so I have to be more lenient on this.
Onto the characterssss. Camilla is a stupid name for a girl in a fantasy novel let’s just be so fr but her personality was pretty good which is saying a lot because most of the time the chics in these books piss me off so much and annoy me immensely. Although not as much as the stereotypical morally gray love interest which was in fact very present here. Like I said before, big bad possessive alpha male demon got a bit old but he was more layered than many similar men (daddy Xaden I’m looking at you) so I wasn’t too upset. The long list of side characters was pretty good as well so cheers to that.
The writing was surprisingly very good, excluding certain cringey words like those mentioned earlier.
Then there’s the romance. Aside from the whole lust-at-first-sight thing, possessive demon guy, and weird sex things, easily 4-5 stars here. The sex was overdone, although that may be my period speaking cause I’m not really in the mood. If there wasn’t SO MUCH sex it would’ve been good, but it was overdone to a similar level as ACOSF. And as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t want to read about some guy’s “magnificent dick” down the girl’s throat. That’s a no no for me thank you. Bonus points for no cringey dick words/phrases like “velvet coated steal.”
As long as you’re over 16 and don’t find hell demons and vampire orgies completely revolting, I’d recommend. I’m gonna go read a WWII book now. xx babes...more
If you know me, you know I love a villain origin story because I think they reveal the complexities of us as humans. I also I’m emotionally destroyed.
If you know me, you know I love a villain origin story because I think they reveal the complexities of us as humans. I also think that they blur the lines a bit between “hero” and “villain” and show us that those are too simple of terms to use.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows Coriolanus Snow and his descent into becoming who many of us know as the dictator, President Snow, from the original Hunger Games trilogy. It explores the people and situations that inspired and influenced Coryo as well as the effects of his own inner turmoil and human nature.
Additionally, the book really explores the beginning of the Hunger Games and the purpose behind making children fight to the death in an arena. As in all books, and especially dystopian, there are so many parallels to our modern world which is heartbreaking but necessary. While writing the original trilogy, Suzanne Collins took a lot of inspiration from the war in Iraq and now, as a westerner seeing the horrors being committed in Palestine, this story is very relevant in revealing our desensitization to war and genocide (especially through Sejanus’s character).
SPOILERS AHEAD
I also feel like I can’t write a proper review about this book without talking about Lucy Gray and the love story between her and Snow. I know that there are some perspectives that Coryo was just using Lucy Gray and never actually held any affection for her, but I think that a big theme in this book was the power of love. Coryo wanted everything. He wanted the power and he wanted the girl. In the end, however, I think he became afraid of falling in love with her and what it might do to his dreams and ambitions. He tries to have it all, but his hunger for power eventually was revealed to Lucy Gray and she betrayed him, leaving a relationship where she would always come second and where she would be the first to be sacrificed.
SPOILERS END
I know that this book receives a lot of hate because some people don’t think that Snow deserves an origin story, but we need stories like this. I think that we often like to have a clear hero and villain in our minds because that’s what makes sense and it’s more difficult for us to believe that humans are inherently good and bad. This book doesn’t justify Snow’s actions in the original trilogy; it reveals how he became that corrupt leader. The ending was absolutely heartbreaking and destroyed me. 5 beautiful stars.
* If you want a good film and book analysis, watch The Clockwork Reader :)...more
What an adventure. I’m going to be honest, I hated the first quarter of this book but I really do think it redeemed itself towards the end th3.5 stars
What an adventure. I’m going to be honest, I hated the first quarter of this book but I really do think it redeemed itself towards the end there. It was kind of like a much needed Fourth Wing 2.0 with actual world building and somewhat likable characters. Oh, and THAT COVER? Gorgeous. As someone who shamelessly judges books by their covers. I was impressed.
MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Our story begins by introducing us to this hot baddie named Freya who lives in this Viking-type world with magic and like… cool stuff like that I guess. The magic system and world building was actually pretty good but Freya was nearly as insufferable as Violet Soaringale at the beginning. Anyway, right off the bat we learn that Freya is married to this guy named Vragi (a red flag if I ever saw one) who has some cool fish-mongery powers (don’t ask) and hates her. Freya hates her marriage and hates it even more when she meets some hunky Fjerdan guy named Matthias. Actually his name is Bjorn (the names only get worse) but he’s basically just a less perfect and possibly more misogynistic version of Matthais.
A bunch of stuff happens and there’s an unbearable number of cringy quotes about “lustful hearts” and and “desires” but it’s tossed in with a good deal of actual plot so it wasn’t too bad. The plot was decently paced and there was no info dumping so lots of brownie points there. I always love a good brutal war with magic and feminist warriors, you know? On the other hand, there was this unnecessary romance that I… disliked? I know that this is romantasy so I can’t actually fault this book for being a romance, but it would’ve been so much better if it wasn’t (or just had a romantic subplot). Bjorn’s nickname for Freya is “Born in Fire” (somehow worse than Violence) because- say it with me- she was born in fire. Well not literally I don’t think but in some metaphorical way or something. This is where this book proved to be so YA which it really wouldn’t have otherwise been. Everything regarding the romance was so cringe, the sex especially which wasn’t quite as bad as ACOSF but still wanted to make me jab hot needles into my eyes.
Now that that rant is over, more things I actually liked. The writing was pretty good aside from those cringy parts and, like the plot and really everything in this book, it got better as the story progressed. The world building was hands down the best part and I thought that the ending was amazing. It was a little predictable throughout the majority of the book but the ending was top-notch.
In the end, I thought it was pretty good. I’ll definitely be picking up the next one in this series and can’t wait to see where Nielsen decides to do with this story. 3.5 stars.
It happened. I'm officially #teamaaronwarner now, thanks to this book. Does that mean that I actually liked the book? No. But was it better t2.5 stars
It happened. I'm officially #teamaaronwarner now, thanks to this book. Does that mean that I actually liked the book? No. But was it better than Shatter Me? Yes.
SPOILERS FOR SHATTER ME AHEAD (PROBABLY)
Destroy Me is a little novella that takes place in the weeks following the end of Shatter Me. It's from the perspective of Aaron Warner and shows a lot of his thoughts and feelings towards Juliette, some of his backstory, and the reasoning behind some of the stupid things he did in the previous book. I thought that Destroy Me was a necessary book and I honestly don't understand how anyone could actually like Warner in the first book without reading this one. It's not that I didn't like him in Shatter Me, but he was just kind of possessive and unfeeling towards Juliette which really wasn't a good look for golden boy. Yes, he was still better than Dain- I mean Aspen- I mean Adam, but there was some icky stuff.
I really liked having a book from Warner's perspective because he wasn't as annoying and unreasonably dramatic (though he's still a drama king, let's be honest) as Juliette was as a narrator. I think that even hardcore stans for this book series will admit that Juliette is just SO ANNOYING. I was maybe a bit of a Juliette hater in Shatter Me, so imagine my surprise and delight when I found not 100, not 50, not even 1 crossed out intrusive thought from our boy Aaron Warner in this whole book (except from Juliette's unbearable journal entries). Even better, rarely any senseless metaphors about the color of the sky compared to the color of his soul.
Even though this was better than the first book, it was still bad. There really was no plot even if it was a necessary book for the series. I mean, the whole thing was basically just Warner being depressed and having violent fantasies and playing with dogs and hating his dad and drinking coffee and some other crap. I also kind of have a hard time believing that he really is in love with Juliette which is kind of the whole point of this book. He's so obsessed with her (its actually kind of creepy) but I don't really understand why. Now, this isn't because I'm some Juliette hater and don't understand how anyone could like her or anything like that (well…), but the two of them never had any emotional connection whatsoever and I don't think that they really know each other well enough to have those sorts of feelings (same with Juliette x Adam).
While this book was bad, I think that its given me the motivation to continue with the series. I don't actually care about Juliette or what happens to her, but I want to see my morally gray king Aaron Warner beat up Adam and Juliette to fall in love with him because I hate Adam and want him to get rejected. By the way, I hate the covers for these books. The word "eyes" is used 366 times in these 2 books alone so it makes sense, but they're awful. 2.5 stars (for the book, not the cover)....more
Shatter Me is a teen soap drama on crack transcribed into book form by author Tahereh Mafi. It's funny, highly entertaining, and interesting, to say tShatter Me is a teen soap drama on crack transcribed into book form by author Tahereh Mafi. It's funny, highly entertaining, and interesting, to say the least. I'm not quite sure how I missed out on this 100+ long book series during that dystopian romance phase from my early middle school days (*cough* The Selection, Red Queen, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Matched) but I'm glad that I gave it a try. I mean, it was pretty much the combination of all those books smashed together into one so it was a very nostalgic experience.
*If you want to read my actual review, skip to the end :)
SPOILERS AHEAD
Shatter Me, a recap, written by me
Our story follows this girl named Juliette (like from Romeo and Juliette) who's *not like the other girls* because she has magical powers and is hit on at least once by every man under 40 in this book. Juliette lives in some dystopian society where everyone is starving and things are run by this government called the Reestablishment. The world building is most definitely the worst part about the books and all you need to know right now is that it's just a copycat of every other dystopian government ever written (basically everything looks like the Abnigation section in Divergent).
Anyway, Juliette lives in this insane asylum/prison like she has been for the past 300 or so days. She's 17 years old which is mentioned about a gazillion times and people die when they touch her which kind of sucks. It's not really clear how long Juliette has had this magical power, but people have been scared of her for as long as she can remember.
One depressing day in prison, this hot guy named Adam (like from the Bible) is thrown into her cell. They live together for a few weeks and somehow never touch and we learn all about Juliette's sad life in a series of metaphors that sound poetic and meaningful but typically make no sense: "Truth is a jealous, vicious mistress that never sleeps, is what I tell him. I will never be okay." There are also words crossed out ALL THE TIME. Sweet baby Jesus have mercy on my suffering soul. At one point, we had a whole page that said "I am not insane" over and over again in crossed out letters (btw Juliette, you most definitely ARE insane). I got the impression that the writing was supposed to be groundbreaking and unique but it never quite hit the mark for me.
One day in prison- I mean asylum- a guy with a gun comes in and things go craaazy. All of the sudden, Adam has a gun too and Juliette wakes up in some wacko government building. Juliette finds out that she's in Sector 42 of the Reestablishment which is run by the son of some important dude named Warner (last name; his first name is actually Aaron, like from the Bible). Warner's also hot but she doesn't have any time for him because she's too busy making out and confessing her love to Adam (35% of the way in) who- surprise!- can touch her for some reason. What isn't a surprise is that Adam is actually Juliette's childhood crush and they haven't stopped thinking about each other since she left when she was 14 or something (apparently they fell in love when she was 7).
Turns out, tiktok's sexy golden boy, Aaron Warner, is actually a bit of a prick and does lots of bad things like shoot people which Juliette just despises because she's anti-violence. If I had to describe Aaron Warner, I would say that he looks like Nikolai Lantsov, acts like a less-dazzling version of Jacks on a good day and a less-ruthless version of Kirigan on a bad day, and wears black leather gloves (for the first half) like Kaz Brekker.
Warner's proposition is that Juliette can stay alive (or something) if she tortures people for him, but Juliette doesn't really want to do that. Juliette then spends the next few weeks having meals with our boy Aaron Warner and doing some weird trial stuff.
One day, Adam and Juliette are about to have sex when they are interrupted (yet again!) by an alarm that says there has been a breach. Apparently, Juliette and Adam have been preparing for this because Adam knows some guys (*cough* rebels maybe, Juliette?) that could help them escape to their happily ever after. Adam is really buff of course so he punches through the window with the intention of jumping down 15 stories, but *gasp* the door bursts open and guess who's standing there? It's Aaron Warner (*cue sexy music*)!
Warner starts yelling at Juliette about how HE could love her and treat her like a queen (I'm down) and that Adam is lying to her and just using her to escape. Obviously, Juliette doesn't care and just holds a gun up to his head because she's savage, and then jumps out the window 15 stories and somehow doesn't die. BUT, not before Warner touches her and also doesn't die. Our story just got a little bit more interesting.
Juliette and Adam run to an old nuclear energy plant where Adam has a tank stored and they drive away into the sunset. Well, kind of. They drive home to where Adam's 10 year old brother James (like from the Bible) is living all by himself on a street of orphans. Juliette and Adam have some more interrupted sex and Adam's soldier friend Kenji shows up at the house with bullet wounds.
Adam gets mad at Kenji because there's a bunch of drama (obviously) with these tracking device things, so they run away. Kenji is objectively one of the best characters in this book, but he also doesn't know how to take anything seriously which makes this whole running-away thing pretty hard.
A bunch of stuff happens and- oh no!- Warner and his mob of soldiers find them! With James and Kenji tucked away in some abandoned building somewhere, Adam and Juliette have an epic battle with Warner and his gang. Well, kind of. This epic battle mostly consisted of Aaron confessing his love (tf was this) to Juliette and then proceeding to make out with her against the wall. Don't worry though, because our non-violent savage queen Juliette grabs his gun and shoots him and then runs away. Juliette finds Adam hooked up to a conveyer belt in a slaughter house and they find Kenji and James and drive away into the sunset.
Well, kind of. If you haven't noticed by now, this is a teen dystopian drama so of course there's some resistance movement. Kenji takes everyone to this underground resistance movement called Omega Point which is not, in fact, a nursing home, and they all get patched up. It’s run by a guy named Castle (not a Bible name, unfortunately) and there’s also some unimportant British dude that says blimey. Juliette learns about how the Reestablishment has been lying to everyone (oh my gosh, really?) and they are starving everyone for their own profit (how tf this makes sense, i don't know). Juliette also learns that she is not *not like the other girls* because other people have powers too, not just her.
Juliette is is happy to learn that she's not special anymore, and has even more interrupted sex with her almost-dead childhood friend Adam whilst thinking about Aaron Warner. And then, of course, we end with Juliette putting on some sexy-looking superhero suit and JOINING THE REVOLUTION.
SPOILERS END
If you've made it this far, wow. We both have too much time on our hands it appears. For the most part, Shatter Me was really just like every other teen dystopian ever written. The writing was really something else (for better or worse, but mostly for worse) and the world-building was a complete disaster that was unoriginal and full of holes (ex. why do people even have magical powers anyways?). Many of the characters were flat with the exception of Juliette and a few others and it was way too tropey for my taste. I still enjoyed it though and thought that it was a very entertaining experience so maybe I'll read the next few books (but only for Aaron Warner's redemption arc and for Adam to have his heart broken). I can definitely see how this is some people’s favorite book, but it just wasn’t really my cup of tea....more
THAT ENDING. I’m screaming. I’m crying. I audibly gasped so many times in public that I should be embarrassed.
These Violent Delights follows Chine3.75
THAT ENDING. I’m screaming. I’m crying. I audibly gasped so many times in public that I should be embarrassed.
These Violent Delights follows Chinese gang heirs Roma and Juliette in 1920s Shanghai. Roma is heir to the White Flowers while Juliette is heir to the Scarlets, and they are part of a ruthless blood feud that halts at nothing, even a strange madness taking over the streets of Shanghai and wiping out innocents in alarming numbers. In order to save their dying city, Roma and Juliette decide to secretly team up to find the cause of the madness to save their people. But there’s a twist: Roma and Juliette used to be lovers until Roma unexpectedly betrayed Juliette, giving his father the information to slaughter a mass of Scarlets in a ruthless massacre.
As much as I wanted to love this book, I kind of feel the same way about it as I did with ACOTAR (although I liked this book significantly more). The first half was kind of slow and boring at times, but I was completely obsessed the second half. I also had a little bit of an issue with the side characters (aka the cousins: Kathleen, Rosalind, Marshal, and Benedikt) who I thought got too much attention and just weren’t very interesting.
The plot itself was pretty good but, as I said, it dragged a lot at the beginning. It reminded me somewhat of Six of Crows just because of the vibes but the plot was actually a lot different and I’m not half as much attached (or unhealthily obsessed with) Roma and Juliette as I am with the Crows. I really liked the setting (historical fantasies are always my favorite) and I thought that dark fantasy elements really fit the vibe that Chloe Gong was going for.
The romance was good too but I feel like it was marketed as being a big part of the book when it really was more of a subplot that wasn’t super prevalent until- you guessed it- the second half. I know that a lot of people label it as enemies to lovers and forbidden romance but I don’t really love labels like these and think that they can kind of be misleading. Sure, they were enemies as far as the blood feud went, but they had already been lovers in the past and it was pretty clear that they still loved each other even after Roma’s betrayal. I honestly loved this dynamic and was (of course) swooning over all the love letters at the end (my biggest weakness).
In the end, it was a good read and a nice way to end the year. I’m really excited to get to the next one, especially after that immaculate ending. 3.75
“For anyone who sought a different realm through a wardrobe door, Who wrote a letter and is still waiting for a reply, Or who dreams of stories and bl“For anyone who sought a different realm through a wardrobe door, Who wrote a letter and is still waiting for a reply, Or who dreams of stories and bleeds words”
This book was written for the girls. For the girls who feel so deeply that sometimes it hurts just to be alive. For the girls who dream hard but live harder. For the girls who’ve been inspired by stories and inspire others in turn. For the girls who understand the power of words.
These books are the kind of books that remind me why I love reading so much. I was brought back to the days of curling up on my grandma’s couch with a book (likely Narnia) in my hands for days on end. From the first page of Divine Rivals, I was hopelessly invested and now, after finishing Ruthless Vows, I’m in tears beyond the point of professional help. Something about the writing and the characters just pulls at my heartstrings and connects with me on a level I haven’t felt in a long time. I really felt like this book was written for me.
Anyway, I guess I should pull myself together enough to actually write a review but bear with me because I’m barely hanging on at this point. Forgive me, Rebecca Ross. I will never be able to write a review deserving of this literary masterpiece.
First of all, I just would like to say that this is by far the best romance I’ve ever read in my life. I’m not exactly a romance reader but I’m a romantic person who has spent all of 2023 (well, at least half) pining over fictional fantasy men and crying over Kanej. However, no ship will ever be able to compare to how I feel about Roman and Iris. They are so dear, precious, and beloved to me and there isn’t a week that goes by that I haven’t (and won’t) think about them. They are the definition of soulmates and have restored my faith in true love (as well as many other books I read this year :)
That brings me to the characters who, if you haven’t noticed, are beautiful and lovely and all things good. If you’re here then that means you’ve likely read Divine Rivals and most certainly know that exact feeling I’m talking about. Rebecca Ross does an absolutely amazing job of establishing relatable and complex characters and i felt so connected to them. I would sell my soul for my babies and I’m being 100% honest about that.
And then the writing. Omg guys how do I even put words to how I feel about the writing. Rebecca’s writing feels like painting on a spring day in a field of wildflowers (does that make any sense?) and is so mystical and beautiful. Her writing is emotional and raw and perfectly conveys her equally beautiful story. I wanted to include quotes in here but I realized that 1) I have to many and 2) I want you all to be able to experience them for the first time when you read the book (although I do have a few in my earlier updates ...more
Dear Isabel Iñez, I’m writing to you today to inform you that of the therapy bills that will be arriving in your mailbox every week for the rest of myDear Isabel Iñez, I’m writing to you today to inform you that of the therapy bills that will be arriving in your mailbox every week for the rest of my life. Thanks to you (and several others), I am emotionally unwell and will be living my life in heartbreak and pain. Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So if you can’t tell by now, I’m in tears. THIS BOOK. After an amazing year of books, it’s only fitting that 2023 went out with a bang I guess.
What the River Knows is a historical fantasy (my faaaave) set in late Victorian Egypt that follows an Argentinian girl named Inez (lovely name). Inez’s parents are archaeologists and spent most of her childhood in Egypt with Inez’s uncle Ricardo, leaving her with family back in Argentina. The book begins after Inez receives a letter from Tío Ricardo that her parents have died and that’s when the mystery begins.
Inez travels to Egypt to find out what happened to her parents yet the truth is more complicated and deceptive than she could have ever imagined and she’s swept up into the magical world of ancient Egypt. While in Egypt, Inez is commissioned by Ricardo to draw and paint their findings (THE ILLUSTRATIONS OMG) and she discovers magical artifacts and well.. yeah, it’s a whole thing.
So anyway, Inez also meets Ricardo’s assistant Whit who’s gorgeous and has a mysterious past. And just like any of us would, she falls head over heels for this man but unfortunately for her, there are some complications. THE ROMANCE OMG. You guys, I have no words. All words left my body the moment Whit walked onto the page and they haven’t returned since. THE TENSION. THE SLOW BURN.
And then there was the writing which was so atmospheric and beautiful and wonderful and all things good. Oh and I loved all of the Spanish and Egyptian too.
And the world building. I heard historical Egyptian mystery and came running even though I hate running. For those looking for a lot of complex and unique world building like ACOTAR, you may be disappointed, but this will definitely appeal to all my historical girls out there and ofc if you loved Divine Rivals. It was very similar to Death on the Nile too.
AND THEN THE ENDING. Omg I died and still haven’t been revived. There really needs to be a warning or something for endings that make you want to go scream and rip your hair out.
All in all, lovely book (well, excluding the parts that made me want to die). Perfect for all my Rebecca Ross and Stephanie Garber girlies out there....more
Let me start by saying that this book isn’t trash. It was an entertaining, mediocre at best, fantasy book. Very entertaining but with little 2.5 stars
Let me start by saying that this book isn’t trash. It was an entertaining, mediocre at best, fantasy book. Very entertaining but with little substance. Maybe I would have liked it better if it wasn’t so hyped up but I really don’t feel bad about giving it such a low rating when everyone gives it 5 stars.
Alright, let’s start off on a high note with what I loved. Violet, the main character, was a pretty solid character overall. I appreciate how she had a chronic illness (as the author does) that she had to “battle” with and it introduced more representation to a genre that doesn’t have many of those characters. She also was short which was mentioned about 999 times. Xaden, the love interest, also had some depth and layers to peal back which I thought was well done. Both characters were semi-complex but I would’ve liked to see some of their history (ex. family, scribe quadrant). Good character development as well.
The dragons were awesome and the whole magic signet thing was super interesting. I also thought it was cool how the other magical creatures had different relationships with their riders than the dragons and theirs. I loved the relationships between the dragons and riders but I would’ve liked to see this more because a lot of it happened off page.
The vibes and aesthetics were fantastic. Enough said.
The best thing about Fourth Wing was just how addicting it was. There’s no other way to say it. It was super entertaining even with all its flaws. The plot was what carried the book and the plot twists were pretty good albeit a little predictable.
All that being said, there were some… issues. First and foremost, the writing was terrible. I HATED it and didn’t understand why these fantasy characters were talking to each other like they were 9th grade boys. Get a grip. The worst part of it was how absolutely cringy everything was. I can’t even count the never of times I choked while reading this and wanted to bury myself several times. This book was a threat to my life and here’s why:
“He’s in his riding leathers, not in dress uniform, and he’s never looked better.”
When thinking:
“What. The. Hell.”
“What. The. Fuck.”
Those are just a few quotes that I highlighted but it doesn’t even come close to showing how Violet was literally SALIVATING and getting all the feels every single time Xaden walked into a room. And I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just talk and think like a real person by using real sentences. WHAT WAS UP WITH THIS?! She fr pulled a S.J. Maas on us with all those broken up thoughts. Oh, and of course I can’t forget those desperate attempts at flimsy world building that was murmuring random history facts. And don’t tell me that this was to help Violet “calm down” because no one, and I mean NO ONE, repeats *history facts* to calm themselves down.
What also annoyed me was how underdeveloped the side characters were. Rhi and Ridoc were just there to be Violet’s Hermione and Ron and they had no backstory or personality AT ALL. I especially wanted to see more of Liam who was more fleshed out than the others by the end but of course any hopes for more died (if you know, you know).
And finally, the r o m a n c e. Unlike Violet, I was not in fact gasping for air every time Xaden made an appearance because I didn’t care. I wanted more world-building, magic, and dragons. Every other page I was like, we don’t need yet another description of Xaden’s body which is (objectively) hotter than the sun, Violet. It was honestly extremely frustrating to read because Violet constantly sexualized Xaden and couldn’t stop thinking about he she wanted to “climb him like a tree” (no, just no). Xaden really was just the 1.0 version of Rhysand and had no personality whatsoever. I think that Rebecca Yarros was trying to give him some feminist energy but he was also giving alpha-male at times too. Even in his little chapter POV at the end he couldn’t stop thinking about having sex with her even though Violet was trying to have a serious conversation with himAnd why was there no emotional connection between them AT ALL before Violet was in her knees confessing her love for him? Why did it feel like they only liked each other for sex and not for their true personalities? Oh wait, I know. ITS BECAUSE THEY DIDNT HAVE ANY. I think that this got better after their little talk on the parapet but they avoided any more serious conversations after that and just made out and/or had sex instead. I read a review that called Xaden a “Walmart Rhysand” and honestly that just sums up all my feelings about this man.
Overall, Fourth Wing was quite entertaining (the most fun I’ve had reading in a while) but just wasn’t it for me. The biggest thing was just the writing but I would still recommend this if you don’t mind it and want to get into fantasy. 2.5 stars.
*Update: HOW DOES THIS STILL HAVE A HIGHER RATING THAN SIX OF CROWS? I AM APALLED
This was possibly my biggest letdown of the year and I really don't even know where to start on my review. To be honest, I really don't know 2.5 stars
This was possibly my biggest letdown of the year and I really don't even know where to start on my review. To be honest, I really don't know what my opinions are either.
Twin Crowns looked like the perfect weekend read with a gorgeous cover and captivating plot. It follows twin sisters Wren and Rose who were separated at birth in the kingdom of Eana. Rose is a princess who will soon inherit the throne and Wren is a witch/enchantress who hates the monarchy that is hunting down the witches. Wren's village leader (her grandma, Banba) decides that it would be a great idea to kidnap Princess Rose and replace her with Wren to restore the kingdom back to its former glory. So yeah, that's basically the plot. Rose is kidnapped and Wren has to learn to be a princess. Oh, and of course I can't forget the romance, but I'll get to that later.
The biggest issue with this book was that it was SO predictable and convenient. Every time Wren faced a problem she could just solve it with her magic. Plus, everything that happened to further the plot and make it more interesting just happened by chance and felt unrealistic. That's not even to mention how predictable this whole entire book was. The major plot twist could be seen miles away and I had no will to finish the book because I could already guess what was going to happen.
Another thing that had me seething was the characters themselves. Now, Rose and Wren were both equally annoying and caused me a great deal of second-hand embarassment and outright confusion, but at least they had some depth and character development. The real issue was the supporting characters, namely the love interests Tor and Shen. Tor was arguably more developed than Shen and I felt like we got to know him better, but both of them were completely just... flat. They lacked depth and actual, I don't know, PERSONALITIES. Because of this, the romances felt unnesesary and unbelievable.
I also feel the need to mention the distracting overuse of italics and all caps.
This book seriously got on my nerves and I was so angry at how stupid and flat every character was. I also had no will to finish the last 30% because it was so predictable. But, I do have to give this book credit where it's due. The writing was actually pretty good and I appreciated how there were two different authors contributing to the story. I also thought that the world-building drastically improved throughout the book and was overall pretty decent. And, even though it was pretty flawed, I did enjoy reading it up until the 70% or so mark.
Nikolai carried but it was my least favorite of the Grishaverse books. Mal was a piece of work per usual but Alina was okay. Pretty unmemorable overalNikolai carried but it was my least favorite of the Grishaverse books. Mal was a piece of work per usual but Alina was okay. Pretty unmemorable overall....more
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