I don’t know how to rate this book. There were enjoyable parts, things that made me laugh and squeal, and then a few problematic stuff. Which is honestly something I should just expect when it comes to romance, but every time I am still disappointed.

I absolutely loved Lucy and her smolness. Just a couple pages in, I was already in love because as Gretal said, I felt “represented”. It’s rare to have a main character in a book be short. And Lucy is a tiny five feet and she’s adorable. I love how she dresses like a librarian, especially considering she works in publishing, and she’s a fun perspective to read from. She’s strong and feisty, which helps to make up for her smolness (a thing I didn’t actually mind because it made for more fun back and forth banter). She’s also a hard worker and really passionate about book publishing, and that made me want to squish her and put her in my pocket. I love how she really wanted the promotion and was working so hard to get it and wouldn’t let Joshua get in her way no matter what. She didn’t forget herself and her dreams just because there was now romance in the picture.

She is a little weird. She likes to smell Joshua a lot, which I found to be slightly disturbing. Though Josh smelling like pine or whatever after he just worked out is so fake, I rolled my eyes. In reality, Lucy was just drenched in Joshua’s disgusting post-workout sweat, which is so eww.

But I love how she stood up for Josh at the end and let Anthony hear it. She absolutely destroyed him, and I was actually sitting with my mouth open. Anthony deserved that and worse. I cannot imagine a father practically ignoring his son for his entire life just because he wasn’t planned to be born in the first place. And to see Josh work so hard to get his approval and notice made me really feel for his character. It hurt and I could imagine how hurt Josh must feel, and it did make some of his characteristics make more sense. He is your typical brooding, emotionless love interest, that is until a beautiful little lady forces him to confront the darkest parts of his soul *rolls eyes again, but it’s fine really, I guess*

We have a lot of tropey scenes, some of which were fun to read, others made me sigh. The elevator scene was kind of random I will admit. I was not expecting it and was actually really enjoying Lucy and Josh purely hating each other. But then we get this scene and I’m like what is this? This isn’t realistic?? Also aren’t there cameras in elevators?? Didn’t the elevator maintenance guy, or whoever, see them? How wasn’t their “thing” spread around the office immediately? Then we have the typical “oh no she is sick and has no one to care for her scene” which is kind of cute, but then Lucy gets weird, but she also has a fever, but she gets really weird and spills out a lot of her feelings, but we get a softer side of Josh too? It was okay, but it was pretty obvious Josh had feelings for Lucy considering he was literally having Lucy sit in his lap while his doctor brother checked out if she was okay. Anyway…There are a lot of moments of the two of them staring. I have trouble looking people in the eye, but the amount of times these two lovebirds notice each other’s eye colour and just stare for hours is a bit creepy. But fine. Cause romance.

Then we have Josh being a typical possessive, controlling male. He gets so jealous of Danny, literally threatens him in person and sometimes just in front of Lucy. He takes Lucy’s phone from her when she’s talking to Danny and hangs up on him. He also does this thing where he tells Lucy to kiss him and if she doesn’t like it to tell him??? I don’t know if people find these things romantic, but I hate the jealous trope. It’s overdone and annoying. Danny and Lucy ended things off pretty well and yeah Danny might still have feelings for her and flirt with her, but there’s no need for Josh to act this way. I guess people will say he’s insecure because he’s so dark and moody no one wants to be in a relationship with him, that’s why he’s so obsessive cause he wants Lucy for himself. I just don’t find that to be an attractive quality at all. It was annoying and a little concerning. Actually a lot concerning.

I did see the end coming. I knew Josh had already quit his job and forfeited the COO position to Lucy. It was nice, I guess? Lucy deserved the promotion more than him tbh. She’s worked so hard and people actually like her and respect her. I do wish we could have gotten a scene with Lucy and Josh visiting her family at their strawberry farm. I’d love for her dad just to say any name that starts with a J other than Joshua just to annoy Josh even more.

Overall, giving this 3 stars. It had cute moments. I loved all the references to Lucy’s tininess. Those were probably my favourite. And I really enjoyed Lucy’s relationship with Helene. It was so sweet and supportive, and Helene really cared for her. I wish we got more of their friendship because those were my favourite scenes to read. The romance itself had some nice moments. It was definitely addicting to read (hence resulting in me missing my stop and having to get home 40 minutes later than I normally would have). I learned a lot from Josh. Firstly, I need to be cleaner and neater than him. Also, I am totally going to have a white board with meals planned for the week the second I have my own place. So excited, I can’t wait.

I AM IN LOVE WITH MARK WATNEY AND WE SHOULD HONESTLY JUST RENAME MARS TO MARK BECAUSE HE DESERVES THAT.

I don't even know where to start gushing about this book.

First of all. Mark. His sarcasm and self-deprecating humour literally made me laugh-out-loud and smile like a crazy person in public. I just wanted to squeeze him. He is so funny, so relatable, but also incredibly intelligent and resourceful and creative. And apparently that's my thing? I love nerds who can fix things and don't let problems drag them down too much. Who just do the impossible to survive. He is so precious. I literally love him with all my heart. He deserves the world. And more.

The story itself flows so well. I was never bored and constantly on the edge of my seat and stressed out of my mind. I also have now been converted. I love sci-fi thrillers. And I somehow like being a little anxious and terrified. Who knew? Definitely not me.

The way the story is written is so perfect. I loved the glimpses we get of what is going on back on Earth. Annie is probably one of my favourite minor characters lol and we literally deserve a whole book with her just cursing at people and storming out of meetings. I might also be in love with her cause she's a no-nonsense, will-speak-her-mind kind of woman and I just greatly admire her. I also really liked seeing the Hermes crew and what was going on through their minds during all of this. Johansson and Beck are a cute nerdy couple and I ship. The last bit of the book where the MAV and Hermes finally meet (sort of), was so intense. Seeing everything come together in the end, watching the whole world and so many countries working together to get Mark home was just so heartwarming and made me emotional.

There is a lot of science though, and while I did get some of it, most of it did go over my head. It's also hard to imagine what exactly things look like, cause I've never really seen a rover up close lol. A lot of the modifications that Mark did to the rover and trailer and the Hab etc. were still pretty easy to get the gist of though. I didn't find the science too confusing or distracting me from the actual story. The first time I tried to read The Martian, I was a bit annoyed (with myself) for not understanding everything. But honestly, you don't need to get the math or the physics. The details aren't important. It's the journey. Watching Mark go through his ups and downs made the whole book really exciting and fast paced. I really enjoyed how just when things seemed to be going well, something bad would happen. But I also loved seeing Mark figuring things out. HE IS JUST SO SMART UGH. I did have quite a few heart attacks but it was worth it.

SO EXCITED TO SEE THE MOVIE THOUGH! I am going to watch it with Gretal somehow and it's going to be great and I'm probably going to jump five feet in the air when the airlock explodes but its fine everything is fine.

4.5/5

It's hard to review a masterpiece of storytelling that is this book. I have nothing to say, except I regret not reading this sooner. The relationships in this book will always stand out to me forever. I will never forget all beautiful moments we get with Hans and Rudy and Max and Rosa. This book was so pure and so sad. Those last couple chapters especially. I'm just wow

I'm going to keep this review short (hopefully) cause you already know how much I adore this book. I have been screaming about it on here, as well as on Instagram and Twitter. And I still can't bring myself to understand how I've read so many good books this year. I actually checked to see what my average rating is on Goodreads and I think it's gone up because I only read amazing books now or something??? I can't complain, cause I am very happy.

I attempted to read An Enchantment of Ravens a couple times, but I was either not in the mood or the reviews I had read/what I had heard from friends made me skeptical. I was hesitant to pick up Sorcery of Thorns because of that, BUT I AM SO GRATEFUL I DID.

I don't know how to write this review without screaming about Silas, but I'm going to try.

The one complaint I heard about An Enchantment of Ravens was that it was too short. It didn't build up the world as well as it could have, and the romance felt rushed into instead of gradual. SORCERY OF THORNS IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE.

I am OBSESSED with this world. If you love books–which I'm assuming you do–then you will absolutely fall head over heels with this one. This book is every book-lover's fantasy, but with a dash of danger, because who wants regular books that you can just open and read, when you can have books bite you and attack you and possibly steal your face and sew it onto the front cover??!

The world is so fleshed out and detailed and interesting. I loved the history surrounding the Great Libraries, how they are run an organized, the different classes of grimoires, how they are stored and taken care of, everything about Maleficts... I liked the glimpses we got of Elisabeth's past and watching her grow and develop and confront her fears and misconceptions about sorcery, the Collegium, and demons. Seeing Elisabeth realizing that what she was brought up to believe was quite different from reality was a perfect touch.

Katrien, Elisabeth's best friend and who I would honestly want to see more of, is the aromantic rep I wanted. I too would much rather dive into books and experiments than pursue romance. She's also always coming up with pranks and making trouble and asksfjkdsf I just think she's amazing.

NATHANIEL THOUGH... You know how picky I am when it comes to romance and love interests. But this book did it so well. I was not annoyed one bit. I didn't cringe at all. I loved everything. The relationship was gradual, with a lot of the typical denying-you-have-feelings-for-each-other trope, but it was done in a perfect way. The build up was rewarding. Nathaniel as a character is charming, sarcastic, and funny. He's dramatic, and a little tortured, but not so much that it makes him into an annoying, brooding character (ahem Nasir). His dynamic with Elisabeth is so much fun to read. I love how she's constantly fighting him and being annoying and making a mess of things, and how he obviously finds all of this endearing, especially cause his pet names for her made me melt cause TOO CUTE. But also, Nathaniel is also a mess and constantly needs Silas to rescue him. They're just the perfect messy pair.

ALSO ELISABETH IS TALLER THAN NATHANIEL WHICH I AM OBSESSED WITH. I keep forgetting she's like 6'3 and I think Nathaniel is 6'1 or 6'0. ITS CUTE I SHIP HARD

Elisabeth herself is such a likeable character. She grows and develops a lot throughout the book. She's so strong and resilient and intelligent. I loved her connection with the Great Libraries and the grimoires. She's not afraid to ask for help when she needs it, but she's capable on her own as well. And the relationships she forms with everyone are so impactful and heartwarming. I'm still not over her relationship with Silas and how she refused to see him as an evil demon, but as someone who loves and cares for Nathaniel and has a good soul inside.

SPEAKING OF SILAS.

SILAS IS A SMOL.

SMOL DEMON CARRIES LARGE HUMANS.

SILAS IS LIKE 5'5 AND HE CARRIES ELISABETH AND NATHANIEL MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THIS BOOK AND IT KILLED ME

I CAN'T WITH THIS CUTENESS. THE IMAGE IT CREATES IN MY HEAD IS HILARIOUS. LIKE A TINY BABY CARRYING A HUMAN. A LITTLE SUMO WRESTLER BABY CARRYING A HUMAN. THAT'S HOW I PICTURE IT, EXCEPT SILAS IS IN HIS PERFECTLY CRISP UNIFORM, NOT A HAIR OUT OF PLACE, WEARING HIS GLOVES, HIS HAIR TIED BACK. DFJDKJFSDLKFJSL I CANT PEOPLE

AND TO MAKE EVERYTHING EVEN BETTER. SILAS CAN TURN HIMSELF INTO A SMOL WHITE KITTEN. WHEN THIS HAPPENED I LEGIT SCREAMED INSIDE CAUSE THIS IS ALL I EVER WANTED. I WAS ALREADY OBSESSED WITH SILAS FROM THE MOMENT ELISABETH MET HIM AND SAID HE WAS BEAUTIFUL AND LOOKED KIND AND SHE HOPED NATHANIEL TREATED HIM WELL. BUT THEN HE TURNED INTO A KITTEN (AND LET ME SAY HE MAKES A PERFECT CAT, TOTALLY UNAPPROACHABLE, A LITTLE SASSY AND GRUMPY, CARES A LOT ABOUT GROOMING, WAS NOT HAPPY ABOUT ELISABETH'S MADE UP NAME FOR HIM) AND I MELTED INTO A PUDDLE.

AND THEN TO MAKE EVERYTHING EVEN MORE HEART-WRENCHING. WE GET NATHANIEL'S BACKSTORY AND SEE HOW SILAS HAS CARED FOR HIM AND HOW HE'S GROWN TO LOVE HIS MASTER BUT ITS ALL PLATONIC PEOPLE

PLATONIC

P L A T O N I C

I CANNOT DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS AND WANTED THIS/NEEDED THIS. ALL I WANT IS A RELATIONSHIP LIKE THIS. I WOULD LOVE A HUMAN WHO COULD TURN INTO A CAT BUT THAT IS UNLIKELY.

WE NEED MORE PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS IN BOOKS. ROMANCE IS FINE, BUT FRIENDSHIP IS GREAT. MY HEART BROKE WHEN NATHANIEL HUGGED SILAS. IT LITERALLY BROKE. I ALMOST CRIED ON THE BUS. THIS BOOK GAVE ME MAJOR FEELS AND MOST OF THEM WERE SILAS RELATED. BUT ALSO NATHANIEL RELATED. I FELT LIKE ELISABETH, THROWN INTO THIS WORLD, MEETING A DEMON WHO CAN TURN INTO A CAT AND THEN FALLING IN LOVE WITH SAID KITTY CAUSE IT CUTE AND THEN REALIZING HOW MUCH SMOL DEMON MEANS TO NATHANIEL AND SEEING HOW MUCH SILAS ALSO LOVES HIS MASTER AND CARES FOR HIM MORE THAN HE LIKES TO ADMIT AND THEN ITS JUST A MESS OF FEELS.

Okay, I'll stop screaming. This better have convinced you to read this book. I won't get into the plot, but it was surprising and had plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I really liked how things wrapped up. The last sentence though...I CRY. It's a perfect, hopeful ending.

4.5/5 stars

(Want to add that the ending was pretty great, but I agree with another reviewer that the main villain's reasoning for what he did kind of fell flat)

IF YOU DONT READ THIS I WILL BE SAD AND SET A SMOL DEMON ON YOU

I HAVE BEEN CONVERTED. HUGE THANKS TO GRETAL FOR RECOMMENDING ME THIS BOOK.

I am a scaredy-cat. Actually, I'm worse. I can't watch scary movies. I jump while watching non-scary movies. And I avoid horror and thrillers at all costs. It's funny because I used to be obsessed with the Goosebumps books when I was little. They scared me and gave me nightmares, but I still read them. I don't know what happened, but at some point I turned to fantasy and never looked back. I have major regrets.

I also don't read a lot of adult fiction, though that has been changing recently. This adult, sci-fi, horror story was perfect! I didn't get nightmares, which is great. But was I creeped out? Yes. A little disturbed. Yes. Am I going to swim in the ocean. Probably never. Would I watch the movie version of this? Honestly, no. (Unless Gretal watched it first, wrote down all the jump scares, and then watched it with me in broad day light and was willing to watch it on mute with subtitles).

First of all, I had no idea Mira Grant was also Seanan McGuire. Second of all, the amount of research and thought that went into this book is mind-blowing. As someone with a basic understanding of science (maybe more than basic, since I do have an actual degree), I was shocked at how things made sense. I should read more well-written sci-fi tbh, cause I'm missing out on stuff that's creepy, but at the same time could totally exist because we absolutely do not know everything about our world. Also, the way it was written made it easy to read and understand. That's one of the problems I find with sci-fi sometimes. As the reader, if you don't get the science behind the fiction, it leads to a less immersive reading experience. This book wasn't like that at all. I loved all the science. It made me very happy and excited. ALSO THE NECROPSY WAS SO COOL I WOULD NOT MIND BEING PRESENT FOR THAT BUT ON LAND FAR AWAY FROM THE OCEAN

I really enjoyed all the perspectives we got. It was so fascinating seeing the thoughts that went through the sirens' minds too. I was really expecting to only get Tory, Jillian, Olivia, and Theo's perspectives for the most part, but the other POVs were nice to read and definitely fleshed out everything a lot more.

This book is also quite diverse, which was nice to see. The romance between Tory and Olivia wasn't distracting from the plot, just anxiety-inducing cause I was scared one of them would die. I was scared a lot of people would die. Though I wasn't upset by two certain deaths, cause they're murderers. Luis almost gave me a heart attack when he went around screaming HOWDY ARIEL. smh boys. Heather and Holly and Hallie were so great. It broke my heart when Heather died even though I knew it was going to happen. And seeing both Holly and Hallie deal with it in different ways was interesting. I loved the addition of signing in this book too, and how hard both Holly and Heather worked to accomplish their dreams and goals. Seeing Hallie really get through the captured Siren was amazing. I'm curious to see what happens next if there is going to be a second book.

Overall, highly highly recommend. I have been converted and will now try and read more scifi and horror :)

A book that was high on my tbr for this year that I finally managed to get to!

This was a pretty good read. I honestly don't have much to say about this book besides that I really enjoyed the writing style. It flowed very well and was quick and easy to read. The book reminded me a lot of The Lunar Chronicles, though it is quite different. The Queen with the veil thing really did it for me. The plot itself is quite unique and I found the world building to be interesting. The representation in this book was also nice to see. I did mostly add this book to my tbr because of the aroace rep, and I'm really happy with how it was done.

As for the characters, I was kind of meh about them by the end. I didn't really fall in love with any of them. Anna kind of annoyed me a lot, especially because of how clueless she is and how rashly she acts. She's quite self-focused, and while she does learn and develop as a character, I feel like we could have gotten more development.

The pacing in this book really threw me off. Things go from a relatively normal pace, to everything happening all at once in a span of a couple days. This book is a standalone, so it makes sense for the plot to be tied up at the end, but this was kind of the main thing that turned me off this book. The romance was also super rushed, and literally both characters had major feelings for each other in the span of a day. I prefer more slow-burn if there is any romance, so I wasn't a huge fan.

Eliza was an okay character. I did find it odd that she realizes that Nathaniel wanting to please his father is just like her wanting to please the Queen, then promptly forgets she thought this and goes on to betray Anna, and then come to the realization that she can be true to herself and happy and have Anna, rather than listen to the Queen and blindly follow her. I mean...the journey it took for her to get there felt roundabout, but I guess it made sense for the plot.

Nathaniel was my favourite out of the characters. He is a bit whiny and doesn't believe in himself, even at the end there, but I did pick up this book because of him. I feel like it's rare to have aroace characters who are male? At least, I haven't read any books besides this one where the guy was aroace, so that was pretty cool. I did understand his character the best, especially considering everything he's been through and what his father did to him. I understood how hard it was to stand up for himself and voice his opinions. It was sad but also super relatable.

Overall, a pretty good read.

The best way to end the year wow

I don’t know how to review this book. I really don’t. This book has killed me. I am dead, deceased, resting in a grave, drowning in my own tears and feelings. It was incredible. This whole book. I actually have zero complaints and too many praises, and I have no idea where to start.

Just reading the prologue of this book had me shaking. And then I conveniently forgot the significance of it until almost midway through the book where I was like “Oh nonono, this isn’t happening, please don’t be happening.”

One of the wonderful things about Kristin Cashore is how she writes plot and characters. I honestly don’t think I’ve come across many books in the last few years that come close. She has a way with twisting in minor plot threads and secrets and reveals when you least expect them, except it all fits and doesn’t feel like the author randomly decided to plop in something shocking just to please the readers. It all needs to be there and fits with the stories and the characters and their motivations.

One thing I loved was how much we get to learn about each side character. Brigan spends a lot of time away from the palace in this book. And even the others…they come and go and are busy with their own duties. But every moment we get with anyone is significant and necessary to their character development. I am honestly shocked with where some characters started and where they ended up. Nash being one of them. Everything fits and is so perfectly done, it honestly makes me cry out of hopelessness, because how am I supposed to reach this level of excellence.

Kristin Cashore excels in everything, but one thing she can do so well–honestly other authors should fall to their knees and beg her for guidance–is romance. You all know how picky I am when it comes to romance. I detest it 90% of the time, but I will never ever hate anything Kristin does with her characters’ relationships. They are slow burn and soft, and full of yearning and unspoken words and feelings. They completely throw away the annoying tropes I hate and embrace the ones I love. Brigan starts off as what you would think a quiet, broody male love interest would be, but we get to see so many levels and depths to his character. I have a soft spot for men who are kind and considerate, and who like to talk about their feelings, who are not afraid to show emotion, and don’t hide behind a glamour of darkness because that’s cool and totally in right now. I think people think the only way a person can be strong and powerful, especially when it comes to men, is if they push away all that softness and love and tenderness, and hide behind a moody exterior. Yes, they’ll have moments when they soften up, but that only happens when the other half of the relationship shows up and conveniently melts their cold heart. I hate that. It’s overdone and stupid and unrealistic and not what we should strive to show how men should be. I love Brigandell with all my heart because he shows he cares about others before he shows he cares for Fire.

The other relationships in this book really stood out to me. Fire as a whole is a wonderful mix of a plot driven and character driven book. Both aspects shine so brilliantly, but honestly the relationships and friendships are what made me fall in love the most. The plot itself is fast-paced and the world is unique and interesting, and there are so many twists and turns and high stakes. I loved every second of it. But getting to know the characters, watching Fire get to know her guard and learn to care and love them, seeing her slowly form a friendship with Garan and Clara and eventually Nash, watching as she plays with Hanna and Blotchy, and cares for her horse Small. It’s all so precious and pure and heartwarming. It makes every character so endearing. Every memory and backstory adds so many layers to this story. The reveals hurt twice as more. When someone is injured you feel the pain Fire feels. It’s just all so ughhh. I want to scream and squeal and make everyone read this book and technically most of this review should be in all-caps, but I’m still in a half-fugue state where I can’t believe how amazing this book was and just how good the last 60 or so pages were. There were so many moments where I wanted to cry my heart out, but alas I am a stereotypical male character and my heart is frozen and will never be thawed cause eww love.

100000/5 stars. One of the best books I’ve read this year. Such an excellent way to end off 2019. This will be a book that I will reread over and over and over again.

Would just like to add a few things:

Fire is a cancer. There’s no question about it. She’s kind and loving and compassionate and a healer.

“Will you carry me, Papa.” Is the quote that killed me in 2019

Men with children make me weak at the knees

Fire struggling with wanting children when she shouldn’t was a huge mood and I felt for her so much.

2/5 stars

Kind of disappointed with my first read of 2019.

I didn't like Audrey Rose as a character. The fact that this story is also written through first person POV didn't help. Audrey is annoying. Her inner dialogue made me want to roll my eyes. She's whiny, indecisive, and kind of a snob? It felt like it would take forever for the characters to do anything because Audrey was too busy telling herself how she doesn't find Thomas attractive, or that she needs to stop being emotional, or she's a feminist and doing things that no one else is doing.

I feel like the author was really trying to push the whole girls-can-like-dressing-up-but-can-also-enjoy-cutting-up-bodies thing? There was a lot of telling and not enough showing. Actually, there was enough showing, but the author also felt the need to tell us everything, as if to re-emphasize what she's trying to do. As the reader, we could have come to the conclusion ourselves without it being forced down our throats every other second.

Thomas was just weird? He literally reminded me of Sherlock from the BBC show. His thought process, awkwardness in social situations, and blunt way of speaking was almost exactly the same. But we had to add the random times he's suddenly flirtatious? It felt odd.

I also couldn't understand the chemistry between him and Audrey. If Thomas could hear Audrey's thoughts, he would have abandoned the flirting on page one. I get that Thomas is attractive and everything, but he starts flirting with Audrey almost immediately and Audrey spends the majority of the book trying to talk herself out of falling for him, but then falls for him anyway. The whole scene where they're out at night and get attacked and then Thomas proclaims how he feels, actually had me laughing out loud cause it was so random? I don't know. I just wasn't a huge fan of this relationship.

As for the big reveal...I guessed it halfway through the book. And while I knew who it was, I felt like Audrey was kind of an idiot to not notice anything? I also find it hard to believe that the person hid everything so well for all those years and then only cracked near the end?

Despite that, the plot was interesting? I didn't know anything about Jack the Ripper before, so I found the whole investigation to be the one good thing about this book. It was really slow at times, and just being in Audrey's head made it worse, and when I googled things after I regretted it immediately, but I was genuinely interested in the forensics and postmortems that were done, even though they were really disturbing to read about.

Also, I'd just like to say that Audrey, her Uncle, and Thomas will probably die because formalin is a carcinogen and they were literally sipping tea in the lab while being surrounded by the fumes...

Rating this 3 stars overall just because I did read it pretty quickly. It was good enough for me to want to pick it up and turn the pages. I don't think I'll be picking up the other books though.

Ahhh I love where things are headed