4.5*

This book was amazing with a fascinating plot.

Well.

I can't even say I'm disappointed, because if you asked me aggressively two months ago what I expected to rate this book, I would have said "2.5, and also that's why I've had an advance copy of this for over a year and didn't even touch it until I was forced to by an equally aggressive readathon."

I am, at this moment, and also for most of the last couple of years, not interested in young adult fantasy.

You may want to say, "Emma, that's because you're officially in your mid-twenties, and you've probably outgrown it. It's not for you."

And while you would be right, you would fill me with so much rage and confusing sadness that I would probably cry, which would make me embarrassed, which would make me even angrier.

So let's avoid that.

This is fine. This is the kind of YA fantasy that I didn't love even when I was in my YA fantasy heyday, which is written in vaguely old-timey fancy language and centers around a romance between two teenagers who don't know each other well.

It didn't work for me, but if the genre works for you, this probably will! Who can say anything anymore.

Bottom line: A meh book that managed to bring about a quarter-life crisis.

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pre-review

how many times am i allowed to say i think i'm outgrowing YA fantasy before i have to accept that i've outgrown it?

review to come / 2.5 ish

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tbr review

sounds like i'll feel right at home.

(get it? because i'm heartless?)

clear ur shit prompt 12: fantasy

(thanks to the publisher for the copy)

In this atmospheric Beauty & the Beast retelling, Meyer weaves together a tale of humanity and heartbreak destined to captivate fairytale lovers everywhere

I really wanted to like this book. Three stars for the idea. It’s a great story but the writing wasn’t my favorite. I felt like there were a lot of gaps, and the pacing was off. It was really hard to get through.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(3.9/5 stars, rounded up)

Ugh.
I am of two minds when it comes to this book.

On the one hand, I sobbed my eyes out at the end. I thought the story was entertaining and even though it lagged a bit in a few different parts, and I wish other parts had been expanded on, I stayed relatively entertained the entire time. I clearly dealt with a ton of feels, and I wasn’t expecting to wind up crying at the end.

On the other hand, Seren’s chapters were so weird (i mean honestly, the formatting was so fucking weird. There was no reason for them to be formatted the way they were. It added nothing to the story. It was just weird and made it so that I couldn’t pay attention the way I wanted to.) I also felt like a few things were a bit “surface,” and i was kind of hoping that the love story would have happened over a longer period of time. Instead of a few months- a few years. I think the entire ending would have made more sense and packed a bigger punch had their relationship been longer and based in more history.

Seren, I get. She wasn’t just sacrificing for Owen- she wanted to prove to herself that she wasn’t her mother’s monster. She wanted to prove to herself that she was capable of making her own choices.

Owen had a freaking toddler sister at home that he was supposedly super in love with, had raised as a baby and was recently orphaned and he was so ready to sacrifice himself and leave her completely alone for someone he hadn’t known for a very long time at all. That was a bit... unbelievable.

So yeah.. I thought it was well written and beautiful and emotional and I read it in less than a day. There were more good things than bad but it just didn’t tick all those boxes for me.

This was the first book I read off my 2021 five star prediction and I definitely was not disappointed!

This is a whimsical, dark, and beautifully written fantasy romance that follows a world that is being overtaken by an evil forest. The forest is haunted by a witch and her 4 tree siren daughters who lure and kill anyone who enters the forest. But when one of the tree sirens meets a young boy who lives on the edge of the woods, she begins to question whether or not evil is something you are or choose.

This book explores what it means to be human. There are many "evil" characters in here but somehow the author weaves a backstory to make you sympathize with all of them.

I absolutely fell in love with the dual perspective and stylistic choices that author made for each perspective. The writing was so immersive and kept me flipping the page for me.

I was completely swept away by the romance and magical world. This book definitely gets a brutal so trigger warnings for scenes of war and death. But the ending was beyond beautiful and brought tears to my eyes. I honestly can't rave about this book enough.

I can't wait to check out Joanna Ruth Meyer's backlist and everything she releases in the future!