Jordan

This book. This book right here is now one of my favorites of all time.

This story follows a man named Linus, a social worker for magical children. He is very straight laced and has lived a quiet, lonely life. When he is sent on an assignment to an island with a special type of orphanage, he quickly realizes the world is much more than he believed.

I honestly can't think of any negative things to say about this book. The characters are exemplary. The children are so funny and cute and amusing to learn who they are. The adults are all very different but very caring and driven. I could read a million books just about the day to day life at this home.

The themes throughout this story are so well thought out and developed. They really teach you a lot about yourself and the way you interact with the people around you. Full of color and life, the island creates such a vivid backdrop. In contrast with the city, you really see the changes in Linus' life. The relationships formed between all of the characters felt so deep and profound without being overly complicated and fraught. There is so much love and friendship and bonding in this book.

This is a story I will be returning to over and over again. I would recommend this to anyone, no matter your preferred genre. I think this book can teach us all valuable lessons, and will also let us all smile and laugh at the beauty there is in the world.

This book starts with a woman who has just become the ambassador for her station after the death of her predecessor. She has had the conscience of her predecessor implanted into her brain, but it is 15 years out of date. When she arrives on this planet, mostly unprepared, she is shocked at what she finds. The story follows her journey in uncovering the mystery of the death of her predecessor, as well as navigating this planets customs while it falls apart around her.

I went into this book knowing nothing about the plot. I was presently surprised. This book was incredibly fast paced. I could hardly keep up. My favorite parts were the interactions between Mahit and the 2 friends she made along the way. They were very fun and relatable. The biggest downfalls to me were how difficult I found following the politics to be, as well as how quickly the plot moved. Normally a fast paced plot is a good thing, but this book only spans like a week or so. I feel like Mahit is able to gain trust from so many people in such a short amount of time. People risk their professions and even their lives for a foreigner who they think is barbaric. It was hard to accept.

However, the plot is a intense and I didn't want to put it down. The characters were all unique and fun to read, while also being incredibly complex. The themes throughout of colonization and imperialism created a story that was frustrating and powerful, in a good way. I am excited for the next one. I'm interested to see where we go from here.

TW: blood, chronic illness, confinement, cursing, death, grief, gun violence, medical content, medical trauma, murder, panic attacks/disorders, police brutality, racism, suicide, violence, vomit, xenophobia

This is my second time reading this book. It came out at the beginning of 2020, and I loved it then. This second time didn't make it any less. Maas has a way of reaching inside my chest and ripping my heart out. I swear I cry in every one of her books. If you've read her other series, you'll know she sticks to a lot of the same tropes, and this one isn't an exception. However, this is definitely one of the strongest friendships she's ever had. The relationship between Bryce and Danika is amazing. Even though there is a romance story, Danika is Bryce's person. It's so incredible to see this relationship.

The plot starts out kind of slow. Maas does a humongous info dump in the first 100-200 pages or so. But then after that, it picks up quickly and you won't want to put it down. I'm so excited and anxious for the next book in this series. I highly recommend to fantasy and/or romance fans.

Guys. This book was soooooo boring. I swear it didn't pick up until about 90% through. This review will probably be short.

I am a hardcore Stephen King fan. I've read at least 30 of his books. And this series is supposed to be the masterpiece that links them all. Well it has a very rough start. I almost DNF'd this book. I did not care about the characters one bit. They were 2 dimensional and flat. Every single woman was sexualized in some way, even Roland's mother. Roland, The Man in Black, and Jake were all so boring and I didn't care about their lives at all.

As for the plot, I felt it was lacking. I understand leaving mystery for later in the series, but the reader was given almost no information about what was going on, which made the stakes seem nonexistent. I still don't understand what Roland needs from The Man in Black, so I didn't care if he found him or not.

The flashbacks caused the pacing to feel interminable. I just wanted some action to start, but then we would have to sit through another of Roland's flashbacks, which were boring and predictable.

The only reason this is getting 2 stars is because the ending had me interested enough (and my dedication to King's books) to continue this series. But please someone tells me it gets better...

TW: sexual harassment, rape, gun violence

This adult fantasy novel follows a family that runs a jade clan in a modern city with some not-so-modern traditions. Jade grants certain people powers of strength, speed, enhanced perception, etc. The clans that control this jade control this city. When the 2 largest clans start to clash, violence and heartbreak ensue.

The family this story centers on, the Kaun family, is a brutal yet tight-knit family. While they may have their differences, they are always ready to stand up for one of their own. The family dynamics and shifting relationships are incredibly interesting to witness. The combat scenes are so immersive. Magic systems that have consequences are always more believable and dynamic, and the consequences for abusing jade are vicious. The pacing was done well, and I never felt like it was a chore to read. About halfway through, there is a huge plot shift and I was sitting slack jawed as I read.

This story is different from any fantasy novel I've read, and I can't wait to see where Fonda Lee takes me in the next novel.

Trigger warnings: violence, death, drug use, explicit sex scenes, mentions of sexual assault, suicide and self-harm.

This book is a Arthurian retelling where the POV character is his wife, Guinevere.

This book was fine. I feel like I am slowly growing out of YA books. As I get older, it is just getting harder for me to relate to these younger characters. The characterization and the plot were predictable, and there wasn't much that kept me interested. I'm not sure if it was just the narrator of the audiobook, but Guinevere felt like a weak heroine without much going for her. Since the book is from her perspective the whole time, I just couldn't get invested. I think I would've liked this book a lot more about 3-4 years ago.

I recently read the first book in this series and mentioned how chaotic and confusing it was. While most of the reviews for this sequel say this one is easier to follow, I had the opposite experience. I could not tell you what the full plot of this book was. I understood the bare bones, but I can not keep track of all of these different characters. I was constantly confused on who was a good and a bad guy, and that made it nearly impossible to discern what was happening.

All of that to say, I still really enjoyed this book. I don't know if it's just the interesting, diverse cast of characters, or if it's the narrators that made it fun for me. But even though I could hardly follow the plot, I still found myself enraptured with it. I'm giving it 3 stars solely because it is just so confusing to me. I didn't enjoy this one as much because of it. While the first one was confusing, I still at least could differentiate the characters and follow the plot, albeit loosely. This one, I couldn't differentiate any of the characters besides the main cast of like 4 characters. Everyone else was a blur to me so I couldn't keep track of what anyone's motivations were or even who everyone was. My confusion could be because I listened to the audiobook instead of reading a physical copy, or it could just be that my comprehension skills weren't up to snuff while I was reading. Either way, I can't give it more than 3 stars since I couldn't even really tell you what it was about.

Overall, I do still recommend this book to any epic fantasy fans. Most reviews say this book is easier to follow, so I'm definitely in the minority with my confusion.

TW: assault, blood, bones, child abuse, death, demons, fire, gore, homophobia, misgendering, misogyny, physical abuse, poisoning, pregnancy, sexism, rape, slavery, violence, war

This book follows Prince Rhen, whose castle has been cursed to reset after every season, when a monster comes and terrorizes his lands. To break the curse, he must get a woman to fall in love with him. Every season, his guard, Grey, goes to the “other side” (modern day D.C.) to convince a girl to come back. On one of these attempts, he ends up bringing back Harper. This story follows them trying to save the kingdom.

I LOVED this book. It was such an interesting beauty and the beast retelling. Harper was an incredible heroine, and Grey and Rhen were so supportive of her. The romance was not overdone or insta-love. It was slow and full of challenges. The chapters from the monsters point of view shattered me every time. I mourned are the end for everything lost. And the twist ending had me squealing. I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy dark fairy tale retellings.

In Evan Winter's debut novel, we follow Tau, a young man of the Lesser caste who is being trained by his father to be a warrior. When his father is killed in a skirmish with the Noble caste, Tau sets his sights on revenge. With the backdrop of castes, dragons, demons, and the underworld, Tau must train to become the best fighter he can be to avenge his father.

I went into this book very wary. I had heard such mixed reviews. People either loved it or hated it. I ended up being in the former group. I was enthralled throughout this whole book. The main criticism I saw people giving about the book was the narrow-mindedness with which Tau sought revenge. He had no other motivations and made a lot of stupid decisions based on that drive. I 100% agree with all of that. But the world and the setting and the action were so amazingly done that I was still able to really enjoy reading this. I also think that by the end of this book, Tau's character really did evolve into something other than revenge, and it made for a very fulfilling ending.

The world building is spectacular. The way it was presented to the reader incrementally was extraordinary. The whole concept of using hell to call a dragon to your defense is so unique, and the way Tau uses Isihogo I thought was cleverly done. The hedeni's were two-dimensional at the beginning of the book, but by the end we really get to have a more well-rounded view of who they are. I'm sure we'll get even more of an explanation in the second book (which I've already requested from my library).

Overall, I really loved reading this book. The action, the world, the found family, and the characters all created a wonderfully woven story that I am so excited to continue.

TW: alcohol abuse, attempted rape, genocide, gore, misogyny, sexual assault, slavery, animal abuse, demons, amputation, murder, war, violence

Update (09/12/23): Rereading this book is one of the wildest experiences. This series is truly something special.


How to even describe the plot of this book? I was so lost for so much of the beginning that I'm not sure I'll be able to explain well, but I'll do my best. This book follows Gideon, a woman who was orphaned as a child and who lives in the Ninth House. She is trying to escape this place that has done nothing right for her. However, the Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House, Harrowhark, always stops her plans before they ever get far enough to be successful. After her latest escape attempt, Harrow strikes a deal with her. Harrow is in need of a swordsman, and it could be Gideon's chance of leaving the Ninth House. What follows is a murder-mystery, who-dun-it, hilarious string of events.

I gave this book 3 stars because of how slow the beginning started. I couldn't follow anything going on throughout the first half of the book. I ended up looking on the Wikipedia for it to explain what was happening. There is a lot of descriptions of necromancy that use a lot of terms that I didn't know and I was left clueless. However, the banter between the characters was so funny that it kept me listening. Then, towards the end, it really picked up and so much was happening at once. I really enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting the sentimental ending, but I think it was done really well.

The characters are really the highlight of this book. Harrow and Gideon's relationship is hilarious. Even though there were too many characters to keep up with, I still thought all of the side characters also had really funny interactions. The narrator did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone into a dark, gay, fun book.

TW: body horror (graphic), deawth (including children), gore, injury, murder, mutilation, necromancy, self-harm, suicide (depicted and referenced), trauma, violence

Wowowowowowowow. What a masterpiece.

I think this may the first self-published book I've ever read. Going into it, I assumed that meant that the book would be less polished. I have to say, that isn't the case with this story.

This story follows a very powerful warrior family in a remote area of their country. They have the ability to control water, which they use to defend their village and their Empire. The two main points of view are Mamoru, the oldest son of this family, and Mitsuki, the mother. In this patriarchal society, Mitsuki is relegated to the role of the quiet caretaker, even though before she married into this family, she was a badass warrior. Mamoru is trying to live up to his family's prestigious reputation. When their village is attacked, devastation ensues. We follow this family as they try to cope with the devastation wrought. They have to grapple with an Empire that lies to them, their honor, and they interpersonal relationships.

This book is honestly a masterpiece in character. I was so invested in these characters and their relationships with each other. Everyone was so complex, with no “superior” hero character. Everyone was morally grey and confused. The plot was interesting and not too complex, while never boring. This book was heavily interested by Japanese culture, which created an incredible setting for these characters to live and interact within. I cannot recommend this book enough. Fantasy lovers everywhere should be reading this novel.

TW: abusive relationship, amputation, assault, blood, bones, child abuse, child death, death, depression, emotional abuse, famine, fire, gore, hallucinations, kidnapping, miscarriage, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, pregnancy, rape, suicide, terrorism, violence, war

Wow! This book was such a treat to read.

This follow up to “Jade City” sure did deliver. These books are so complex and have such rich world building. The city of Janloon feels so familiar, while still being this magical place where jade warriors live. Espenia, the Uwiwa Islands, and a few other countries are explored in more depth in this installment. The broadening of the world past Kekon was daunting at first, and I found myself confused a few times, but Lee does a great job of expanding the world without info dumping.

Following the Kaul family gets even more intense than the last book. I loved Anden's side story and always got excited for this chapters. Because of Wen's determination and ferocity, reading her chapters was also always a delight. All of the complex relationships between characters created so much interest and desire to see these characters' stories through.

The only downside I have with this book is all of the dense political plots. I completely understand that this is a political fantasy, and know that this is just a personal preference, so not an attack on Lee or this novel. There were points throughout that would be whole chapters of characters discussing politics or planning out their next political maneuvers. While important to the story, I was left confused and ready for some more action during these chapters.

Overall, this series is the future of the fantasy genre. Fonda Lee has created such a unique, savage world with morally grey characters and so much political intrigue that is completely new. I would recommend this to any fantasy reader.

This book was definitely an improvement on the last. Most of my complaints for the first book don't apply here because I now had context about this world and these characters.

I definitely started to feel much more attachments to the characters in this book. I felt like their arcs were getting very interesting, and a lot of those grim dark elements really started to shine. The plot was interesting, and I'm eating up all of these little breadcrumbs that are being left about the bigger picture. I'm very excited to see how all of these characters stories end up tying together.

Metzl uses statistics and specific examples throughout this book to prove that many white people would rather vote for things that directly endanger/disadvantage them than to do something that they perceive will help minorities. He does an incredible job of proving this. He specifically uses gun control, health care, and education as his methods of proving his point. For example, when gun control becomes more lax, more white men use guns to commit suicide than any other demographic, but the people that are affected by this still don't see it as a gun issue. This book was impactful because it really felt like he was proving his point by showing concrete evidence. For the most part, he tried to keep his opinion out of it. It definitely does bleed into this book some. He also makes sure to point out that he is a white man from one of these areas he's speaking of, so he is coming from a place of privilege. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that is curious how these political policies effect everyone.

This BOOOOOOOK! Aiden Thomas can literally do no wrong.

This story is a Peter Pan retelling, told by Wendy. 6 years ago, her and her brothers went missing. After 6 months, she returned alone without any memory of what happened. One day, she runs into a boy named Peter, who tells her they used to know each other and he needs her help.

This book was so fantastical and such a fresh take on an old story. It is definitely geared more towards the YA category than middle grade due to some dark themes, as well as Wendy being 18 in the story. The characters felt so real. Wendy's parents were such a stark contrast in their constant mourning to Peter's exuberant, boisterous personality. Getting to see Wendy's reactions to magic and the world around her felt so real in a way that made you ache and love and feel joyous with her.

I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good dark story retelling. It was so endearing. Also, I cried like a baby at the end as I was listening to the audiobook and driving.

TW: alcohol, anxiety, blood, car accident, child death, death, depression, gun violence, hospitalization, kidnapping, murder, child abuse, violence

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to do a recap of the plot in this review because it is mind bogglingly complex. The format of the story was so confusing. The main character was imprisoned by a woman. The woman was telling his story from when he was a young boy, while the main character was telling his story starting later in his life. We were switching back between the two. But we also had some conversations in the present day between them. And all of this was being transcribed by a narrator, who would cut in sometimes with footnotes about the story. So that in itself was complex. But then, once you get into the family trees of these characters, and their histories, the complexity increases tenfold. You're constantly trying to figure out who is related to who, and who is a god, and where everyone fits. To add even MORE to that, a lot of the names are very similar, so I found myself thinking we were talking about one person, when we were talking about someone else. I will say that listening to the audiobook helped a lot with this confusion because there are 3 different narrators, so it helps the reader keep track of who is talking. I will say, there are demons, royalty, dragons, gods, and the afterlife all in this book, so if that interests you, you may like this book.

Despite the complexity of the story, I did really enjoy it. I'm sure I still don't understand all that I read, but I did enjoy the plot and the characters. It was fast paced and interesting, even if it was suuuuuper long. I didn't find myself getting bored at all, and the audiobook was 27 hours, so that's saying something. The ending was buckwild, and I am very excited for my hold on the next book to be ready from my library.

I would recommend this book to people that aren't afraid of a complex fantasy story. This definitely isn't a book for a fantasy beginner.

TW: abusive relationship, alcohol, amputation, attempted murder, blood, bones, child abuse, rape of a child, death, demons, emotional abuse, fire, gore, homophobia, incest, kidnapping, misogyny, murder, pedophilia, poisoning, prostitution, rape, sexual assault, sexually explicit scenes, slavery, torture, violence, war

This was a fun, magical book. It included many important discussions on racism and prejudice, while creating this urban fantasy world of sprites and sirens and gargoyles. The relationship between the 2 sisters was so sweet and wholesome and really incredible. However, I found myself bored a few times throughout. The magic of the world was confusing to me and wasn't that interesting. I think this is more of a personal preference, however, than a fault in the writing. I'm not into urban fantasy often, and I also listened to this as an audiobook, which sometimes lends to me being confused and missing certain things.

All in all, I would recommend this book. It really highlights the struggles of Black people, especially Black women, in a way that is really impactful.

In this book, we follow Jake, a medium who can see ghosts and ghouls all around him in everyday life. He has to see them relive their deaths. As a young, Black, closeted gay man just trying to survive high school, this starts to weigh on him. When a ghost of a school shooter starts following him around and terrorizing him, Jake has to come to grips with himself in order to save himself and those around him.

This book was WAY darker than I anticipated. Make sure you check the content warning for this book because there are many. This book was fast paced, emotional, and so incredibly dark. There were explorations of race, sexuality, mental health, and abuse. The 2 main characters, Jake and Sawyer, are extremely well fleshed out as the story goes on, and we really get to see how they got to where they are and what their motivations are for going forward. There are definitely some parallels in their lives, and we get to see Jake try to battle to not go down the same path Sawyer has. I really enjoyed this book, even though there were moments where I was shocked by how graphic and dark things got.

I recommend this book to people looking for a scary, thought provoking book. Just check the content warnings first!

TW: animal cruelty, child abuse (physical & emotional), death, depression, domestic abuse (physical & emotional), body horror (graphic), bullying, gun violence, gore, homophobia, murder, racism, school shootings, sexual assault of a minor (attempted), spider-related body horror (graphic), stabbing, suicide (attempts, ideation, & actual)

When Earth is set to be destroyed, Arthur Dent's friend, who is secretly an alien, takes him off of Earth, saving his life. Ford Prefect is a researcher for “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”, a book that details out basically everything there is to know about the different planets, peoples, etc. What follows is a fun, silly adventure as they try to find their place now in a galaxy with Earth.

This book was fun. The story was silly and there were a few chuckles throughout. It was kind of boring, though. There didn't really feel like there were any stakes since the book was more lighthearted and fun. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but I don't really have a whole lot to say about it. It was cute with some fun characters and interesting settings. Worth a quick read if you like this kind of story.

TW: suicide

In this expansive (pun intended) space 0pera, we follow 2 main POVs: Holden, who is on the crew of a large ice hauling ship, and Miller, a cop in the Belt. When Holden's ship is shot down during a distress signal rescue mission, he broadcasts to the universe that he found a Mars-built item on the ship, starting off an interplanetary war. Miller is assigned to a mission to find a wealthy family's daughter. During these 2 characters story arcs, we get to see all of the politics that go on, with Mars and Earth always at each others' necks to be the better planet, and the Belters treated as expendable. All of this tension builds up into a full-fledged war. But what Holden, Miller, and the crew discover is bigger than anyone could have predicted.

I enjoyed this book. The disease was the most exciting plot point of the book. It created this really tense, honestly terrifying story of these people trying to survive. The whole arc of Eros had my heart pounding. One of the main reasons I'm giving this 3 stars is that I really did not enjoy reading from Miller's perspective, which was about half of the book. I understand why his character is necessary to the story, I've just never been a big fan of reading books about cops. However, Holden and his crew are great, and the last quarter of the book really redeems Miller for me. The politics took me a while to get the hang of. I could not keep up with what was going on for a while. Also, the ship-to-ship combat was confusing to me. All of the science involved with the ship combat, however, was fascinating and kept me intrigued during these scenes.

All in all, I liked this book and am excited to continue with the series. I'm hoping now that I have a better understanding of how this world works and who the key players are, I'll have a better time with the next book.

TW: body horror, gore, death, violence, gun violence, alcoholism, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, vomit, suicide, blood, police butality, murder, war, drug use, chronic illness, genocide

I have been so excited to read this book because I have seen so many book reviewers raving about it. However, it fell short for me.
Let me start off by saying that the world building and the magic system are some of the most interesting I've read in the fantasy genre. Bending reality to do certain things is bizarre and hard to wrap your mind around while reading, but ultimately is so fresh and interesting.
However, because of the complexity of this world, half of the book felt like an instruction manual to me. I felt like I was just trying to learn how everything works with a little bit of a story sprinkled in through much of the beginning of the book. Sancia as a character is fun, and I love heist stories, but I just couldn't get behind some of these characters. They were entertaining, but I didn't feel emotionally connected to them in any way.
The ending really turned much of this book around for me. I texted my husband as soon as I finished and was like “I take back everything I said I loved it”. Now that I've sat with it, I still agree with my critiques, but the ending really was suspenseful and super fun. I'm excited to read the second, and I hope that now that we've learned how a lot of the world works, we will be able to dive right into the story.

What a perfect pick-me-up after finishing The Witcher series.

This book is a sci-fi graphic novel, following a group of people that restore old buildings. One day, a young woman is brought on their ship because she has no where else to go. Throughout the novel, we get flash backs to the life she lived before.

This book was so heartfelt, as well as heart-breaking. The story was beautiful and full of my favorite tropes, one of which is found family. I loved all of the characters. They were all so unique and fun. The messages put forth in this book were powerful and beautiful. And the illustrations?!?!? Perfection. I could frame at least half of the pages of this novel. There is also a lot of LGBTQ+ rep in this book that was well executed. Overall, everyone should read this book. It's cute, sad, and beautiful.

TW: misgendering, poisoning, bullying

I read this book because of Elliot Brooks' YouTube and Instagram channels. She is always raving about this book. And boy, am I glad I did.
I will start by saying that I was OBSESSED with dragons growing up. I had a ton of books on dragons and I was always rereading the Eragon series (until it got boring). This book is a very political fantasy, where the Dragonriders are the most powerful people. The book starts at the end of a revolution, where the old regime was overthrown for their cruelty and greed, very similar to the French Revolution. The leader of this revolution spares one of the sons of the old ruler. Flash forward about 10 years and this boy is in school to become one of the Dragonriders. No one knows his real identity. He befriended a girl in his orphanage, and they are trying to help build this new country.
I loved all of the characters in this book so much. Lee and Annie's friendship is so incredible to learn about as you read. It is ever changing and evolving. The politics are incredibly rich and engaging, while not being too “Game of Thrones”-y. I could read about these characters eating breakfast. They are so interesting and complex. I cannot wait for the second book to come out. I already preordered it.

In this book about the Mayan gods, we follow a young woman who wants out of the life she's living. When she accidentally releases a god who has been asleep for 50 years, she is swept away on a life-threatening adventure with this mysterious, handsome god. But until they can defeat the god's brother, her life is slowly being drained away.

I think this book was fun. It was a little slower paced, and I found myself zoning out a few times. I loved the setting. Set in 1920's Mexico, there is a rich backdrop. Everything feels even further back in time when dealing with these ancient beings. I ultimately think it was a fun book, but the pacing could have been a little better. I didn't feel much attachment to the characters, so it ended up being hard for me to follow along.

TW: abusive grandparent (mentioned, past), alcohol, animal death, colorism, death (parental, past), domestic abuse, human sacrifice (mentioned), misogyny, physical violence, ritualistic self-harm

This book was really quirky and cute. It definitely started out really slow. The couple didn't even meet until pretty far into the book. But the friendships were interesting and the examination of emotional abuse was well written and insightful. The ending was incredibly endearing and heartfelt. However, it wasn't nearly as steamy as I was anticipating. Cute, fun read!

CW: Emotional Abuse, Stalking