Lianna

Some things I really loved about this book:

Each of the characters were so unique, and I fell in love with all of them (even creepy Mr. D'Croix). I feel like there were the perfect amount of characters to have a few side plots that woven nicely into the main plot. I also really loved the world building as there were wonderful descriptions of each of the planets. I really think the descriptions of each of the planets and their different versions of Gates, clothes, architecture, and climates brought the story to life. I also wanted to note that I don't normally enjoy stories that take place on multiple different planets or have chapters that are told from different characters' point of view. With this book, however, I really loved that the different characters had their own chapters, and I think the inclusion of different planets was really well done. I also loved the ending as I felt it was very satisfying and finally answered some questions that I'd had for most of the book.

As for the things I have issue with, there is a bit of inconsistent information given about Brywn's magical abilities as it is first stated that she has been well-trained in lesser magical abilities. Then she later goes on to say that there is no such thing as magic, implying that she doesn't know any magic. Then shortly after, after having one 5 minute lesson on how to turn flowers into grass, she is able to use her magical abilities to perform a - what I assume to be based on a previous description - very high level spell on her own to get everyone through the Gates. I completely understand the necessity of her character and abilities to make the story move along, but the inconsistencies do pull me a bit out of the story.

Another small issue that I have is that most of the book is spent with half the characters searching for Lunrea after she is whisked away by Death into a seam in the universe. With Death's history of killing people, however, I found myself wondering why the characters immediately jumped to the conclusion that they had to go searching for her and not that she was dead. I think it would make sense if their first thought was that she was dead, but they didn't want to accept that without knowing for certain, so they wanted to find her dead or alive to know what happened to her, but I do think the fact that they never even considered that she might be dead not quite in line with the rest of the story.

I really enjoyed this short story. I think the progression of the story was really well done, and the psychological breakdown happened so smoothly despite how quickly it progressed. Especially as someone working in a healthcare profession, I really quite enjoyed the exchanges between the main character and her husband and comparing modern practices to the historical context. The only thing that is nagging at me is that the story is written as journal entries from the main character, and during the last entry, I really struggled to imagine her in this highly psychotic state where she is stuck pushing around the room and then shortly turn around and write about what happened. All in all, though, I thought this was a very memorable story and would recommend it to anyone.

Definitely my favorite of the series. Colleen Oaks did a phenomenal job at packing so much action and interesting plot points into the book. I've loved in the past how Oaks has killed off important characters without hesitation, and boy does she continue with that in this book. I really enjoyed that Booth was more of a major character in this book, so the reader gets to know him more, and I think it really helps to bring the book to a satisfying close with him in Neverland this book. A totally unforgettable story. Highly recommend.

I think if I had annotated this book and read a physical copy or ebook, I would have enjoyed it more. That said, I still really enjoyed it, I just don't think audiobook is the way to go for this one. My main issue was that the book started kind of slow, so I found myself tuning out quite frequently and then struggling to figure out what was going on when I tuned back in. What made it more difficult was the multiple points of view, so I couldn't keep track of the different story lines super easily. The things I loved about the book were the diverse writing styles for each perspective which made it a bit easier to keep track of the story, the diverse characters and their unique backgrounds, especially how they all intertwined at the end. I also LOVED the climax and the ending. It was written so well, and was full of emotional scenes. The ending was super captivating and definitely made it a book that I would consider going back and rereading in the future so I can annotate it and get more from the story.

Honestly, I really should have DNFed this book, but I was stubborn since I own it. I listened to the audiobook which might be part of the reason I didn't enjoy this one so much, but I've also seen reviews saying that they only way they enjoyed the book was with the audiobook, so who knows. I just really struggled to pay attention since there was so much description but very little actual plot, so all of the flowery language kept letting me get distracted. Also, I think one reason the audiobook probably wasn't the way to go was that the book jumps around in time which I didn't realize until about 3/4 of the way through. If I'd had the physical copy, maybe I would have paid more attention to the dates listed in the chapter titles. I can definitely see how some people would enjoy this book, but if you need something with a bit more substance, I don't think this book is for you.

This was a really fun book with such a unique concept, though it was definitely cringey at times. Most of the cringe happens at the begining, though, and most of it does contribute to the story and character development later on, so it's not something that I think the book would be better off without. Speak of character development, I really enjoyed how detailed and complex the characters were. I really feel like the characters were real people with all of their dreams, quirks, hobbies, preferences, etc. one minor thing that I wish was different about the story was that three of the chapters ended in the MC orgasming which, by the third chapter, felt a bit lazy. I would have enjoyed it much more if they were placed differently throughout chapters. For instance, I think it would have been fun to have one sex scene where the MC orgasmed in the middle of a chapter and then had to turn around and go do something else. I feel like this would have added some extra dimention to those scenes. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it.

The plot was enjoyable, and I really loved all of the creative references to the original story. I certainly wouldn't say that this is a modern retelling of the original story, but the inspiration from the original story is definitely there, and it was interesting that the story is set in our normal world. The ending was definitely unexpected, and even though I had to suspend my disbelief a bit more during the end than the rest of the book, I don't think it really took away from the rest of the story. The main reason I'm dropping it down to 4 stars is the amount of smut or times that the characters thought about smut in this book. I feel like it was probably about 40% of the book, so if you love a kinky, erotic read, this would definitely be up your ally. For me, though, it got a bit exhausting, and it would have been nice to see more examples of the development of the relationship and subsequent manipulation beyond just sex.

This book was absolutely *chef's kiss*. I loved the development of Nesta's character, and of course Maas did a wonderful job of weaving seemingly inconsequential details into the plot that made for such an incredible climax to the book. I also thought that the balance between smut and plot was perfect. I have read other books that are super smutty and have very few other scenes that contribute to the plot which tend to leave me bored. Not this book, though! Plenty of spicy scenes with lots of variety but still lots of actual plot to keep me interested. I definitely thought ACOMAF was my favorite book in the series, but now I'm having trouble deciding between the two!

Unfortunately, I really struggled to get through this book. I thought Maas couldn't do any worse than the last book (which I thought was just OK.), but I felt like this book on its own was pretty unnecessary. The biggest thing is that there is no plot. It's just all the characters celebrating the solstice, deciding what they're going to get everyone as gifts, painting, and a little bit of Feyre in conflict with Nesta. Secondly, I'm just not a fan of the character perspectives changing every couple chapters, especially when some perspectives are in the first person and some are in the third person. Because of this, I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on. I will say it was nice at times to see what happened beyond Feyre's perspective, and I understand why Maas chose to write the book this way, but I think there were several chapters that could have been written from Feyre's perspective as more of a rehashing to limit the confusion of going back and forth. The last negative that I have - and this is something that I've had a problem with throughout the series - is that the magic system seems to have fewer and fewer rules. In the first book, it seemed like there were very specific abilities that very specific individuals were able to possess, but as time has gone on, the magic has become too convenient with people able to make things appear and disappear, move, and turn on and turn off with only a simple thought. I wish Maas would have gone into more detail at this point to explain the boundaries of the magic system so that I could better suspend my disbelief.

Now, some pros, because there had to be some if I didn't DNF the book. Maas, as always, did a wonderful job of writing extremely vivid scenes with multi-dimentional characters. Also, while there wasn't much of a plot, there was still some conflict between characters that allowed for further character development which I think will set things up nicely for the next book. Granted, I did feel like there was lots of dialogue that was forced and just didn't feel natural, but the characters' personalities and values remained consistent throughout. Lastly, one of the reasons I absolutely loved ACOMAF was Maas' ability to show trauma in her characters, and she certainly carries that through in this book as well. I loved the developments on Nesta, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her story in the next book.

ABC*E*GHI**LMNOP*RSTUVWXY*

Such an interesting novel, not to mention creative! I was so blown away by the author's ability to tell this story while removing an increasing number of letters from his availability. This novel got my thought secretions going about our language use, plus how much communication can collapse once enough letters have been given extraction. While absorbing this novel, the persistent thought that characters might want to resort to sign language when necessary gave me regular pause; I was so content once a comment on sign language was given mention. I also was really happy with the balance of character growth and plot evolution through all the letters between characters. Honestly, I believe not this writing might be any more consummate. I certainly plan to suggest it to everyone possible in the time to come.

(Original review before editing to remove certain "illegal" letters)

Such an interesting and creative book! I was so blown away by the author's ability to tell this story while removing an increasing number of letters from his availability. This book made me think about our use of language and how much communication would deteriorate once enough letters are removed. While reading this book, I kept thinking that the characters could resort to sign language when necessary, and I was so pleased once a comment on sign language was mentioned. I also really enjoyed the balance of character development and plot development through all of the letters between characters. Honestly, I don't think this writing could be any more perfect. I definitely plan to recommend it to everyone possible in the future.