Vera
I want to give this book more like 2,5 stars considering how utterly frustrated I was that the ending was just a cliff hanger for the second book. Overall liked the writing style and the little hints to other detective stories though I found the flashbacks to be a bit boring. I wish the first book‘s plot was more tied together in the end.
Meh. Reads just like slightly below average Harry Potter fanfiction.
Worst part: The characters behaved - for lack of a better word - uncharacteristically. (Don't even mention the plot holes) This leaves me feeling extremely underwhelmed.
3,5 Stars. Amazing emotional atmosphere. After all it leaves one with heartache and hope at the same time.
This book is what happens when an author tries to have a poetic writing style but what we end up with is incoherent sentences that do not make sense.
An example: “She made her slow, stumbling, graceful way to the house.”
There are many examples like this throughout the book and it just makes a mess of an already messy plotline. (Don't get me started on the “plot”)
The setting had a lot of potential and I really wanted to love this book, however after getting halfway through, I could not bring myself to finish it because I was annoyed and confused through the writing style and not invested in the plot or ANY of the characters (some of which appear once, described in detail and then never mentioned again.) Meh.
I would like to give it 5 stars - really - the first 2 thirds were great! The Ezra and Astro-Princess part was a bit teen-romancy I guess, which is not really my thing but the interesting other interviews, reports etc were making up for it so I was really excited to finish it. Then there's a great plot twist:
EZRA'S ACTUALLY DEAD AND IT WAS THE A.I. ALL ALONG OMG!! But wait - if he's dead, then how the **** did he die? Doesn't a main character deserve a bit more than that? (Especially one I'm routing for??) Soooo either, this book is just really bad and undervalueing its own main characters oooor, and here's the more likely turn of events: he is actually not dead but on the other ship. Since the book didn't look like the worst book ever, I went with the second option - and waited. And waited. And waited.... Damn you you stupid AI quit talking already!!! The book went from showing so many different mediums to deliver content to basically almost only the AI talking to itself (and me doubting wether an AI could even have these kind of thoughts) so yeah. AI: blablablabla, Kady almost dead, oh not, oh almost dead, oh not yet, oh almost dead - ok she's gonna survive this is not gonna be a tragedy. And then one page (!) to reunite her with Ezra. Done....REALLY?? I think the book would have been better off just making it into a tragedy and letting them both die a heroic death. But oh well, they had to let them live for the second book... I guess...
What I did like was the side characters actually. Really loveable characters which makes it oh so sadder that none of my favourites survived. The whole Phobos virus thing was a REALLY cool idea because it gives us 3 things to fear - the frealing ship approaching us wanting to kill us, those maniacs wanting to do - eeeeh whatever they wanna do to us, and the AI going crazy potentially also murdering us. Cool. All in all a good read, interesting format and something I would recommend.
Just like Garden Spells, this book takes you to a magical place and fills you up with warmth. It just made me feel cozy and at home and I was so happy to see the great great characters of Garden Spells again - also in this book, they felt so real, so honest and so familiar. Great read!
Great book! Highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about cognitive biases! (And who doesn't wanna commit to Thinking Fast and Slow by Kahneman which is yes much more detailed but also much more academic and denser)
With my own background I knew most of what the author was talking about (down to the exact studies she was citing), which is why I didn't take as much away from the book as I wished but I loved the way she drew connections between the biases and our everyday life in an extremely skilled and relatable manner - hat off for that!
Kristy Boyce did it again. There's just something about the way she writes that has your heart do acrobatics.
Although nothing will ever beat Dungeons and Drama for me (because that book was practically written for me - Musicals, Board Games AND D&D?) Dating and Dragons can hold its own without feeling like a repetition of the story line. I loved it and couldn't put it down.
This really wasn't good. It was all over the place and aimed to be too much without truly succeeding in any of it. I enjoyed the Ouyang storyline and found myself looking forward to his plot, however, I would wish for more backstory for such an essential character and more development. The Zhu storyline left me completely bored and unmoved and I had trouble keeping going even while listening to the audiobook. I do not see why this book is so hyped and cannot see the inclusiveness or progressiveness it's supposed to portray according to other reviews (maybe I'll get into that at a later time but there are just too many instances - like the only female-identifying important character in the book being the cliche stereotype of a princess - warm, emotional, caring and pushed around). And while I appreciate the unusual historical context, I need an engaging plot to actually want to read the book instead of just flipping open a history book.
I really wanted to love this book - after all If We Were Villains is very dear to me - but it just felt off.
It read like it was meant for a much younger audience, despite (some of) the characters being in their 30s and the abrupt ending really threw me off- but not in a good way. I thought maybe I had a faulty copy because surly this cannot be the ending?
Overall, sadly, do not recommend.
3.5 ✨
This book is all vibes and no thrills. I really enjoyed the 60s/70s vibes and different POVs (though I could have done with a few less) but this book is far from thrilling. While we get a few really good red herrings and I thought it would go a different direction, the ending doesn't really deliver imo.
Reaching the ending I was thinking: oh. yeah I guess you could do that too..... ok.
Nice ideas, interesting plot line - but the writing did not really work for me l. Would have been better as a graphic novel perhaps.
This must be one of my favourite romance reads yet. Perhaps it's because the characters for once are not special snowflake oh-look-at-how-unique-I-am-with-my-purple-highlights-and-unicorn-sweaters characters but people with more real life jobs? Or perhaps it's the genius premise or the proper depiction of with mental illness or the relatability,... there were so many things to love about this book and it's a deserving 5 read for me!
3.5⭐️ Exactly the cozy palette cleanser that I needed!
In the first half I was convinced this was going to be a 4 or 5 star read but then it just kept going on and on and on. It felt like it was dragged out even though there were multiple points when it could have ended and that would have been perfectly fine.
Overall it has a very similar vibe to Legends and Lattes though unlike that this is not at all D&D focused, so if that put you off Legends and Lattes definitely give this one a shot! You will be met with fresh baked goods, sentient sassy plants and whimsical mist bears!
Emily Henry did it again - this one must be my second favourite of hers right after Happy Place.
I love that the characters are not “the quirky live-a-little over the top girl that loves to bake rainbow sprinkled brownies” and the “quiet brooding mysterious and tall guy that somehow only opens up for the quirky girl who - let's be realistic, would annoy the shit out him in real life but she's somehow special”. Miles and Daphne were so fun to follow around and I loved their dynamic.
The Peter/Petra thing cracked me up - basically taking the idea of “what happens to the ones that get dumped because of the meant-to-be fairy tale love story couple.
This will be one, I will be revisiting ❤️
I wanted to love this book but it left me utterly disappointed. The writing was clumsy and read like fanfiction and reminded me of Twilight era angst and logic. So much about this story did not sit right with me, starting with the odd kid/teenager dynamic, the way too intese characters and the touchy wolves that way to quickly become family (this was the Twilght-iest thing. Almost expected Supermassive Black Hole to start playing when they met in the clearing).
Everything about this book was too predictable even the part after page 380 (which is how long it took to finally read past the synopsis???) and I could only roll my eyes when Ox proclaims for the millionth time “my daddy told me people were gonna give me shit” - honestly give the boy a bumper sticker, apparently that's his life motto.
Big sad nope from me.
Needlessly repetitive but boy does that author know how to write a suffering longing fool-in-love poetic male lead.
What even was this? I fully admit: When I started Fourth Wing out of intese FOMO I did not expect it to take the turn it did in the end. I also never expected to be so invested in the story and eager to pick up the sequel but as days went by, I found myself having to know what will happen and boy was I not disappointed!
This books was so much better than the first. Yes, it has cliches, yes it has cringy romance, yes it has angsty characters BUT it also has amazing world building that was missing from the first book. It has way higher stakes and politics and I'm here for it.
I could not put this down and it was the first time in a long time that I read a book morning til 4am, slept a bit and picked it up again first thing. If that doesn't deserve 5 stars, I don't know what does.
I loved this! If Carry On and Boyfriend Material had a love child, this would be it - though this should not misguide you - this is not a romance heavy book AT ALL. Instead it focuses a lot on character development and world building.
And this author knows how to pull off a whimsical writing style which completely caught me and didn't let me put the book down.
I need to be reunited with Grimm and Leo ASAP! Cannot wait for the next one!
I don't think I have ever read a book that felt as much “me” as this. While reading it, I was constantly thinking: if I were to write a book, this is what it would look like. (In my dreams ha!) Granted, not much happens in the plot line, but there is no need because the inner monologue was ingenious! I think this book is written by one of the most observant smartest writers I have ever read. Dolly Alderton manages to make incredibly witty and smart comments on the pressures and issues women start to face after their mid-twenties - from friendships, to relationships to general structural problems in society. I took a long time reading this book because I wanted to savor every bit. While this book surly isn't for everyone (I am the perfect audience for it) I loved it and will definitely come back to it in the future. Just listening to the inner thoughts of the protagonist makes it so engaging that I didn't want it to end and it left me wanting more.
I love the old school murder mystery vibe this book gives with all it's Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes references. Hardly ever happens to me that I like the second book in a series more than the first, but I flew through that one. I found the flashbacks much more interesting and actually adding a lot to the story. My main problem though, is that even though the characters are supposed to be around 16 (I think) somehow the way they behave and talk reminds me more of 13/14 year olds and this kills a lot of the vibe for me. Also they make quite a lot of “teen” impulsive decisions and for a character that is supposed to be straightforward and logical, Stevie makes some really seriously dumb decisions. But maybe that's just YA? Still has me hooked though so I guess it deserves its 4 stars.
Favourite Quote: “You have to shut down the voices in your mind that say, “it has to be this person.” Muderers aren't a type. They're anyone.”
This has to become a movie like right now if only so I can rewatch it constantly.
I LOVED this book with all my heart (dare I say favourite read of the year so far? Thanks Tanja and Madeline for making me pick it up) It's so wholesome and unlike the title suggests, there is not that much unreasonable drama (apart from the standard teenage stuff). This could totally have been me in high school which made it incredibly relatable. All the references, the characters, the setting,... this book was written for me and I am so glad it exists. 1000000000/5 stars!