thesandyreader's reviews
175 reviews

This book unhinged me. I finished it at 12 am and was up till (currently) 1:20 am with theories and questions running abound. I ranted about it in my stories because the thoughts needed to come out. 

What a book. So well written, and ooooh the moral questions, the controversies, as always perfectly done. And the characters - so complex and yet simple at their core. Right and wrong. 

Seeing the beginning of the games - how it grew and expanded to become as we knew it, was fascinating. The morphing from this dull gladiator style obligation that no one watched because it was gruesome and uninteresting, to this highly complex and ever changing “game”. And Snow’s life, his role in it all… and tying in the mockingjay… fascinating. 

I will not spill all my thoughts here, because ~spoiler free here~ but I HAVE THOUGHTS. 

If you want them, watch my HG Yaps highlight and then PLEASE DM me so we can chat. I am already too far down the rabbit hole, I need some people to join me. 🐇

I love a good Arthurian novel, and this one was a fun perspective. 

This book focused around Morgan’s (commonly Morgana) perspective growing up and figuring out herself and her goals. So often the tale is told from Arthur’s perspective or the “good guys” perspective where Morgan is an evil witch out to hurt everyone. In this tale, Merlin is the bad guy, as is King Uther, and Morgan is just a girl trying to live her own life and explore her interests. It was fun to see the story from Morgan as just a daughter and a girl who saw more than the adults thought she could. 

The writing was excellent. It read like a tale - just a classic story, no mystery or anything, just bringing you along as the story is told. I’m excited to see where book 2 takes it. 

This is one of the most unique romance’s I’ve ever read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

It took a while for me to get into it, as typical for audiobooks with me, but once I was in… I was gone. 

Georgia is one of the most realistic and relatable MCs I’ve read in a while. Shy, small group of friends, terrified about going to college, and figuring herself out. She is wrestling with the worries about making friends, finding love, finding herself, and what happens if she doesn’t find any of it?

I really enjoyed following her journey as she finds herself, then works on getting comfortable with herself and opening herself up to her friends. Their friend group is wholesome yet entirely realistic. None of them are perfect, but they all love each other and are willing to put in the work. 

It was frankly a wonderful book and leaves me feeling so happy and positive. 

Okaaaay this was just so cute. 

Nerdy librarian meets wild bronco cowboy and he falls HARD but she loves it. They’re so damn adorable, I love the lengths to which they go for each other to create a safe space, and oooh it’s got some spice. 

I love it. Couldn’t put it down.

I recieved this as an ARC and…
My poor heart. What a rollercoaster it has been on in this book. I was not okay, am not okay. 

The character growth, the heartwarming moments, the twists and terrifying moments. The chaos and betrayal. 

Ara and Graydon… they have my heart. I have been cheering for them nonstop since book 1 and that slow burn was sweet torture. I love their banter, their dance around each other, and the way he makes Ara grow. 

This book, this series… just read it. I can’t give the review I want because I’m afraid of spoiling anything, but just read it. 

Well damn. Excuse me while I go out and try and get my hands on the rest of this series. 

I did this as a buddy read and let me tell you, what a book to read together. There was SO MUCH to yap about at each of the breaks. Theories abound. 

First, Kuang is an incredible author who I feel excels at world building. Her fantasy worlds feel so grounded in reality and it doesn’t take much suspension of reality to buy into her world. Her worlds feel so real and like with a small twist in the fabric, that could be our world, and it’s all done without feeling like there’s huge sections of world building going on. 

The plot of this is madness. There is so much going on, so many different threads floating around that end up woven together and wow it works well. I was so invested, and I am still left wondering about who is evil and who is good in this… it’s all shades of gray and while I am rooting for Rin and excited for the next book, part of me is upset with her and disagrees with her choices. For me, that’s a great book. Shades of gray and levels to a character - no flat good and evil here. 

I definitely understand why people have been raving about this. Excited to read the rest of the series. 

I love a hockey romance and this is no exception. I enjoyed the two of them opening up and realizing what they wanted was actually each other, despite all the issues going on around them. 

Brody is a dream of a man and his relentless pursuit of Hayden is so spicy and fun to read. He will do anything to get what (who) he wants.

With that said, this kinda felt formulaic and predictable. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t feel like anything special. 

This book gave me gossip girl/ clique vibes, but the male version. I enjoyed it!

I loved the variety of POVs and the different cast of characters. Each had a unique voice and it became easier to understand each of them as their pasts and secrets were slowly revealed. 

The romance and plot felt very high school and familiar in a good way. The asshole bully, the never caring friend, the stiff and secretive friend, the new kid who is resistant to the status quo and shakes it up… a comforting and enjoyable read. 

The mystery aspect was something I wasn’t really expecting - trying to find the person behind the accident, what happened that night… an interesting additional plot and if the book didn’t leave me wanting the sequel already, that cliffhanger definitely did 👀

This book just wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. 

I loved the premise of it - a peasant girl who works for Robin Hood, whispering secrets of the household she works in. Robin’s tricks implicate her in a murder and she needs to decide if she is a pawn in the game or an equal player. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think the book really lives up to it. There isn’t much action in the book, it feels like a long drawn out story that meanders from place to place but doesn’t really pick up till 60% of the way through. I didn’t find myself wanting to read it. 

Jane is a selfish main character who seems forever unhappy with what she has gotten in life and I found it difficult to care about her.

The story is at its core about the hunt for Robin Hood by three different people, and that Robin Hood is not the hero he is perceived as. In that sense, it did a great job getting that across, but the story lost the sense of adventure that typically comes from Robin Hood stories. Instead this was a brutal and almost gory version where it’s just a timeline of people murdering each other. Jane has no chance to grow and there is no pivotal moment where she is really implicated and needs to make a tough decision or can really have an impact and think for herself. She’s supposed to be the main character but is really just subject to the whims of everyone else until essentially the last page. 

This might be for you if you prefer books that are dark twists on fairy tales and want to explore human nature.