kateships's reviews
156 reviews

This was excellent. I struggled at times with the story feeling a bit slow, but overall it is so well done. 

I loved the setting, it’s not one you see very often, and the characters were so interesting. The way the magic system was worked in is really cool, and in the end you’re so emotionally tied to the characters. 

The ending absolutely killed me, I cried so hard - at first because you have no how idea how they will get out of their predicament and it feels tragic and hopeless, and then because of how the ending actually goes (this makes sense once you read it). 

I have been trying to expand my horizons a bit lately, and I love me a good romcom/hallmark movie, but struggle when it comes to books like that. This felt like the perfect blend of cozy romance with a touch of magic. I thought it was really sweet. There are a few points that I cringed so hard I wanted to stop reading (“witchy core”, Circe the dog, and her only “people” being a group that discusses her favorite book series) - my reasons are petty and personal, I know. I did push beyond those though, and the rest of the story was without much cringe. 

It ended up being a really sweet story, I loved the kids and the magic, and the fun little twist at the end. 

I loved this. It definitely is a bit slow through the first half (I almost never mind this, but a lot of people seem to struggle with that), and there’s sort of an excess of the characters telling stories (but they do all tie in).

The religious persecution stuff is NOT subtle at all and I thought it was done pretty well. 

Not a perfect book by any means but I am obsessed with Évike and Gáspár’s relationship development, although I do wish the ending

showed them getting a happy ending together, not just within their own realms. They kind of did, but I wanted to know that they do get their time together officially and truly and not just as a continued trysts. He said he’d marry her but then when they win, they aren’t actually together?? That was disappointing for me even if the ending was sweet and happy overall.

. 

Ava Reid always excels at captivating you with the vibes and atmosphere of her stories, this is just another example.  

I didn’t know I could love these characters and this world more than I already did. 

I haven’t stopped thinking about the Shades of Magic trilogy since I finished it, so this was such a treat to get back into. You definitely need to read the first books to understand this one in full even though its technically separate. I wasn’t sure how much Kell/Lila/Rhy we would get and I love how this was done. 

I loved getting to see all of our favorites a little more grown up and outside of the immediate aftermath of the events in the originals. The new characters are also a lot of fun and are brought into the fold in a super smart way and you end up loving them and hating them just as much as the OGs. 

V.E. Schwab, as usual, leaves me dying to read the next one. 

I loved this one and I am excited for the third. The struggles I had with the first book were non-existent in this one. I thought the Emily-Wendall dynamic was sweet and silly all at once. 

The magic is cool, the little mysteries that follow Emily around in this one are interesting and I love when she

goes into the faerie world to Wendall home and has to try to find what she needs to save him.

I try to keep too many spoilers out of my reviews, so it’s hard to talk about this one, but it’s fantastic and different and fun and sweet and so many things. 

I was really excited for this book. I love the traditional mischievous faeries and thought this was a fun concept. I didn’t mind the journal format because it really just read as Emily telling you the story herself. It’s a bit stiff and academic (as you might anticipate), especially at first, but it has a lot of time where the narration is candid and casual.

Emily bothered me quite a lot in the first half - what do you mean she’s essentially an anthropologist (just of fae), but she essentially is scared to TALK to people. It pushed the “introverted academic” thing a bit too hard for me. Her job is field work, she should be used to talking to locals about their area’s lore. Once Wendall shows up, she loosens up and that fixes the issue though.

Speaking of Wendall, he is my FAVORITE. He’s such a good character.

The description of the faerie world and various creatures she finds and talks to are so fun and they really make the story. 

I like this more in retrospect, but it is definitely worth the read.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I read Stone Blind and Ariadne this year, which both include parts of Perseus’ story. This was such a powerful depiction of the weight women carry and how they are punished for the actions of men. I thought it was beautifully done, and it’s refreshing to get stories of these myths where the men are not untouchable and strong, but are emotional and flawed - but not in a redeemable way since their actions fall on the women in their life. 

I don’t know if this is my favorite Greek retelling that I have read, but it’s definitely a good one in my opinion. 

This one is hard for me, I read it at the recommendation of a friend, and I did not NOT like it. I loved the setting and how much Alaska was sort of its own character in the story. I liked following the family and their struggles, and how the small town bands together and supports each other, even though it was dark and upsetting a lot of the time. The relationships between characters were complex and really well done. 

Where the book lost me really was

at the end, after they’ve gone through all the trauma. They had this awesome mom-daughter moment where they kill dad and drop him in the lake, then rather than having a time of reception and joy, they had to inflict MORE trauma by leaving and staying away. THEN the mom gets cancer and dies before Leni can have a “happy ending.”

At that point it just felt like too much and made it hard to enjoy. 

This was upsetting, it made me sob, it made me angry, but overall it is a good book, it’s just not one you read if you want something light or happy. 

I really enjoyed this story, and the longer it sits with me the more I enjoy remembering it. 

I thought the imagery was gorgeous and the world was unique and imaginative. I struggled a little with the letter format - it made the whole story start off very stiff and formal and made it difficult to get into. However, as it went along and the characters opened up and you got more information in each letter, it moved quickly and got exciting. 

You felt as though you were looking in on this mystery getting solved and unraveled before your eyes and even though I inferred what happened, when the *big thing* is revealed, you still get the shock of what happens next.

I do hope there is a second book exploring what comes after the end of the story, though I hope its not in letters because I really can’t imagine how that would work.

I really enjoyed this. When I was about halfway through i described it as “old creepy house, ghosts and local superstitions, suspicious guy, potential monsters, mystery to solve.”

I don’t really read much YA (typically it doesn’t appeal to me), but sometimes a story catches my eye like this one, and I really enjoyed Juniper & Thorn by the same author, so I gave it a shot. I found Effy a bit annoying at first because she’s a grown woman but very emotional and stubborn, but as you learn more about her and she grows along the way, I didn’t mind this as much. The romance was a bit quick, but very sweet. 

The story was less of a shocking and exciting tale with a big reveal, but more like we were given puzzle pieces and by the end we knew what the picture was, and the climax was confirming what you already felt was true.  

I found it gorgeous and atmospheric. I loved the mythical fairytale aspect to it, and since there’s apparently a sequel coming next year, I hope we get to learn more about the actual world they live in. 

This book is very much it’s own story, but it fell into the same bucket as Divine Rivals and One Dark Window for me (I loved both duologies).  Otherworldly forces at play, a sweet/light young (but adult) romance, a unique fantastical but familiar world, and a feeling that we learned along the way with the characters rather than having huge action-packed stories.