Rica
Ease of reading/following along: 5
Character development: 4.75
Character enjoyment: 3.75
Plot development: 4.5
Ploy enjoyment: 4
Vibe check: 4.5
= 4.41
Ease of reading/following along: 5
Character development: 5
Character enjoyment: 4.5
Plot development: 4.75
Ploy enjoyment: 4.25
Vibe check: 4.25
=4.625
I was following along fairly well on my drives to work listening to the audiobook. To be honest, I didn't realize how attached I'd gotten to the characters until the book was over and I was itching to find out how it all turned out.
I must say the audiobook is VERY well read, it felt like a little movie in my head the whole time.
Love the concept, love the characters, so cute and so funny and right up my alley!! Very silly but it only gets better with time <3
A special edition of this series is getting published soon so I decided to give it a try to see if I'd like to shell out the cash.
It was enjoyable! I liked the light worldbuilding and lore. The characters were very YA at times but their dedication and loyalties struck a chord in me. I'm a sucker for devoted characters <3
The writing wasn't anything special and it certainly had a YA vibe to it, however! It was compelling and accessible and a nice light read. I don't normally read books so quickly and it was personally refreshing to gobble this one up.
Without a doubt a guilty pleasure and I'm starting the sequel right away!
I found this to be a quick and enjoyable read. Somewhat fast paced but in a good way. No lulls or scenes overstaying their welcome. The stakes were high, the romance was captivating and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
I was hesitant but curious during the first book. I was wary but determined for the second. But the culmination of all 3 at the end of this one blew me away. I found myself much more emotional than I anticipated, and found the long ride to be worth it in the end. I'm very glad I stuck with it. I wouldn't call it perfect either, hence the 4.75, but after everything is said and done, I was thoroughly entertained, which is perhaps the best test of what makes a good story.
Slow to start, quick to finish. A lovely book and I can't wait to see where the rest takes these dear characters :)
Ease of reading/following along: 5
Character development: 5
Character enjoyment: 5
Plot development: 5
Ploy enjoyment: 5
Vibe check: 5
=5
Romance novels aren' usually my thing, because while I like romance, I prefer it intermingled with a larger plot. That being said, this was cute and sweet and well done.
Best book I've read this year, the bar to reach, and I highly doubt anything will top it. In my top 10 books of all time, possibly top 5 or 3.
I was enchanted, emotional, yelling irl, and I'm itching to reread it immediately.
Went in knowing next to nothing, ended up absolutely gutted by the end. Not my typical type of fiction but I enjoyed it, especially the second half of the book.
Now that's what I call dark academia. I listened to the audiobook read by the author and I have to say I really enjoyed Donna Tartt's intonations. Being read by the author feels very authentic to the overall tone of both the narrator's point of view as well as all the character's attitudes. While this sort of story isn't usually my thing I was, for the most part, gripped by the story. Tartt's style can feel very long and perhaps meandering at times but when it came to this story I would say it served to add to the mysterious and academic settings.
Given all the hype I've seen around the book I wasn't too sure of what I was getting into but overall I find myself charmed by the tale. I'm so enchanted by it I'd actually like to get back to it in written form one day to give myself a chance to highlight and annotate passages.
10/10 will definitely read again.
Best book of 2023 so far, anything other than thr sequel is going to have a very tough time besting it.
Enjoyable even as I'm not a fan of sports. The writing is lovely, as always, and the characters wonderfully full of depth. My personal disconnect with tennis made this not as well loved as some of her other books but it was still solid, for sure.
I thought the world building was incredibly creative at times but the overall style of writing from El's POV could get a bit rambling. Overall it was nice though and the relationship with the love interest was funny and cute at times.
I also thought it had some interesting things to say about privilege through the lens' of these characters in this world. Without spoiling too much the very end of the book certainly has me eagerly putting an immediate library hold on the sequel.