zoesallbooked's reviews
401 reviews

Each time I reread this I love it more and more! I picked up on so many more little clues this time around. I'm excited to see how I feel about the next one this time!

4.5/5 stars! Raisa, the character that bothered me in the last one bothered me less in this one, but she still has a long way to go! The series is near perfect for me other than how annoying I find her. I'm excited for the next one!

I'm so curious to see where this series is going. I have many thoughts! I need to finish this series soon so I can do an in-depth discussion. The characters are bothering me less and less as they grow as people, and each book has gotten better than the last. This is quickly becoming one of my favourites!

I didn't have high hopes for this after the first 50 pages or so. It's wasn't quite info dumpy, but so many new terms were introduced without much explanation that I wasn't feeling it. I'm so glad I kept going though! I saw some of the twists at the end coming a mile away, but some of them I wasn't quite expecting. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

This one was just okay for me. Super predictable, the writing didn't stand out in any way, and I just honestly didn't care about the characters. I will read the next one when it comes out because I have a thing about completing series, but it definitely won't be one of my most anticipated.

Also, this concept is so similar to the movie In Time with Justin Timberlake. I liked the movie better.

This was such a cute book! It was a super quick read, but it was exactly what I needed. These characters weren't nearly as ridiculous as many I've read lately in YA contemporaries which is such a breath of fresh air.

Fun fact, I'm always nervous about reading a book with a character named Zoe, just because I'm worried it will be a stupid character and I'm stuck picturing myself in her place. This Zoe was awesome. She was funny, down-to-earth, and a good friend. Also, she was black, which I can relate to :p

Claudia can kind of act like an idiot at times, but it wasn't over-the-top and a constant thing throughout the book. Yes, she sometimes made bad choices and overreacted to things, but she's 17, what else is new? The thing I liked most about her is that she wasn't afraid to stand up for her friends, both when they're around and when they're not.

The love interest being named after a Harry Potter character (#spelleddifferently #hehaditfirst)? That may have a role in why this was a 5-star book for me.

I loved watching Iris grow as a person. I'm not going to say much about her so I don't spoil anything, but I think she's my favourite character.

I'm kinda torn on this book. I really enjoyed it, but at the same time it didn't stand out to me. I think a lot of my enjoyment came from trying to find the similarities to LotR. The similarities are obviously with the books and not the movies since this was written in the 70s, so if you've just seen the movies, there are some things you won't pick up on. I love retellings, so this isn't something I would personally be upset about. After all, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

Spoiler

I found it interesting that the book encompassed their journey from beginning to end. I wasn't expecting it to all be wrapped up in one book.

I've heard that his other books are more original, so I'm excited to read those!

Allanon pissed me right the fuck off though most of the time. He constantly talked down to everyone, and every smile was "mocking". Really bud?

Spoiler

I get it, you're centuries old, and you've seen everything there is to see. Quit being a dick about it.

This was so well done! Beatrice and Benedick frustrated me to no end but in the best possible way! I would have loved to be a part of a group of friends like this (

Spoiler

aside from the getting shot at and breaking the law

).

Personally, I've always been interested in the prohibition era, mostly because I'm from Windsor, Ontario and Windsor had a significant role with regards to rum-running, so it's always been a part of local history I grew up with. I remember being a little kid and seeing the picture of a car driving across the Detroit River smuggling alcohol. This book appealed to the history nerd in me! (One of my professors wrote this book! [b:The Rumrunners: A Prohibition Scrapbook|16566397|The Rumrunners A Prohibition Scrapbook|Marty Gervais|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|13406792]) I don't know much about the mafia in the 20s, and I haven't read Much Ado About Nothing in a very long time. After reading the author's note and looking up some of the music she mentions, I love how close she stuck to history and the play. Speak Easy, Speak Love makes me want to reread Shakespeare and brush up on my history, local or otherwise!

Honestly, Beatrice and Ben bickering, trying to outsmart one another, and how fast they could whip out insults reminded me a lot of some of my favourite Dramione fanfics. Anything that reminds me of those is good in my books (all of the puns intended).

I had high expectations going into this book and all of them were met. I'll definitely be rereading this one day!

3.5/5

This was cute, but I think I would've liked it more if I hadn't just finished Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills five minutes before starting this one. (I frick-fracking loved that one, so I had high expectations for this one without really knowing it.)

I think one of my main reasons for not giving this a higher rating is that I didn't identify with the country lifestyle. I'm usually don't care about identifying with a character. In fact, I often like not identifying with a character because it's easier to lose myself in the story and forget about my own problems for a bit. The debutantes and the I-have-so-much-money-I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-it lifestyle is one thing (

Spoiler

especially since Megan does an awesome thing and uses the clothes that are so expensive they could feed an entire city to raise money for an awesome charity

), but the give-a-kid-a-gun-before-they-hit-puberty lifestyle is not something I enjoy reading. I get it; she's from Texas, it's a part of life. I'm from Ontario, and it's not part of my life. I'm against guns and hunting for sport. My grandpa has his hunting license, and he used to go often with a group of friends, and I've always hated it.

Spoiler

Her dad giving her her first gun at thirteen is just not something I enjoy reading. Yes, the quail that they hunt isn't just for sport, but it's the fact that they make a party out of it. If you're hunting to eat, just get it over with and don't make it a competition.

Another thing that bothered me was how selfish Megan could be at times. If she were a 16-year-old, it would've been more understandable. But she's 20. Get your head out of your ass and try to see things from someone else's perspective. Maybe ask why something is so important to someone and have some compassion for what they're going through. Oh right, her head was so far up her own ass she didn't see what other people were going through.

Spoiler

While she did finally grow up a little by the end, it took way too long for her to get there.

(edit: I totally forgot to mention this)

Spoiler

One of my biggest pet peeves about this book was the fact that the stuff in the synopsis seemed like a huge deal. Caught in the middle of a media frenzy? Not really, that was more her sister. Humiliated herself in front of 10-year-olds? For half a second, not even, and then they loved her. Punched in the face by another girl? An accident during a soccer game. The way it's written makes it seem like these are huge deals, lots of drama involved, but they were extremely minor, in my opinion.

3.5/5

I think I liked this more the last time I read it. The first time I was quite bored the whole time (and annoyed with Dinah), the second time I enjoyed it more, but this third time I was really annoyed with Dinah again. I did like looking back on some of the things leading up to twists in the second one, but I'm honestly pretty glad that I have the third one now and I have no reason to reread these again. I enjoyed it, but I can't see myself picking up this series again after I'm finished.