kae

The writer is a Sarah j Maas girlie and it shows. Not a bad thing just to bear in mind.

This one was a hard one for me... I liked Henry a lot in all the other novels, but I felt like his character was so unaligned with the vibe he brought to the other functions. I found myself cringing so much at this because of how obnoxious he was. I loved Halle, but after awhile I felt like damn girl stick up for yourself. These characters made sense in the bubble they had for themselves, but I just couldn't relate or connect to them. Rates much farther below the other installments. And the ending... gah. So cringe. Not my cup of tea. Kind of disappointed.

Good, didn't love it. Just meh. Really wanted more drama and less conclusions being pre-chewed for you.

Just okay. I preferred her other books better. There will definitely be a second of this series.

I can't wait for the next book. This was so fun and an easy, fast paced read!

This was probably one of the worst books I have ever read.

Not because it was inherently bad, but rather because it had so much potential that was wasted by the lack of character development and tangents that made no sense.

I could not relate to this main character even though we have had many similar experiences. She just has no fight in her. She just lets herself get walked over all the time. Watching life pass her by.

The last part of the book (10%) was the best not because it was ending (which was also great), but also because the main girl finally grew a backbone.

I had high expectations of this. I do not recommend.

Haunting and gripping from the first page. I couldn't put this down.

This book changed my life. It changed the way in which I perceived things. It changed the way that I address trauma with my family members. It changed the way that I was able to communicate with other perfectionist by understanding their perfectionist values. I listen to the audiobook read by the author, and I highly recommend. A soft voice that truly feels as though she was talking to my inner child telling me that it was OK and everything was going to be fine. That I wasn't broken and that there's so much joy I have in my perfectionism. I listen to it loved it so much I immediately went out and bought the book so that I could start highlighting and reflecting even more. So happy, I stumbled upon this in a moment of self discovery- would highly recommend anyone who feels as though they fall under the label of perfectionist to read

Fucking ouchies.

3 stars, DNF. Only because I felt like I kept reading the same passage over and over again. The passage was great, but there's only so many times you can es plain the same thing over and over.

3.75⭐️

Really loved that a lot of this book was about the mental journey to get yourself to the place you want to be. A very healthy narrative was framed around not hating yourself to make yourself lean, focusing on mindset and appreciation of your body, and building healthy habits. I really liked her process of putting in 20% effort to get 80% results by focusing on super attainable goals (1/2 plate of veggies, limit alcohol, get enough sleep, limit stressing, exercise in a way that makes sense for your body and be consistent). None of this is a rocket science and all of it makes sense. Thanks for being refreshing in that manner and providing that laid out in a very candid way.

The loss of stars came when addressing food for me. Although the food chapter ends on “there is no good or bad food” there is an insane amount if pages on what to cut out of your diet and only have seldomly. However, this goes against her talk about everything in moderation and you getting to choose your own level of fitness. She says at one point eat everything but eat less- which is way more sustainable and makes more sense- so what is it? What's your real take?

I feel like this book's view on nutrition comes from a shameless vegan plug. And please do not get me wrong- I think that her view on veg is spot on. We should all be eating way more veg and we should all prioritize plant protein, especially with how studies show it is better for your health. But no consideration was given to those people whose diets are limited in choices and her privilege does show. And to be honest, her view on protein I just don't agree with. Do I think everyone should be eating 150g per day ? No. But do I think her reliance on the FDA recommended amount of protein for women being 60g is accurate? Also no. Too much protein is just additional unneeded calories, but too little protein when you are working out will not help muscle growth. This should be researched by each individual and experimented on how much it takes for you to feel your best. Mine is around 130g as a strength trainer 4x a week and active 5-6 days out of the week. Yours will be different. It takes trial and error. In short; you cannot subscribe to the system (FDA recommendations) while also saying they are wrong (what is constituting as bad protein sources because they don't fit your dietary preferences).

Really solid information and a wonderful take on the mental prep it takes to shift focus to healthy habits, and I loved this book for that aspect. 1 chapter on nutrition knocked a star off for me. Again, this is not because I didn't want to hear what she was suggesting. I have been in various levels of ED for my whole life and know what it's like to cut everything out and also to gouge on everything. But finally in the stages of healing, we should not be triggering people to get rid of all foods they love. Because that acknowledges that your cultural, festive and traditional foods don't fit into the definition of whitewashed health. Michael pollen said it best: eat food, not a lot and mostly plants. Skip the chapter on nutrition particulars (beyond her veg comments) if you don't want to be triggered. Book would have been 5⭐️ if not for that section of the book because no one I've read has addressed mindset like she has.

What an amazing book! Honestly, the series has been such a joy to read. The author did such an amazing job looping every storyline together with twists and no plot holes at all. Many of the characters experienced extreme character development throughout the trilogy, but also from book to book. I never would've guessed the ending. And many of my least favorite characters ended up being my favorite characters at the end.

I wish there were more books for me to move onto that were readily available, but I am definitely looking forward to reading all of the works that Alka Joshi she has in mind. She's definitely one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to anyone!

Her ability to describe a scene is unmatched and her word choice really made the story come off the page like I was right there next to the characters watching in real time rather than reading. I am going to miss these characters but would love more stories in spin-off from the children's point of view and as they make their way in the world. 10/10

As someone who comes from an architecture background and works in construction now, the terms and particulars of the industry as part of the mystery were spot on. And let me tell you... this is DRAMA. Like this isn't just morally bad because people died like this is nooooo joke even if no one was hurt. My pulse was QUICKENING as Malik discovered the truth. And as always Lakshmi has so much patience. I truly don't know how she dealt with Radha in the first book and now Nimmi in the second book. I know that they were difficult because lack of worldly knowledge but damn did they come off as ungrateful and bratty. But anyways—

I am obsessed with Alka Joshi and her talent across her novels. She paints the most vivid and deep dilemmas and story plots with intricate details. Heading into the third (and final

What an absolute TREAT this book was. Incredibly written, in-depth, expansive, worldly, kaleidescope of a novel. I am so happy that my book club is reading this and I cant wait to discuss. There was just so much to unpack in this novel. Love, adventure, independence, survival, history, ARTTTTTTT, longing, sadness, sacrifice, revenge. This novel follows a girl named Addie Larue who ends up selling her soul to the devil to live a life different from the one she has at the moment the deal was made. She lives over 300 years and in that time span, she touches so many artists, their lives and their art and minds, although there are circumstances to her ‘marks'. The intricacy and delicacy in which VE Schwab weaves her story is painstakingly beautiful. I cried several times throughout this novel because of its wholesomeness. It was one of those books where I wish that there was more, but at the same time I'm glad there wasn't because it was all wrapped up so well. I would highly recommend diving into this book and shutting yourself away from the world to submerge yourself in Addie's world. 5/5 stars.

Pretty good book but def can tell it was written by 2 men. Rape jokes, constant violence (the title delivers) and the plot being a glorified dick measuring contest.

I'm glad the main protagonist is a woman. She's really funny and I like her personality. This story reminded me of Scott pilgrim a little bit.

Sci-fi isn't my genre but I'm reading this series for my 2024 book bingo. I will continue to finish it out but don't expect anything intricate or amazing.

When the plot is about a bunch of rich people trying to one up each other you get a lot of things that don't make sense. Like random tigers in combat? Or people living through stuff because of super advanced medicine/ cyborg technology even though they should be blown to bits?

Very Blake crouch-esque in the writing style. And now I know why I subconsciously always divert to female writers

This book gives Crescent City #1 vibes for the first 60 pages. It's choppy, tons of characters, worlds, lore— all being introduced to you at once. Pro tip: there is a glossary in the back that I didn't realize was there until about 3/4 through the book.

Once I heard this was a Reylo fanfic I completely understood the angle that this was coming from. The worlds are not fantasy primarily, to me it's more a sci- fi with fantasy overlayed.

Genuinely I loved this world and the artistry the author paints the characters with. They are conflicted, funny, lost, hopeful yet tormented, and i enjoyed them all. Really sad I have to wait awhile for the next book to come out.

THIS AUTHOR DUDE. Honestly, this book was unlike anything I've ever read before. This fantasy world Craig has woven up is so intricate and precise, vivid and wicked. Gods are amongst men and it's unknown what is real vs. not. HIGHLY recommend the Sisters of the Salt series... I'm so sad I have to wait until 2026 for the next book! It's hard to surprise me when I feel like I've read/am familiar with everything fantasy has to offer... but this was shockingly devourable. The only thing I would critique... can you throw your fans a bone and provide a map to this amazing world you've created??? I need to know proximities and such! You can leave it blank and add to it when a new book comes out... so you don't spoil it !

I have so many problems with this book. From character behavior, to overuse of the miscommunication trophe (even tho mind talking is a thing?), to inconsistent storylines to straight up plot holes. All my friends know and I don't want to waste my breath hashing it out here (because that in itself would be a novel).

TLDR: first one- amazing, this one? Just ok. Loved the secondary characters more than the primary. Would I continue with the series? Yes. Is it my favorite? Not even close.

Dragons are cool tho.

This poor f*ing woman.

DNF: this was just not stimulating for me. It's a shame because the plot had a lot of interesting niche points, but overall this was just not executed well. Like all of a sudden it's about murder? I think I was hoping for more Indiana jones less agatha christie. Either way, wasn't for me.

3.75 STARS. would read again, def can tell that this is SJM first book. Incredibly good (I relate to Celenea the most out of all of the primarily characters in her books!) but some points off for lack of story development for a first book and writing depth.

4 stars but only in the sense that its a 3.9 for me. Not sure if I'm big on urban fantasy. Its weird thinking about vampires using cell phones or the potential for the Autumn King to order pizza delivery...

I think that this book could have been better in terms of the depth of relationships in it. ACOTAR was really good about creating relationships between all the characters and so when things happened or decisions were made, you as the reader could understand why. I feel like there was a lot of examples of events happening in this book where I was like “okay, I guess we are doing this now.”

Normally that really really irks me, however, I fully acknowledge that this may have been done intentionally. I understand that all of the SJM books fall into 1 universe where they interact with one another, so perhaps there will be other opportunities for me to understand why certain decisions were made by these characters in a semi-‘dramatic irony' sort of way. I would reread this again, but it is not taking up my brain space and consuming me whole like ACOTAR did.

Also, I'm sorry, but Hunt Athalar is literally an annoying lax bro who does the bare minimum. Bryce did everything for him and I feel like he didn't even scratch the surface. Real pro- Ruhn though in a separate sense and I am really excited to see how he develops in the next book.

Great little intermission between larger books! So many memes so little time.

I'M NOT CRYING— YOU'RE CRYING.

This is probably one of the best books I've ever read in my life. And honestly, all I have to say at the end of this is: F*ck you, Tamlin.