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saylaurmoon's reviews
148 reviews
Rise of the Cinder Fae by Whitney Dean
2.5
↠ 2.5 stars ⭐️
I want to start by thanking Whitney Dean for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been stalling on writing this review. I was excited for this one and was happy to have been selected to receive an ARC. But I’m incredibly sad to report: I didn’t love it. Honestly, I really should’ve DNF’d this one, but I continued to push through hoping I would become more invested in the story. Sadly, I never did. It ending up taking me 15 days to read this because I just didn’t care about anything at all.
Given the title, one would think the Cinder Fae would be central to the plot.. but they weren’t. At all. They felt like an afterthought for most of the story. Within 700 pages, they appear maybe 5 times. The characters were shallow and underdeveloped, and it really felt like they were included solely to be able to call this a fantasy novel. I’m sure there will be more emphasis on them in future installments, but I don’t think they received the proper focus they should have here, and they could have been explored more deeply.
I also didn’t vibe with the writing style. The story didn’t flow well, and the writing felt clunky. There was frequent switching of verb tense within sentences and paragraphs, which was rather confusing at times. There was also a lot of info-dumping, especially within the first 15% of the book. Which I would have been okay with if it was easy to follow and provided decent world-building. But it didn’t. I still don’t think I fully understand the world, the magic system, or the relevance of the pumpkins.
Lastly, I never really cared about the romance between Elora and Finnian. While this was marketed as a enemies-to-lovers, it felt much more like an angsty instalove, which was disappointing because I’m not a huge fan of this trope. I also thought they had minimal chemistry, and I didn’t care for the spicy scenes (which also happened at weird times, imo). Plus the extreme possessiveness was icky. I will say their banter was enjoyable at least.
The best character was Irina, hands down. I think she was the only reason I went on to finish this, tbh. She’s feisty and independent and I liked her and her relationship with Elora. But otherwise, I didn’t care about anyone else.
Ultimately, there was a lot of potential here, but it fell flat for me. The story felt clunky, confusing, and underdeveloped. I’m glad that so many others have enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t for me and I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series.
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Check out my reviews on bookstagram
I want to start by thanking Whitney Dean for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been stalling on writing this review. I was excited for this one and was happy to have been selected to receive an ARC. But I’m incredibly sad to report: I didn’t love it. Honestly, I really should’ve DNF’d this one, but I continued to push through hoping I would become more invested in the story. Sadly, I never did. It ending up taking me 15 days to read this because I just didn’t care about anything at all.
Given the title, one would think the Cinder Fae would be central to the plot.. but they weren’t. At all. They felt like an afterthought for most of the story. Within 700 pages, they appear maybe 5 times. The characters were shallow and underdeveloped, and it really felt like they were included solely to be able to call this a fantasy novel. I’m sure there will be more emphasis on them in future installments, but I don’t think they received the proper focus they should have here, and they could have been explored more deeply.
I also didn’t vibe with the writing style. The story didn’t flow well, and the writing felt clunky. There was frequent switching of verb tense within sentences and paragraphs, which was rather confusing at times. There was also a lot of info-dumping, especially within the first 15% of the book. Which I would have been okay with if it was easy to follow and provided decent world-building. But it didn’t. I still don’t think I fully understand the world, the magic system, or the relevance of the pumpkins.
Lastly, I never really cared about the romance between Elora and Finnian. While this was marketed as a enemies-to-lovers, it felt much more like an angsty instalove, which was disappointing because I’m not a huge fan of this trope. I also thought they had minimal chemistry, and I didn’t care for the spicy scenes (which also happened at weird times, imo). Plus the extreme possessiveness was icky. I will say their banter was enjoyable at least.
The best character was Irina, hands down. I think she was the only reason I went on to finish this, tbh. She’s feisty and independent and I liked her and her relationship with Elora. But otherwise, I didn’t care about anyone else.
Ultimately, there was a lot of potential here, but it fell flat for me. The story felt clunky, confusing, and underdeveloped. I’m glad that so many others have enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t for me and I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series.
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Check out my reviews on bookstagram
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle
3.0
↠ 3.75 stars ⭐️
I chose to read this one since it was currently available as an audiobook on Libby. I really had no idea what the premise was, but I had heard good things and chose to go in blind.
It was not at all what I was expecting, but it was a beautiful story. I’m a huge fan of magical realism, and I think the author executed it really well here. I love that the story is an exploration of grief, love, and self-discovery. I enjoyed the author’s atmospheric prose. I really felt like I was transported to Italy while listening. The vivid descriptions of the location and food definitely have me craving a trip to Positano.
Sadly, the main weakness of this story that leaves me feeling really meh over it: the characters. I especially had a hard time connecting with the FMC, Katy. She annoyed the living hell out of me about 90% of the book. I found her to be particularly whiny and ungrateful. Yes, I understand that this is a story of grief and grief can really impact how individuals see their lives and react to it, and I tried to keep this in mind. However, I still had a hard time with her.
Additionally, while I’m all for a strong mother-daughter bond, but it felt very unusual to describe your mother as “the love of your life.” Your best friend? Sure, absolutely. But the love of your life is.. odd.
Something else that impacted my opinion of Katy a bit was the audiobook narration. Look, I love Lauren Graham. However, I did not enjoy her narration of this story. I don't know what it was, but I just did not love it. I think she may have made Katy sounds more whiny than the author intended. I believe I would have enjoyed reading this one more than listening to it.
Don’t let the rating fool you: this was still an enjoyable story. I thoroughly loved how it was able to transport me to the Almafi Coast with its vivid imagery and the bit of magical realism in the plot. However, my annoyance with the main character, and the narration of the audio, certainly impacted my rating a bit.
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Quotes
“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”
__
“There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won’t get you there.”
__
“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”
__
“I don’t think bad action makes you a bad person. I think life is far more complicated than that, and it’s reductive to think otherwise.”
__
“Actions only have the weight we give them. We can decide what something means.”
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Check out my reviews on bookstagram
I chose to read this one since it was currently available as an audiobook on Libby. I really had no idea what the premise was, but I had heard good things and chose to go in blind.
It was not at all what I was expecting, but it was a beautiful story. I’m a huge fan of magical realism, and I think the author executed it really well here. I love that the story is an exploration of grief, love, and self-discovery. I enjoyed the author’s atmospheric prose. I really felt like I was transported to Italy while listening. The vivid descriptions of the location and food definitely have me craving a trip to Positano.
Sadly, the main weakness of this story that leaves me feeling really meh over it: the characters. I especially had a hard time connecting with the FMC, Katy. She annoyed the living hell out of me about 90% of the book. I found her to be particularly whiny and ungrateful. Yes, I understand that this is a story of grief and grief can really impact how individuals see their lives and react to it, and I tried to keep this in mind. However, I still had a hard time with her.
Additionally, while I’m all for a strong mother-daughter bond, but it felt very unusual to describe your mother as “the love of your life.” Your best friend? Sure, absolutely. But the love of your life is.. odd.
Something else that impacted my opinion of Katy a bit was the audiobook narration. Look, I love Lauren Graham. However, I did not enjoy her narration of this story. I don't know what it was, but I just did not love it. I think she may have made Katy sounds more whiny than the author intended. I believe I would have enjoyed reading this one more than listening to it.
Don’t let the rating fool you: this was still an enjoyable story. I thoroughly loved how it was able to transport me to the Almafi Coast with its vivid imagery and the bit of magical realism in the plot. However, my annoyance with the main character, and the narration of the audio, certainly impacted my rating a bit.
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Quotes
“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.”
__
“There is more to life than just continuing to do what we know. What got you here won’t get you there.”
__
“Every day the world is born again. Every day the sun rises. It is a miracle, I think. A simple, everyday miracle. Life.”
__
“I don’t think bad action makes you a bad person. I think life is far more complicated than that, and it’s reductive to think otherwise.”
__
“Actions only have the weight we give them. We can decide what something means.”
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Check out my reviews on bookstagram
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
4.0
↠ 4 stars ⭐︎
Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist working at the Hastings Research Institute. The only problem? No one takes her seriously—because it's the 1950s + 1960s and... she’s a woman. An unconventional woman at that. A woman who has no interest in the things a woman should. No interest in marriage. Or children. Or being a housewife. Instead, she is overtly dedicated to and passionate about her scientific craft, yet no one at Hastings takes her seriously. Until the famous Calvin Evans takes notice of her, and like a perfect chemical reaction, the two fall in love. But years later, she finds herself in an unpredictable situation: a single mother, raising her wildly precocious 4-year-old daughter, while being the famous host of a cooking show. Similarly to Elizabeth, Supper at Six is not your typical cooking show. Not only does she teach her audience how to cook delicious and nutritious meals, but she also inspires them to recognize their potential and challenge the status quo.
I was really going back and forth about this book’s rating. Ultimately, I’m giving it 4.5 stars. This story is SO beautifully written. It’s eloquent, creative, and compelling. The author expertly evoked all but every emotion on the spectrum in me—happiness, sorrow, amusement, anger, hatred, and grief. Out of them all, I definitely experienced seething rage most often, due to the seemingly unceasing sexism, bigotry, and ignorance some of the characters either exhibited or experienced. The author perfectly showcased the struggles that women experienced during this time period and showed us all how one inspirational, courageous, and tenacious woman overcame them.
Elizabeth was a truly unique character. Honestly, it took me a while to really warm up to her. Despite this, she was an intriguing character from the very beginning. She was shamelessly blunt, intimidatingly intelligent, courageously rebellious, and perpetually resilient. She was inspirational in how she vigorously challenged the status quo in everything that she did, even in the face of stubborn resistance.
There were also several memorable side characters that aided the plot. While a number of them were memorable because they were the absolute worst kind of people, there were several more that were memorable because of the support and love they showed Elizabeth throughout her struggles. Frankly, though, Six-Thirty is the best character in the entire book, hands down.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book, I do have a few reservations about it that had me question how I wanted to rate it. First, I found myself having difficulty getting invested in it at first. I had to really power through a lot of the first half of the book, which is not common for me. Maybe I was just having an off day. Additionally, I felt like there was far too much talk about rowing, especially because it never really felt that it was all that relevant to the plot. Lastly, and probably an unpopular opinion: for two chemists… Elizabeth and Calvin’s relationship ironically lacked chemistry. Were they perfectly made for each other because of their passions? Oh, undoubtedly. Did I love Calvin because he was the first person to take Elizabeth seriously and really see her? Yes, of course. However, even those facts did not make reading about their overall dull romance any more compelling for me.
Also, I wouldn’t particularly describe this book as “laugh-out-loud” funny. Did it have its funny moments? Absolutely. However, I wouldn’t say that the laughter outweighed the serious topics addressed or the level of sheer frustration I felt for Elizabeth (and women as a whole) throughout the story.
While I have my complaints, I really enjoyed this remarkably creative and quirky story of female empowerment. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. It is a truly unique story, one that is in a league of its own and well worth the read. This is probably a book I will reread in the future.
“Imagine if all men took women seriously.”
Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist working at the Hastings Research Institute. The only problem? No one takes her seriously—because it's the 1950s + 1960s and... she’s a woman. An unconventional woman at that. A woman who has no interest in the things a woman should. No interest in marriage. Or children. Or being a housewife. Instead, she is overtly dedicated to and passionate about her scientific craft, yet no one at Hastings takes her seriously. Until the famous Calvin Evans takes notice of her, and like a perfect chemical reaction, the two fall in love. But years later, she finds herself in an unpredictable situation: a single mother, raising her wildly precocious 4-year-old daughter, while being the famous host of a cooking show. Similarly to Elizabeth, Supper at Six is not your typical cooking show. Not only does she teach her audience how to cook delicious and nutritious meals, but she also inspires them to recognize their potential and challenge the status quo.
I was really going back and forth about this book’s rating. Ultimately, I’m giving it 4.5 stars. This story is SO beautifully written. It’s eloquent, creative, and compelling. The author expertly evoked all but every emotion on the spectrum in me—happiness, sorrow, amusement, anger, hatred, and grief. Out of them all, I definitely experienced seething rage most often, due to the seemingly unceasing sexism, bigotry, and ignorance some of the characters either exhibited or experienced. The author perfectly showcased the struggles that women experienced during this time period and showed us all how one inspirational, courageous, and tenacious woman overcame them.
Elizabeth was a truly unique character. Honestly, it took me a while to really warm up to her. Despite this, she was an intriguing character from the very beginning. She was shamelessly blunt, intimidatingly intelligent, courageously rebellious, and perpetually resilient. She was inspirational in how she vigorously challenged the status quo in everything that she did, even in the face of stubborn resistance.
There were also several memorable side characters that aided the plot. While a number of them were memorable because they were the absolute worst kind of people, there were several more that were memorable because of the support and love they showed Elizabeth throughout her struggles. Frankly, though, Six-Thirty is the best character in the entire book, hands down.
While I genuinely enjoyed this book, I do have a few reservations about it that had me question how I wanted to rate it. First, I found myself having difficulty getting invested in it at first. I had to really power through a lot of the first half of the book, which is not common for me. Maybe I was just having an off day. Additionally, I felt like there was far too much talk about rowing, especially because it never really felt that it was all that relevant to the plot. Lastly, and probably an unpopular opinion: for two chemists… Elizabeth and Calvin’s relationship ironically lacked chemistry. Were they perfectly made for each other because of their passions? Oh, undoubtedly. Did I love Calvin because he was the first person to take Elizabeth seriously and really see her? Yes, of course. However, even those facts did not make reading about their overall dull romance any more compelling for me.
Also, I wouldn’t particularly describe this book as “laugh-out-loud” funny. Did it have its funny moments? Absolutely. However, I wouldn’t say that the laughter outweighed the serious topics addressed or the level of sheer frustration I felt for Elizabeth (and women as a whole) throughout the story.
While I have my complaints, I really enjoyed this remarkably creative and quirky story of female empowerment. It was deeply emotional and thought-provoking. It is a truly unique story, one that is in a league of its own and well worth the read. This is probably a book I will reread in the future.
“Sometimes I think that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn’t make it past noon.”
Switched by Sarah Ready
4.0
↠ 4 stars ⭐️
This was such a cute read! I blew through it in two days. Freaky Friday, but make it nerdy. And I’m here for it! Fans of Ali Hazelwood, like myself, will eat this up.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and humor. It’s light-hearted and funny, but also has moments of sentimentality. I laughed out loud several times while reading this. And there were several heart-warming moments. It did start out with a lot of physics talk. Like A LOT. And while I was a science nerd in school, physics was my worst subject. But it was overall easy to follow and it chilled out pretty quickly. The characters were great. Serena (or Ducky) is the primary POV, and she’s hilarious. I really enjoyed Henry too.
There’s a bit of instalove in this story, which is far from my favorite trope. HOWEVER, I think it worked really well here. Without giving too much away, Serena is extremely avoidant of love to focus on her career, leading Henry to not be her biggest fan. But I loved how, while being in one another’s body, they learn so much about each other. It was giving literal “put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” They understood each other on a visceral level.
Part of me wishes I would have listened to this on audio because I think listening to the accent switch would have been hilarious hahah.
Overall, this was an adorable opposites-attract romcom, and I highly recommend it!
Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the eARC!
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Quotes
"You don't have to find them—they'll come to you. The minute you look across a room and you don't see anyone but them, that's when you know you've found each other."
__
"And isn't that the way a relationship should be? One person shouldn't subsume the other. Instead they should both help the other shine bright."
__
"There is no fear in love."
__
"I'll always want you. We're like binary stars—we're bound tight. Gravity keeps us orbiting each other."
__
"I suppose it depends on whether this is magic or science."
"But isn't magic just science that we haven't yet explained?"
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Check out my reviews on bookstagram
This was such a cute read! I blew through it in two days. Freaky Friday, but make it nerdy. And I’m here for it! Fans of Ali Hazelwood, like myself, will eat this up.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and humor. It’s light-hearted and funny, but also has moments of sentimentality. I laughed out loud several times while reading this. And there were several heart-warming moments. It did start out with a lot of physics talk. Like A LOT. And while I was a science nerd in school, physics was my worst subject. But it was overall easy to follow and it chilled out pretty quickly. The characters were great. Serena (or Ducky) is the primary POV, and she’s hilarious. I really enjoyed Henry too.
There’s a bit of instalove in this story, which is far from my favorite trope. HOWEVER, I think it worked really well here. Without giving too much away, Serena is extremely avoidant of love to focus on her career, leading Henry to not be her biggest fan. But I loved how, while being in one another’s body, they learn so much about each other. It was giving literal “put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” They understood each other on a visceral level.
Part of me wishes I would have listened to this on audio because I think listening to the accent switch would have been hilarious hahah.
Overall, this was an adorable opposites-attract romcom, and I highly recommend it!
Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the eARC!
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Quotes
"You don't have to find them—they'll come to you. The minute you look across a room and you don't see anyone but them, that's when you know you've found each other."
__
"And isn't that the way a relationship should be? One person shouldn't subsume the other. Instead they should both help the other shine bright."
__
"There is no fear in love."
__
"I'll always want you. We're like binary stars—we're bound tight. Gravity keeps us orbiting each other."
__
"I suppose it depends on whether this is magic or science."
"But isn't magic just science that we haven't yet explained?"
₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆. ₊‧.°.⋆˚₊‧⋆.
Check out my reviews on bookstagram