taylorhathcock's reviews
449 reviews

Oh my! Okay so I really enjoyed the first three books in this series but this one.... It was, and I cannot stress this enough, EVERYTHING! I cannot express how much I enjoyed this one. I didn't want to put it down because so much was going on. I absoultely loved that we got so many new POV's because I was dying for them in the first three. Evie and Jax are still everything and I love how we get to see their story unfold. I enjoy the new plot JJ is setting up in this one. Evie is determined to try and rebuild the Lost Kingdom and spare the children, even going so far as to bring in teachers from across the realm. If all of this wasn't enough we have even more of Jude and Lucas (and oh boy was that a shocker). JJ throws in all kinds of clutch your pearls moments in this book when you think you just might throw the book across the room. I mean I had a couple of times where I wanted to. But now let's get down to the new stuff. We get more of Cam, Beau and Emmett! Cam's blossoming romance is my life. I didn't think I could love a character more than Jax but I mean Cam is really making me question things. He is just so adorable with Mahayla. Now be prepared for a slow burn.... And I mean slow.... but JJ still gives us some Evie and Jax spice so don't worry. So what I'm saying is be prepared to be consumed by this book. I was. 

“She had never learned how to want; she had simply existed, until then.”

Alright so to be honest I'm not even sure what was happening for most of this one. It has the gothic vibe down which was nice. I feel like given that it was a novella it did a great job building up the creepy element, but as usual romance always feels a bit forced in these. The way this book is filled with spiders, not even counting the giant humanoid spider. Anathema apparently has a habit of eating all of her brides and then making little tributes to them. Dália is called into service as the new keepter of these memories after the death of her predecessor. The story has a bit of a mystery element with Dália trying to uncover the thief. Dália is fascinated by Anathema and apparently the only one who doesn't run at the sight of her which seems to spark the romance between the two of them. However, it's not really a huge focus. I don't know a lot of the time I just felt like I had no idea what was happening in this story. 

The slow burn is real but I mean come on how can I pass up a cupid and some fae? It would be a crime! Plus our female main character's inner monologue is to die for. It's the rambling of my soul. I adore her. I love the wit and humor that is thrown into this one. I also love that it was fairly short. However, it did still throw a whole lot of world building at me in that time and that was a bit boring not going to lie. Overall, I really look forward to finding out how this plays out I've been hooked on the story and I'll have to keep going. 

“Power is the ability to act and that must always be taken, for no one will ever give that power to you. Those who have power wish to keep it, and those who want power must learn to take it.”

I really really wanted to love this one more than I did. I think it was a good story and brought to light a lot of issues about women and power for sure. I loved the witchcraft aspect, but I wish we had gotten a bit more of it. I don't think this really felt like a horror to me more just like a supernatural suspense type thing. The book does an amazing job of showcasing the way these young girls have absolutely no power over their lives, including their bodies, and even their desire to have that power. Fern really tries throughout the book to find this and I love the way in which she is finally able to use her voice. The book for sure has some moments that have you on the edge of your seat in suspense, but it just didn't give the full out horror experience. I think more focus on the witchcraft and maybe a little less focus on the graphic details of the girls labors might have helped. However, I understand the reasoning. The whole book boils down to power. 

“He sucks you in, body and soul, with no chance of escape while he destroys every last bit of you.”

It feels weird to say that I loved this book given the subject matter but I did. I think that it's written so beautifully gut wrenching that you have no choice but to love it. River's character is everything. Her trauma has made her into this character you can't help but love. Ryan... is a complete and total jack*** that you just want to get what is coming to him. I think that the way River and Ryan's relationship is written shows such amazing sympathy to the women who are trapped in this type of relationship. I really think that is what made me fall in love with this book. Carlton just provides this space of understanding and compassion. However, what I love most about River is that she doesn't need Mako to save her, as much as he wants to, because she's strong enough to save herself. I love the dynamic between Mako and River because he accepts her darkness for what it is. I just think this is one of those books that ruins you.

How can I be honest without being mean. I am not sure what made this a booktok sensation to be honest. The romance is more what you would expect from a novella but its still over 300 pages. It moved at a weird pace for me. It starts off with the one night stand, but we also get a lot of information dump about characters who aren't even relevant to the story. We move on a bit but nothing seems to happen at all until they meet up again. I in no way enjoyed Macon's character because he went from this playboy character to suddenly the perfect boyfriend out of nowhere. It didn't work for me because there was no development. It was also just impossible to enjoy a book when the characters felt so surface level. The whole thing was a bit disappointing to be honest. 

“You are the only person in the world with the power to strip me of every ounce of my control, and the only person I can’t fathom losing that control with.”

I don't even know where to start. I'm still processing I think. I have no words that can adequately describe the way this book caused me stress and anxiety pretty much from the start. Rebecca really decided to get bold and mess with readers emotions hardcore this time. It's rude and unnecessary if we are being honest. I didn't ask for some of the emotional damage... Like how am I supposed to recover from those things. Not to mention the million and ten questions I now have that I need answered. However, Violet.. oh man was she back in full force. I think it was amazing to watch her realize the level of power she holds and how to use it. Xaden... that's a whole other thing to unpack but I think this one really showed how much Violet is basically the only thing he cares about. I love learning about the dragons and in this one we get to see more of the rest of world as Violet and the gang go on a journey. 

"It frightens me what lengths men will go to once a woman becomes… inconvenient.”

Okay so if I'm being completely honest I was actually really disappointed with this one. I mean it's got an interesting feminist (sort of) storyline that reexamines the narrative surrounding Elizabeth Bathory. Interestingly enough it takes most of the focus off of Elizabeth Bathory and focuses on the women who work for her. I expected a lot more to do with the murderous reputation the Countess had acquired, but it wasn't really a part of the story in my opinion. I kind of expected it to be a bit more dark and gruesome and it really wasn't. It had some dark moments don't get me wrong, but not the ones you would really anticipate. It also had this magical realism thing going on that I personally think made the story weird. It didn't fit in my opinion because none of the story gave off that type of vibe. Overall, I was just happy when it was over. 

So this one is a very lighthearted and fun read. It's one of those zero pressure reads where you can just stop and go as you please. It doesn't really have anything that keeps you needing to see what happens next. It is a very slow burn clean romance which isn't normally my thing but I find this author tends to make her books really funny. I enjoyed this one because once Cat moves to the National Park to help her uncle we get the most outrageous games and forms of entertainment in this town. Cat is an older influencer and we see her struggling a lot in the book with that fact. She's also in my opinion very defensive of what she does for a living and just assumes everyone will love her. However, as you can expect the move to the park starts to make her rethink things. I honestly felt like the romance needed more development to be honest. However, it's a fun story just to kind of refresh yourself with. 

“My little angel is more savage than she looks. I love her innocence, but her darkness is what calls to me.”

As a huge Phantom fan I had to jump on this book. I mean it's a retelling set in modern day New Orleans with a bit of mafia thrown in. Let's not forget it's got forced proximity and some touch her and die vibes going on. I was all for it. I will admit that the book took a bit to get going I think because it was throwing so much background at us. It really sticks to some of the original story in parts which add this interesting element to things. I think one of the things I loved most was that Scarlett suffers from bipolar disorder and the book did such a fantastic job of showcasing the ups and downs of this. I'm just going to say that Sol is probably now one of new favorite morally gray male characters. I think the book has a solid amount of spice but I wouldn't have been opposed to more.