Heather
I had a very hard time with this book. It is written backwards. That makes it choppy, disjointed, difficult to follow, and confusing. Almost 70 to 80 % of the book is this way. The characters were not likable. The end of the book was better. The pace was faster, it was easy to understand, and I liked the plot at the end.
The cover of the book makes me want to be where she is. This book is dialogue rich which is always a challenge for me to connect with characters. I need more of a description rich type of book to imagine the story in my head. I really enjoyed the character development of Eira as she went from meek to fierce. I wanted more drama between Eira and Eshe, it started but it just kind of fizzled out. The slow pace of the beginning was a hurdle that the rest of the book never really overcame. The ending I did not enjoy. Not because of what happened, but because of how it was written. It was blunt and then you were left with nothing.
This was not my favorite book in the series. It felt like a filler book to get to the next book in the series. The characters spent a lot of time asking what others thought and it was too much. Unpopular opinion alert there were just too many sex scenes that it really took away from the plot. I wanted more Kiernan then we got. I was hurt that there wasn't more Poppy and Veneta friendship. I am signing up for the Willa Colyns book club. The story was good and I am interested in reading the next book.
This book gives off Fast & Furious vibes. Character named Dom, who is the ring leader, he works at a garage, races cars, and is part of a group we don't know much about. This book gave me so many different emotions. I was hysterical when Cecelia got drunk and got thrown out of the party by Dom. I was annoyed with how Dom treats her throughout most of the book. I swooned when we find out Dom sneaked into her room, found out her fav books, and bought her some for his room. Chapter 25 “the lake scene” had me fanning myself. I was devastated with how they told her they would keep the 3 of them secret and then humiliated her in front of everyone.
Gave me old school Star Trek vibes. Geared towards a younger YA audience. Perfect for lovers of Sci-Fi and space exploration. I loved the concept of the book, but the writing lacked enough details to fully hold my interest. Jake was a good character, but he needed more substance. I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.
Adult Hunger Games with spice and magical beings. A dragon, a necromancer, a blood witch, a shifter, and a warlock. How could you go wrong? Greer Roberts, a human, was entered into the Immortality Trials without her knowledge to compete with magical beings. Humans never won the Immortality Trials and it usually cost them their lives or servitude to the government. The only way to get out of competing in the Immortality Trials is to investigate and prove that she didn't sign herself up and identify who did. This book was hard to put down. The spice was great, Chapter 18 my friends. The characters were well fleshed out. I wish there was more of Andromeda in the book, she was such a cute character. The only issue I had was the solutions to problems came too easily for Greer. Either someone else addressed the issue or Greer came up with the solution with minimal effort.
Love this book! How can she leave us hanging like that at the end! Kiernan is cute and adorable. I was nervous as casteel was an ass in the last book, but he stole my heart in this book. I think Veneta and Poppy would make cute BFF's. I was so mad at Beckett that I hoped he fell and broke his leg as he ran out of the temple. Halfway through the book I was over Poppy's back and forth with the relationship. I also needed more action. Then she killed Dutchess Teerman and I was all for it. I need to know what Poppy is. I can't wait to read the next book.
Odyssey Books asked if I would review a copy of this book. This book had me stopping what I was doing to listen what was going to happen next. This book was dialogue rich which is usually not my preferred style but there was enough descriptive details that it didn't hinder the book. I thought the characters were adorable. I am a little mad at myself as I didn't read the previous books and I liked this book so much that I ruined the other books. I would have liked a little more backstory in the beginning of the book.
The cover is gorgeous. The basic premise is a fresh idea. The story sucked me in right from the start. The relationship between Emeline and her grandfather seemed genuine. There was a plot hole near the beginning of the book that was never explained. The Wood King's domain seemed muted and ordinary. This ARC was sent to me by Netgalley.
The Paris Network is a brilliant tale weaved between the past and the future. It follows Laurence, a bookstore owner, in France during WWII and Jeanne, a retired police detective, living in the US in 1993. I know it sounds like a weird combination, but you quickly learn the connection and are intent on finding out more. Laurence runs a small book store in her small town where she prescribes books to lighten the heavy burden of life. When Germany occupies her small town and begins banning books, Laurence starts a secret bookclubb to help cope. They read books that are banned as a way to resist. When reading banned books doesn't seem like enough anymore, Laurence finds herself diving deeper into the resistance.
After Jeanne's mother's death and while trying to reconcile while her mother always held her at a distance, Jeanne learns about a shocking secret. She travels to France with her father to help uncover the secrets from their shared past. I received an ARC from Netgalley. This book gives you a perspective of what it was like to live under German occupation. The dual timelines were easy to follow. Siobhan Curham dove deep into the emotions of the characters addressing all of the difficult topics that come along with war. I was emotionally devasted for the rest of the day when I finished reading this. My only criticism is that the book was a slow starter and focused more on Laurence in the beginning. I didn't feel the connect to Laurence until her character develops more later in the book. I was missing the dual timeline aspect in the beginning of the book that made it magical later on.
Wow! If you are into anime this book gives off major anime vibes. This book is a retelling of Korean mythology. Mythology is not really an area I get super pumped about but, this book was fabulous. This book follows Mina, who sacrifices herself to be the sea god's bride to save her brother, his girlfriend, and her entire village. She travels to the spirit realm, which is filled with all sorts of creatures, gods, and spirits. Instead of finding herself preparing to be the sea god's bride she finds herself tethered to another god. Mina must figure out how to get back to the sea god to save her family. The only problem is she only has 30 days to do it. Mina must also navigate the many dangers for a human in the spirit realm. The story is about love, not just romantic love but love for family, past and present, and love and compassion for all people. The cover is stunning. Axie Oh weaves a magical story with vivid details and descriptions that will have you thinking about them long after you have read it. There were so many amazing and beautiful quotes in the book. I found myself happy while reading it and deeply drawn into the story. I have found nothing that I didn't like about this book therefore I gave it 5 stars. Thank you netgalley for the ARC.
Touted as Bridgerton meets Gossip Girl. It was more like Mean Girls meets Gossip Girl with some heavier topics. I was hoping for Bridgerton, but since I didn't get that it was disappointing. The plot was ok. I liked the way the relationship between Georgiana and Thomas. Frances was a well written mean girl character.
I saw this book recommended all over but somehow managed to avoid spoilers. Poppy is quietly defiant, fierce, and a rebel in spite of having rigid rules to follow. Her magical abilities intrigued me and her compassion for others showcased her true character. I love a strong female main character and Jennifer Armentrout delivered in a big way.
I absolutely loved Poppy and Hawke's banter and the development of their magnetic relationship. My favorite spicy scene I still think about. The plot twist at the end of the book had me heartbroken and angry.
Jennifer Armentrout did an amazing job with developing the atmosphere of this book. She made you understand the weight of every decisions made by the characters. I love the mythology, magical system, and the culture she introduced us to. I loved the violence as much as the romance and spicyness.
Gemma is a 32 year old divorcee with no future prospects. Gemma's mom is constantly trying to set her up with men who aren’t a good fit, but Gemma's biological clock is ticking so she decides to take matters into her own hands.
She decides to go through IVF since infertility made in impossible to conceive any other way. Gemma decides to ask Josh Lewenthal, her brother's best friend and the guy who took her virginity, to be the sperm donor. She is surprised when Josh agrees. and figures what could possibly go wrong.
This book is a sleeper. The cover is cute and unassuming and the summary did not do this any justice. This is a light and fresh rom-com with likeable characters.
The story has just the right amount of emotion and does not avoid the hard topics. It addresses them in a way that isn't overwhelming. I wouldn't say this book has spice but maybe we can call it seasoning. This is my first time reading a book by Sarah Ready and I would absolutely check out some of her other books. My only criticism with this book was the sheer volume of cliché quotes. It was overwhelming and distracted from the story.
I was given a copy of this book for an honest review. Goodreads group Lovers of Paranormal.
Maya Delaney,a junior in high school, is dealing with the normal teenage stresses, boys, parental drama, and school. Little does she know that those would be the least she is going to have to worry about. Strange events plague Maya and she confides in the one person who she can tell anything to, her grandmother, a Mayan elder. Her grandmother informs her that she is a shifter, a person who can turn into an animal. Shifters are tied to the Mayan culture and are looked down upon in her hometown. Maya begins to struggle with her identity, how to tell her friends and family, and dealing with all these strange things that most shifters don't even know about. Maya soon learns that a group called the Toltec is after her and she is struggling to know who to trust. Maya along with the only people she does trust Damien and Alyssa and her on-again off-again boyfriend Matt, try to figure out the mystery of her ties to the December 21, 2012, and what role she plays in it.
The plot was original and had a different spin on shifters than other YA paranormal books. The weaving of shifters mythology and the Mayan culture made the story more interesting and modern. Some parts were fast moving and needed more detail and other parts were slow moving and had too much detail. The main characters were unique and most of them were well developed, with the exception of Matt. Matt's character need more of a back story in order to connect with the reader. The teenagers in this book were depicted as teenagers with their heads on straight which was refreshing. Any teenager who reads it would easily be able to connect with the sassy, teenage style of writing. The end of the book was disappointing. Martha Bourke failed to explain what would happen if Maya failed to complete her task. This made the task seem not as important as it should have felt. The very end of the book came to a screeching halt and was so open ended it made the story seem even more abruptly unfinished.