Mythos
2.5/5 stars
I thought I would like this but ended up thinking it was ok. I was originally going to give this a 3 star but decided against it because I didn't really like this book. I'm usually ok with the fast paced of it's done right but this was not the case. I felt like the story ended before it actually got going in a way.
A lot of the “conflicts” were resolved too quickly. So much so that it didn't really give me an enemies to lovers vibe. In this case it was more of a show than tell. I originally believed that the fight was going to be a major part of the story but that is quickly overshadowed by the curse situation. The curse itself was confusing because not a lot was explained. Also, kudos to Elena if I had been cursed, I would have been a lot more bitter towards the person who was the cause.
4.5/5 stars
I was taken aback at how quickly I finished this book. So much so that I sat down and reread it today. Tara, unsurprisingly, ended up being my favorite character. Although I will admit that I felt more attached to these characters while watching the series than when reading the book, this could be because I saw the show first.
4.5/5 stars
I was supposed to finish this much earlier but unfortunately my health said no. Had to read it slowly and come back because sometimes it took a while for me to be able to pick it up again.
The only reason I didn't give it full stars is because the beginning can seem repetitive until the true plot actually starts. I'll come back to it when I'm better and see if my opinion changes.
3.5/5 stars
To enjoy this you really need to not ask questions throughout the read. As much as I loved it, it seemed like it had a lot going on for how short it was. This made a lot of things make zero sense in terms of the given context. There were multiple characters I believed would be more important but barely got any development. The magic & school system made little sense (at least to me). I was confused as to how much time had passed because one moment they were moving into their dorms and the next they were worrying about finals. It definitely threw me off but I decided to just continue reading and try not to mind too much.
There were a couple of things that I wished had happened. I wish Basil had a conversation with her parents about their financial situation instead of burning herself out trying to get the no 1. spot. Whether it's about how she has been feeling or about what they would do if she did not get the scholarship. Second I wish her other friends weren't sidelined as much as they were. We barely get to know them and it's almost as if they barely exist.
As I mentioned before this is a cute queer read that in order to enjoy you have to avoid overthinking about it & asking too many questions.
3.5 /5 stars
There were many parts that spoke to me, but there were also some that left me conflicted, making this book difficult to finish. Given how controversial this book is, I expected something more contentious. It was not particularly contentious; in fact, it was rather mundane. The author talked about their childhood experiences. The majority of the time, I felt like I was intruding too much into the author's personal life, but that could be because I have never read memoirs before, so I am not sure if that is how you are supposed to feel while reading them. This wasn't particularly for me, but I understand that a lot of people need a book like this. It can be extremely beneficial and validating if you are still figuring out who you are.
4.5/5 stars
Face down, lying on the ground, trying to process this book.
It's a great book, but god, am I glad that I put off reading this book. I originally planned to read this during finals earlier this year. I am so glad I did not. This book does a great job of portraying loneliness and how suffocating it can be.
I would 100% recommend this book to other people, but I would like to mention that this is a very character-driven book. If this is not your style of reading, then you can go ahead and skip this book.
4/5 stars
I was bamboozled by this book. I am unsure as to whether I loved or hated this book. This book nailed a lot of things, but it also failed in other aspects.
I was confused on what rating to give to this book. I really despised how slow I went for the first 150 pages. It still goes about slow after but at least it got more interesting. The first 150 pages focus on Vera going into her dying mother's room. If I had been reading it rather than listening to the audiobook this would have likely been a dnf and gone to the come back to later list.
3/5 stars
Solid read. Got a little repetitive in the middle which made it a it boring to read at times. It did really have more of a melodramatic ending than I expected. Idk if I'm going to read the sequel. It was interesting to learn about the blue people but I don't think it was interesting enough to continue.
3/5 stars
This is going to be on my I'll have to come back to list. While I typically love these kinds of books I felt like this was a bit too slow for it to be lacking in terms of world building. I wanted to know more about who the Conjuring were but it was more focused on explaining what the Marvellers were.
4.3/5 stars
I was sold in this book as soon as I heard space gays and found family. It did not disappoint. I was happily surprised that this included overthrowing the patriarchy.
I especially loved when we focused on Bee and Cass. It really helped me further connect with the story as well as understand why they continue to participate in jousting even after they got hurt badly.
There are two reasons as to why this wasn't a five star review. Number one this sort of felt like a prequel to give the reasoning as to why they are trying to get rid of this tradition. The second reason was because I felt Pan was sort of bland character to follow. I was more invested in other characters rather than her. As I didn't really grow to care to want to know what was happening to her.
I would a hundred percent to recommend this to other people.
3/5 stars
You can skip one at least that's how I personally feel. The first chapter did little to capture my attention. Although this felt like it was marketed towards people who like Sherlock Holmes I felt as if there was no plot half the time. The little plot there felt confusing.
I didn't feel like I cared enough about the characters that were present either. Maybe rereading it at a later time will help but I don't think my rating will change.
1/5 stars
This was worse than I remembered, and I hadn't even read it that long ago. The love triangle is completely nonexistent. Every single character in this goddamn book has zero-character development. Giving this book 2 stars was being generous. Cole was created for the sole purpose of justifying Jordan getting together with Pike.
There was zero chemistry between Pike & Jordan, & I stand by that. The amount of fits Jordan went through when being in that situation was justified because she is just 19 & he is in his FUCKING 30s so obviously there are going to be arguments because of the levels of maturity involved. (For some reason, I assumed Jordan was older during my first read through. My bad.) So the default dynamic I saw was father-daughter, especially since he was constantly reprimanding her and second-guessing every action she took. So, it weirded me the hell out when, after these situations, he immediately thought of her sexually. Yeah, the author does mention that he likes her personality as well, BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT it seems as if the only reason he held back the whole time was because she is or was a kid in his eyes. Still weird as hell. Side characters didn't help at all either. They were just there to push the relationship which is annoying because we already have to deal with trashy MCs. Sex scenes were meh some of them were just straight up weird cough (the loofa scene what was even the reason of including that) but nothing that I would go back and read again.
I am going to stop here because if I continue it'll turning into an elongated rant. I 100% do NOT recommend you reading this book. It'll save you a lot of wasted time.
4.6/5 stars
It was a good mix of mystery, found family, and horror. I felt like a lot of the horror was placed on the actions people had taken rather than placing it onto a creature. At least that's what I got from reading this book.
The story itself was predictive but the artwork was stunning in an autumn like way. The character dynamics are what pulled me further into this book. I liked that even though everyone in the group was all in into finding their friend their attitudes avried when it came to the consequences they faced. In previous mystery books that I've read the majority of the time majority of the group continues investigating with no regard for consequences so it was an interesting change.
I would recommend this to someone looking for a mystery book with some horror elements. Or if they like books set in magic academies.
(I kept putting off reviewing this because I want in the mood to write.)
3/5 stars
I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. I will continue to read this series if it's available at the library. It's not the type of book I would go out of my way to buy to get to know what happens next. I will update this review later when I have taken more time to process what I have just read.
In the meantime I'll check out the show that was based on this book. This may be a mistake because I may like it more than the book.
2/5 stars
I really felt bad for not liking this book due to the amount of time and research the author placed into this book. Overall I understand that this was well researched but that unfortunately did not translate into the writing.
It is possible that the reason it wasn't well executed is due to their style of writing. I personally had a hard time differentiating the perspectives of the different characters in the book. It was clearer in the beginning but as it progressed it just got harder and harder.
I liked the lengthy descriptions at first especially when it was the perspective of the prisoner and the person who carried out the dissection (forgot his name). Although I feel like it was overdone as this also was done with the rest of the perspectives.
Honestly, I am not sure if I would ever recommend this book.
2.4/5 stars
I was bored while reading this book. I felt like it was more talk and less show. I did end up with a favorite character though and that was the only reason I continued this book. The Cora and Wendy ended up being my favorites mainly because they tended to put the main characters on the spot.
There were few things that I liked about this book that had to do with the plot twists that were made in the last few chapters.
I liked that Cora ended up being another spy. As well as a better marksman than Page. I ended up liking the last chapters because they focused more on her as well as Wendy. We get to know that the secretary was being blackmailed due to being gay. It was also confirmed what I suspected which was that the Colonel had killed the og victim because of being nosy. Although I wish they had emphasized more on what the black market deals entailed.
As to what I didn't like I felt like we spent most of the time in conversations that didn't matter and were overly done. In the first chapter they kept emphasizing that the town looked as if it had come off straight of a postcard. Then there was the absurd amount of surgeries that Sommers performed. I felt as if it was mentioned every couple of chapters that he had just finished a surgery. I felt like they explained this towards the end with there being a wave of tonsillitis going through town. Moving onto Page I just did not like him at all. He has to be one of the worst spies. He admitted to being one with the slightest amount of pressure. He took so long before even solving the mystery and it was still sort of open ended.
Overall I don't believe I will read the second book in this series.
4.5/5 stars
I loved it. The art was beautiful at times and completely gruesome in others. It was kind of confusing at times because while we see the mc take important actions we're also being thrown important information in terms of world building. I had to actually go back and read it a second time in order to see what I had missed through my first read. I will continue to read the next volume.
Merged review:
4.5/5 stars
I loved it. The art was beautiful at times and completely gruesome in others. It was kind of confusing at times because while we see the mc take important actions we're also being thrown important information in terms of world building. I had to actually go back and read it a second time in order to see what I had missed through my first read. I will continue to read the next volume.
Merged review:
4.5/5 stars
I loved it. The art was beautiful at times and completely gruesome in others. It was kind of confusing at times because while we see the mc take important actions we're also being thrown important information in terms of world building. I had to actually go back and read it a second time in order to see what I had missed through my first read. I will continue to read the next volume.
4.5/5 stars
I was going back and forth with this book. I wasn't sure if this was a four or five star for me. I ended up settling for 4.5. Even though I was under the assumption that the parents were going to divorce due to their temporary separation I was wrong. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how the art is tied in with the story. At times I was confused on why they placed so much emphasis on the background until I realized how it connected with the story. I didn't particularly like any of the characters but also didn't end up hating any of them. The reason why I couldn't give this a 5 star review was because I didn't feel like the older teens involvement until the very end.