Whispers in the Waters is a prequel to the Blood of the Fae series, and it's a short mystery story following a young woman named Jessa as she investigates a series of odd occurrences at a mill.
This book is a prequel, and I believe it's set up specifically to introduce the reader to a certain aspect of Jessa's backstory that is necessary for the actual books in the series. However, I'm not sure how important the entire story is for the remainder of the series. I requested ARCs of the prequel and the first book, but only my request for the prequel was granted. Therefore, I don't know how much the entire book relates to the rest of the series, but based on my guesses, this prequel could probably skipped.
My main issue was that it didn't hook me in. I didn't care much for Jessa because I wasn't given much time to get to know her, nor were the rest of the characters dynamic enough to catch my interest. There were a few interesting plot points, but it was ultimately too short to create a deep care for the characters or the world. This could be due to its status as a prequel.
I wish that my request for the first actual book in the series had been granted because usually prequels are read after after the first book or the whole series, and I feel that it would've made the prequel more interesting.
Whispers in the Waters is an interesting introduction to the world of the Blood of the Fae series, but ultimately I don't know that it is required to read the rest of the books and I did not find it incredibly enticing.
3.25/5

I can't tell if this novel suffers from second-book syndrome or if the series just isn't living up to my expectations.

While The Smoke Thieves felt like preparation for the next book, I still think that The Demon World felt like it was setting up for the next book.
Did I read it in one day? Yes. But once again, it felt like so much and so little happened at the same time. I actually found the first half to be more interesting than the second, as it felt more urgent and dangerous. While I liked that all of the POV characters got together only to split up again, I got annoyed once again by some POVs that were useless or boring. Let me explain:
Ambrose and Catherine are one of the pairs that have POVs almost always involving each other...and there's only so much I can take. While I can tolerate Catherine and her intelligence, Ambrose doesn't grow at all as a character. His thoughts are constantly just "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine" and he literally does nothing helpful...ever.
I liked Tash again, and I like that she's a solitary character with a handful of "found family" friends. I'll be interested to see how her character arc plays out in the next book.
In the first book, Edyon and March were my favorites but honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of them in the sequel. Edyon never stopped flirting, which wouldn't be a bad thing if he, y'know, was better at it. He uses the same pickup lines over and over again... And March just wallowed in self-pity and failure to make smart decisions the whole book. In the first book, they faced a lot of danger but in this one, it felt significantly less urgent, and honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I intend to finish the series eventually, but it's not at the top of my priorities.
The Demon World is the second installation in The Smoke Thieves series, and it expands the world established in the first novel while also setting up for an epic finale.
3.75/5
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"Real men wear floral when trespassing..." -Ravi Singh

The people who know me are aware that I typically read fantasy and sci-fi, not mysteries or thrillers. However, I've recently been in the mood for a good mystery plot and as I have failed to find a good fantasy murder mystery, I turned to a novel that I was sure had to have some sort of murder plot: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder...and it was far better than I expected it to be.
You see, although I can call plot twists in fantasy/sci-fi books fairly easily, I have the unique ability to completely focus on all of the wrong details in mysteries and fail to call any of the plot twists. This book was no different. I had one theory that I was dead set on, and I refused to listen to any other theory and therefore failed to figure out the plot twists. It's safe to say I should never be a detective.
I really liked that the plot twists were indeed twisty, but not so much so that they didn't make sense. Once Pippa confirmed some of her theories, they all made sense and none of them left me super confused. I also liked that there was a bit of "danger" at the end with Pippa and a certain someone...and I (in the worst way possible) look forward to seeing the stakes possibly escalate in the next few books.
And the characters? I love Pippa and Ravi so much. I found Pippa to be really relatable because some of her concerns and her academic prowess reminded me of myself in some ways. However, she's much cooler and smarter than me, so... And Ravi? I'd seen the Instagram reels. I knew what I was getting myself into with the nickname. All I'll say on that matter is that Ravi is 100% written by a woman and you can tell. Make of that what you will.
I will be reading the rest of the series, probably sooner than later because I'd forgotten how much I enjoy a good mystery. I feel like my opinion isn't entirely valid because I'm not the biggest fan of the genre sometimes, but A Good Girl's Guide to Murder was an amazing mystery and I really enjoyed watching the puzzle pieces fit together.
4.25/5
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Once again, I have failed to call any plot twists, and y'know what I'm not even upset about it.

Good Girl, Bad Blood is the sequel to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and it returns readers to the small town of Fairview, which should be an outlier when counting the crime rates in Connecticut.
While I think I enjoyed the first book more (I simply felt more invested in Sal's case than Jaime's), the story did pack a punch. There were plenty of unexpected developments in the case and I liked trying to figure out Layla's identity.

Spoiler

I was convinced it was Daniel because he never explicitly said he'd talked to Layla, he only recognized the name.

Once again, there was a sense of urgency, but Pip didn't face as much danger as I would've expected.
And, once again, I really liked the characters. Pip is so incredibly smart and I really liked her internal struggles with being called a liar and her insistence on "never read the Podcast comments." I don't think Ravi played as big of a role in this one, but we were introduced to Connor, who I liked. Ravi's still a massive green flag, though. Speaking of which, one of my favorite things about this series is that it's not completely focused on romance. There's a romantic side plot, but it takes a major backseat to watching Pip fight crime and solve mysteries.
I intend to read the next one ASAP, but I'm sort of scared because I've seen lots of bad reviews plus my cousin's five-star review that says "I am not okay"...
If you enjoyed A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Good Girl, Bad Blood is not a sequel that you want to miss out on.
4/5
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"And she hated that because he was beautiful he was loved and forgiven, no matter what he did. He would always be wanted. The whole world wanted."

I was excited to see Cassandra Clare release a novel that isn't a part of her Shadowhunters series, and I was even more excited when it looked similar to A Darker Shade of Magic. However, I found Sword Catcher to be a bit of a let-down.
The world is reminiscent of A Darker Shade of Magic, although bits of it also reminded me of Amanda Foody's Ace of Shades and Tara Sim's Scavenge the Stars. The concept of a Sword Catcher - a body double that acts as a bodyguard at the same time - was very intriguing. However, most of the worldbuilding was done through info-dumps and small passages at the ends of the chapters. I didn't pay much attention to them until it was too late, so I wasn't really familiar with the Ashkar or their backstory, which is probably an issue.
As for the plot...I struggled to get through it. I didn't realize that it would be so focused on politics. Very little of the book was actual action, especially towards the end. There was one "big action scene" at 93%, but other than that, the characters didn't really seem to face much danger besides political issues.
Speaking of characters, I also struggled to connect with most of them. Conor just felt like a more stupid version of Rhy, and while I did like aspects of character, I think that a lack of POV from him almost worked against him because I struggled to understand him and some of his motives. I liked Kel, but his character didn't have much nuance. I didn't trust Antonetta, and most of the other side characters were forgettable. As for Lin...I didn't really like her. Her character was okay, but I found her POVs to be more disruptive to what I perceived to be the main plot and so I rushed through her parts because she bored me. And as much as I like the lack of romance, I wish there would've been more of it considering the rest of the plot was underwhelming.
So, unfortunately, one of my greatly anticipated books of the year turned out to be a bit disappointing. If you like politically focused fantasies or fantasies centered around historical eras, Sword Catcher might be a book for you.
3.25/5
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I've forgotten how much I love this series.

Prior to my reread of Catching Fire, my favorite book in the series was always the first one but I think the sequel might have finally won. There are parts of it that my twelve-year-old mind did not comprehend or appreciate.
For some reason, on this read through I was really drawn to the tiny hints of rebellion in the districts. Are the Games arguably the most interesting part of the book? Yes, but they also occupy such a small percentage of it that it's impossible not to give some credit to those hints of rebellion.
I think the highlight of this read for me, though, was the characters. Admittedly, because I read this in 7th grade I did not care for Finnick or Johanna or anyone besides Katniss because I didn't understand. Reading it again has led to me realize that a) everyone who praises Finnick for being a great character has a good reason and b) that apparently the Hunger Games has a found family that I never noticed before (and I'm ashamed to admit that). I'm actually excited for Mockingjay because I don't remember what happened and I want to spend more time with the characters.
This whole series is amazing, and I don't think I'm emotionally prepared for the third book but we're reading it anyway!
4.5/5

So surprisingly enough I didn't cry at all because I'm a heartless monster.

I haven't read Mockingjay or watched either of the movies since I first binged the series in seventh grade, so it felt more like reading it again for the first time with a vague knowledge of how it would end.
Seventh-grade me did not grasp the gravity of some of the situations in the book. I remember thinking it was boring, and while I still think that this is my least favorite novel from the trilogy, there are parts of it that I actually understand the importance of now and I still found it entertaining.
Once again, we get a found family dynamic with Katniss and her squad when they raid the Capitol, and honestly, I forgot about most of those characters but was glad to be reacquainted with them. I'd also forgotten how much I really didn't like picking sides in the love triangle debate, and while I do believe that Peeta is better than Gale, I still wish Katniss would've ended up alone. Her character arc throughout this book intrigues me a lot, and I think that the love triangle didn't help her explore that at all.
So even though I didn't like this Mockingjay as much as I liked the previous two books, I still think it's a great finale to what has to be one of my favorite dystopian trilogies.
4.25/5

"'I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not.'"

Even though I've seen the movies a dozen times, I haven't read this series since I read it for the first time nearly six years ago and after watching The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I felt that now was a good time to renew my Hunger Games obsession. (Also, I want to prove to my sister why Team Gale is wrong).
There's a reason that The Hunger Games was so highly praised at the height of the dystopian book era. It has so much nuance and social commentary, and it's all subtly woven into the fabric of the story. There's so much that I missed the first time I read it, like the fact that Capitol citizens can tour and even reenact parts of the past Hunger Games. And while President Snow is only present in this book for a scene or two, the reader can clearly see the effects of his manipulation.
The Hunger Games is one of those timeless stories that I can see becoming a classic in the future. Just as we read 1984 and see similarities between its society and ours, I have a feeling that The Hunger Games is only going to grow more relevant as time progresses.
4.5/5

In a shocking turn of events, I actually somewhat managed to call one of the plot twists in this one.

As Good As Dead is the third and final installation in Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy, and I have to admit, it's much different from the first two...in a lot of different ways.
I don't really want to compare it to the rest of the series because I feel like it's not fair to judge them against each other when the vibes are totally different. The pacing in this one felt simultaneously fast and slow. Pip's PTSD symptoms sometimes weighed down the narrative, but the majority of the story takes place over 24 hours and there's a fair amount of action. I think the change I noticed the most was the predictability of the main plot twist.

Spoiler

When it was mentioned that Andie had a purple hairbrush and that the DT killer was often in her home, I thought it might be Jason but I actually dismissed the theory because I thought that was too easy.

Also, I loved how all of the characters really teamed up in this one. Ravi, Connor, Nat, Cara, Naomi - they all came together to help Pip, and honestly that's friendship goals right there. Ravi is setting the standards way too high for men.
I can see why As Good As Dead is either a book you love or hate, but personally, I enjoyed it and I think it closed out the series in a very satisfying way.
4.25/5
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