Spoiler

"'There is nowhere you go,' said the Antari to her prince, 'that I cannot follow."

Don't mind me, I'll just be mourning over the fact that I don't live in Red London for the next four months.
A Darker Shade of Magic has been and probably always will be one of my favorite fantasy series, so I was super excited but also nervous when I found out that V.E. Schwab was releasing a spin-off series. The beautiful character art on her Instagram page did not help matters and I practically screamed when I found out my library had pre-ordered the book.
Am I satisfied? 110% yes.
The Fragile Threads of Power brings us back to Red London (and also White, Grey, and Black London, but they're not as fun) and throws us right into the adventures of our favorite characters from the last series.
And, no, my adoration of Kell did not go away.
The plot was well-paced and intriguing and I absolutely love the worldbuilding, but the highlight of this book - and the series as a whole - is the characters. I don't think any of you understand what I'd give to go on just one adventure with the Antari.
Tes is awesome, Kosika might be my new role model, Lila is as chaotic as ever, Alucard and Rhy are amazing, and I want to adopt Ren, and Kell... Kell is probably one of my favorite angsty characters of all time. (My annotations from the chapter when he showed up are just "KELL KELL KELL KELL KELL") The character designs are some of my favorites too.
Fragile Threads has already joined my all-time favorites shelf and I am so excited for the next book.

Spoiler

"She sighed in relief. 'You came.' Kell stepped into the room, the black ring's cord swinging from his fingers. 'You called.'"

Link to Libby Annotations

Shade of Light is a quick and easy dark fantasy read that's perfect for your fall TBR.
The story focuses on Adele, a young woman with mysterious powers as she navigates the world in an attempt to uncover the truths about her path.
The worldbuilding was original and intriguing. I enjoyed the concepts of the magic system (

Spoiler

especially the angels versus demons

) and I think that there's room to expand upon the possibilities in future books.
The plot was extremely fast-paced and while I didn't find it to be overly complex, I enjoyed it. This book is probably one I would recommend to readers unfamiliar with the fantasy genre or who are just beginning to read dark fantasy because it's easy to comprehend and the magic system/plot is relatively uncomplicated. There were a handful of twists too. I will say that I found the end to be a bit anticlimactic and that I wish the story addressed Adele's past with the General a little more, but those were my only main complaints.
As far as POV characters go, Adele was pretty cool. I did find her to be a bit rude and unrelatable at times, but that can be attributed to her past. Her internal monologue was more tolerable than those of other main characters. Personally, I liked Elijah and Rune more than Adele. Elijah was sweet and I wish we learned more about him. I liked Rune because she fell into some of my favorite character tropes (

Spoiler

non-human character who is clueless about the workings of the human world, wings, etcOverall, I enjoyed the book and while it's not the most nuanced of fantasy stories, it's a great read for beginning fantasy readers. (Also, it's more fantasy-focused than romance, which is a nice switch from the romantasy that seems to have the book world in a chokehold right now).

Official Rating: 3.75/5
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.

You can't change my mind; Alistair and Hendry and the rest of the Lowes are just an Addams family that actually follow through on their threats.

Also, I tried really hard to like Briony this time (

Spoiler

because I know what happens in book two

), but, nope, I couldn't do it. She's better than Finley and Elinor, but of the main four POV characters, she's my least favorite.

Awesome magic system, though.

"'Heroes are just villains with worse survival instincts and moral superiority complexes.'"

It's been about a year since I read this duology for the first time, but I could not remember what happened in the second book so I decided it was time for a reread.
Overall, the second book is better than the first. It fleshes out the characters more and it really drives in the urgency of the situation at hand.
While Gavin and Alistair were my favorite characters by far, Isobel, Reid, and Briony grew on me a little. I still have my issues with Briony, and Reid creeps me out, but I didn't hate them as much as I did the first time reading.
Of the three main romantic subplots present in the story, I felt that two of them were very surprising but also they fit relatively well together.

Spoiler

When I first picked up the series, I saw a lot of fanart of Alistair and Gavin and I was confused because they're not a thing in book one, but once I read book two I realized why. Isobel and Reid are a bit weird to me...I don't know why, but something just feels off about them.

All in all, this duology is a great series for anyone looking for a magical "Hunger Games" type scenario or a modern, dark fantasy that will leave you questioning who the heroes truly are.

Spoiler

"'The thing is, I've died before. So I shouldn't be this upset, or this scared. Because I know that when it's over, I won't hurt. I won't want these things anymore, because I won't want anything. I won't be anything. So maybe the way it hurts right now doesn't matter. But I really want it to matter. I-I don't want to die knowing that everything I've suffered through meant nothing.'"

Actual Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Mercury by Lloyd Hall is a YA sci-fi adventure in which the main character travels not only through space but through time as well.

The book had great potential. I found the concept of traveling back in time and hanging out with one's parents really cool and I wanted to see more. However, because the story is so short, I felt like the characters and plot were not developed to the level I wanted.
The plot is extremely fast-paced, which I appreciated immensely (I read about 80% in one day), but the reactions of some characters felt either underdeveloped or overexaggerated.

Spoiler

There's a scene in which Lucy loses her foot, but does not cry or react in any way. However, later in the story, Helena discovers Atticus dies and absolutely flips out.

I also found it a bit hard to connect with Lucy. Once again, because the story was so short and quick, there wasn't much time to completely develop. I liked the found family vibes of Helena's friend group, but the book didn't develop their relationships much.
Additionally, the book ends on a cliffhanger, and judging by the other book the author has written (which he says is not a requirement to read this one), it would be helpful to read Mercury as a sequel to Wardenclyffe.
I did enjoy reading this book and the artwork was gorgeous, but it left me wanting in some areas. Anyone looking for a short sci-fi read for a YA audience would like this book more than I did.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!
Actual Rating: 2.75/5

Actual Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Last year, my cousins and I were at the beach and they decided that they wanted to read to me the second story from this book: the story of a man named Richard. After we all died of laughter, we returned to the living room of the condo only to find a utility man had come to fix our water ... and that man's name was Richard.
So to Richard the Fix-Things Guy, I'm sorry we all laughed at you and hid behind the couch and gave you weird looks. It wasn't you, it was us.

Each story is funny, or touching, or relatable. I will be checking out Hyperbole and a Half as soon as I can. I love the art style too.

I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.

Foundryside has been sitting close to the top of my TBR for a long time now. I mean, fantasy heists and found family? Those are my favorite tropes, and the sheer amount of five-star reviews made me super excited for it.
There were parts of this book I liked: namely Clef, the ways the characters abused the magic system, and the scenes from 70-80% through the book.
However, I couldn't get into the story as a whole. At about 63%, I seriously debated DNFing. I didn't care for the characters and I honestly had no desire to see the book through to the ending. I contemplated putting it aside and restarting sometime again, but the thought of rereading the first 60% made me want to stop even more. I told myself to tough it out until 70%, and I'm glad I did because otherwise, the rating would've been much lower.
Maybe one day I'll reread it and have a new respect for it, but as of right now, I seem to be in the minority that didn't really enjoy the book.
Actual Rating: 2.75/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-book.

"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.

This book is a love letter to dog lovers everywhere.

I went into Our Divine Mischief assuming it was a wholesome little story about a girl, a boy, and a dog. Instead, I got an adventure full of mythology, humor, and love. It reminded me a bit of a lighter version of The Drowned Woods. I really enjoyed the plot, but I think I loved the characters even more. Áila was strong and stubborn; Hew was compassionate and devoted; and Orail was adorable.
You see, the dog gets a POV in this one, and she speaks in poems. Her chapters start as fragmented bursts of feelings but she becomes more eloquent as the story progresses. There is an overarching theme in her chapters as well: an undying love for her owner.
The author said that she was inspired to write this book because her dog of twelve years passed away and I think she captured that perfectly. This book was beautifully written and to be honest I am still crying over it now.
It's a perfect story for dog lovers of all kinds.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free e-ARC.

Cute little romance story with a lovely art style.
Got me through a Law & Justice class without falling asleep.

3.5/5 stars
(because it was too short)