"'I don't know any of those cursebreakers,' Adrius replied easily. 'I know you.'"

Garden of the Cursed is single-handedly convincing me that I sometimes have good luck. Not only is it yet another incredible by Katy Rose Pool, but I ordered a used copy and ended up with a signed, exclusive edition? My dreams have come true (and it's so beautiful).
This is yet another one of my fantasy-mystery reads where we join Marlow as she tries to break a compulsion curse on her ex, Adrius. I'm not usually a fan of second-chance romances or fake dating, but this book has proven to me that there are good examples of those tropes. There's so much angst and I'm here for it. I love all of the twists and turns and red herrings. The only thing I have any issue with in the plot is that most of the scenes are just party scenes with a bit of drama, and I'm hoping to see maybe a bit more action in the sequel but that's my only complaint.
I love all of these characters so much. If Swift doesn't get a happy ending, I'm going to riot. There's also Toad, the magical cat, and I love her. Most of the other side characters are designed to be unlikeable, so I wasn't really fond of them. But Marlow and Adrius? They're one of my favorite book couples and I love Marlow's personality and Adrius's sense of humor. They're amazing.
The last time I reviewed this, I said "I apologize for the person I will become when the sequel comes out," and guess who just got an ARC of the sequel. I love this duology so much and cannot recommend it more, and I am so unbelievably excited for one of my most anticipated reads of 2024.
4.5/5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Maybe that's all love was. Handing someone a knife and trusting that they wouldn't cut your throat."

I firmly believe that Katy Rose Pool is incapable of writing a bad book.
There Will Come a Darkness is one of my all-time favorite series, so when I found out that Katy Rose Pool was releasing a new duology, one that's a mix of fantasy and mystery, I was ecstatic and it was 100% worth the wait.
A murder mystery filled with so many twists and turns that I managed to call only one of them, agonizingly angsty romance, loveable characters, a unique magic system, and a cat named Toad? What more could you ask for?
I read this entire book in basically one day. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire thing, annotating the heck out of my poor e-book because I felt that everything was noteworthy.
Marlow is an incredibly cool protagonist and Adrius is one of my favorite love interests. I love Swift and Toad and the vibes of the story as a whole.
110% will recommend to everyone I speak to for the next 24 hours, and I apologize for the person I will become when the sequel comes out.

Link to My Annotations

Congratulations to Shola for giving me not one, but two heart attacks.

The Doors of Midnight is the epic fantasy sequel to The First Binding, and it is every bit as beautifully written...and as daunting. My copy of the e-book was 1163 pages, and each "page" was technically two e-book pages worth of swipes, making it really 2836 pages... Was it worth it though? Probably.
Once again, the novel is told through two main plotlines - the past and the present - with other stories and folklore woven in throughout. My first bit of advice for this book? Try harder than I did to find a summary of the first one to refresh yourself because going in blind is a bad idea. Most of the events of the first one came back to me, but the names were a bit confusing. I do think that the "present day" of this book was better than the last, but I'm not so sure on the "past" because I did find it to be a bit slow at times, although I suppose that's to be expected from a book that's 134 chapters. The style definitely makes up for the pacing.
We're introduced to a lot of new characters in this story. Shola is still my favorite little orange cat, and Ari remains a very intriguing narrator (I keep forgetting he's only 16 in his past right now). I wish there was more time spent with Radi and Aram because I didn't like Qimari as much. I really like Sham even though I'm scared he's going to turn into Fishcake from The Mortal Engines (if you know, you know). Eloine is growing on me, but I still have trust issues, so...
If you enjoyed The First Binding, you won't want to miss The Doors of Midnight.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.5/5

I'm going to be honest and admit that I retained very little of this book for a variety of reasons, so full disclosure: anything I say might be unintentionally wrong.

I really liked the concepts for Age of Shadows: girl sets out on a mission to reverse time and kill the evil emperor before he's even born while the emperor struggles to end the evil inside of him before it consumes him. I liked the vibes and I liked the concepts, but I didn't really like the execution.
As I said, I didn't retain a lot because of some life circumstances and also I just didn't connect to the characters initially, so I didn't get invested in the story until about 85%. There were parts of the plot that confused me greatly, but that might have been an issue on my end. The plot (for me at least) didn't really pick up until the 80% mark, so I actually did enjoy the ending and the implications for book two (plus some really cool time travel tropes), but I was bored for a lot of the rest of it. I also felt that every time I picked up the book I had to remind myself of what was happening and I struggled with re-immersing myself.
I did like some of the character designs. Kal got on my nerves a bit, and I didn't like Zale either. Kyros's design was super cool to me because he reminded me a lot of my favorite characters but he was also a simp for no reason whatsoever. Jairus was neat (I don't know what I liked about him, though) and I didn't hate Maya either.
I think Age of Shadows is one of those books with great potential to find the right audience and to really take off, but personally, I couldn't get into it.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
2.5/5

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, and I would like to blame the Tragic Backstory trope for that.

Heartless Hunter is one of the select few romantasy books that I enjoyed. Maybe it was the spying and the subterfuge, or maybe it was my curiosity as to Gideon's backstory, but I read 75% of it in one day. I thought the worldbuilding was cool (I'm always a fan of blood magic) and I also loved the "post-revolution" type story.
The story follows two POVs - a witch's and a witchunter's. Rune is a witch trying to smuggle other illegal witches out of the country and Gideon is a witchhunting soldier bent on catching the Crimson Moth (who is Rune). There's a lot of politics and fake courting with ulterior motives. I did manage to call one of the plot twists immediately (my first annotation for one character is "either they're not trustworthy or they're going to die"...and both were right). I called the other one right before it happened, but both of them were extremely well done.
I don't know that either of the main characters really stood out to me personality-wise. They reminded me a bit of Nina and Matthias from Six of Crows. Surprisingly enough, I preferred Gideon over Alex, I think mainly because of Gideon's Tragic Backstory. None of the other side characters really stood out to me because they were all relatively shallow.
Romantasy fans will not want to miss out on the fast-paced, enemies-to-lovers story that is Heartless Hunter.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
4/5

Welcome back to reasons why Abby should never, ever be allowed to be a detective. (To be fair, I did accuse the murderer at one point...along with literally every single other character.)

Blood and Moonlight is yet another fantasy mystery where I failed to accurately predict the murderer, but apparently, that's something I enjoy. It masterfully balances the ratio of mystery and fantasy elements to create an enticing story filled with suspense and drama.
We meet Catrin, an orphaned young woman who works with the architect until she witnesses a brutal murder. From there, she must work with the detective - Simon - to find the murderer and stop him as quickly as possible. I didn't love the fantasy elements as much as I did the mystery ones, I think because I'm more used to the genre and found them to be fairly predictable. However, I didn't officially "catch the killer" because there were so many red herrings. That being said, the plot twists were foreshadowed enough that I think it is possible to find the murderer before the big reveal.
I had mixed feelings on pretty much all of the characters. I liked Catrin more as the story progressed and she became more strong-willed. Simon was the only character that I liked the whole way through. Juliane and Remi both grew on me the further I got into the book. Most of the other characters I didn't really care for. I will admit that the romance was a bit more fast-paced than I usually prefer, but that wasn't a big deal.
Fantasy mysteries are quickly becoming my favorite subgenre, and if you are like me and prefer fantasy stories with elements of mystery more than romance, Blood and Moonlight is a wonderful gateway into the genre.
4.25/5

Also, to my cousins who will now get to read this with my lovely annotations, I apologize for being paranoid about everyone and also for proposing a drinking game in the first chapter. To be fair, my annotations were pretty tame compared to my e-books.

"Home is wherever you are."

Silence and Shadow is the thrilling sequel to Blood and Moonlight, and I actually sort of caught a villain this time?! The mystery was a bit different, the dynamics surrounding the characters a change from the previous book, but it was just as enjoyable, and, once again, my annotations are full of paranoia...although I was a bit more narrow-minded this time.
This book picks up right where the last one left off with Cat and Simon moving to a new town. Cat plans to enroll in a Selenae academy, but they are quickly thrown into a new mystery involving a series of murders right outside the town. There's plenty of mystery and betrayal, and the past plays a large role in solving the mystery. While I did manage to call the big "betrayal" from what I believe was the character's second appearance (and I was adamant that they were the killer and refused to hear evidence otherwise), I didn't officially "catch" the murderer. However, I kind of think that it wasn't foreshadowed well and I think it would've been nearly impossible to predict...and they also find out the killer's identity at like 65%, they just don't do anything about it and it's not a red herring.
The cast of characters shifted almost entirely in this one. I missed Remi a lot, admittedly. The new characters weren't quite as intriguing as the old ones to me, with most being middle-aged men with basic names (Martin, Edward, Roger, etc). I trusted Hespera from early on, but she's the only academy teacher who really stands out. I didn't love Philippa because her backstory felt kind of convenient but I know it was necessary. Catrin was just as stubborn and bent on justice as she was before. Simon, however, wasn't as present in this book as I wanted. I understand why, but I missed his little detective sprees because he relied entirely on Cat for mystery-solving which is a mistake (she only realized Simon loved her halfway through the story).
Silence and Shadow is a fantasy mystery sequel that provides another mysterious adventure filled with magic, romance, and secrets. While I do think the mystery is a bit less fun than the previous story, it completes the duology in a satisfactory way.
4/5
Link to My Libby Annotations

We're less than two months into 2024 and this is the third thing I've read where the love interest has purple eyes. It's going to ruin the color purple for me.

A Broken Blade has been on my TBR for a while, so I put it on hold on a whim, and now that I read it...I don't know what to think. I'd read that it follows a lot of popular tropes and it does. Like, the majority of the book is just tropes.
The plot follows the king's Halfling assassin - Keera - as she is ordered to find and kill the mysterious vigilante rebel figure called the Shadow. Keera falls in love with Riven, a Fae with purple eyes (and is that shadow magic I spotted?) and then they decide to kill the king because he's kind of an elf-racist. Honestly, I feel like most of the book felt a bit like preparation for a climax that never happened. They blew up a dam, sure, but my e-book said I had another 5% but then the book was over. I know it's a series, but this all felt like a lead-up. It was also fairly predictable, but it did have some unique twists.
The issue for me was that every single male character was kind of creepy. Both princes - Damien and Killian - flirted with and/or kissed Keera. Nikolai (my favorite character I guess?) also flirted with Keera. And, obviously, so did Riven and they actually made out at like 20% through the book. I didn't really like any of the characters besides Nikolai, although I didn't hate Syrra. I just wish we got a little more depth to them.
Fans of YA fantasy who love books filled with their favorite, most popular tropes will love A Broken Blade, but if you're not a fan popular tropes, I wouldn't try this book.
3.5/5
Link to My Libby Annotations

"And then it was simple, because they were bonded, and there was no one she'd rather be more vulnerable with than him. No one she trusted more. He was a part of her, and her of him."

Wings of Shadow is the final book in the Crown of Feathers trilogy, and re-reading this for (I think?) the third time only solidified this as one of my favorite series of all time. The world-building is beautiful and I love the parallels, and overall it's just so amazing.
Tension has escalated in the empire and now there appears to be three sides: the Phoenix Riders, Avalkyra and her strixes, and the Empire. I won't go into too many details to avoid spoilers, but this book is the angstiest one yet. There are some scenes that live rent-free in my head, and there are just so many parts of this book that I adore. The ending made me cry harder this time than I had before, which doesn't make sense because I knew what was going to happen.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, one of my favorite parts of this series is the characters. Tristan and Veronyka are literally "couple goals" and I think the reason I love them so much is that despite their romantic relationship, it has the feeling of a platonic one because they're so perfectly balanced. Sev and Kade also deserve a lot of attention because Sev's angst and Kade's reassurances mean everything to me. Avalkyra's arc still intrigues me greatly because despite being the antagonist, there is still a part of her that longs to belong with the heroes. The only POVs I didn't love were Elliot and Sparrow, but I have to keep reminding myself that she's 15 (12) and that their dynamic really is unique. I don't dislike them, I just got mad when their POVs interrupted everyone else's sometimes.
Wings of Shadow is the epic conclusion to the Crown of Feathers series, and if you're love high fantasy with rich history, intriguing and beautifully written characters, and a plot involving the rise and fall of royalty, this is a trilogy you don't want to miss.
4.75/5

Once again, a book has fallen victim to not meeting Abby's extremely high expectations, and it's not the book's fault.

I picked up The Space Between Worlds because I thought it was a multiverse murder mystery and it sounded super cool. As it turns out, I just assumed it was a murder mystery based on the description and then got mad when it wasn't, so my opinion on this book isn't completely fair and I'm going to try to be as unbiased as I can because of that.
I haven't really read multiverse books before, so I was a bit scared going into it but the worldbuilding was actually fairly easy to follow. There are infinite universes, yes, but only 380 or so are similar enough to Earth 0 to be traveled to, and only if a person is dead in the universe they want to visit. The book mainly takes place in Earth 0 and Earth 175 (although there is backstory in 22). Most of Cara's other selves are dead and I assumed she would be trying to figure out why, but instead, it was mostly political rivalries and corruption within the company. The story had potential and the worldbuilding was cool, but it felt very slow to me and I also found the ending to be unsatisfying. The problems are sort of resolved, but it just felt like a lot of build-up for something that never came.
I also had mixed feelings about the characters. Cara is a very stubborn main character and I thought her backstory was very neat, but I didn't love her personality at times. As a "sorta" love interest, I found Dell to be a bit bland just because she was so aloof and we didn't get a reason until almost 30 pages from the end. There were also 8 different "Niks": Two Senior Niks, three Nik Niks, and 3 Adraniks (except one has a different name). Admittedly, I think the Adranik and Nik Nik dynamics between each universe were probably my favorite part because there was a fair amount of tension behind each introduction to a new character because I had no idea if I could trust them or not.
I think that The Space Between Worlds is a neat sci-fi book, but personally, I don't know if it was for me.
3.5/5

I finished this book a few days ago and I've been trying to figure out the best way to review this without sounding like the shallow and bitter reader I am. So, naturally, now that I'm hangry, I've decided now is the best time to rant review this book.

Wow, Abby, how mature of you. Classics are supposed to be respected, and here you are, complaining about yet another one. Look, I have lowered my expectations drastically since I started taking more advanced English courses. I understand that classics are not supposed to be appealing in the same way a fantasy heist is. I understand that they are important to read. But that doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy the process.
I love dystopia as a genre, but I knew going into this book that I probably wouldn't like it. My expectations for it were drastically lowered by my disappointment towards 1984 (although I can now safely apologize to 1984 because Brave New World is its demented cousin that should never have visited the family reunion). I had multiple people warn me never to read this book.
To borrow a line I saw on the internet once, the bar was low but this book decided to limbo dance with the devil.
Well, no wonder you hated it, Abby. You didn't even give it a chance.
But I did. I'll be honest when I first started this book, I actually kind of enjoyed it. I was willing to put aside my initial disgust because I found the social commentary and the worldbuilding intriguing.
There, here you go, here are the very limited things I ended up liking about the book:
- the social commentary
- the Shakespeare references
- the fact that I finished, I can say I read this, and I once I take my test on it, I'll never have to think about it again
The social commentary was good, yes, but pretty much everything else was bad. Here, I'll give you a very brief, spoiler-free(ish) summary.
The characters: Bernard is not like other girls. Lenina is just like the other girls. Helmholtz is too smart for his own good (but give him the vibes of a lonely scholar staring longingly out the window, if that makes any sense). Linda is exactly what you would picture given her name alone. John is simultaneously the most basic dude to walk the planet and also the most interesting in a way. Henry? Irrelevant. Benito? Irrelevant. Fanny? I think you get the idea.
The plot: In the simplest terms, guy is mad that he's, like, the only virgin ever and he decides to take a girl on a vacation to a Native American reserve (how romantic) to prove that he's not defective. You think it'll escalate. You think bad things will happen. You come up with all kinds of elaborate theories. And then you're fed the most disappointing semblance of an ending that you could ever imagine.
Oh, Abby, surely you're exaggerating. Look, by all means, read it for yourself. Experience the same disappointment I did. Or just imagine walking out onto your porch, finding a box that looks like it might have a new TV, and then you open it, and inside there's a napkin. It's useful, but that doesn't mean it's what you thought it would be.

Am I glad I read Brave New World? Yes. Do I think it's an important book and a classic for a reason? Also yes. But that doesn't mean I liked it. (And you can try to change my mind all you want, but good luck with that...)