Julia
I loved everything about this book. The way the story is like a symphony, and the way that all these nonverbal experiences and feelings are described through music. I loved the vulnerability of the characters, the heartbreak and hopefulness they found in each other - the ultimate win of the human part of us over everything else. Such a lyrical 5-star gem π. Also, will be playing 2Cellos and BrooklynDuo on repeat for the next week. π
I mean...4.5 stars because I inhaled this in practically one day and I had other stuff going on! It's fun, it's bingey, it makes me wish the third book was out yesterday. Blake got under my skin and I want to know more. Aurora has grown on me despite constantly holding a scream she couldn't release for the entirety of 2 books. π Philip was a FUN development. It all worked to keep me reading nonstop. I'm in, I'm in!
Loved this conclusion to the Nightborn part of the series. Love the couple for sure - but what really sparkled for me in this second book is the processing of grief and the very complex parental relationship at the core of the book. It took my breath away and led to beautiful places of discomfort, acceptance, and understanding. So many different kinds of love showcased here - and for that
This was such a surprise - and not in a good way. 3 stars for a historically amazing series and characters I'm still invested in despite the mess this installment was. As many others, I have actually preferred the Sera and Nyktos saga over the original. It had fun developments, a witty and sharp main heroine, lots of stuff happening and many lovable characters. Here - Sera is transformed into someone unrecognizable. The dialogue is subpar with only moments that truly clicked, moved, or resonated. Most of the book reads like a summary of the previous two books without the action, just reminiscing on how things used to be and past events - and I can definitely relate! I found myself going back to the past two books just to make sure I didn't hallucinate that they were indeed great. What happened here? I just don't get it. So sad
Update: 2/2023: Who knew that it would take me 5 years to actually get to reading this next installment of the series. Maybe it was the word βbetrayalβ in the synopsis that had me fearing for my Warnette duo & Co, or maybe it was the subsequent swell of negative reviews. In either case, it ended up taking me awhile to get back to this. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect given the general negative consensus from the Goodreads community as well as my trusted reviewers on here who tend to be very in sync with me. It's true - the world-building is nowhere to be found, and there's not so much a plot as much as an in-depth analysis of each character's mental state post-Anderson. I gotta say - it's a soap opera in here. The angst, the revelations, the deep burning passions of our band of misfits - all in here, and I was surprisingly into it. It's like the first 3 books are this sprint through finding each other and taking over the country, and these start to get into so what then? The mental damage, emotional instability, and general realization that they're teenagers who don't know what's up felt very real. The series is certainly taking a wild turn at the conclusion of Restore Me (which should really be named Transport Me into an alternate reality), so let's see how wilder it gets in the next book.
So here's the thing - 2 stars for sheer popularity. It's fickle, and you never quite know what will catch the fancy of the public, and that in itself is interesting and powerful. I actually saw the movie first, and became curious about the book after. No surprises here - the narrative is lacking in a distinct voice, plot, storytelling, chapter structure, lots and lots of things that I'm sure have been said a thousand times over here, but it's a lot like watching the Kardashians. I'm not a reality tv fan, but you know sometimes you're doing something else and it comes on, and then you kind of glimpse at it and maybe become intrigued about how this craziness will resolve itself? That's this book. My main motivation was to see how it differed from the movie, because I enjoyed that quite a bit. It was cute, it had some good Jane Austen quotes, and charismatic leads which I really enjoyed watching.
This - well, not so much. But hey, props to Todd for catching that elusive popularity wave with her book on a phone and riding it straight into the box office. I'll be watching the movie again soon, and forgetting I ever read this.
Darker, and in some ways deeper, than the first. That comes with positives and negatives. I missed the playfulness, while the losses kept mounting. There's emotional payoff to counteract some of that, but at times that didn't feel enough. That said - it's an amazing story, the protagonists have become more three dimensional, while there's good understanding of how the villains may have become who they are. I'm pumped and feel we're VERY set up for a cataclysmic? apocalyptic? conclusion.....
Here's what I learned - the most wonderful thing you can do for yourself in the series is give yourself a break between books 5 and 6. The ending of 5 is so intense and we've just spent our time learning and getting attached to so many characters that redirecting to Chaol's journey just seems impossible, even if you're not suffering from Chaol Hating Syndrome. I gave myself 6 months off between these reads mostly due to life, but it was a chance for the emotions to fade a bit and for me to regain perspective. I approached Chaol as a familiar but not triggering character - and it paid off so much. A tale of redemption, grief, perspective, and adjusting to love and loss - it was everything that Maas is so good at - character building, revelations, forgiveness, and attaching to a higher idea that we can get everything we need even if it doesn't come delivered in the package we expect, that we can make choices to forge a better world, a better self. Surprising bonus - Nesryn's journey! I loved everything about this parallel world, and now we're prepared for one epic reunion. 5 healing stars!! βοΈ
Where to begin here? I finished it, and hence the 3 stars! Maybe I've been spoiled by incredible in depth character development and world building of Marie Rutkowski, Sarah J Maas, Leigh Bardugo, etc., but this story lacked any chemistry mostly because it felt like a sketch. The story bones are good, premise is intriguing, but the narration is so lackluster. I get so easily invested in stories, and honestly I couldn't care less about any of the characters because I didn't know who they were, what made them tick, what were their thoughts, their complexities, their conflicts. Things seemed so black and white. Bad guys were bad, good guys were good. No struggle aside from the main character, who at least had some page space to reflect on her inner demons. The writing was not bad but also not engaging on an emotional level, and it spent so much time telling me how things are rather than letting me come to those conclusions by showing me how they are. βThey kissed passionatelyβ vs going through the motion of actually writing a passionate love scene. Telling me the character is βconflictedβ rather than discussing and showing me how they process that conflict. A lot of that resulted in me feeling very removed from this world and it's inhabitants. It's a shame because this is exactly the type of story I love to read and it had the makings of an instant hit. Sadly, it accomplished the rare feat of missing the mark for me, so I'll be wrapping up the series with this one.
I can't say that I βwantedβ to read this book, despite Roxane Gay's incredible writing and beautiful way of expressing very difficult things. More that I couldn't help but read it, and once started, couldn't stop - even though it was painful, visceral, in some ways hopeful and yet unsatisfying. I'm not sure I could recommend it, even though I think it's so worthy. An Untamed State leaves the reader in a complicated state, one in which there's so much to process and discuss but instead you're managing feelings and images you'd never want to experience. For many, the entire book will be a giant trigger. The images depicted of physical, emotional, and sexual violence reserved particularly for women are hard to metabolize and let go, and you never seem to escape from them even when you escape, much like the protagonist. It lingers right up until the last page, despite the hope, and progress, and joy regained. Only the healing relationship between mother in law and daughter in law seems to somehow overshadow it for brief moments, and that's definitely something. It glimmers like a small beacon in an otherwise dark and harrowing world. A difficult read.
βIt begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.β Brilliant from beginning to end. History on point. βοΈ Emotional depth and development. βοΈ Characters I want to travel through time with. βοΈβοΈβοΈ This is truly an epic, magical saga of love, family, and devotion. 5 bewitching βmon coeurβ stars!
I read this for almost 6 months - not because I grew bored or frustrated, but because there's something about it that urged me to savor every chapter, every word before it ultimately slipped through my fingers. It's a beautiful tribute to art and love in all its forms, to connection and influence that survives even death. The lyrical prose, the symbolism infused into every line almost demands multiple resources to process. It's a dream I didn't want to wake up from, and one that had me thinking about the themes and experiences between each reading session. In the end, I cried not only for the loss of Patti's physical connection to Robert, but also for the end of this story, this chapter - for it truly βsings of God, and ultimately belongs to him.β 5 blue guiding stars.
I'm not sure what I was hoping for with this book. The premise was intriguing, I love foreign literature, and maybe secretly dreaming about the feeling I got after reading Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante when I stumbled upon it many moons ago in a bookstore and read the thing in one sitting. Maybe it was the translation, maybe the characters, maybe the writing style. I make it a point to finish a book I start, but after restarting it literally at least 12 times, and growing bored and frustrated each time, I've decided to concede. This book has beat me. The level of foreshadowing almost at the end of every other paragraph, the ruminative nature of the narrator, who is so self-deprecating, so very uncertain of her own voice and existence that it stretched the powers of my imagination, and the character of L., who should have been beguiling, but was interesting only by default because she was at least sure of who she was. I did like what de Vigan attempted to do here, playing with the truth and testing the boundaries between truth and fiction. That is compelling. I just wish the execution matched the stellar concept.
Two βit's okβ stars. It's the reality tv of books and pure guilty pleasure. The way the characters talk I found pretty distracting, as I've never met either a person from Texas or a biker who talks quite like that. There's also a lot of exclamation points, and melodrama in the literal sense, which was also a little distracting from feeling immersed, because I'd jolt out of book world often exclaiming - but no one talks/reacts like this! π€·π»ββοΈ I'm not usually picky when it comes to this and am easily engrossed in a good story even with cringe-worthy writing, so this was a salient point for me. On another note, I found the subject matter so important (abuses people, particularly women, suffer at the hands of self-ordained prophets, etc) and really misplaced in what amounts to an erotica novel. I think it also ends up taking away from the horrors experienced by the characters to then hyper-sexualize them in another, supposedly more empowering setting. The whole thing didn't sit right with me, and really stopped me from engaging as thoroughly with both sides of this story.
All in all, I don't regret stepping into this universe for a brief minute, but just like any such interesting but ultimately uncomfortable journey - glad to be home where I don't have to hear a 23 year old woman referred to as someone's βold ladyβ or a βbitchβ Lol. I think women surviving through sexual horrors and abuse deserve just a tad more empowering circumstances than that, in life and in fiction. π€¨π
Currently reading in installments on their blog....! What an awesome present every Friday. I'm shocked reading through some of the βreviewsβ that were based on a part of the chapter condemning it to some version of what they think it will be. Haha. Talk about jumping to conclusions...as usual, the Andrews' tale starts with a conflict you think you know and is slowly morphing into an intergalactic adventure. Prepare for new and old friends, family dynamics, Maud's backstory, Helen!, and incredible character development....put simply, everything we've learned to love about this series! And while the romance aspect is present given Maud's reasons for being there, that is definitely NOT the focus, which is very in line with how these books have been written. As in life, romance is only one of the storylines and there's a lot happening. Also, it shifts perspective, but the Innkeeper narrative really continues so I have a feeling we will be seeing Dina and company at some point soon!
What to say, what to say? As always, I reserve any reviewing until the series is done or mostly done, and I'm glad I did that in this case in particular. It's a pretty epic journey, and book 3 was really my favorite, though it rung out of me all the feels - for Alina, for the Darkling, for Mal, and so, so many feels for Nikolai, for all the lost and the perished. Book 3 was brutal and savage, and for me it was a study in trauma, both chronic and acute. How we try to conquer it, how we can't escape it. I think that's why, like Alina, we are so captivated by the Darkling till the last page - there's something so eternally human about his quest to conquer all pain and loss, even as he gives in to his very worst impulses. Sometimes we get lost in the overcoming, when all we are craving is for someone to bear witness, to see all that we are, and to mourn all that we have lost. 5 Sun&Shadow Summoning Stars.
What a RIDE!! 10 books later, I'm just as riveted with the whole story and in this epic conclusion, the Andrews' are inimitable. Packed to the brim with action, betrayals, reunions, and options for at least 3 spinoffs (I'm SO ready for iron covenant 2!!!!) - it's everything and more. Everyone is tested and not everyone survives - except my insatiable hunger for more! 5 Roaring Stars! π
I'm in love with this series and have enjoyed all the books, but this one may be my favorite so far. Maybe I'm starting to get sentimental with the end of this particular tale approaching, but this segment totally moved me in unexpected ways. There's so many complicated relationships that speak to life's uncertainties about the self and others, all in the midst of epic battles, stunning reveals, and emotion that will tear your heart out. I've totally cried and laughed during Magic Binds, sometimes both, and almost missed my train stop too many times to count because the outside world faded. Though I'm not quite ready to let go, I'm ready to see how Kate Triumphs. 5 Roaring Stars.
A completely delightful novella to bridge between the first three books and the next saga, reacquaint us with our favorite Court of Dreams, their wounds that have healed and those that have yet to heal. There's the obvious journey of Tamlin (hopefully towards redemption), Nesta (hopefully towards healing and reconnection), Cassian (towards unconditional love!), Elaine and Lucien ( and Az???), Mor (something tells me she's headed towards adventure and self-discovery - and maybe vengeance??) and an even brighter future for F&R.
This did not have the intensity of the first three books, but I'm not sure it was meant to. It's a bridge, and one I had a lovely time crossing.