⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Okay - this book takes Cinderella, and crams her into Battle Angel Alita. The sci fi was good, Cinder was likeable, and it was really entertaining. I loved the oriental spin on the classic fairytale, and that it was Cinder, not the prince, that did the saving. I‘m glad that I finally got around to ticking this off my TBR.

⭐️⭐️ “I am not the girl who fell. I am the one who got back up.”

I was very let down by this one - I was so excited to read it after first seeing it make the rounds on bookstagram a couple of months back. Thankfully I was able to listen to this through BorrowBox, and didn‘t end up getting the book in hardcopy. Whilst it was written very well, it didn‘t really draw me into the story, and I really struggled to keep pushing through with it.

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The story was slow to unravel, and then it started to feel like a “Ghost Whisperer” fanfic. The pace really picked up, and I started to get invested, but it wasn‘t anything that really grabbed my attention. Obviously being part of a series, it was expected that it would have a cliffhanger ending, but this was lacklustre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “You can‘t fix other people‘s problems. You can‘t fix other people”.

This was full of surprises, twists, and turns - I couldn‘t put it down. It was such a page turner. My only issue was that it took a long while for things to start unraveling - it sort of dragged out in the beginning.

⭐️ It just dragged on, and on. I have no idea when to pinpoint the exact place the train went off the track. Was it that the main character bounced between knowing that she‘s giving up classified information, and thinking that her feelings are real? Or was it when the potato-worshipping space cats showed up like a psychedelic Matt Damon from “The Martian”?

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⭐️⭐️ I have been hyping this book up for myself since 2005. The synopsis and premise sound incredible, and I remember loving the movie. I decided to finally get around to reading it because the show had just started production. I was so disappointed and let down - it was such a struggle to keep pushing through it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This memoir is a very emotional and heavy page turner. Please note that it discusses and recounts abuse.

For someone who never received an education past grade 5, Jaycee is an incredible writer. She is a fighter and a survivor - I wish her and her family the best, and hope that they can move on with their lives.

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The blurbs of these books honestly really hype them up, and psych you into reading them. The cover on this one is beautiful until you realise that it‘s missing a question mark. The science was really the only thing that kept me going to be honest.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a really difficult one to score because I have so many mixed emotions. On one hand, "Furyborn" felt like it had taken every element that was highly praised from every YA fantasy book ever, and tried to tie it neatly with a black and gold bow. But on the other hand, i really like how it picked up in the last third of the book, and really took off.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this so much more than the movie - it provided more complexity and explanation for the story and characters, and the ending wasn‘t was rushed. It was a really quick, heartfelt read, and it is definitely my favourite book by this author.

⭐️⭐️ Luce‘s constant back and forth with her feelings towards Daniel wasn‘t necessary. Either make him understand that you have your own free will, or cut him lose. This relationship isn‘t dynamic or respectful at all, and honestly not worth all this heartbreak or pain.

⭐️⭐️ I had a lot of expectations with this, but I was left quite disappointed. Luce was described as being a strong, determined, driven young woman - but she was written as a very passive person who just doesn't take control of her own life. The story itself was very dragged out, and I almost feel like even with all that world-building, nothing happened.

⭐️⭐️ There were some aspects that I really liked about this - it felt like it had all the ingredients for an epic "Law and Order: SVU" episode, and it was a more modern whodunnit. I liked that the background of the two officers was discussed - and that it really helped set the scene for the other books in the series. The crime itself was a little bit hard to follow as it unfolded, and the tension never really builded for me.

Can‘t help but feel like she‘s referring to the movie based on the first book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ERMAGERD
I have one book left. ONE. Do I read it now or do I self-sabotage and put it off?? I don‘t even know what to think - my head is spinning from all this new information. My heart is broken. How will Rose get out of this one??

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When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be a teenage version of “Girl On The Train”. Then I fell into this web of lies and metaphors - was the pill and the “family illness” Micah‘s family‘s way of keeping her out of trouble and getting into certain situations? The lies on top of lies got to be too much. I like that it‘s a modern take on “the boy who cried wolf” but it was too disjointed for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I self sabotaged and really dragged reading this book out. I only have two books left. What do I even do after this? This was incredible and kept me at the edge of my seat. Just like the earlier books in the series, it was so addictive, and you can‘t help but read 180 pages in a 90 minute sitting. This series sets the bar of how YA books should be written.

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This was a struggle - an unbelievable, painful struggle. I am so happy that its is over. The only saving grace was the writing - I love her writing, just not this story. I‘ve never been one to throw around “toxic masculinity” or felt so whitewashed and wrapped up in ancient gender roles.

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This was seriously one of the most confronting and heartbreaking things that I‘ve ever read. I feel like some things were never answered of addressed - how was the inebriated grandmother‘s word worth more than Josh‘s and his father‘s? The fact that this story mirrors other people‘s real experiences and history is absolutely awful.

⭐️⭐️ When the book opened, I really thought it was going to break the YA trilogy mould, and was really going to pick up. I wanted the very obvious “trick” with the motorcycle to turn into an amazing twist, but that fell through. I was really hoping that after spending so much time in living in Hades that Beth would have lost hope, and would have lost herself.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ So I have couple of thoughts:
1. I actually liked this a lot more than I was expecting to - it was a lot more complex and had a lot more character depth and development than I was expecting.
2. The best way to describe this is as “Twilight” but for angels.
3. I had no idea that the author was Australian (not that it matters, but I like to support Aussie YA authors - because it is much harder to break into that circuit).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WOW. WOW. WOW. Never have I ever read a paranormal series with so much complexity and depth. Everything ties together and is fleshed out so intricately. This is an amazing series. I am so anxious to see what happens next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my god. WHY DIDN‘T I GET INTO THIS SERIES SOONER?!?!? I really liked that Rose was headstrong, but wasn‘t written as a 23 year old in a 17 year old‘s body - that she struggled with more “human” things like feeling like her best friend was leaving her, that she was being labelled as too young and immature. The writing is just as incredible as the first book, and I don‘t know how, but it was more addicting than the first.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I can‘t tell if it was short, or if I was so absorbed that I wasn‘t noticing how quickly that I was moving through it. I really wish that I started reading this series when I bought it 5 years ago. It was amazing - it had me in suspense and at the edge of my seat. The writing was beautiful and immersive, the complexity and depth of the characters was out of this world. Now, please excuse me while I start book 2.

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I found this to be one of the more enjoyable books in the series, but it didn‘t feel like it was part of it at all. It felt more like a chick lit book, rather than a paranormal romance. I liked the new take around the werewolf aspect - that Cole equated it to drug abuse, but again, it didn‘t feel like it was part of the series. I really connected with these characters more so than I did with the main cast in the original trilogy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book is my second favourite out of the whole series. It added some more dimension to Four, and getting to re-read some scenes from his point of view was amazing. Getting a better understanding of his thought processes really helped to solidify him as a character. What he went through was horrific, and it was beautiful to see that Tris meant as much to him as he did to her.

⭐️Tobias would have been able to grow up with Tris and get to experience normal life with her if they had the chance. Let him get over the pain of her loss with time, but this was completely off the reservation. That was not mended, not even one bit. You can‘t just toss out and dismiss Tris, and chalk them up as another fallen casualty to young love/ a crush. Nope. Series ruined.

⭐️⭐️This has me very conflicted. On one hand, I feel like Tris' endgame fit her character and personality - this time she was strong enough to sacrifice herself in the place of someone she loves. But on the other side of that, I feel like I had been cheated by the way the series ended up getting dragged out. It didn't do the characters and their developments, pain, suffering, and sacrifice any justice.

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This was recommended to me by my best friend - and I was not disappointed. Even though it was published way before my time, and is shorter than most YA novels, it was so intriguing and gripping. There were so many twists, turns, and subplots - most of which I didn't even see coming. It was very suspenseful and creatively written. Even the world building was enough to draw me in.

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Whist I like the uniqueness that was brought into the story, it wasn‘t enough to counteract the underdeveloped characters. I understand that it is difficult to breathe more life into a shorter story, but even the villain and world building fell through for me - it was very underwhelming.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “You raised me to fight monsters...it took far too long to understand that the real monster was you.” I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY. I CAN'T EVEN WORD. This is one of the most beautiful, magical, and thoughtful books ever. From the fantasy to the friendship, this is a stellar debut. The character development, the metaphors, and the underlying message brought me to tears. This book deserved all the hype and respect that it generated.

⭐️ I FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH THE SERIES.
I might be the only person that feels this way but - I would have preferred it if Jack was dead. That event was very scarring for Alex, and really should have made his character grow up and evolve. I feel like this book was very forced and unnecessary - although the action was much better written compared to other books in the series. I really didn‘t care for this one, and it was the hardest to get through.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was 1000 times more gripping and interesting than the other books in this series. It was a lot more believable and plausible. This story deserved a 9 part series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ For a “thrilling conclusion” it fell quite flat and was very predictable. I know that it‘s a struggle for an author to tie up (what was at the time) a 9 Book series, but it didn‘t do the series any justice. It‘s understandable why more books are being written.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Why are all the villains one dimensional? Why do they all need to kill Alex at a precise time? Why are they all seeking revenge after being bullied in their formative years? This book felt reminiscent of book 7 - I had to double check that I wasn‘t re-reading “Snakehead”.

“I do not want normal. I want greatness.”

“Three Dark Sisters” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This was the first book in the series that I read, and it was absolutely fantastic. It‘s a very dark fantasy, and I cannot wait to catch up with the rest of the series. The writing was beautiful, the story just had me addicted. It‘s one of the strongest prequels that I‘ve ever read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this one - it‘s my new second favourite in the series. I like that there‘s more complexity to the plot now, and that it‘s not as repetitive as the last couple of books. I really liked how well researched and written it was - I was pleasantly surprised by some twists too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I've had this sitting on my TBR for over a decade. Yes, I am a terrible person. I really valued and appreciated this, and found it enjoyable. However, whilst I am not the intended audience for this book, I know that it would have impacted me more if I read it when I originally purchased it. It moved a little too slow for me, and it got a bit too preachy for my liking.

This is a heartbreaking coming of age story that centres around Grace, who is grieving after the loss of her twin. On top of all watching her friends and family crumble around her, Grace turns to a life of partying to fill the void - all whilst in her final year of school.

This book was marketed to fans of John Green - and I'd add that fans of Melina Marchetta would also enjoy this book.

It was a very interesting read, and rather that discourage religion, it focused on asking questions, to better understand what it is that you believe in. It wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking, and I can't help but feel like the underlying issues were not resolved.

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I absolutely love Arthurian legend and mythology, so when I discovered this book, I started it straight away. Unfortunately, I just couldn't gel with it - I really had to force myself to keep going, which is unheard of for me when reading this genre. The plot itself wasn't gripping, I appreciate that it tried to bring new ideas to the table, but for a prequel, it didn't really do much but describe a prophecy that we already knew about.

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I want to start by saying that while I love the book and movie, I‘m not the biggest fan of the “secret” GOT-esque relationship. That‘s my only fault in it.
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I loved how we really got to explore the characters psyches - the really in depth, dark intentions that the movie didn‘t get a chance to analyse or reflect. From Lucille‘s psychotic intent, to Alan‘s deep, unrequited, unmatched love - facets to characters I didn‘t know existed.

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This series is very wrongly marketed as middle grade. I'm sorry, but no 10-14 year old should be reading about death, attempted murder, or have to read a scene that describes blood suspended around a dead man in space as Christmas ornaments. While it is definitely one of my favourite books in the series because it is so action packed, but this "wrong place at the wrong time" business is getting to be all too much.

⭐️⭐️I was expecting the author to flesh out the murder of Brigitte. instead, it was more centred around their marriage, their facades, and their family life. I can‘t help but think that a true crime novel should focus on the “whodunnit”, rather than try to have us guess who the bad guy was. It became very misogynistic - Brigitte the cruel, cold, poor little rich girl, when in fact it was her husband that was a manipulative, social climbing abuser.

I feel like the author is just recycling plot from earlier books in the series - this was very similar to the plot of book 2. It's still very fast paced, but I'm getting a little bored with MI6 seeming to turn heel every 4 chapters. There was a very quick development in maturity, and the plot twists can still be seen from 100 miles away.