thebiglittlelibrary's reviews
623 reviews

5 Stars ⭐️ Absolutely brilliant

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Alina. . . You and I are going to change the world."

I picked up Shadow and Bone thanks to Booktok and the fact Netflix is coming out with the show in April 2021. THANK GOODNESS I DID, because the Grisha trilogy is on its way to becoming one of my favorite YA fantasy series. From learning about the magical world of the Grisha to the mystery surrounding The Darkling, I just couldn't put this book down! I wanted to start the next book in the series immediately, but here I am, forcing myself to write this review. . . so let's get to it!

Things I liked:

World building. We are immersed into the Russia-inspired land of Ravka, where the Shadow Fold, a dark magical presence, has cut off most of Ravka from the sea. Leigh Bardugo's descriptive writings of the war camps, the Fold, Tisbeya, Os Alta, and the Little Palace really allow readers to imagine this new dangerous world.

Unique magic system. The Grisha are people who have the ability to manipulate the elements to use as weapons. As it turns out, the MC Alina discovers she has one of the most sought-after abilities - summoning light. As she is swept away into the world of the Grisha, we learn more about their powers, training, history, and hierarchy.

Alina's journey. There are three different areas Alina struggles with: self-acceptance, magic, and romance. It's the classic story where the MC is the one holding themselves back from their full potential, and once they decide to let go of the past, everything changes for the better. Alina's magic is part of who she is, and I loved seeing her transform from a terrified girl into a powerful woman. She still has some growth to do, and I'm excited to see her continue this journey of self-discovery.

Interesting plot with multiple twists. There are unpredictable characters, action, magic, romance, intrigue, betrayal . . . what's not to like??? While I had some hunches about the ending and plot twists along the way, it was still surprising nevertheless. I devoured this book, and once I finished, I was still hungry for more.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Genya. I absolutely LOVED her character and friendship with Alina. Her own story and role in the Little Palace were so fascinating to me. She's someone I hope we get to see more of in the next book.

Just a dash of romance. I'm a sucker for romance. The fact that there is not one but TWO love interests are everything I could have wanted. The only issue is that BOTH love interests have MAJOR ISSUES. So much so that I don't even know which I want her to end up with. Mal is her best friend but doesn't really 'see' her until she disappears from his life? Lame. And the Darkling. Oh, sweet baby Jesus this man is going to hurt my own heart. He's mysterious, sexy, and powerful, BUT he's manipulative and perhaps a bit unhinged. I'm sure we will see more of his intentions unfold in the next few books, but a part of me hopes he's not crazy at all and actually does some good. All I can say is I'm very invested in Alina's love life.


Things I didn't liked:

Not a dang thing because I loved everything about this book!


Overall, Shadow and Bone is an amazing introduction to this series, and I cannot wait to keep reading! Even though it's YA, as a 27-year-old, I still found it to be very intriguing. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, adventure, and magical realms.

5 ⭐ F*CK YOU Colleen Hoover⁠ ⁠

. . . for taking me on this beautiful, raw, heartbreaking journey that tore my soul apart and loosely stitched it back together by the end.


Trigger Warning (18+): This story features scenes with domestic abuse and sexual assault. There's also brief conversations about suicide.


This book has changed and moved me in ways I can hardly begin to articulate.

Not only was this my first CoHo book, but I also went in blind, so I was unprepared for this emotional rollercoaster. It's truly one of the most raw, honest, inspiring, and profoundly beautiful stories I've ever read. ⁠I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this.

I wholeheartedly believe that everyone (men and women) over the age of eighteen should read this book. There are some powerful messages woven throughout the story that teach the reader many valuable things about life, love, and strength.



Let's talk specifics:


This story addresses heavy topics that should be more openly discussed. Worldwide, almost one-third (27%) of women aged 15-49 years who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. Domestic abuse and sexual assault may be uncomfortable topics to talk about, but if these issues aren't brought to light, how can we expect anything to change. I'm so proud of Colleen Hoover for writing this story - based on her and her mother's experience - and honored to be able to read it.

*Please be sure to read the author's note when you finish the epilogue. But not before since it will contain spoilers.*


Lily is one of the strongest female characters I've ever read about. And no, not in the cheesy superpowers kind of way, but mentally and emotionally. Lily grew up in a home with domestic abuse, and yet, she still has so much love in her heart and a willingness to be vulnerable. And when she ends up finding herself in a similar situation as an adult, she is strong enough to make some heartbreakingly difficult decisions. Yes, Lily struggles as any person would, but her determination, conviction, strength, and understanding are what make her the kind of person I want to be when I grow up. I admire her so much and can only hope her story provides strength to others in her situation.


Writing this from Lily's POV made the story even more powerful. Because this is written in the first-person narrative, we experience everything Lily does. When she falls in love, we fall in love. When she experiences pain, we experience pain. When she struggles, we struggle. I promise you will feel many things: happiness, love, anticipation, rage, horror, shock, sadness, loneliness, loss, and so much more. Colleen Hoover, you are an evil genius, and I say genius because not every author can do this well.


The journal entries were a unique and beautiful way to explore Lily's past. When I read the first journal entry, I rolled my eyes. I mean, it's addressed to Ellen Degeneres, and the whole concept seemed silly. But as we read more entries, I started to appreciate and look forward to the next one. It was the perfect way for us to get to know Lily as a teenager and truly understand her difficult situation at home as well as her first experience with falling in love.


Atlas . . . the nicest fictional male character I've ever read about. I love this man. From the beginning, he is so thoughtful, sweet, and kind. He always puts Lily first and is just so grateful for her friendship. Every time I read about him in her diary, my heart wanted to explode. I mean, why couldn't I have met a perfect, cute homeless boy back in high school? lol


*SPOILERS AHEAD*


Ryle . . . my heart hurts for him. Okay, don't get mad at me for feeling sorry for him, but I mean, come on. It's tragic what happened to Ryle as a child. Plus, it's painful to see how much he loves Lily but how incapable he is of controlling his actions. It broke my heart the same way it broke Lily's hearing him sound so apologetic after every incident. How can 99% of Ryle be perfect, and then this 1% completely ruins everything? I'm NOT excusing anything Ryle does, but I can't help but see his story as tragic. He is destined to go through life alone (which he doesn't want) or as a domestic abuser (which he doesn't want). It's just sad.


"There is no such thing as bad people. We're all just people who sometimes do bad things." This is such an important message to understand. We like to place people in boxes because it makes things simple, but the world isn't black and white. There are no heroes or villains, no good guys or bad guys. We are just people who do good things and bad things. This is a major theme throughout It Ends With Us and hopefully has you questioning your own beliefs.


Allysa and Lily's friendship is absolute goals. I love their dynamic and how they support each other. When sh*t hits the fan in Lily's relationship, I thought Allysa would side with her brother Ryle, but instead, she surprised me:

"As his sister, I wish more than anything that you could find a way to forgive him. But as your best friend, I have to tell you that if you take him back, I will never speak to you again."

That is what real friendship looks like.



Favorite Quotes:


"There is no such thing as bad people. We're all just people who sometimes do bad things."

-----------------------------

"We're just alike . . . Plants and humans. Plants need to be loved the right way in order to survive. So do humans. We rely on our parents from birth to love us enough to keep us alive. And if our parents show us the right kind of love, we turn out as better humans overall."

-----------------------------

Somehow the only thing that eases the hurt just caused by this man is this man. My tears are soothed by his sorrow, my emotions soothed with his mouth against mine, his hand gripping me like he never wants to let go.

-----------------------------

Maybe love isn't something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives.

-----------------------------

Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen seconds that we'll never get back.

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"You're my wife. I'm supposed to be the one who protects you from the monsters. I'm not supposed to be one."

-----------------------------

Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it, so we have to do everything we can to make sure those years are as full as they can be. We shouldn't waste time on things that might happen someday, or maybe even never.

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Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet.

-----------------------------

"It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us."

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"You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore."

-----------------------------

⁠

3 ⭐ Basically FBBA with a slightly different plot and characters


You want an honest review? I'll give you one.


Summary:

Seraphena Mierel is the Maiden promised by the Fates, whose future has never been her own.

Many years ago, one of Seraphena’s ancestors struck a deal in a desperate attempt to save his people from the Rot - a disease that is slowly devouring Lasania. In exchange for saving his kingdom, the first daughter born in the Mierel line shall be offered to the Primal of Death as his Consort.

While the Rot ceased for a time, the sickness returned when Seraphena was born, forcing the king and queen (Sera's parents) to come up with a plan. They believe the only way to stop the Rot is to destroy the Primal of Death himself, and Sera is the key.

All her life, Sera is not only groomed to be Death's bride, but an assassin with one goal in mind: make him fall in love, become his weakness, and end him. If she fails, she dooms her kingdom to a slow demise at the hands of the Rot.

But the day the Primal of Death comes to collect his Consort, he rejects Sera - changing her life and the fate of her kingdom forever.



My Thoughts:


I have so many mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I love the story concept, the characters, and the world-building. However, the pacing was off, the character development was lacking, and there were soooooo many similarities to the From Blood and Ash series that I anticipated nearly everything. If I were not familiar with FBBA or JLA's writing, I would have probably given this 4-stars or more. The story wasn't bad, but it just wasn't fresh.


The writing isn't great, but it's much better than A Crown of Gilded Bones.
- There are more than a few grammar errors. Seriously, where is the editor?
- The modern dialogue/references are extremely distracting and pull the reader out of the story. Here are some examples: hot piece, lived in my head rent-free, color me surprised, kicked the bucket, pervert, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
- There are also some repetitive jokes between Sera and Ash about her 'unmentionables' or how he has 'at least one decent bone in his body'.


The plot is basically nonexistent. The story starts as a mystery when Sera witnesses some gods killing mortals without apparent cause, but we don't find out why until the very end. The rest of this story centers on Sera and her struggles with finding purpose, fulfilling her duty, and doing what's right. There's a bit of romance thrown in there, but it felt ornamental. I wish the story followed the Hades x Persephone mythology more, with Sera immediately becoming Consort to the Primal of Death and traveling to Iliseeum and the Shadowlands.


The pacing is shaped like a W. The first 100 pages were captivating, then it slows way-the-fuck down, then it gets exciting again around page 300 when Sera goes to the Shadowlands, then it's boring again until the last 100 pages when truths are revealed. I enjoyed the end the most because we finally learned wtf was going on, but the way it was presented was in the form of an info dump.

And honestly, I had to put the book down and/or force myself to keep reading. There were a lot of boring parts that didn't interest me, but I kept reading because I was hopeful things would get better. They eventually did, but the reward wasn't satisfying enough. So, I doubt I'll do a reread.


*Spoilers Ahead*


There are so many/too many similarities between ASITE and FBBA. It's almost like JLA took the blueprint of FBBA, changed the names of the characters, gave them slightly different personalities, added a twist to the story, and voila . . . you've got ASITE.

Here are the parallels:
- the main female character is a Maiden who is touch-deprived, lonely, trained in combat, snarky, and has a temper. She has powers and isn't quite mortal (but doesn't know this at first), and these powers get stronger once she goes through the Culling. She is curious and asks many questions. She also stabs her love interest in the heart. She ignores the rules and finds herself in danger, only to be saved by the male love interest.
- the main male character is presented early on under a false identity only to be revealed as the female MC's enemy/rival, even though he was always aware of her identity. He was also previously caught and tortured.
- the male and female MCs have an unexpected make-out session within the first few chapters. The female acts like she dislikes the male MC but they totally lust after each other like crazy, and by the end, they are forced/pressured into a relationship.
- the concept of forbidden love. While Poppy and Casteel from FBBA are forbidden love because of who they are, Sera and Nyktos have chosen to live without love because of their past/upbringing.


There were enough differences that it was still possible to enjoy this story, but I couldn't help but think about FBBA the entire time. It felt like I had already read this story, so I wasn't as engaged or excited about it. But, again, if I had not previously read FBBA, I may like ASITE more.



The characters were two-dimensional (but I still love them).

Sera has been groomed her entire life to disassociate, seduce, and kill to become what she needs for the kingdom. But when she is rejected as Consort, she loses her identity and purpose. Unfortunately, Sera didn't grow much in this story, but I think the revelation about her powers sets her up for character development in the next book.

Ash/Nyktos is a hot god who is powerful, secretly kind, closed off from love, and a loner. After 600+ pages, that's about all I know. Hopefully, the next book gives us more insight into his thoughts, motives, and general personality. JLA, please tell me more about Daddy Nyktos. Thank you.

3.75 ⭐️ Well, that f*cking hurt

Trigger Warning (18+): Toxic relationship and

Spoiler

death of a child

.


I started this book at 9pm on a Monday expecting to read a few chapters. . . I finished Tuesday morning at 1am. This book was so heartbreaking that I just couldn't put it down without knowing how Tate and Miles’ story ended. And let me tell you, that ending did NOT disappoint.

Just like other Colleen Hoover books, my heart was aching the entire time while it anticipated the tragic plot twist. I don't know how she's able to craft such beautifully heartbreaking stories, but she manages to pull it off every single time.


Let's talk specifics:

The dual POV and timeline made this story. Getting inside Miles’ head hurt. I knew from his first interaction with Rachel that whatever happened to them would be so horrible their love could not survive. This kept me in a constant state of heartache just waiting for the inevitable tragedy.

Did anyone else think Miles was borderline creepily obsessed with Rachel? Maybe it’s just how CoHo wrote his POV but I was not attracted to it nor did I understand it or believe it to be anything but teenage insta-love aka lust.