Nichole

2.5 Stars

Pros:
- World: I really enjoyed the world this book takes place in. I enjoyed the idea of Highmoor and the Thalmus curse. It was fascinating to see how their lives were secluded from the rest of the world but still very much involved due to their father's profession.
- Religion: I am saying religion even though that may be the wrong term, but I liked how each area of the world worshiped a different God that was based on their livelihoods. But that being said, I feel like we did not get to know enough about the Gods others than Pontus which the Thalmus girls worshiped.

Cons:
-Twist: I predicted who was going to be the cause of her sisters' death way at the beginning and I never wavered with this guess, even when the author tried to get us to believe it was someone else. I feel like she picked the next obvious person after the one that is implied in the summary.
- Pacing: This book struggled to move the story forward. I feel like everything happened in the last 15% of the book and it took forever for things to happen that are stated in the summary. That is something that really irks me lately in YA when a summary tells you something that as a reader you do not actually find out about until way into the book.

Overall, this book was a disappointment. I wanted so much more with the mystery of her sisters mysteriously dying off, this mysterious stranger, and these magical balls the sisters were attending. But I feel like I did not quite get that and instead got this overly drawn out story that took way too long to pick up and grab my attention. It took me 12 days to read this and that was mostly because I never felt the need to pick this up to see what would happen. Eventually, I just told myself I needed to finish so I could start the next books on my TBR for the month.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.

3.5 Stars

Initial Thoughts:It took a while for me to get into this book. I really love the 3 characters, but I feel like Sabaa had them changing into different people that did not align with how I felt their characters would act. Once I was over 1/2 through this book, I felt it picked up and I enjoyed it significantly more. This series may be starting to suffer from Sabba expanding the world and the story but going too far. After finishing both book 1 and book 2, I felt satisfied and the story felt complete, with this installment it left more questions than answers and it just felt like a different story to me. I honestly am not as excited about the final book as much as I thought I would be which is unfortunate because I really love Helene, Elias, and Laia.

I went into this book knowing nothing other than Korrina loved it enough to include it in an Owlcrate box. I had limited expectations and am happy to say I was blown away by this book. I loved the writing style and the feel of this book.

Pros:
-Writing Style: This book feels like a fairytale. I felt like I was reading one of Grim's fairytales. I loved that this book was able to place me in that mindset and still tell me a complex story.
- World: I loved the world of this book. The Hinterland and The Hazel Wood are these “imaginary” places that Alice and Finch are trying to get to and I loved reading their adventure both while searching and while they were there.
- It is a super small aspect of this book, but there is an encounter between Alice and Finch where Finch is “yelling” at Alice about how she dealt with a cop and how he would never have been able to get away with that. While it was a subtle scene in the book, it held weight with me and I appreciated the candor regarding race.
-I'm going to mark this point as a spoiler just to be safe, but to me, it is not really a true spoiler. Romance: Technically this should say lack of romance, but I really appreciated that Melissa Albert kept this about Alice and finding out about herself and her family. While Alice definitely got close to Finch, there was not this other story of them falling in love on their journey and I really appreciated that.

Cons:
- Timeline: There were aspects of this that were confusing when it came to explaining Alice and the timeline. There were places that I had to reread passages to make sure I was making the necessary connections and understanding what had happened in the past.
- Ending: I know there is a second book coming, but I feel like Alice had all this growth and development and we learned a lot, but then the ending was rushed and her reunion with certain characters happened as we flew through this info dump in the last two chapters. I think the last few chapters could have benefited for a little more editing and not rushing through the ending. There were also a lot of things that I feel like should have been discussed but were just ignored. Hopefully we get more answers in The Night Country.

Pros:
- Each book in the series keeps getting better and better. I love this series and its ability to make me constantly change which queen I'm rooting for and which queen I think is going to succeed.
- I love all the complexities of the characters in this series, and I felt in this book they became even more real and more relatable. Arsinoe, Katharine, and Mirabella all have unique perspectives and stories that lead to these amazing characters that I want to know as much as possible about.
- Kendare Blake keeps adding to the complexity of this story with more storylines and more twists and turns. I really cannot wait for the conclusion and to see what she has up her sleeve for the finale.

Cons:
- With the expansion of the story, we have gotten more POVs in this installment and there were even more characters to learn and understand who they are and what “side” they are on. I feel like there were some storylines that were unnecessary (and yes I know I just said I love how complex this story has gotten).
- I think with all the different storylines we should have started to get some closure to certain things and we did not get that. So I'm a little worried Five Dark Fates is going to feel rushed to get everything in and tie everything up. Or worse we are going to get one of those “open endings”.

Regardless, I'm beyond excited for the conclusion of the series and this book has yet again made it impossible for me to choose my favorite Queen among the three. I definitely think each one has strengths and weakness that make them unique and the better fit to rule.

Book 10 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Ancient Runes- Retelling

Pros:
- I went into this with limited expectations and limited knowledge about the book and I was pleasantly surprised. This book was excellent, I immediately fell in love with the characters and connected with their stories. I want to see how Darius and Zuri came together and I wanted to see how they handled their “differences”
- This is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice but it was subtle, other than the first line which is almost identical to how Pride and Prejudice opens. But I appreciated that while it was a retelling it is a loose one and it still it's own story. Zuri and Darius were their own characters and they had their own story to tell.
- I also loved getting to see Zuri's poems and spoken word throughout the story. It made her writing more real and added an extra touch to the story.

Cons:
- I feel like this book was rushed and could have been longer. It was under 300 pages and while I was able to read it in a single day, I wish there was more. I feel like there could have been more events we got to see or more explanation of certain things. I just wanted more.

2.5 Stars

Book 9 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Herbology- Plant on the cover

Pros:
- The writing style of this was superb. I loved the narrator and how he was telling everyone's stories. I listened to the audiobook and I definitely got Jane the Virgin vibes and I enjoyed the way the story was told.

Cons:
- There was not really a plot to this. It definitely focused on telling the stories of the three main characters and those around them. However, I did not feel like we were working toward anything or solving something. It was an odd feeling since I expect some kind of adventure or story with a book.
- I did not connect with the characters at all. Yes they had interesting lives and their stories were entertaining, but there was nothing that made me connect with them and really care about their story and what would happen to them.

Overall, this was a very middle of the road book. There was nothing overtly wrong about it, but there was nothing great either. There was nothing that made me want to know what was going to happen. I think if I had not read this for my O.W.L.'s it would have taken me much longer to read this. Every time I put it down, it was not like I had to pick up again right away.

1.5 Stars

Book 8 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Astronomy- Star in the Title

This is going to be a challenging review to write because I do not even know where to begin and how to effectively articulate my thoughts on this book. I'm going to try to do my standard pros/cons, but there is just so much with this book
Pros:
- Writing. Chokshi's writing is amazing. She has this lyrical style and that is gorgeous and descriptive and I immediately enjoyed reading her story.

Cons:
- Story. I was confused for probably 90% of this book. I read another review of this book that had a similar thought. I just did not understand what was happening and what the characters were doing. There were even times when I did not know who the characters were. For whatever reason, the explanation portion of the story was lacking. It may have to do with Chokshi's style of writing, but I just could not follow it. It has now been a few days since I finished the book and I honestly could not tell you what happened for the majority of this book. I can tell you small bits but nothing beyond that.
- Themes. At the beginning of the book, Amar comes in and is the “savior” and it really irked me that we did not have a strong female character who was saving herself. Yes, she had the choice to go with him or not but I still felt that it was framed in a way that he was this amazingly attractive savior.

I have many more thoughts but I'm not sure how to explain them. I do know that I will not be picking up a Crown of Wishes. I have no desire to read anything else in this world or with these characters. However, I do think part of my “issues” with this book could be due to it being a debut and I strongly believe Chokshi will get better with each book she writes. So I will be picking up the Gilded Wolves. I had high hopes for it prior to reading this book and while my expectations have been lowered, I am still looking forward to it, especially if it has the great writing of this book.

Book 7 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 History of Magic- Published at least 10 years ago

Initial Thoughts: I forgot how much I love this series and these characters. There is action, romance, sexual tension, and humor all wrapped into these great pages. There are times I'm gasping in horror at what Mac is going through or laughing out loud at the banter between Mac and Barrons. I had no issue jumping back into this book, I even feel like Moning did a brief review at the beginning of the book of what had happened previously and I appreciated that! I definitely cannot wait to read the next book, but I also like that I can take my time and not rush through the series. I think I will pick up Faefever in a few months when I'm in the mood and I can fall in love with the characters again.

Book 6 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Arithmancy - Written by more than 1 author

Initial Thoughts: I have finally finished this trilogy after reading These Broken Stars in November 2014. I loved Tarver and Lilac's story, but as I read more the trilogy, I never connected with the main characters in the same way and it was always less enjoyable to read. However, this installment was unique in that once I got over 1/2 through the book we got to see the other characters take a prominent role in the book. I really appreciated this because we got to see Tarver and Lilac in action again and all 6 characters worked together to accomplish their end goal. I still think Amie and Meagan have a great writing style and I enjoy their books, I just do not think Giddeon and Sophie's story was for me and I would have rather had the focus on Tarver and Lilac for the story.

3.5 Stars

Book 5 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Care of Magical Creatures - Land animal on the cover

Initial Thoughts: This book is conflicting for me. I wanted to love it because the world and the concept are fantastic and right up my ally. But there is just something about this book that I did love. It also suffered from the same fate of the first book, where the ending was rushed and I felt like everything happened in the last 1/4 or so of the book. I wanted an action-packed book that was filled with the quest of finding Bas but that was not what I got. However that being said, I did really enjoy the writing and I do love these characters. I just wish the execution was a little bit better.

Book 3 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Charms - Adult WorkInitial Thoughts: So this book was a struggle at times. The premise is fascinating and gave me all these Alias vibes with this secret government organization that allows all these illegal activities. Alex was a fascinating character. She is definitely a product of the company, but she is also a scientist who is fascinating by her experiments and has unique talents. The writing was also as I have come to expect from Stephenie Meyer, but the romance in this one was a little too much for me. I do not think we needed the romance at all. This book would have been just as good if it was about a trio without two of them getting together. That being said it was still a good book, it just was not what I was expected so I did not enjoy it as much as I could have. I definitely should look into reading more thriller secret organization books (and yes I'm specifically thinking of [b:Ninth House 43263680 Ninth House (Alex Stern, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1553102141s/43263680.jpg 53348200] that comes out soon!).

Book 4 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Transfiguration - Red cover

Initial Thoughts: I did not know anything going into this book other than that I got it in my Owlcrate and people had mixed feelings about it. This book is kind of slow to start, but I really enjoyed the switching between Keralie and the queen's POVs. I also have to say I really enjoyed all the twists and turns. I never knew what to expect and there were many times I assumed one thing would happen and something completely different would happen. I love when a book is able to surprise me and also keep me in suspense. I think a huge part of my enjoyment of this book was the writing style. I really enjoyed how Astrid showed us things and developed the characters. I cannot wait to read more from them and see what they release next. I definitely will be buying more of what they write!

Book 2 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Potions - Next Ingredient: Sequel

Initial Thoughts: This installment was very enjoyable and I loved that I was able to jump right back in Thomas and Audrey's story. In this book, Audrey and Thomas absolutely infuriated me and I do not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but props to Kerri for making have such strong emotions about the characters. I definitely enjoyed this book more than Hunting Prince Dracula (I think that one suffered from second book syndrome). I also think it is probably my favorite of the three because there was no slow building like with Stalking Jack the Ripper. This book immediately had me intrigued and trying to figure out who the killer was but also angerly flipping pages because of what Audrey and Thomas were doing (or not doing). The epilogue for this book has me super curious about what our favorite characters will get up to in Capturing the Devil.

Book 1 complete for O.W.L.'s 2019 Divination - Set in the Future

Initial Thoughts: This was a great end to the duology and a great second book. There were lots of unexpected actions, but I loved that I was able to jump right into this sequel with only a basic understanding of what happened in the first book. I was initially quite worried that I needed to remember everything, but I just knew the gist and was completely fine. I really enjoyed learning more about many of the side characters and while this book is told from Emika's POV, I still felt there was so much to learn about so many other characters.

3.5 Stars

Initial Thoughts: I was really enjoying this book until I got to the end. It fell completely flat for me and seemed out of character for everyone. I expected so much more than what I was left with.

One other comment, the pop culture references were often super on point and entertaining, but I also feel like they were forced and excessive throughout the entire book. Especially if you are not a huge Harry Potter fan, which I luckily am, but I feel that others would not get half the references and also dislike how many there are.

I only read the first 142 pages since the remaining pages were from the Glass Sword. I definitely do not feel that it is necessary to read these two novellas for the overall story, but I definitely thought Coriane's story was interesting and engaging. Farley's I did not feel was necessary at all, since I already know quite a bit about her from the series as a whole.

4.5 Stars

Initial Thoughts:This book was an emotional rollercoaster for the characters and me from start to finish. I definitely have more thoughts but want to let them settle since I literally just finished.

Pros:
- This series never fails to disappoint and I have always felt that I can immediately jump back into it without needing much of a refresher. I also really appreciate how the story is progressing and how we are seeing it unfold from so many different perspectives.
- This book did such a good job of showing the hardships all the characters are facing. There were so many times when my emotions would be all over the place, whether I was upset at what a character was going through or fuming that Susan could do this to my beloved characters, I had no issue being fully invested in this story. For me, this installment was the installment of hurt and growth. The characters had to go a lot in the story to get to where they were at the end and I cannot wait to see how these lessons help them in the future.

Cons:
- This is a slight spoiler, so I'm going to hide it just be safe. I am still bothered that this story is a story of Threadsisters and friendship but Safi and Iseult are not together for the book. Yes, they are working on getting back to each other, but I want more of their friendship and more of them working together. That is the main reason I had to give this book 4.5 stars instead of 5.

Pros:
- This book starts up shortly after the ending of Ace of Shades. And you are right back in the City of Sin, but the world is expanded in this novel. We get to see more of the South Side and learn more about the history of New Reynes. I actually really enjoyed the expansion of the world and seeing more that was going on beyond the Shadow Game and Levi and Enne's search in the first book.
- This book brings a lot of new characters into the fold and also shows us more about the “secret society” within New Reynes and how everything is connected. This goes along with the expansion of the world, but I enjoyed having more characters to meet and learn about their talents and their backstory. I have to say Grace and Tock were some of my two favorites in this book.
- I also love that even though some parts of the story were wrapped up in this book, there was still the bombshell at the end leading you to believe way mroe is going on than what we know about and I have so many questions after finishing (even though I will say it is still frustrating to have a cliffhanger like that when it will be at least a year before the third book is out).

Cons:
- So the first book was solely a story of finding Enne's mother and what happened to her. This book I thought was going to be about Enne's dealing with the revelation at the end of Ace of Shades but I really feel like this aspect was ignored in this second book. This really bothered me because it does not seem believable to me. I think there should have been a bigger focus on it from Enne's perspective.
- I also would have liked to have more of Lola in this book. I really liked her in the first book, but I feel like we focused more on Jac in this book and his story as it related to the main plot. Maybe in the third book, we can get some of her POV!

Thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for an early copy of this book!

3.5 Stars

I do not feel equipped to be able to write a full review for this book because it was such a mindless read. And I say that because I flew through it on audiobook during my commutes this week. It was not a book I had to think about during my commute, I could just listen and enjoy it. Honestly, I literally do not remember a single thing from the first book other than the two characters it focused on. Looking back at my review of Starflight, I was obviously excited about reading Cassia and Kane's story. But I went into this not remembering a thing and in some ways, I also liked Jordan more than Kane. Even if Kane and Cassia have been friends forever and you get the whole friends-to-lovers trope. I just do not feel this book was well executed and I feel like there was so much going on it was hard to fully immerse myself. I also did not enjoy reading from Cassia and Kane's perspectives.

Pros:
- This book starts off shortly after the end of Renegades. We continue to follow Nova and Adrian in their “official” and “unofficial” roles. I really appreciate how they both have secrets but yet their secrets are the same.
- This book I felt like did a great job with the relationship building. I really feel like Nova and Adrian's growing relationship is very organic and I'm enjoying how Meyer is writing it. I know we are speeding toward a collision in Supernova, but I can enjoy it for now.

Cons:
- So I know these books are setting up a final showdown between the Renegades and the Anarchists, but I feel like there is a huge lack of explaining everyone else (like what are the non-prodigies doing all the time).
- While I still really enjoyed this book and gave it four stars, I feel like the plot was lacking in some aspects, while I know we had to set up a lot and explain a lot as we move closer to the finale of the series, I just wish we had gotten more plot. We got a lot of relationship building which I loved, but more scheming and action would have been enjoyable.

Pros:
- This was one of my most anticipated books of this year and I have to admit, I was a little nervous as I began reading this that Lady Smoke would suffer from second book syndrome. I'm happy to say that this book met and exceeded my expectations. This book starts off right where Ash Princess left off and we get to see more of the world.
- Based on how Ash Princess ended, I was worried about how political intrigue would play a role in the rest of the series, but there was still plenty of it as we were transported to different kingdoms and Theo had to deal with politics in a new setting.

Cons:
- (not really a con but...) I was shocked by the twist at the end of the book and I'm not sure I truly agree with it and how it shapes the rest of the series, but at this point, I trust Laura Sebastian completely. She has proved to me that she deserves all the praise for this series and potentially anything else she writes in the future.

The fact that I still have to wait a year for the final book in the series. Hopefully, the wait does not feel too long. I want to see where Sebastian takes these characters and how Theo's story ends.

In 2016, I read and loved Snow Like Ashes, I've since tried to continue the trilogy and have failed at getting into the second book. Then comes this book and it was beyond a disappointment.

Pros:
- The magic system here is very unique. I loved the idea of bontanial magic, however I honestly have no understanding of how it even works which is unfortunate.

Cons:
- I think I read Snow Like Ashes too fast and as a result, I did not truly grasp how much I think I just do not like Sara Raasch's writing style. This book was a struggle for me and I was listening to the audiobook. I just think there is something about how she writes that is not in my wheelhouse.
- The characters were wildly underdeveloped throughout this book and I struggled each time we switched between the three different characters. I also think it was odd that two characters were together for the majority of the book and the third was doing his own thing.
- There was also a major lack of worldbuilding and information about the world. I would have loved more background on the magic, the diety, and how the different countries were all connected. It just seemed like we jumped right into the story and the search without truly understanding the world.

This book was not enough for me to want to continue and finish the duology. I hope others have better luck than me with this book, but I think I may be done trying to read Sara Raasch's books going forward. I think her writing style is not for me and she has not been able to keep me engaged enough to continue here series (which is unfortunate because I really enjoyed Snow Like Ashes, but I think it was a fluke).

Pros:
-This book had very little going for it. It was definitely not at all what I was expecting. I decided to give this two stars solely because of how fascinating the premise is. I love the idea of storm magic and how the storms are almost sentient beings. I just wish it was more fleshed out and I understood more about it and more was explained.

Cons:
- It has now been 4 days since I finished this book and I can barely remember the characters names. I honestly thought Cassius was the most real character. I felt like I knew more about him and I actually wanted to know more. Aurora and Locke were not characters I came to care about and I honestly do not really care what will happen to them.
- This book is supposedly a “fantasy book”, but it is lacking so much in that category. It is definitely a romance novel and you can tell that Cora Carmack is a romance writer (and there is nothing wrong with that), but I wanted an amazing fantasy book and instead I got a romance novel disguised as a fantasy book.

I will not be continuing with this series because I while the magic system fascinated me, I did not care about the characters enough to keep reading more about them in future novels.

Pros:
- This book starts off right after the end of Truly Devious which is great because we were left with a horrible cliffhanger. Stevie is still on the case of the Ellingham murders, but she also has to deal with what is happening in the present at Ellingham. I continued to appreciate the juxtaposition between 1936 and the present throughout the book, but this book was definitely more focused on the present.
- Second books in series can often be challenging since there is so much hype and potential to live up to, but I'm happy to say this book still kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was going on and how everything was connected.
- The side characters in this series continue to be some of the best characters and really add so much to the story. I think they are what make this story great, it isn't just the mystery of Ellingham and Stevie trying to solve ALL THE CRIMES. It is also who she has around her and their life stories. I truly care about David, Janelle, Nate, and Vi and what is going on with them, even Mudge had some great moments in this one (I really wish we could learn more about all the other students that are there but we focus on Stevie's circle).

Cons:
- With the cliffhanger ending to this book, I am pretty mad that I have to wait another year to find out what actually happened. But based on what we learned in this installment, I have a few questions about it will take an entire book to solve everything that has happened. I feel like Maureen Johnson may have revealed too much too soon in this second book.

2.5 Stars

Pros:
- After how much I disliked the lack of story in the first book, this book definitely had more story elements to it and I felt like there was a true purpose to what was going on with the characters.
- We got to see more of the world beyond were Cyra and Akos grew up which was a great way to expand on what was happening and showing how the “war” was affecting more than just their planet.

Cons:
- Veronica Roth did it again in terms of ruining characters. In Carve the Mark, I actually enjoyed the relationship between Cyra and Akos but in this book they both felt so flat to me. It was like they did a complete 180 and were not at all the same people.
- This is supposedly just a duology but she definitely left it open for more. But I think it is safe to say I do not need or want more.

I've decided that I do not think I am a fan of Veronica Roth's works. I've now read her two series and they have both disappointed me in the end. Divergent started off great but quickly became a struggle to finish and this duology was a struggle from the beginning. I'm not sure I will be continuing to read other books by her in the future.