Maddie

If you like Ali Hazelwood's other books I think you will enjoy 'Not In Love'. Be aware that this book is definately more adult as it covers some more serious topics but also more frequent and intense intimacy. Overall, I enjoyed reading this! It isn't the best book in the world, nor is it trying to be, but I had fun on the ride. I read this as a buddy read with my best friend, and we were kicking our feet and giggling as per usual with AH.

I wouldn't say that I particularly liked this book but it was entertaining to an extent. This is the young author's first book, so judging it by those standards, it is pretty good. However, beyond that, I found it cringy and unoriginal. I knew going into this that it was going to be romantasy-YA-trope-central, so I can look past that, but the dialogue was infuriating at times. The use of the present tense threw me off quite a bit at the start, and it has made me realise that I much prefer stories written in the past tense. I found the two main characters pretty annoying, but I loved the side characters. I won't be continuing the main series anytime soon, if at all, however I would like to read the novella that centres around one of the side characters that I liked. Will I be reading summaries of Reckless and Fearless? Yes, I will because I'm curious but I am not spending any more time than that on this series - tbh I should've dnf'd this at 50% but I thought such a long and well loved book had to get better, right??? Nope.

Here are some more specific thoughts, but SPOILER WARNING!

- Why was Pae's hair silver and Blair's lavender? Is this just some kind of quirky genetic mutation? It made Pae feel very manic-pixie-dream girl-esque in a bad way. Who else has an interesting hair colour???

- Do we really need Kai to be so moody? I just found his complaining a bit annoying to be honest. I know he has been through a lot, but come on. Maybe that's me nit-picking too much.

- Kai needs to stop saying 'darling' so much. It was cool the first time, but then it just got annoying and a bit creepy tbh.

- I think I would've viewed Kai as more original if we were introduced to him with his full name - Malakai - at the start. Kai Azer is too stereotypical for me not to make certain associations.

- Why was Kitt not concerned that both him and his brother were getting close with the same girl??? It was no secret so why were they both okay with this? Well, Kai got a bit jealous, but Kitt wasn't phased at all.

- The King had no redeeming features at all. I don't understand why he was so horrible. Even with his dying monologue, I felt he could've done with more character development than just 'he's a bad guy'.

- How old was Kai when he killed Pae's dad?? I thought Pae and Kai were similar ages - like three years apart MAX! How did Kai kill a fully grown man at like max eight years old??? Maybe I missed something, but that feels silly. Also, he would've known from the moment he met Pae that he killed her dad, so why did that reveal come so close to the end? It's not like he just forgot the first time he killed someone - we know he struggled with it!

- The first trial felt too close to the Hunger Games to be original, the second task felt too close to the Blood Rite from ACOSF, and the third trial felt too close to both the D&D movie (the panther mirroring? Clearly a displacer-beast reference) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There was some comfort in the familiarity I guess, but from all the hype around this book I expected there to be more innovative genre-bending reveals and events.

- The most interesting thing for me was that Kai can use other peoples' abilities. Kinda like Aang in ATLA. It was cool how he had to try and be proficient in them all, and how it allows him to sense who's near him.

- I have no idea how Pae survived after getting her foot ripped to shreds (I know it was healed after a while but still) and then all the damage that the King did to her. That 'O' is bound to get infected ASAP.

- Bro it's always the blonde ones please can we get some originality. Never trust a blonde man in these kind of books.

- The whole thing about Pae being thrown into the first trial in a skimpy tank was frustrating. The author had the chance to not sexualise her but alas, of course she was running around in next to no clothing.

- How different were the trials before Kai's one? Would it not be boring??

- Silencers are cool!

- Adena and Lenny are the best characters imo.

Wow! That is all I have to say.

A lovely little (audio)book that I would describe as ~soft philosophy~. I enjoyed the four different stories interweaving with each other and the opportunity to reflect on what I would do in a similar situation. Not a five star, but one I will be thinking about for a while I believe. The main issue I had with it was the misogynistic descriptions of some of the women that add nothing to the story. The first story was probably my least favourite as it fell most victim to this. Anyways, I'd defo recommend this to my friends as a quick, heartwarming read that invites you to think about your own life in a kind way.

A nice little Christmas book! The plot was quite predictable but I didn’t really mind because all I wanted was this exact vibe. ‘The Christmas Tree Farm’ was my first introduction to Dream Harbor, and the other characters in the town have made me want to read their stories. I enjoyed the main character, Kira, being from a richer background and actually wanting to grow beyond her privilege. Also if you love dogs, you will definitely appreciate the amount of them in this book! My main plight with this book is that the author repeats herself a lot - almost as though she doesn’t trust her reader to remember key information (even though it’s a relatively quick read) or read between the lines. I am curious to see if that is a feature of Gilmore’s writing in general or if it is just in this book. Looking forward to finding out, as I am going to read ‘The Cinnamon Bun Book Store’ (also by Laurie Gilmore) next.