Anne

Very cozy book, the tea- and bookshop sounds really nice. I like that the characters are quite capable, it always feels more relaxing to read about someone who knows what they're doing. I also really liked the side characters, all the people in the village were very likable and I'm curious to see more of them in the rest of the series. Although of course Visk is the best side character.

The one thing that I'd like to see improve in the rest of the series would be that the dialogue feels a bit clunky at times and that there's a lot of telling instead of/plus showing, especially in regards to how Kianthe and Reyna relate to each other.

Enjoyable, but not sure I would have continued if I didn't know how many people absolutely love this series, so I'm assuming it gets better in the next books.

I like Lindon, but somehow don't feel particularly attached to him, I do like that he thinks about problems and is not a dumb/running headfirst into problems kind of person.

I also feel like the book either doesn't explains things very clearly or just uses infodumps to catch you up.

I'm curious how the rest of the series is.

Loved it, so sad this is the last of the secret projects, it's been so much fun to look forward to and read these books this year!

Nomad was a really interesting character to follow very cool to see Sigzil again and learn what happened to him since the events of the stormlight archive and Auxiliary is great when he first mentioned the thing about giving his final bit of soul to Nomad to power him up I was already like 'oh no'... It was an epic moment in the end, but also a very sad one... And now Nomad has lost his only companion :(.

The story was fun, some great side characters, and it was interesting to see Nomad trying to figure out the way the planet and it's magic worked and I loved the ingenious ways he used Aux. I love a good story about someone discovering their powers, but it's also so much fun to see a smart character who knows exactly what he's capable of in action. And as always a very satisfying but painful ending.

The story was pretty fun, but the writing style and pacing were not great for me, especially the ending was paced quite quickly and could have used some more time. Overall it's a lighthearted regency story and I would recommend it if that's what you're looking for, but not a new favorite.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have already ordered book 2, but damn if I'm not also very overwhelmed and confused by it.

It immediately throws you in the deep end, because a lot of things are talked about (places, people, things), but never explained until you start figuring (some) things out by context clues later. I also think I got whiplash from the amount of things happening in part 2. Everything happened so quick I felt like I barely got the chance to process any part of it before the next big thing happened. Which, while probably realistic for the situation, does take away some of the emotional impact for me.

Kihrin dying, being in the realm of the demons(or something? Everything that happened there was super confusing), remembering all his past lives, being alive again, going to stop Dead man, killing him, the whole geashes being gone, immediately leaving, leaving Tereath and other person behind, I'm still kinda confused why he had to leave, not to mention all the other perspectives in between. I'm also sad about Galen's dead, especially because he died thinking Kihrin didn't care for him, but who knows maybe he'll come back. I also don't quite get where his shift in character came from or why he thinks Kihrin just left him).

I quite liked the characters, all of them were very interesting. I especially liked Kihrin and Tereath, I really liked their interactions, would have loved more scenes with them together (also totally shipping them).

The pacing was a bit off for me, I thought the way the story was told in part one, with the switching perspectives and timelines was nice, both were intriguing and while I was sometimes annoyed with the switch, the other storyline usually pulled me in again quickly enough. But overall the pacing was a bit too fast for my liking, I would have liked some more moments to sit with the characters, get their thoughts on current events, before the next big thing swept them away. I hope this changes in the rest of the series, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment too much.

Overall I very much enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading the next one soon!

Overall I quite liked the book, the story and the characters were very interesting and I liked the concept of the house. I especially love the idea of the library and Eloura seems so sweet and interesting am I the only one who thought she was the cat? Is it just a normal cat? I mean that'd be fine I love cats, I just really got the impression something special was going on with it. And that garden, I would love to spend time there and Ben seems like a lovely person to spend time with as well.

However I am left feeling just a bit unsatisfied, I feel like some things could have been fleshed out more, or we could have spend more time with some situations/characters/relationshis. Some more of those stories from the library would have been interesting, for some reason I was expecting more like that, more stories and more guests. I also would have liked more time to get to know the Keymaker/Raphaelle and see his relationship with Liddy grow, because it seemed a bit sudden? They touched, she had a vision of them together in a bath (did he see that too?) and now they're in love? Also how old is he exactly, my feelings about this relationship are kind of dependent on that. Immediately followed by how long was Liddy at the house, it felt like days, but that's seems to short for everything that happens and all the relationship development.

I also wonder if Liddy misses her family and if she's planning on seeing them again. She seemed to at least have a decent relationship with her father and she was close to her cousin, but this never really gets mentioned... I might have liked to see her write them a letter at least or mention something about visiting them or inviting them.

This book was not really what I expected, I expected dark academia, but it was more of a dark mystery or something, so that might have influenced my experience a bit.. A lot of people seem to love this book, so maybe I was just not in the right headspace or expecting something too different, but it just wasn't for me. I didn't dislike the book, but it was just not quite there for me. I feel like there were a lot of unnecessary elements (the rivalry between the 2 countries and the north and south, also the drowning was mentioned a decent amount, but it didn't really feel like part of the story for me) that kind of distracted from the main themes that I was really interested in. I also did not love the romantic relationship, I did not feel like they had a lot of chemistry and it seemed to move quite quick and sudden, especially considering Effy's traumatic past. I thought the sex scene was kind of out of place as well, like they had been worrying about the storm (and the second drowning?) and having only a small amount of time to get out and then just decided that that was the right time for a quicky and a nap? Really?

Fun book, really liked the characters, especially Theodore. A bit "darker"/less light-hearted than I was expecting from the cover, but not in a bad way.

In short: A bit unpolished, but very fun.

I enjoyed reading this book and am currently flying through the sequels. I think the characters and relationships are very good, they are very lovable and especially the relationship between Hadrian and Royce is great. I also like the side characters, especially Myron, he's so sweet. The plot is interesting enough to keep me invested, but there's some info-dumping and in some chapters I started skimming a bit, because I didn't care as much about the current characters we were with or they were a bit long-winded (mostly not when we're with Hadrian and Royce, but in some of the other chapters).

I really enjoyed this book, mostly for the vibes. I liked the writing style a lot, the book really takes you into the circus and all its weird nooks and crannies. It has some interesting worldbuilding and characters, and the story is intriguing, but does not really come together in a satisfying way. I read a review halfway throughout the book that mentioned something about the vibes being more important to the story than the plot and that really helped frame the reading experience and made me enjoy it a lot more, so that's something to keep in mind for this book. I am planning to read more from this author, I hope their other books have the same vibes and maybe a slightly more satisfying plot.

This book was slightly different from what I expected. In short: I enjoyed the beginning of the book, but the ending was disappointing. I think I was expecting more of a "Family Madrigal"-vibe (from the movie Encanto) and less of an evil >ex-husband/ringmaster (magic-y bad guy) vibe.

The setup of the house and the village and the theme of Orquidea making a home for herself and her family, but not succeeding entirely <spoiler>since her secrecy and harshness made a lot of the family resent her and move/run away</spoiler>, was very interesting, but the plot did not go where I expected it to go and in this case it was a miss for me. I think was hoping for a less explicit magical threat and more of a story about a family coming together.

Thoughts(/possibly slight rant) about the ending: The spiteful ex-husband trying to kill them with his living star/endless wishing well didn't work for me. I am not sure how to explain why, maybe it was just not what I expected, but it was not a satisfying mystery/resolution for me. I also didn't like that Tatinelly and her husband just randomly had to die for that, Tatinelly just wanted a happy family and her husband did absolutely nothing wrong, that poor man supported and cared for her and their daughter and in exchange lost his own family and wound up dying with insects crawling out of his body, he did not deserve that... Also why did nobody listen to the little girl who clearly had all the answers?? I know little kids just make stuff up sometimes, but she said very specific things and they already believed in magic, why not in her? and lastly, the living star being Marimar's father just seemed stupid. /rant

This was a lovely cozy book, I read most of it in one sitting and am only disappointed there is not more of it.

The story seems very interesting, but the writing style, with the different gammer and sentence structure, made it difficult for me to focus on the book and really enjoy it. Perhaps I'll pick it up at a later date, but not sure

Still a good time, but liked it a bit less than the first two (which I liked very much), mostly because the pacing felt a bit off. More time was spend on things I cared about less and less time was spend on things I cared about more. Also I kinda missed the school setting, because I love a magic school setting ;)

A fun intriguing short story that gives some extra context to the conflict in the main cytoverse story

A very interesting book, a different kind of story than I expected, but definitely not in a bad way. I enjoyed following the characters in a chapter of their lives. The ending was done in a very different way than I am used to, but I liked it a lot, it gives closure. It was interesting to see where each of their paths took them and why they made the decisions they did.

---------Spoiler-----------

I also very much liked Marin and Danica finding each other again at the end, I really like their dynamic. I am curious about the secong meeting of Danica and Neven, too bad we didn't get that, but I suppose I can probably infer what happened and spelling it out might not have added anything.

I liked it, the story/world was interesting, the main characters are likable and I do have a weakness for graceful assassin/warrior people, the looks-innocent-but-secretly-is-dangerous type does have a certain charm.

I liked the relationship for the most part and Lara's personal development was interesting. I liked Aren as well, but I do think he was maybe a bit too soft for the king of a nation depending on keeping secrets from his wife's home country.

I did not love how this book ended, but that might be a personal preference, it caused a situation that seemingly would make it very difficult for the main characters to be together in a satisfying way and I don't like my romance to get too dark.

Fun, interesting story and characters, definitely recommend.

Can be read as a standalone if you don't mind a somewhat open ending.(I'm saying because I didn't enjoy book 2 as much)

Loved it! Such a nice cozy story with great, very lovable, characters

I liked this book, but I think this duology might have been better staying a standalone. This one went into to many directions at once I think, it seems like the writer had a lot of ideas to explore, but didn't know which to include/exclude, (very light spoilers) like the part in the dragon realm, which was barely relevant to the overall plot and when she was back on the mainland there was a lot of jumping around to/between different plotpoints. Too bad because I really enjoyed the first book and this one had some interesting ideas.

Perfect cute christmas romcom story, exactly what I was looking for. I thought the main characters were very lovable, their friendship/relationship is very cute and the side characters were great. I really like the relationship progression, they were clearly great friends and and we got to see both the growing of (their realisation of) their feelings and some time of them as a couple (I'm always a little disappointed when a story cuts of right as the characters get together), wouldn't have minded more, but I'm just a sucker for these kinds of stories

Loved it, very cozy, but also an interesting plot. Emily is great, her social awkwardness is very relatable (Is she autistic-coded? Doesn't get people/social cues, obsessed with one topic/special interest, very logical. Saying that as an autistic person myself, I got those vibes) and I like that she is very capable in her field. Also loved Wendell, he's just very charming and funny and their banter together is great. Not to mention all the villagers and Poe of course! Just really enjoyed this book, perfect if you want to read something fun and lighthearted, but still exciting.

Also I love Shadow, big dogs that are sweet and loyal but protective are the best.

Loved this book, really liked the cozy, kinda fairy tale vibe. Great characters, loved them all, especially the main character, she was so relatable and fun to read about. I also really enjoyed the narrator I didn't know what I was getting into, so discovering Hoid is telling the story was so much fun!. Really excited to get the hardcover soon and reread it!

I was intrigued by the premise but not sure if this captured me enough to continue the series. I like the idea of story and the characters all seem to have the potential to be interesting, but I don't think feel connected enough to any of them to really want to keep reading.

The premise of a secret society where only a few of the most talented magic people in the world can get in every couple years, but there's a dark twist sounds really good and I was very hopeful, but the worldbuilding feels very surface level, we don't really get to know anything in this book and the magic is more a plot-device than anything else. The ending felt a bit anti-climatic because I didn't feel like anything important happened in the year they had at the society or that I knew enough about the world (or that the characters did) to really know where this series is going, there's some hints, but nothing that really captured me.

The characters also didn't feel like they had any development, maybe switching between 6 different POV's didn't help, but I don't think that was the only problem. Even when it seemed like there was some growth/change in a character or a relationship it soon regressed or appeared to not have happened at all, they're all kinda the same as at the beginning of the book.

Overall I'm a bit disappointed, maybe I'll try the next one, depending on the reviews and if the things I didn't like seem to improve in that one, we'll see...

Fun romcom, likable main and side characters, nice pacing of the romance, with some background "drama" that added nicely to the story.

Was worried about the sisters happiness for a while, I do prefer romcoms that are just happy overall but luckily it all worked out :)