Nicole

Another great book in the Spoken Books Uprising series. I am really glad I found this series and I can't wait to read more. Leanna is a bitch and I hate her. I cannot understand a person who is so determined to uphold a society that depends on slavery, especially since she was friends with Baz and Tax and visited the Retirees sometimes. How could she be so cold? Octavinal is awful, but how the heck is he a Cuss? Do the tattoos give him the power of those who are Bound, or has he had this power the whole time? If the latter is true, how was he not sold into slavery as a Speaker when he was a child? Was he hidden by his family? I know that technically anyone could Speak the Words, but how do the tattoos affect those who do not have an affinity for it? I am so curious and excited to learn more.

Throughout books 1 and 2, I was convinced that Baz was the Declaimer of the prophecy, for no other reason than he is the protagonist. If it is indeed Tax, I would be pleasantly surprised because that does not happen too often in literature, where the protagonist isn't the Chosen One. It would be an interesting perspective to read about the commander of the Warrior army telling us about the prophecy being fulfilled instead of us watching it happen to him.

I am also impressed with D.T. Kane's decision to kill Tessa because I did not expect that to happen. I thought she was too important to die, but it makes sense as a natural segue into Baz's leadership. Tessa would never have given up her role as long as she was alive.

I started writing this review on Goodreads and then the app crashed and I lost all my progress and I am bitter about it. My first attempt at writing it was more eloquent

I enjoyed the fourth installment of this series. An entire book set on the battlefield is one I have limited experience with, and it was an interesting read. I did not like how Ehma was cold to Baz the entire book unless she wanted something from him, and even then she was entitled about it. I have not understood her mood swings for the last two books; she smiles at Baz one second and is glaring at him the next. She betrayed Baz, usurped him with Tax and had him locked up, and then immediately bombarded him after the treaty negations to say things like “we need to talk” and “I want to be a family with you and Munch and keep sleeping with you”. I doubt she's sorry for what she has done, and she certainly seems in no rush to apologize. She's just pissy that her plan didn't work.

I have also noticed that since Ehma betrayed Baz (whether he forgives her or not is not relevant right now), there are no longer any women in the story who are not enemies. Tessa was never really a friend (especially since she gave Baz immense power without ever consulting him or training him), Adalexa was a crazy cult leader who wanted to kill everyone, Leanna was a power-hungry backstabber, Ehma was scheming behind Baz's back the entire book, and even Aunt Trivinal lied to Del's face to lead him to his death. The only woman who was ever truly on Baz's side was Mauve, and she's dead. None of the women in this universe are trustworthy and I wonder why that is.

So it does seem like Tax is the Declaimer of the prophecy after all, which I appreciate because he's not the protagonist. He lead the treaty negotiations for peace and will work with Erstwhile's government in the future for Speaker's rights, so he is the one who is setting them free. Especially since “words” isn't capitalized in the prophecy, which means the Speakers won't be freed by elemental power. I don't like his arrogance though and how he kept working with Ehma behind Baz's back to take control. If he approached Baz and formally requested a change in leadership, he probably would have complied and the soldiers would have probably followed with less trepidation.

I wonder what the final book will hold and if everyone's desire for power (except Baz of course) will be satisfied or if there will be more fighting.

ALSO, HOLD ON. IS OCTAVINAL A DARK ONE?????? He said it's been thousands of years since he's been on a battlefield and he has Spoken power. Maybe that's why he wants to go after Farston so badly, he want to challenge him. I know it doesn't make too much sense since we met the Dark Ones and only one escaped. So it comes down to if it's Farston (which is most likely) or if it's Octavinal. Maybe when Del stabbed Farston the Dark One chose a new host in Octavinal??? I am very curious to find out.

This book was an intriguing thriller that kept me hooked and filled with questions. I am assuming that Sunshine wasn't to blame for the creation of Marcy, but rather it triggered a psychotic break. I am not sure how a happy drug that never had any ill-effects on anyone else could do that, but I'll just chalk it up to drugs really be out here fucking up brain chemistry. That makes more sense to me than a drug being responsible for everything, especially how Marcy was taking over. One question that is bugging me is how/where/when Cassidy learned the creepy nursery rhyme that Marcy sang while hunting because I feel like that is something Honor would know too, and seeing it written on the mirror would set off alarm bells.

I kept picturing what possible ending this story could have, and when I first started reading the last chapter I was disappointed that it was anti-climatic, but then as I read on, I took that thought back. I don't really feel like the story was resolved but I'm okay with that. I think the feeling of lack of closure is supposed to reflect Marcy's lack of closure knowing that Tate survived. Interesting.

Also, not that this is relevant, but I think Marcy choose that name for herself because it is a play on Mercy, which the boys didn't show her so she wouldn't show any either.

This book is nothing special to me. I guess it's more of a problem with the genre than this book specifically, but I don't like people being stripped of their free will, so siren stories may not be for me. I don't understand why Hayes was so enraptured with Saoirse when she literally gave him nothing (I know crushes can be irrational but at some point the feelings have to dissipate when the person shows you nothing but shady behavior, lying, manipulation, and disrespect). I think Saoirse's aunties should have told her what they knew about the Royals before she graduated in case she was given a placement in the Palace, and she should have told them about the silver letter in Rain's backpack. Maybe they could have used magic to trace its origins and all of this could have been avoided. Also, why were the Sorkova parents pretty lax about Rain's secret and protection? Yes, Saoirse was too protective, but the parents seemed too lax. Not only would their daughter's life at risk if she were discovered, but so would Saoirse's and theirs. They should have done better keeping her away from graduation and the Palace.

Not really a fan of this book and if it turns into a series I probably won't read the rest.

I think this book is one of my favorites in the series. I really liked how everything changed from what we new in Oration to being out in the Karst. I still don't like Ehma and the way that she behaves, but luckily she wasn't terrible to Baz this time.

I am surprised that we went an entire book without hearing anything about Octavinal, Deliritous, and Lucky. They must be planning something big. How will they fit in with the war the Dark One described that was brewing between his forces and the Scribes'? Also, like Baz pointed out, what did the Dark One mean by Scribes plural? Are there more? Did Pront vi Lexor's companions survive all this time?

I am excited to read more in the next installment, though I cannot find anything online about when book #6 will be released.

4.5 stars. This is my first book of Demelza Carlton's and I really enjoyed it. I like her writing style and I think it's pretty unique. The only thing I would say is that in a world with magic, I think it is important to establish rules and clearly explain them. Like why Bianca had magic and no one else did. Was she born with it? How does that happen and why?

Enjoyable story regardless and my first audiobook of the year.

3.5 Stars. Not a bad read. Unique to what I've read before but lacking in depth. It felt like a lot of the book was escape from one room, make a plan, get foiled, and have Tessa brought back to her mother's bedchambers in the Fellstone castle, just to start all over again.

This story started out better than “Revel”, but the enthusiasm died off. I did not like Erik's internal pick-me attitude of “she's so beautiful, I love her, but how could she ever love me?” A world with magic needs to explain the rules, and this world does not explain what happens to a siren/mermaid (these are not the same creatures but this story used them interchangeably) when the creature takes over. How do they kill their victims, if that is what really happened? I assume Margareta's father told her that just to slut shame her and keep her away from men, but if it is true, it was not explained. Also, the main character's bird brothers were the same as the ones from “Revel”?? But they were killed in “Revel” by Vasco?? Are these the same universe? It was not explained enough and the excitement and plot hit a sharp decline right around the middle. The story just wrapped up.

Also, was Erik bewitched or not???

I enjoyed the second book a lot. I can't wait to read more. As soon as they talked about Farston's eyes I knew he was Ehma's father. I'm glad we finally got to read the full prophecy of the Declaimer's Transcendence, and that Deliritous got his head out of his butt and decided to help Baz and the Warriors. The rest of the series is going to be really exciting, I know it. I can't wait to read more :)

A lot of ups and downs with this book. I really enjoyed the beginning since it was so different than I was expecting. I like that the stories are all connected. But after Rosamond was freed from her curse, she was very flippant about her emotions. She strongly desired Siward (somehow he was the perfect carbon copy of Sir Varen for her to be confused??), then hated him for “stealing her virginity and lying about who he was”, was angry about him “stealing” her throne for all of two seconds and that ended because of her lust for him. Annoying. And Siward's weird and pretentious thoughts were bothering me. Teetering a bit on “holier than thou”, I did not like how he was like “If one more night is all I get with Rosamond, I can die happy because no woman could ever compare to her beauty” and how “noble” he was being about waiting for their wedding night when she wanted to have sex by the fireplace was weird. The men in these books view sex in an odd way that I can't explain with words but annoys me nonetheless.

Almost burning Rosamond at the stake was an interesting plot development that I did not see coming, and that coup was effectively written.

Cute little side story where we meet fairies. Nothing could go wrong.

2.5 Stars. I thought this book was cute in the beginning, but then it started getting repetitive and a bit annoying. I think everything was resolved too quickly and everything worked out too perfectly. Interestingly, Brooks' comment about Michelle's book being “unrealistic” is what I was thinking too. I appreciate a “whimsical romance” as he put it, but I can't get past how quickly everything happened. I am also not too much of a Michelle fan because it seemed like her personality was based on the naïve, adorkable Disney princess trope, and I thought she was a bit too old for that. I also really didn't like the ending at all; I thought it was rushed and way too soon in their relationship for something like that.

2.5 Stars. I liked this book in the beginning because of how realistic it was. Paisley's journey seemed genuine and I appreciated that she was learning about herself. However, towards the end, Hank completely flipped on Paisley and I didn't like it at all. How dare he call her a coward for being married to Trevor even though he wasn't a literal Prince Charming, and what was even worse, how dare he be mad at her for what Jake did. With Trevor, she was happy (at least she wasn't unhappy), she was young and the she thought that was what she wanted. It sucks that it didn't work out but it's not her fault. And the Jake thing was ridiculous. He blamed her for being afraid?? That's crap. Hank never said anything about his true feelings. He might have implied it but he never actually said the words so he has no right to be mad at Paisley for not knowing. I didn't like that complete change in his personality and it ruined the book for me.

Finally finished this book. I really enjoyed it and how informative it is, how it made good on its promise to showcase so many different body types, people, and lifestyles, and how it covered topics like consent and secret touch. Most of the sex education information out there tends to gloss over these subjects or cover them at the basic level, but here they were discussed in depth with the many different ways these things can present themselves. I also appreciated how the book described sex as not just doing naked stuff with yourself or other people, but all the acts of intimacy leading up to that. I think that did a great job of both demystifying sex a little bit to where it's not this big, scary thing, but also added a bit more importance to the everyday aspect of relationships and that even if everyone is fully clothed and nothing “sexy” is happening, it's still a precious thing to be allowed in someone's space and to have them trust you. The only reason it took me forever to finish this book is that it read like a textbook at times when the topics were more biology based, and I just prefer cohesive stories (like fantasy). Great book, very informative, and I highly recommend it to people of all ages because of the variety of perspectives shown. We could all benefit from hearing other people.

I read this book for school many years ago and I cannot give a detailed review because I do not remember it all but I do remember that I liked it and it made me emotional.

I read this for school many years ago and I cannot give it a proper rating because I do not remember all of it, but I do remember that I enjoyed it.

Loved this book as well. It was so interesting learning about Des and his upbringing, and how he actually had a strong sense of humanity before he started using his dark power and it chipped away a lot. I love how he talks about Callie and genuinely appreciates her for the person she is, not just how she looks or how she's a sensual siren. It's definitely a special kind of relationship where people could see their partners at their worst, love them for all of that regardless, and then learn to love them even more when their best rolls in. The world of the Bargainer that Laura Thalassa has created is amazing and I can't wait to see how the story ends. I'm really happy to have both Callie and Des' perspectives, and I hope the last book is alternating POVs.

I finished The Bargainer series, and while I loved it, the last book is my least favorite. I felt like this one was mostly filler, and the events that unfolded were a little lackluster. The sleeping soldiers, who were such a prominent and scary unknown for two full books, were disappointing when they finally woke up. Callie handled them in a short amount of time, and then they weren't seen again until half the book had passed, and even then they were just used as the Thief's messengers. Once the original threat was taken care of, the Thief did nothing for most of the bill except toy with Callie in her sleep. What was he waiting for? I know he took Des as bait once Des made a deal with him, but this man is a god; if he really wanted Callie like he always said, he could have came for her whenever he wanted. He did not need bait or anything else to draw her in, he could have simply taken her. If he did that towards the beginning of the book, Callie would have had no shot since she hadn't fully embraced her powers yet. Also, Des wouldn't be able to kill him either, especially with the shadows working against him.

We saw that the casket children were reveling in the carnage and feasting on soldiers during the first battle, but then nothing else happened with them. Are they free now of the Thief's weird hive-mind mind control now that he's dead, or are they like this forever; cursed, half-children that will never live normal lives? We saw that the previously sleeping soldiers were apparently released from their mind control, but there was no word on what happens to the children of fae and a god.

I didn't love the ending and thought everything wrapped up a little too nicely. I never got the impression the water did anything to Callie's powers. As much as it was said that the ocean calls to her and stuff, it always felt like it was just something she really liked, rather than something integral to her power. So the fact that it was made a big deal that she went back to her siren roots to drown a man in water felt a little like a cop out. I also really don't like how Des faked his own death, made Callie see him like that and in pain, and didn't apologize for it until she made him. He should be devastated that he put her through that, but instead he's immediately making snarky comments and thinking about sex. Which, whatever, that's who he is, but he still loves Callie and doesn't want her to suffer, and right after she went through one of the strongest moments of devastation in her life, it seemed like he didn't care. Also, speaking of sex, I felt like there were a lot more sex scenes in this book than any of the other three and none of them added anything to the story, which is why it felt a lot like filler to me. I don't mind the sex scenes at all, but in this book, a lot of them felt unnecessary.

Overall, I really enjoyed the series and can see myself reading it again in the future. I wish the ending was a little stronger but I appreciate everything it accomplished.

I really enjoyed this book. It's so sweet and a perfect example of what a man written by a woman looks like. I found it hilarious that Hannah Grace said the same thing in reference to her own characters. Nate's whole heart belongs to Anastasia, and hers to him. I'm really glad Aaron got punished for being disgusting. I initially thought he hurt himself to punish Anastasia or something so she couldn't compete, but he's too vain for that. This story is just full of sweet, warm, friendship vibes and it's a very enjoyable read.

I thought everything was pretty realistic with Anastasia's struggles and the psychology that went behind each character's motives. I loved how the characters weren't perfect but acknowledged their flaws and tried to adjust themselves to the best of their ability (except Aaron but that's not surprising because Aaron sucks).

I was so scared of a pregnancy trope and I'm go glad that didn't happen!

4.5 Stars. There was a lot going on in this book, to the point where many parts felt unnecessary. Like Fables for example; what is his purpose besides being Hiva's lapdog. And Lulu doesn't add much to the story to begin with. The fights with the golem and the specters, two of the Naacal's most impressive weapons, ended in five seconds. Why introduce it at all?

If the One sends Hivas to destroy civilizations deserving of divine judgement, all the while controlling their final deaths and rebirths at will, why tell them that they could be killed at all? Why give them a way to escape this destiny the One have created for them?

Why would Iris picture Jinn's satisfied grin after she died? Did that really happen or did her grief confuse her? Max was the one who killed her and Jinn held her as she died. Why would he be relieved? And if she is imagining it, why wouldn't it be Max's face she saw?

I am very curious to see how this trilogy wraps up, and it is unfortunate that the third book doesn't come out until April. I have high expectations and hope the ending is great. :)

I liked this book, and the story was unique to everything I have read before. But a lot was going on. Maybe its just me but I wish there was a character guide of some sort to distinguish between all of the classifications of people and creatures in the book because they got jumbled sometimes. And I understand that Sersa's power comes from emotions, but the constant flip-flopping was getting annoying. One minute she loved Sin, the next she hated him. One minute her emotions were in complete control, the next she said they made her stronger. There was not a lot of consistency with Sersa's magic and it made the story a bit hard to read at times.

Very intriguing book. I found it because of bookstagram, thought it was interesting, and added it to my TBR list. Then it wouldn't leave my mind and when I found it in Target randomly, I knew I had to get it. I really liked the story. The twists kept me on my toes the whole time. I was thinking for a moment about how Isla's powerlessness keeps making her a damsel in distress for other people to save and how it was starting to get annoying, but then a few pages later I took back that thought. The ending was a great setup for a sequel, which I'm excited to read. The world building did get confusing at times because it was so much that needed to be created by Alex Aster, clearly communicated, and understood by the readers, but it all made sense eventually. Glad I read it.

I really enjoyed the first book in The Spoken Books Uprising series and am looking forward to reading more. I think books about books and reading are always interesting, and this book was no exception. It took me a little while to understand the different roles in society, but once I figured it out (maybe 20 pages in), everything flowed pretty smoothly for me from then on. Baz is an interesting character whose motives and behaviors seem realistic and relatable. I wonder if the tattoos Tax gave himself will be explained in greater detail in the next book. As far as we know, he is the only Retiree who could Read, since everyone else was Retired because the Duke grew suspicious of them learning to Read. But he hasn't Read or written anything in ten years, so how was he able to correctly tattoo himself? Also, where did he get the materials? I know his tattoos are in different colored elemental inks, which is what the Spoken Books are written in. Does that mean Tax could draw power from his own skin one day? I hope my questions get answered. I'm excited to find out more about that, and of course the mysterious prophecy of the Declaimer's Transcendence.

4.5 Stars. The art is adorable and beautiful, and the stories are very sweet. I wished that they all had definitive endings like “The Fish Wife”, which was my favorite. I really liked “The People's Forest” as well, but I do not think I fully grasped the message. Maybe that's on me. Overall, I really enjoyed all aspects of this graphic novel.

This book is very well written, even better than the first book in the Never After series, “Hooked”. The story flowed better, it was a believable ending and the tie ins to “The Lion King” are top notch. The one thing I thought was a bit odd was when Sara was grieving over the loss of her friend, something she blamed herself for, and then was like “this is a good time for hot sex”. I get her point, that it allowed her to clear her mind and feel loved but I thought it was a bit insensitive, especially since she went right back to grieving in the morning. I understand comfort comes in many forms but it would have been appreciated to see Tristan comfort her like he was doing, with gentle touches and wiping away tears without it becoming sexual. It would have added another layer to his character.

That being said, I did enjoy this book and I appreciate the ending and how it is a complete twist from the original.