Janee

DNF@ 47%. It's just soooo slow. And although I like Enna and she has some decent character motivation (she wants to be a scholar who studies the creatures of the magic forest) she spent the entire book making dumb choices. And keeping secrets from people who could help her get out the mess she's put herself in. At halfway into the book our two main characters only kind of start to like each other and they have made literally zero progress in solving the conflict that is introduced in the very first part of the story. It's just a bit too boring for me so I'll drop this one.

5 stars! This book made my heart swell with how cute Chloe and Red are ❤️❤️ And I blushed at some of their steamier moments

When I really love a book it's hard for me to put into words exactly why I love it. I just know that I think I love this book more than I loved Night Circus which is a book I adore. I love the repeated bee, key, sword references and how they ties into the story. I loved the little story excerpts between chapters of the main story. I loved how the tradition, history, rituals, and mysteries of the starless sea unfold and that we discover things along with our main character. I love that there are multiple romances happening in the book. The beginning of Zachary's story is a little bit slow but I was fully onboard the entire time and it only got better as I read.

I sailed the starless sea and breathed the haunted air and I had a great time!

Not going to lie, there were parts of this book that really got on my nerves. Some of the story within a story elements slowed the pace down too much, January was way too naïve and trusting of Mr. Lock and the society even after she learns about what their doing, she basically causes herself to be put in danger MULTIPLE TIMES simply because she can't keep her damn mouth shut about her plans! But even after all that I would still give this 4.75 stars.

I love that it's a book about outcasts and people who prefer fanciful stories to real life. I love that we get a POC cast and race/ class commentary. I love that we get a sweeping love story that literally spans decades plus a bonus mini love story with January and Samuel. I even got a little teary eyed at the ending.

2 stars. It's a no from me dog. I had to start skimming and skipping chapters just to finish.

After the first 30% I understand why this book has such a low rating. After finishing it I also understand why the ending was so divisive. This book is overly wordy, boring even during “exciting” moments, and after getting through the ending seems to be kind of pointless. We start the book going in a particular direction. Haunted school, girls disappearing, mystery, horror. But at about 80% we take a hard left and everything you thought the book was about gets turned totally on it's head but not in a fun way. When the big reveal about the school comes into play I said to myself “Then what was even the point of everything we've been through so far?”.

Wouldn't recommend. I can't even say this is a good book to read during the Halloween season which is the whole reason I picked it up.

I loved every second of this book. It's a thrill ride of murder, necromancy, and mystery with a sassy, sword fighting protagonist and her secretive necromancer. I highly recommend the audiobook as the narrator really makes things exciting but even if you don't want to listen give it a read. If you like deep lore, magic, or a murder mystery then this book could be for you.

This was so good! Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! And there are multiple twists at the end! Just when you think Aiden has solved it another element to the mystery is revealed. Yet the ending was satisfying and everything was wrapped up in a solid explanation. Excellent storytelling, excellent audiobook narration. 5/5 ⭐️

4.5 / 5 stars. I had a great time! I was genuinely kept guessing what was real and who the true murderer was right until the ending. I think the romance could've been a little more developed but it was still very sweet.

I loved this book so much. What a fantastic sequel! There's a lot that set up in this novel and the previous one and the author delivers satisfying and unpredictable pay offs to it all. I think my mouth was hanging open nonstop from chapter 40 all the way to the epilogue just from the amount of reveals and twists! I cannot wait to read the next installment in the series! One flesh, One end indeed!

DNF @20%. This might be a temporary DNF or maybe it's a forever DNF. I loved the first book and absolutely ate it up but this second book is just not holding my interest. The whole things so far has felt like a long epilogue with bits of the new plot thrown in but I haven't found myself getting reinvested in any of the characters. I didn't care about Sophia at all in the first book so her having her own storyline in this book is also contributing to my apathy towards the novel.

It's a combination of several romance genre tropes that I don't like so it's a 2 star for me. Fake dating, dumb misunderstanding/ miscommunication, insta-love

DNF @ 11%. It's not that the book wasn't well written or interesting. It's just that I wanted something more light hearted. The description makes it sound like Eleanor is just a girl who's a little antisocial and she finds friends and learns that life is worth living. I was excepting something feel good like Hallmark movie. This book is not that. Eleanor is pretty unlikable, very odd, and she's got some TRAUMA to overcome. I'm sure it's a wonderful story but...I just wanted to listen to a low stakes audiobook while I'm at work.

It started to lose me towards the end but I did enjoy the book. I will admit I was excepting a bit more horror and like an epic monster reveal at the end but it didn't happen like that. It was a very slow unraveling of the life and death of a society of creatures that the scientists are trying to understand. Overall I liked it.

DNF @ 22%. I just cannot be bothered to finish this. It read way too much like YA and I don't like YA. I was all into it being a story about a hardened young women who's a master thief in magical Cairo and that's not what I'm getting. Firstly, we only see Nahri being a thief for about 2 seconds before the plot line takes a sharp left into class struggles between the half bloods and the pure blood djinn in a magic city. Second, I was expecting Nahri to be smarter. She's spent this entire book so far just asking Dara questions that I feel like she should know considering she grew up in Egypt where these legends and monsters are from. The couple of chapters I spend with Ali the Prince were infuriating. He's a teenager by Djinn standards and you can tell. He's a spoiled, clueless boy who clearly has had horse blinders on his entire life because he doesn't seem to understand the depth of oppression that the half bloods are experiencing in his own hometown?! Even though he's secretly working with the half blood rebellion in a limited capacity when we first meet him?! The only character who wasn't getting on my nerves was Dara. And he's a battle hardened djinn with PTSD and a snarky attitude. So because these two idiots (Nahri and Ali) don't know shit about shit, Dara is the only person driving the plot forward by info dumping after being asked a million questions. I'll pass on this series.

4 stars I think. As in “I think I enjoyed this.” but I can't be totally sure. I was confused yet intrigued through most of the book but I do love the way it's written.

“Human anatomy surrenders to the pragmatism of combat. Muscles unbraid, sinews lengthen, even as veins become garrote and bones blade. In minutes, we're viscera commanded by will, flayed tissue, tendon, and teeth.”

I'm mean, what a way to write a book! It's Lovecraftian body horror mixed with film noir. So strange and yet so interesting.

I'm giving it 2 stars just because it's not for me personally. DNF @ 7%. This rating has nothing against the book. The story just seems too brutal for my personal reading tastes. I like lighthearted books and they've already talked about enslavement, torture, murder, and rape by chapter 7. No thank you. I'm going to stop reading here before I get upset. The story seems interesting, but it's literally mentioned that the main character might get raped by one of the bad guys during like chapter 3 and this made me nervous. I'm not down for reading anything about sexual assault. I looked into the reviews and it seems like threats of rape are thrown around as plot devices in this book which makes me very uncomfortable. Also, there is some kind of love triangle/ love square going on and that is one of my most hated romance tropes. So the romance is a no for me and the brutal details of the reality these people live in are too violent for my tastes. I will not be finishing. On a positive note, the writing style is fantastic.

I did get a little emotional at the end. Watching Bod grow up and eventually leave his home for new adventures was heartwarming and interesting. I'm my mind Bod is now a travel blogger who visits remote villages and tribes all over the world to learn their cultures. He's living his best life for sure.

What a bittersweet ending!! But the story was delightful and the world building was so interesting. I need a second novel so we can see what Eddie and Jane get up to. Equal color for all! Dismantle the head office and the collective! Let the spoon production flow freely!

I just finished re-reading (or re-listening in my case) because I realized I never finished the series. It's been years since I last read Foundling but I remembered that the book was fantastic and my memory did not disappoint. It's about a young orphan boy who sets off on a journey full of twists and turns to become a lamplighter for the empire. The lamplighter life isn't what he wants but without any other prospects that's the life that is chosen for him. He encounters many dangerous people and monsters on his journey to get to the lamplighter HQ and that's the fun of the book. If you can get a copy of this book with the illustrations I would recommend it because even years later I still remember how cool the illustrations where.

I didn't realize this was going to be the series finale! But I had a great time with Colin, Fox, and Dane! ❤️Couldn't have asked for a more wholesome ending to the series. And I can't wait for what the author has planned next!

Loved it! I picked this one up because it's plot summary was so similar to the Garron Park duology by Nordika Night. And I loved that book too. Very spicy at times but so achingly sweet as well. My babies had to fight for their love and I'm happy for them. Can't wait for the next book in the series to come out

Feels good to be back with the Brumal mafia for this installment! I loved this book just like I love all of Feener's books that are set in this particular universe. Kazimir is a problematic favorite and Nate is sweet but he's not letting Kaz treat him like a doormat. They're perfect together.

I really enjoyed this story because I feel like the author took their time to make the characters realistic. I thought this story was going to be like other priest romances where the priest is only religious for two seconds before they turn into some kind of sex god. This book isn't like that at all. Father Francis really struggles with his sexuality, his lust, his past trauma, and feeling that he isn't good enough for his congregation and I loved that realism from him. And Angel's backstory was just as tragic as Francis' and I liked seeing his soft side. They suit each other surprisingly well.

I had a great time reading this. LOVED the first two books in the series and so I was really excited to get Xavi and Nate's story.

The ending was rushed and introduced several plot points that it didn't have time to fully conclude. I felt that it could have been a more satisfactory conclusion if Ilya and Danya only had to overcome the attitudes of the townspeople by the end. And all the things with the corruption of the church should have been in a separate novel. But I don't think there is a second novel so I just have to imagine the continuation of their journey I suppose.