Lau

I was quite interesting in the story for most of it, even though it started to drag at some point.

But the ending was terrible.

La verdad es que no entiendo el fanatismo por esta autora. Ninguna de las historias me pareció escalofriante como promete la sinopsis, ni tampoco interesante.

Las explicaciones por demás de costumbres o referencias argentinas me parecieron bastante tediosas y, por momentos, ridículas. Entiendo que se quiera hacer las historias accesibles a otros lectores por el éxito que tuvieron sus libros con las audiencias internacionales pero entonces ¿para qué centrarse tanto en lo argento?

Meeeh.

The pacing issues I had with the previous book are still present here but in a lesser degree. I’m starting to suspect there’s a page count Bardugo needed to hit so we got all this unnecessary information and back-and-forth. Was it really necessary to go to hell THREE TIMES? I get not succeeding right away to have the story progress and to add to the idea that this was an impossible task. But wouldn’t it be better to have the gang be close enough but not being to enter, instead of having some inexperienced 20-somethings and a cop come in and out willy-nilly?

Once again, there are unnecessary graphic scenes (more Hellie abuse, really? the rabbit, really?). Fortunately, it was not as much as the previous novel so I’m thankful for that.

Mercy having a more prominent role this time was fine but once again, there are no visible consequences of the events of the previous book or the ones that happened in this one, for that matter. I honestly can’t fathom her having such a carefree disposition about finding out Yale’s magical secrets, especially since she has been directly affected by them.

Also, her being an expert on the artifacts and magic overnight to the point she is on par with Dawes and Darlington? Really?

Also, WHY, AFTER A YEAR OF TORTURE, TRAUMA AND FINDING OUT HE KINDA KILLED HIS PARENTS THE FIRST THING DARLINGTON THINKS ABOUT IS HOW HORNY HE IS FOR ALEX? SERIOUSLY?????

I liked the inclusion of the new supernatural creatures, though.

Uff this book.

The pacing of this book is all over the place. Most of the time the action was interrupted by some flashback narration that imo didn't add much to the plot or a history lesson or a description of the architechture and the design of Yale. I'm all for description and making the surroundings pop out but, in this case, I felt it just hinder the narration a lot, making this book really boring and quite hard to get through. I couldn't care less about the magic or the main mystery since everything was so muddled up with extra information, random flashbacks and changes in the timeline.

If only that was the only problem with it...My biggest issue has to be the drug abuse and the sexual assualts along with their graphic depictions, which seemed to be added for shock value and because this is AN ADULT NOVEL!1!

I didn't find any of them necessary or that really impacted the plot or the characters in a deeper level. Alex has been an addict probably since she was 12, yet we don't see her struggling at all with her addition once she's at Yale.

Additionally, there was no need to have Alex being raped as a child by a ghost to portray how traumatic her life must be like having all those ghosts around.

Then, framing Darlington being drugged against his will and him forcing himself on Alex as a lighthearted moment and then having Alex use it as levarage didn't sit well with me. Specially since it is used as one of the founding moments of their possible romanance. Finally, Mercy's gang rape was just a way to find a clue to solve the mystery and the consequence it must have on her get brushed off quite quickly.

Really disappointed, tbh, so much so that it's making me doubt my enjoyment of her other books.

Quite disappointed tbh.

For a story that centers around Peter and Gwen's love story, we don't learn much about Gwen or why Peter fell in love with her, other than her being attractive.

Also, MJ rubbed me the wrong way here and that ending was...not great imo.

I wish I had more context for some of the details that are being discussed here (like Pym and Midnight Mission) but I'm enjoying this story quite a bit so far.

I still really like Marc and the gang is growing on me.

Not an actual review just a few comments:

- I like Inej quite a bit but there are still aspects of her character that made me so mad. Her still doubting Kaz in this book was just innecessary and stupid. Like, do you really still believe Kaz is capable of burying a child alive? Please

- I still love love love Jesper and Wylan. Both separetly and as a couple.

- Kaz continues to be perfect

- Every time I got to a Matthias chapter, I'd groan. I feel like Bardugo had to have someone not surviving the job to justify the stakes she'd created but I thought his death was so dumb and I couldn't even feel sorry for him.

- Really liked all the twists. I saw some coming but still I liked what they added to the story.

- NIKOLAI

- “Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too. They don’t forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for.” YESS I LOVE CROWS SO MUCHESS I LOVE CROWS SO MUCH

Uff why so depressing? Meh, I honestly didn't like much about this book. I was expecting a feel-good romcom and I didn't get that. For most of the book, everyone was having a hard time both in the present and in the flashbacks and just pretending to be ok.

I didn't like the couple or the friend group, none of them communicate AT ALL, which made no sense since they're supposed to be the closest group of people. It also seemed really stupid that a group of people with such a strong bond and love for each other would fall apart because a house is being sold. If your relationship is what makes that house your happy place, then you can feel that same joy, safety, warmth anywhere else as long as you're all together. Mourning the loss of a house in such an extreme way seems exaggerated and quite childish imo.

The reason why the guy decided to break up was SO STUPID, specially after being in a relationship for eight years and being so close to actually marry? I get there had to be an excuse to break them up to have them make up again but huh???

The ending, omg, the ending. I do understand her being disillusioned with her job and what it entails. I can even understand her just wanting to leave everything for him, as a grand gesture typical of love stories. But her parents just accepting it? After how shitty they've been about expectations and sacrifice and all that? The same parents that have been and actively are abusive to their other daughter about her life and career choices? Also, leaving everything for pottery??? Something she has been doing for like two seconds on a whim?

3.5 stars, actually.

I quite enjoyed this selection of stories but I didn't feel they could be really considered horror.

That being said, I could identify with the women portrayed in the stories; her struggles and fears felt real and relatable. Obviously, they were taken to extremes, where some of the creepy and unsettling factor peeked through.

I enjoyed the writing style and the narrative voices so I will probably give this author another try.

The premise and the investigation part of this novella were interesting but I couldn't care less for any of the protagonists.

I felt that having so many povs and jumping between them didn't really work for a book this size. At least for me.

The ending was cool, though.

Rick Riordan has proven once again that he's capable of writing amazing endings. As well as he did with Percy Jackson and the Olympians' last book, he successfully answered all the questions that had risen during the previous books without giving the reader a moment of boredom.

Even though I didn't enjoy this series as much as Percy..., I thoroughly enjoyed The Serpent's Shadow.
Every single chapter was filled with action and witty comments Riordan is known for.

The romantic aspect was always present but did not eclipse the main focus of the book and the ultimate challenge the Kane had to face. I think one of the main reason I endure reading Sadie's chapters was the promise of a sudden appearance of the flawless, swoon-inducing god of the dead, Anubis. I fell in love with the character as much as Sadie did.

Riordan hinted of a continuity of the series and even a crossover between his Greek mythology series by the end, which I find both interesting and disappointed. I know that a crossover would be AMAZING but I find that the whole children-descending-from-the-gods-with-superpowers-needed-to-save-the-world concept is starting to get a bit repetitive. Rick has a wonderful way with words that make his stories very interesting and amusing. That is why I feel that he should try to come up with a different idea. I know he's capable of writing page-turning books so I'd love to see him embark in another project completely different to his mythology works. Maybe a mystery story like his Tres Navarre series or a DIFFERENT fantasy novel.

All in all, another grand finale for a good (tiny bit disappointing for me but I did have very high expectations) series.

The story in this book was very interesting. The magic elements in it were quite interesting too but the writing sometimes dragged on a bit. I felt that, even though it was beautifully written, there were passages that were unnecessarily and painfully long.As regards characters, it took me a bit to like Alexandra, the main character, and I started to like her more at about the middle, almost end, of the book. The male characters were very likeable, especially Gabriel, who I fell in love with. The villain for this one was amazing! She reminded me so much of the villains in old Disney movies. Her relationship and rivalry with Alexandra was one of my favourite things to read in the bookAlthough the plot was interesting and that I read it quite fast, I'm not completely blown away by this story. Maybe I set my expectations too high and they were simply not met. I'd like to read the author's other work, though.

This novel was so interesting and compelling that I finished more than half of the book in one day. I literally couldn't put the book down. Having watched the film, I thought that I wouldn&‘t be as engaged with the book because I knew more or less how the story was going to unravel. I couldn't have been more wrong. Sacheri brought his character to life with his wonderful descriptions and dialogues filled with emotions and every day phrases. I felt as if I could run into Chaparro or Sandoval or even the corrupt policemen any day of the week.

I really liked the changes between first person and third person narrator. It was really intersting to see what went through Chaparro's mind while writing his novel. I've always been fascinated by the act of writing and the different insights we got of “writer-Chaparro” were very appealing to me.

I'm really surprised about how much I loved both the film and the book. I'm one of the the-books-are-so-much-better-than-the-films type of person but in this particular case, the book and the film managed to amazed me in (more or less) the same degree, in spite of the changes.

A very good and appealing story orchestred by an extremely talented author. I liked Sacheri so much that I'm even considering reading his football related work.

A wonderful wonderful read. Lupin has been compared to Sherlock Holmes a lot and I truly believe Lupin to be superior. He's witty, intelligent and charming and even though he's a bad guy, one can't help but love him.

In this book, each chapter describes a mini story, which is related and intertwined with the main story arc. As it is the case with most of collections, there were some stories better than others.
The first 4 chapters were HIGHLY entertaining. I really like the fact that sometimes, the reader could not tell who the narrator was up till almost the end of the story.
The chapters in the middle dragged a bit, with cases that were not very appealing to me. Finally, in the last chapter, we are introduced to Herlock Holmes. I love how cheeky Lupin was to Herlock and I cannot wait to see them meet again.

I received this in Spanish from Netgalley and the only thing I could criticize is the translation. There were times were the dialogues were very confusing and the choice of words didn't feel natural, which distracted me from the story.

Having heard so much about Lupin before reading something by Leblanc, I was afraid that I had set my expectations too high and the character wouldn't be as great as I was hoping him to be. I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley, for an honest review.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley, for an honest review.

My expectations for this book were incredibly high. I loved the first book, especially the last bit where Herlock and Lupin met, and I was really looking forward to this one.

Unfortunately, I wasn't blown away by it as I thought I would be. The first story wasn't very entertaining to me. Herlock and Lupin's interactions were amazing and I absolutely loved how cheeky Lupin was. That being said, I found the actual crime not interesting at all and both Herlock and Wilson were very dense. When he wasn't talking to Lupin, Herlock acted just like the silly detectives that were trying to catch Lupin instead of a real match for the Thief.

The second story, on the other hand, was more interesting. Again, Herlock and Lupin's showdown was wonderful and I loved how Lupin teased Herlock about their roles being switched.

Good but not as good as I expected.

I'm not very impressed with this collection of short stories. There were a few that I liked but they were mostly just ok.I didn't like that the introduction of the stories pretty much gave away the ending, which made some stories even less interesting to read.

Read a book you can finish in a day

I completely feel in love with the characters and the story! I really wanted to read some crime/mystery story and this one was the perfect one!

I didn't like Daisy at first; I thought she was a spoiled brat, who used other people to her advantage, but I was surprised to see how her character developed. She grew quite a bit throughout the story and I was very pleased to see that. She was still very pushy by the end of the book but at least she showed that she was sorry to put her friend in that position.

Hazel, on the other hand, was great in my opinion! I loved her narrative voice and comments. I got angry every time someone would mention her country or her nationality. That is the only negative point I have with this book.

The rest of the characters were very entertaining to read and I imagined Miss Griffin to talk and move just like Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest.

As regards the story, I thought it was very interesting, especially the setting. Boarding schools seem to be the perfect place to have an adventure but they also sound so creepy! I'm glad I never got to attend to one myself. The mystery aspect was VERY good, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Also, I love all the little references to other crime stories and characters.

“Miss Marple!” hissed Daisy under her breath. “Holmes and Watson, if you please.”

I received a copy of this via NetGalley, for an honest review.

In The Long Halloween we get to see the downfall of Harvey Dent and how he ultimately becomes Two-Face. I was never very interested in Dent or Two-Face, to be honest, and the Batman Forever film might be to blame.

However, in this comic I found Dent to be a fascinating character. You can see how the perversion of the city gets to him little by little. It's difficult for me not to compare the stories with Year One because it was the first one I've ever read but, in my opinion, Harvey's feelings, seeing how his city is getting more rotten by the day, are very similar to how Gordon felt as he moved to Gotham in Year One. That despair and the sense that nothing can be done to change the ways of Gotham are what finally breaks Dent.

I also liked the side characters in the story. Barbara and Gilda help us get a glimpse of the effect all the killings had on Gordon and Dent. Alfred continues to be awesome and I keep wondering why the title of the world's greatest detective is not given to him, instead of Bruce.

The mystery part of the story didn't appeal to me as much as seeing how Dent's character develops throughout the comic. As it happened before, I felt the investigations are an excuse to see the characters' reactions and interactions and did not interest me as much. Even though I wasn't as interested in the mystery aspect, I was still trying to figure out who the culprit was and I love the plot twists at the end.

This is the first book I ever read for a book club and I think that was the reason for my initial excitement. After discussing it, I've decided to lowered the ranking from 3.5 to 3.

I was engaged in the story throughout the whole book, which is why I practically finished it in one sitting, but, as we dicussed in the book club, there were still certain issues with it.

The characters were more like caricatures, especially Angela, and I didn't see any development in them whatsover. Many of Kami's reactions and her treatment to the side characters, Holly and Ash, left a bad taste in my mouth. I appriciate that she was confronted about it by other characters at least.

I did like the humour and I haven't read anything like it as regards the supernatural aspect so I quite enjoy that too.

The ending was a bit flat for me and Jared's reaction to the final outcome made me really mad. All in all, I enjoy it but had a few issues with it. I might pick up the second book later, just to see what happens next.

Challenge: Read a book with a one-word title

I wasn't blown away by Pearce's previous novel but I still enjoyed it. This one, on the other hand, was a major improvement, in my opinion, from Sweetly. The characters seemed very real, even if some of them were mystical creatures.

The three main characters had the same objective in life, to become their own self, but the three of them went about it in different ways and I really enjoyed reading about it. Although there were three different POVS in this book, telling characters apart was not issue.

Again I really appreciated the descriptions of the town and, especially, of the underwater world. But overall, I think the strongest point has to be the characters and their struggles. I'm glad that the romantic aspect wasn't an issue this time around and I actually liked a lot the romantic interest.


I really want to read the other books in the series because there are some references that I didn't fully understand and I think knowing everything might have made the reading experience better.

Challenge: Read a book you started but never finished Read a book that was originally written in a different language

This book is not for me, definitely. I tried several times to read it in the past and could not get into it so I would never finish it.
This time was no different. I forced myself to finish it because of the book challenge and I will NEVER do that again. I suffered every time I read some passages, I dreaded the moment I had to pick it up and I got frustrated that not finishing this was slowing my reading.

Challenge: Read a nonfiction book Read a book you can finish in a day

Challenge: Read a book set in a different country

This was my creepy/scary read for October and it was quite creepy at first.

I think it is very atmospheric and one could not help but feeling a bit creeped out by the setting and the surroundings. That could be said for the beginning of the story. After a few chapters, the same structure and the same events would repeat over and over, losing the effect it had created. The story was very predictable but the writing made it quite interesting.

I had a lot of problems with the characters and the way they were portrayed. The author made the same negative comments as regards Eliza's appearance every paragraph or so, which I found both annoying and repetitive.

I also could not buy Eliza's motivation for wanting to protect the children at any cost. I understand that they were little and alone but her appreciation for them began THE MOMENT she saw them. This could very well be the equivalent of instalove in chick lit novels.

This book looked as if it was going to be a great spooky, sort of thriller novel, only to fall quite short as the story progressed.

Challenge: Read a book that's more than 100 years old

I struggled a lot with this book. Even though the book is quite short, it seemed that the more I read the less progress I made.
I was expecting a lot from this anthology and, honestly, I was quite disappointed by the second or third story.

I'm glad I read the source material for so many well-known stories but I was left wanting more from it too.