amy_reading_23's reviews
94 reviews

This is a really good book! I really enjoyed it. Its pretty brutal, it doesn't sugar coat vampirism or shy away from horror. But ultimately its about two best friends trying to figure out who they are. And I love that. So many books are focused on romance, and this book does have romance in it, but the platonic friendship is much more important. I liked Sloane's character development and thought it was an interesting take on being yourself. I'd love it if there was a sequel. I am intrigued by Henry and would like to see more of him. I was also pretty devastated by the end but have my hope that they made it. I did think some of the things Naomi did were questionable, and I don't think she should have brought Sloane to *that* kind of party without her consent vampires or no. I wish her character had as much development as Sloane's. But I still found their friendship to be an interesting dynamic and am glad to have found a book like this.

I was so glad when Sloane left her husband. I hope that they didn't die at the end!! But I think the epilogue means they didn't. Right??

 

I was a bit dissapointed by this book. I thought it sounded like a great premise and I was excited to see a queer and disabled protagonist. But I just found it quite slow and not the best written and idk I didn't really like any of the main characters. Maybe I'm not the right audience for it as its YA, but there's a lot of YA books that I love, and sadly this wasn't one of them. For me, the romance also wasnt great. It just kind of snapped from "I hate him" to "actually I like him", and I just felt that build could have been more gradual. I think the best thing it had going for it was the descriptions of York, I enjoyed the setting and the ghosts lore. 

I enjoyed this, it was fun! I read the saga of Darren shan years ago, and I love some of the author's other books too. It was fun to see it illustrated in the manga version. 

This book is so good!! I really enjoyed it and read it in a few days. It was beautifully written snd I loved the academic background as well as all the fae elements. This is a book that masterfully talks about misogyny, SA and mental health in a sensitive way. I also liked how the protagonist was very aware of herself when the romance bits were cliche. Definitely check trigger warnings, as SA and PTSD is a topic that features throughout the book. As someone who lives in Wales, the use of some of the Welsh words seemed a bit random to me, especially as the book is set in some unnamed world. 

I thought it was kind of onvious that his wife had written Angharad from early on in the novel so it frystrated me a little that it took them so long to come to that conclusion.

But overall a good fantasy dark-academia read! 

This was a good book, and there were lots of things I liked about it like the sensitive way in which it explored intergenerational trauma, systemic racism, and grief. I kind of liked the beginning the most though and found some of the middle and end dragged for me. I guess I went into it expecting something else - more of like an academia book than one with so much action in it. I would have also loved to have learned more about root craft, but maybe the author is planning on exploring that in future novels. 

I enjoyed this book! Fitz was an interesting character. I also liked how they presented Burrich's relationships with Chivalry. I'm not a big fan of high fantasy and felt there was maybe a bit too much exposition and showing instead of telling. I could have done without some of the long worldbuilding parts. But for someone who enjoys high fantasy that might be their favourite bit so who knows. So yeach, i found it slow, but overall a good read. 

I actually really enjoyed this book. I wasn't expecting too, as I've read a few disappointing romantacies recently. And I was worried the werewolf-vampire dynamic would be very male dominating woman (a bit like the discovery of Witches with a vampire human relationship). But I was wrong. This book was really thoughtful. The main character was really likeable and it felt like she had a real personality outside of being in love. There was an actual plot too, and the world building was really interesting. Also a good amount of spice without being over-or-under-whelming.  Would definitley recommend! 

This was mostly a fun book, I enjoyed the elements of norse mythology in it. It felt a bit too long though, I definitley felt like there were moments that could have been cut to get to the more interesting bits. It also read more like a YA than a fantasy, which could be because the protagonist is 18. I also would have loved to see more of Unn's POV and more of Einar being a bard. Overall it was enjoyable, but at the same time felt like a bit of a slog to get through. 

This book is beautiful. God how I wish I could have had this book as a teen. But I'm so glad I've gotten to read it now. 

As someone with OCD who is constantly afraid of being a bad person, this book on self love and accountability and not fitting in with societal norms is just incredible to read. I honestly think everyone should read this book. If I'd read it as a teen, maybe it would have saved a lot of hurt I've had over the years. 

I think I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. Thank you to the author and thank you Lark. You have made the world a better place. 

This book is a dystopian horror novel about a scared boy who is trying to figure out who he is while the world is trying to turn him into what they want him to be. 

I loved the idea of an LGBT+ youth community centre being a safe hub in the apocalypse. I would have liked maybe some more warm moments from that. But I know, as the author attests, that the book comes from rage and that is evident throughout. I thought it was interesting the sort of parallels between the idea of transitioning and Benji turning into the Seraph. The characters were also complex and not usually black and white which was well done. This is evident in Theo, who even though he has done bad things, you can still understand his way of thinking. 

I would have liked to have seen more of Benji and Nick's relationship blossom. I'm not sure if this book will be having a sequel, but that would be interesting. Its great to see books with so much trans and autistic representation. 

I think this book might resonate more with queer Americans as I know that the Church is quite different there to other places. From what I've seen from American media, this book seems pretty plausible. 

It was well written, and I read it quite fast as I kept needing to know what happened next. I'm not sure why it wasn't five stars for me. Maybe because it was so consistently bleak and horrific without much beauty. I think a few more moments of joy and hope would have made it a more enjoyable read.