Mollee

I wanted this to be something different than it was. That's not the writers fault. It's mine.
I loved that I've visited the hospital though and could envision some of the places that were mentioned.

Maybe it's just because I'm constantly reading super hyped up books that blow me out of the water, but this book felt sort of subpar to me. It was good, but it wasn't anything special. It was just a book. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I don't feel like it'll be something that sticks with me for years to come. It was just average in my opinion.

This was.... Not what I was expecting based on the synopsis. 
And this was.... Decidedly not  for me. 

3.5

I've never read anything like this.  Our narration is told from the perspective of several members of the court during a murder trial. It was so unique I thoroughly enjoyed how it was done. Especially since we don't know the truth either, so we go through deliberations and find things out like we're also a member of the jury until the end. 

“You shouldn't have come here” 
“I shouldn't have read this” 

This book read extremely quickly and I was able to fly through it but it was not good. 
This shouldn't be marketed as a thriller. It's a dark “romance” at best. But not a good romance either, a cringey, insta-lovey, romance that I felt zero chemistry and zero excitement from. 

Not to mention the first like 90% of this book has nothing that makes it feel remotely like a thriller. Even with little seeds of mystery thrown about. Still boring. 
And the plot twist didn't feel like a plot twist it just felt straight up unrealistic.  

The majority of the time I was just bored hoping something was going to happen. But when something finally did it was quite frankly a disappointment. 

Why did I low key kind of like this? 
I had read so many negative reviews of people hating this. But I didn't. 
Maybe it's because I know the main character (not literally obviously) but I know the type of person he is. I know him. I've loved him. And relating the MC to someone I know so deeply helped me connect to the horrors of the book. 
Maybe in 2006 this type of man was more shocking. But in 2024 this type of man is so common place in the world I wasn't really shocked by anything he said or did and I think that's the true horror of this book. 
The fact that something that was created to be so horrific and shocking has become so commonplace that not only did the actions and thoughts of this man didn't phase me, but I felt as if I knew him intimately in the men I've dated. 
I know that what I took from this book is very different from what most people probably have, but it allowed me the capability to actually sort of enjoy it so I'm okay with that. 

I was supposed to read this book for a project I'm doing for school but I couldn't even make it through. I instead decided to just scan through it for the parts I need for my class. The writing style was not for me and the subject matter is obviously extremely icky which is why I was using it for my project. Couldn't even force myself to finish it for school. Why is this a classic?

This book was a wild ride from start to finish. My heart truly aches for Jeannette. And as someone who grew up watching iCarly, not knowing that she was going through such horrific things really makes you think about how much we don't know about people. 

Such a powerful read that fully deserves all the attention it has been getting. 

How dare Julie Kagawa do this to me. This book destroyed my heart and soul. It was so good but so sad.

3.5.

That ending killed me.

Extreme horror. Straight slasher. 
I watched a YouTube video where Hailey Hughes recommended this book, and talked about how it's out of print and super difficult to come across now days. 

So naturally my curiosity was peaked and I had to find it and read it.  Sprinkle in the fact that I love anything summer camp themed and this was a recipe for success. 

It feels wrong to rate this book highly because of how horrific the subject matter is but it was a wild ride from start to finish and  I enjoyed the journey. Not for the faint of heart. But definitely for me. 

Brb as a I cry about the fact that I didn't love this one when I've adored the other two thrillers I've read by Ashley Winstead (In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is one of my favorite books of all time). 
I am not a religious undertones thriller girlie unless it's a.) a cult or b.) historical fiction with a focus on witches. 
So the premise was already not one that stood out to me. 
I probably wouldn't have even picked it up if it wasn't written by Ashley. So maybe that's on me. But I did pick it up. And I did finish it. And here we are. With me being left extremely disappointed. It took me forever to get through when I've devoured all her other works as fast I could. 
Oh and also I hated the ambiguity of the ending in this one. Just the last straw on a book I already wasn't enjoying. 

I loved the concept of this story, a kingdom that is completely ruled by women? Sign me up! However, I feel like it could have been done better. The forced “best friend” relationship between Aeve and Merinor? Ummm that could have easily and should have been a romantic relationship! I ship it for sure and I was annoyed by how much the author forced the “oh we're just best friends” aspect. I don't know if this changes in future volumes or not, but I probably won't continue with this series. I was also against the song parodies. It just annoyed me. I also don't really like when there is “music” in books because I don't know what the melody is, so if I didn't recognize the song I was confused. Overall I think that this book just really fell flat for me. With something that could have been so amazing I was really disappointed.

This wouldn't usually be my genre or style. However, I'd been hearing a lot of good things on book tube about how  it was so beautifully written! I didn't even care that it's not my usual style of content because the writing was so lovely it made me love it. 

I would read the dictionary if S. T. Gibson paraphrased each definition in their writing style. 

I am heartbroken to report that I did not love this one as much as I did the first one. 
It didn't read the same. It was much more of a drag for me to try to get through and it took me way longer to finish. 
I found myself getting so angry at Violet and Xaden throughout this book and I was just yelling at them HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT TOO COMMUNICATE?? You keep having the same fucking fight about how he isn't telling you things, and she isn't asking. And then they fuck and it's all better. This book made them so toxic. And Xaden didn't even seem like the same person! The entirety of the first book was how he trusted her to take care of herself and he believed in her and this one undid all of that with how protective he became of her. It was beyond annoying.
I did cry again because I still love these characters so much and their pain also caused me pain. Theory:
I think Violet's dad is involved with the Venin and that's why none of them are allowed to kill her. but I will definitely be finding out if I'm right because I'm still going to be reading Onyx Storm as soon as I can get my grubby little hands on a copy.  

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK. I have not felt the way I felt about this book for too long. I found myself squealing, and laughing, and crying, and kicking my feet. I could not get enough. I adored every single part of this book. 

The primary romance reminded me so much of one of my own (remembered fondly in this context). 
I developed such strong feelings for all the characters, even minor ones that I cried over them. 
I was so invested I convinced two of my friends to read it too and I bought merch before I'd even finished this books. 
ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED. I need this novel injected into my veins. 

I don't understand why this is getting such a bad rep. Is it groundbreaking? No. Is it innovative and new? Also no. But it's still really enjoyable! Maybe going into it with low expectations has helped my enjoyment? But I loved it. 
Predictable? Kind of.  Convenient? Yeah. Every plot device is wrapped up pretty quickly. Isla seems to find things, and be rescued pretty easily.  Is Isla annoying? Ugh yes. She never listens to anything anyone says, and only focuses on herself for like 75% of the book. She's also CONSTANTLY putting herself in reckless situations and getting her hurt/almost killed unnecessarily. She says she can't trust anyone multiple times and then proceeds to do exactly that and convince herself to hell with it let's see what happens! Which often bites her in the ass, but it's YA that's kind of to be expected! I feel like everyone is being so critical, when we should really just take it for what it is. It doesn't have to be that deep. It was an enjoyable read even if it wasn't perfect!
I do kind of wish that it hadn't been set up to be a series though. I feel like without that last chapter (or if we had explored that avenue earlier in the book) it could have been such a good standalone fantasy. Even without finding out about the ending in this book I feel like it was tied up pretty nicely and I'm not sure if I even want to read the next one. I'll be interested to read the premise and see how I feel. 

Someone tell me how this book was published nearly 10 years ago and I somehow managed to not be spoiled by the major reveal at the end of it? 

This series is SO good that I don't even have comprehensive thoughts. Just vibes that I love it. And that I'm scared for the future and the characters I like. 

Not my thing. Not my thing. Not my thing. I couldn't even finish it. I made it to chapter 9 and was like nope. I'll look up the sketchy bits online for my project because there is no way I want to finish consuming this. I'm already scarred and I didn't even reach the “BDSM” scenes

I had to read this book for school and I struggled my way through. Maybe it was due to the sheer amount of pages I was assigned to read at a time that didn't allow me to actually enjoy this book, but I felt myself falling asleep at times during this book. I was just so bored most of the time. There were like three chapters that I found semi-interesting, but the chapters were SOOOOO long. I was constantly counting how many pages I had left and telling myself I only had 10 pages left. I had to force myself to continue reading and reward myself with numerous breaks to read something I was actually enjoying. Maybe reading this book in a more casual environment might make it more enjoyable? But for me it just really missed the mark and I cheered when I finished the last page. Had I not been required to read this for school I would have DNFed it for sure.

Ughhhh I'm so disappointed. 
I loved the first 2 “acts” of this book. Even if it is literally Charles Manson's story.  I don't even think you could say it's “inspired by”  because really the only thing they bothered to change was that Charles's name was “Henry”. 
 But I was still really enjoying it! 
I love a novel told in verse, and found Ostow's writing style to be very beautiful. 
I really enjoyed the fact that this didn't feel like I was being told a story, it felt like I was reading Mel's diary. I wasn't drawn into it feeling like I was experiencing what happened the way most novels are and it was a refreshing take on a cult novel. 
I could really Mel's delusions about Henry and her belief in the family. And it was so cool. Getting that perspective from a cult member? I was eating it up. 

And then we hit act 3. Which is just repeating previous chapters with a bit more information thrown in to clarify things. And maybe it's because I read this in one sitting but I don't want to read the same chapters over again 100 pages later. So that already knocked it down probably half a star for me. 

And then the spoilery bits that knocked another half star off. This just wasn't what I wanted from an ending. For Mel to suddenly find clarity and give up on Henry and the entire family? I hated it. I wish we would have kept the brainwashed perspective through until the end. I understand wanting your character to be reformed and gave a “happy ending” where the main character is free from the cult. But it really sucked for me!
I'm just bummed because the first half I was thinking this could be at least a high 3 star, and I didn't understand the low average rating. 
Well... the second half ruined it. 
I've had this book on my shelves for like 8 years though and it's survived countless unhauls so I'm glad I finally got to it and I'll no longer be plagued by the mystery of “Family by Micol Ostow”. 
I just wish I'd enjoyed it more than I did. 

Wondering why it took me so long to finally pull the trigger on reading this book because it was SO good. 

I loved the competition element, the castle, the training montages, the mystery element. This book was giving everything I wanted and I'm hooked. 

Shaping up to have ACOTAR be the least favorite of Sarah J Maas series for me. 

13 Reasons Why is one of my favorite books, so I was really excited when I found out Jay Asher had written another book. And it did not disappoint! This book was amazing! I loved it so much! It's such a feel good heartwarming story with a little bit of tragedy thrown in for the perfect mix of feelings. I'm also glad that I saved this book to read closer to Christmas, it was a good book to put me more in the holiday spirit. I loved everything about this book and Jay Asher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to see more from him in the future!

This book is so good I said! I keep liking every book better than the last I said! Then the ending happened and I was in tears, shaking, and breathing heavily. Like this book was AMAZING don't get me wrong. I couldn't get enough, but Richelle Mead ripped out my heart and stomped it into the dirt. I never thought I'd become this invested in a series I'd never even planned to read. But I'm in love with this series and I can't stop devouring book after book.