This book was brilliant! It reminded me of Pretty Little Liars but tackled bigger issues. I can't believe the author was so young when she wrote this and could truly capture different perspectives and build up suspense. I was unsatisfied with the ending but I still recommend it!

This was a wonderful retelling. I loved the feminist themes and the way the author compels us to feel empathy for all characters. Very reminiscent of Kaikeyi and Circe.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were all complex, with their own tragic pasts, flaws, and development over the course of the story. The relationships between these characters were also complex and interesting. There was the classic enemies to lovers, the desire to protect family, reluctant allies, and a potential buildup for a found family. The worldbuilding was great, too, and the theme of standing up to oppressors important.

Great read! Thrilling plot, diverse characters, impressive worldbuilding. Overall, I give this book between 3.5-4 stars. It would have been a solid 4 if not for a scene in the ending, but no spoilers! I highly recommend this book to sci-fi lovers and anyone who is interested in the dark side of technology. Fans of Black Mirror, Sword Art Online, and Ready Player One may enjoy this.

My initial impression is that while I enjoyed the book, I‘m not sure I‘m the kind of reader that likes time loops or time travel. The story was still compelling. Particularly because the crux of the narrative lied with the characters.
The book was well-written. The main thing that annoyed me was how it was all very “insta-love” and I really am not a fan of that.

This book was beautifully tragic. Loved the descriptions, the multifaceted characters, the unmistakable symbolism, and the theme of lonliness and trauma. However, it was such a sad book so be prepared to cry!

“There is always a way out of a situation. Might be ugly, might leave you feeling like the earth had gone and shifted under your feet. But there is always a way around.“ 😌

Wonderful diverse YA fantasy that is a retelling of Medea, which made me want to know more about the myth as well as more about plants. I can't wait to read the sequel

Wonderful diverse book that takes a familiar trope (fake dating) and turns it on its head. Would recommend to those still wanting to get another holiday read in. 4 stars.

Overall, I did enjoy the book, loved the feminist themes, and loved to see progress in a society with the caveat that I know this is fiction and does not define Hindu beliefs, as I know that was an issue brought up by many. As an original work, though, I would rate it four stars, and I'd love to explore Indian mythology further.

Loved this! I did like Legendborn slightly better but loved that I got more Sel, Alice, and William with this one. Also loved exploration of identity especially in terms of magic, bloodlines, legends, and race. Need next book now

Loved this book! It was cute, romantic, funny, and steamy. The woman love interest had a lot of agency and goals beyond love and that was nice to see. Also loved the exploration of grief here.

I do like this series! Not my favorite book if it but still good with beautiful descriptions, epic battle scenes, and intriguing characters.

Loved this! Why have I never read Shadowhunters until this year? Love the fantasy world-building and the characters. Not so much the incest. This isn't Game of Thrones.

I found I really identified with Rose. In some ways, Rose was the ghost, trying to be as invisible as she could be and live in the past with her brother. I suppose in a way, grief can do that to us, keep us in a time loop and keep us from moving on.
I also appreciate the plethora of nerd culture references. The romance in the book was also cute. The one flaw? She let go of the breath she didn‘t know she was holding a total of three times.

Beautifully written with complex characters and nodes to Harper Lee, Rachel Carson, and Thoroeau as well as poets. Maybe slightly genre-confused.

I actually did enjoy Extasia aa a gory body horror with a focus on religious trauma and themes of the darkness inside us. There are A LOT of trigger warnings for this one. I thought the MC had good character development, though the other characters didn't. There were also some inconsistencies. Def not a book for the weak of heart and stomach, but I'm not normal so it didn't scare me. I gave it three stars.

Great worldbuilding, forbidden romance, very slow burn. Could get stuffy at time with the historical and scientific background info, but a great paranormal dark academia read.

I love how Brigid always challenges assumptions commoners make of the royals and vice versa and while including political intrigue also looks at ways the rulers have failed and how they can do better, especially in areas of poverty levels.

A beautiful five star coming-of-age novel about two Mexican-American boys discovering their identity and sexuality in the 80's. Loved the stream-of-consciousness writing, the quotes, the way it portrayed people dealing with trauma differently, and the familial relationships.

Though I didn't find this as good as Red, White, & Royal Blue, I still think it's five star quality. My favorite part is the found family dynamic. Just makes my heart so happy. The plot, while a bit too convenient at times, was super original: where else will you hear about time traveling lesbians stuck on a subway? Loved the themes of emotional vulnerability as well.

I loved the characters. They seemed relatable and messy. Loved the nods to The Hate U Give. Important themes. Did find the writing style not as good as the first book.

Amazing epic fantasy inspired by 1001 Nights. Though it is a retelling, I never knew what was going to happen next. (I thought I did but I was so wrong). Chelsea Abdullah had a way of taking the original narratives and making it into her own tale that evaluated morality and what that means.

Loved this. It was basically a Cinderella retelling inspired by Persian mythology. Great characters, great worldbuilding, beautiful prosaic writing. Wish it had a faster pace though.

I loved the characters and the themes of identity and purpose and belonging. While the heist plot was interesting enough, I do think there could have been a faster pace and more obstacles thrown in.

While the story was confusing at first, I love how all the inner stories connected, the adventure we got to have with Zachary, and the stunningly beautiful prose. Not written for everyone, but as a bibliophile, I enjoyed it.

Great worldbuilding, plot, and characters. The twists are a bit predictable but I love fairy tale retellings so much.

I loved this swoon-worthy romance that had a dose of reality with it. I loved the banter and attraction between the two main characters and the inspiration it gave me as a writer.

I loved how John could review various things with a humorous and personal touch, wrapping it all into the lived human experience and what it might mean to be human in this vast universe

First Western I've read. Loved the worldbuilding, and the characters, especially Farron. The plot had potential but ran slow which made it frusturating when not much was resolved.

I'm not super intro thrillers but I really enjoyed this one. I didn't see some of the plot twists, and the ending left me reeling. I loved how all the characters were connected in ways you couldn't imagine.

Very informative. Long-winded, reads like a Victor Hugo novel--but shares a lot of historical facts and inspires wanderlust. It can get confusing on who's perspective you're reading when there's stories within stories within letters.

I'm new to the horror genre, and while I appreciaed the aesthetics, I found parts of the plot to be either unbelivable or disrespectful/problematic. Ex. Why did Luca leave in the first place? and how did they have a non-pregnant woman lactate? I don't have enough word count to go into the rest I found just...wild.

I don't know why so many people hated this book--I loved it. It had all the elements of a good dytopia with some major plot twists. I didn't like the love triangle though, bleh. Love quadrant? Speaking of which, Kilorn is totally Gale. Anyway, can't wait to read the next book.

I will always pick up a book with the fake dating trope. This book made me cringe so hard at all the decisions the character made but even suffering from secondhand embarassment I wanted to read more. I love seeing characters slowly peeling away at each other until they know each other. I love banter. I hate problems that could be solved with SIMPLE COMMUNICATION COME ON. Anyway, I liked this book. Four stars.

My word count allowance is to short to express how much I loved this cute, fun, and somewhat steamy queer romance. Alex and Henry are everything to me now and I loved the love quotes they sent in their emails, and I love the hope for a better world and all the complex characters.

I loved this book! So many plot twists, with clever foreshadowing that I can see when I look back. Amazing, dynamic characters. Lessons on fate and forgiveness. Just amazing all around.

I thought Riva did a phenomenal job and conveying the struggle of mental illness in a way that could also be relatable to those with similar struggles.
Despite these great points about the book, I found I just personally wasn‘t a big fan of the writing style: often choppy and a bit jarring to read. Plus, it seemed there was much more “tell” than “show.”

This YA LGBTQ+ contemporary romance was so cute. The storyline in some ways seemed reminiscent of Prom (the musical)–I mean, a gay Indiana teen being ostracized because of prom things? In other ways, the novel reminded me of my own conservative midwestern town with powderpuff football games and tall cornfields. Liz as she tries to balance everything, complete with drama at each event. I thought it was also predictable but lovely.

Hope and love. The very fact that love could exist in such a place as Auschwitz shows that there can be a glimmer of light in the darkest of times. The hope and the love–that‘s how these people survived.
I greatly admired Lale. He never gave up on trying to help others. He risked so much to help other prisoners within the camp. One recurring quote in the book really stuck with me: “Save the one, save the world.”

I really liked the book. I was really drawn in with the descriptive writing and the well-researched “news articles.” I loved seeing the different perspectives and the way everyone‘s lives were connected. I loved seeing how there could be hope even in the most despairing of times.
My main issue was how jumpy it could be between the povs. I think it would have been better to divide them between chapters. I also wasn‘t too fond of the ending.

I might not be smart enough for this book! I appreciated the religious and perhaps even mythological symbolism but I'm sure there were metaphors and themes I didn't pick up on. It's a quick read, and a thought-provoking one, but not for every reader. Certainly not an escapism read.

I couldn‘t care less about how pretty Celeana was but the characters would ramble on about it. I also was a bit tired with the love triangle–especially because I already knew who I was rooting for and I predict they‘ll be together by the end of the series.

I still really enjoyed the read and I got more into it the further I read. The narrative really raises the question of morality. I loved the characters and worldbuilding.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was very suspenseful at times but fun at others. While I love the 80s, I do think the nostalgia and references were a bit too much at times. The characters were also super cringey but I found that endearing, showing that even society‘s “losers” can be heroes. I also loved the theme of taking down monopolies and big corporations, almost as if it was directed at Jeff Bezos. 🤣

The chapters were short, and to the point. It was easy-to-read, as a middle grade book should be, but slam-packed with emotion. As I was expecting, Ness packed a punch in short sentences that a thirteen year old boy would use, which still made me feel all the emotions. The metaphors of the monsters really made sense, too. There are even some actions that caused me to wonder if the monsters were real–or were they in Connor‘s head.

I really adored Patroclus and how he always tried to do the right thing. Meanwhile, Achilles became too focused on his own glory that he sometimes lost his way. Patroclus was like his moral compass. I adored the writing style. I actually think The Song of Achilles was better than Circe. TSOA felt more personal and relational.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is I think it should have ended sooner than it did.

I was initially drawn into this book by the writing style. It was so descriptive and insightful. The setting was beautiful.

I was also so invested in the relationship between Lira and Elian. Their banter gave me life. Which is probably why I also loved the side characters so much.

. I thought the ending–betrayal to forgiveness and that sort of thing–happened way too quickly. I‘d think the characters would need more time to process everything.

The writing style was captivating from the get-go. What I loved most about this book was how important the themes are–especially around sexuality. While I do in some part mean LGBT rights, I also mean how society pushes to either sexualize or desexualize women.
I also loved how the characters in it weren‘t completely good or bad. Evelyn Hugo wasn‘t the most likable character. She was self-centered and manipulative–yet capable of compassion.

I really liked the character development of Circe. She starts out as a shy little girl who wants to please everyone, desperate for approval. Later, she becomes hardened and bitter, hating everyone. As Circe learns, both these ways of living are not viable for a good life.
The writing style flowed well, almost poetically. The book, in my opinion, started out slow, but I later was enthralled in the story.

I‘d give this book three stars. It probably deserves more, but I couldn‘t deal with how sad this book was! It was a tear-jerker from page one. I think the pacing could have been better.
That being said, the descriptions and writing style in this book was beautiful.