andat's Reviews (467)

A better monster indeed. We are back to the story of Jack and Jill, with a horrifying twist. Another strange door appears in the basement of the school in a  storm of lightning. Jack, but not Jack is being carried by someone across the threshold. A tale unfolds of body swapping, bargains, and the ultimate choice for sisters who never got to choose anything. I love that we get to go back to the Moors with some unlikely hero companions to help Jack vanquish the big, bad monster threatening the balance of their chosen world. I absolutely adore this series and every book is a delightful peek into what makes these children so incredibly unique. 

Oh, sweet Lundy. Her’s is a story of heartbreak and sadness. Blending into the background, to be little more than nothing only to find the extraordinary in ordinary and pay too steep of a price. The price of wanting it all, and not being able to have it. It makes my heart hurt knowing how she actually ends, but I could not stop reading this! Poor Lundy, she deserved more.

I did not know what to expect after the crazy ending of Gideon the Ninth, but it was not starting out in second person POV. I had just scuttled a book that did the same thing (often mixing first and third in the same paragraph, but I digress), but Tamsyn Muir did it right. I was hooked. When we last left Harrow, she had been rescued by the Emperor who had asked her a very important question. From there we are off into deep space travel as Harrow tries to fix her fragmented memory, understand how she fits with the Lyctors, and what the future means. We jump back and forth from third to second person narration, showing another version of what happened with the Cohort. It 100% should not work, but it does. It feels seamless in the novel and you can’t help but be picked up and carried away with Harrow as she puts herself back together. 

This was a hard read. Not because of the writing. Rebecca Nagle does a masterful job of telling the story and history of indigenous people in the US. This was hard to read because there is nothing that can be done to make this right. There’s a great deal of echoes to current events, mass deportation policies and acts, bribes, a legislative body twisting words to gain the upper hand. It is a hard read, but you need to read this. You need to see the stark lines that were drawn over and over again, in smaller boxes, smaller states, smaller areas to see the wrongs that were done to those that held this land before Columbus or any other colonizer graced these shores. This is history you need to know. 

It’s very clear that the Trail of Tears was monumental in the fight for indigenous land. But it’s far from the only. I had no idea what followed their removal. It was one hit after another, and blatant disregard not only for laws and treaties that were in effect, it was also unabashed, naked greed. Nagle details the huge step forward that happened in 2020, but it’s a long way from being where they should be. It’s heartbreaking to realize the loss these nations have suffered. Do yourself a favor, read this and absorb it. It’s not happy, it’s necessary for us to move forward. 

Before starting I had a fellow reader clue me in that this is a slow burn read. The first half is the set up, with all the action coming in the second half. I’ve been enjoying getting to know the Dozen, the island, and what is starting to feel like a familial curse. The tension is building with the stepmother (oh, I do love a good stepmother trope), the sisters themselves, and the mainlanders. The focus is on the character building, with small hints of the world they sit in. Annaleigh starts to realize something isn’t quite right after speaking to the youngest sister, Verity. (Who by the way, has an uncanny artistic ability at age 6.) Verity is speaking of the sisters who have met untimely ends as if they still walk the halls of the manor. And for her they do. Once Annaleigh’s eyes have been opened, she starts to notice the strange occurrences around her.  

And then, shit gets weird. You think you know how weird. You do not. You really, really do not. Even with the knowledge that the book picks up in the second half, I was not prepared for the pace. From the midpoint on, my jaw was on the floor. Every twist and turn had me reeling. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, I didn’t. Not all the way. And it got faster and faster. I was shocked when I found myself on the last page in a little over two hours from the midpoint. If you want a spooky story with a little bit of everything, this is one you don’t want to miss! 

I was hoping for a funny, quirky office comedy. That is not this book. I am the poster child for office anxiety, so I’d like to say I feel well-versed on how it feels and looks from the outside. The MC was just deeply depressed, awkward, and self-destructive. This is a big old did not finish for me.

I was going to leave this alone, but I looked at the publish date. Oh hell no. The main mechanic for the MC to get access to everyone’s emails is that she would write petty notes at the end of emails, change the font color to white and go undetected until the day she forgot to change the text color. No. Just no. The publish date is 2024. Far past the era of dark mode and inline replies in text. You can’t hide anything in white text anymore and haven’t for damn near 10 years. Starting off on that premise alone is where to book goes sideways. Then add the deeply depressive actions of the MC that the author calls anxiety. No ma’am. Anyone that lives with the anxiety that is described so deeply as this MC would EVER hit send after adding those postscripts in white text because of the change of maybe, kinda, sorta, possibly being discovered. And that right there is when I stopped caring enough to continue reading. (I’m not even touching what the dynamic was between her and the 12 year old neighbor.) Highly depressing that this was my first flop for 2025 when it had been so highly recommended on BookTok. Y’all need to get your head checked. 

I truly don’t know how to describe this book and give it the justice it deserves. There’s almost no world building. There’s a time war. You will not find out why, or what drives each side. And you won’t care. By the time you get to the middle of this delightfully short and rich book, you won’t care. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is the words, Red and Blue, and what happens next. And next isn’t always next, especially when time is fluid. Highly recommend picking this one up and getting lost in the beautiful prose between these two. I think you’ll find it’s time well-spent.

I am probably breaking a rule here to start out reviewing a book with its predecessor, but bear with me. I jwant to start by saying how much I loved Legends & Lattes. It was a “power of friendship” Saturday morning cartoon message, but for adults. Adults who love high fantasy and D&D, that is. But I have a confession to make. I am a book cover snob. I originally strayed from both of these books because of the cover art. It screamed self-published Kindle book, and I was wrong. Don’t be a book cover snob like me. Because once you have read these books, the covers could not literally be more perfect than what they are. I am sorry for book cover snobbery and resolve to be better in the future. 

Now, onto Bookshops and Bonedust. I was thrilled to find out there was more to read AND it was a prequel that dove into the complicated main character from Legends, Viv. Baldree mentions in the acknowledgements this isn’t the original sequel he’d written, but the third. And I can’t think of a better way to spend the time than going back and learning more about what makes Viv, well Viv. 

Marooned in the coastal town of Murk, Viv is forced to ensure small town life due to a nasty injury. This gives us a lot more backstory on Viv and how she forms relationships. We see the spark that carried her through Legends and Lattes as it first begins to form, and what birthed her love of reading. It’s true to its cozy companion, offering a heartwarming story of friendship, community, and the different kinds of journeys we meet our friends on. Bookshops and Bonedust is the perfect novel to curl up under a warm blanket and read the dreary winter days away. I am very much looking forward to reading more from Travis Baldree in what I hope is the near future!

I know, I’m late to the party on this one. I’ve technically read every other book this series touches on first. I really don’t know what took me so long, other than I was worried the Netflix series had ruined it for me. Two quick observations are that a) I always forget she’s technically under YA. I refuse to accept this because it doesn’t read like YA. And B) this may be one of the shortest books I’ve seen by Leigh Bardugo. Maybe because my first book by her was Hell Bent, but this seems like a small sampler at first glance.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can say with 100% confidence, I slept on this book. It’s all right there, all the kernels that are dropped for the later stories, the little hints of a larger plot… they are -right- there. Leigh Bardugo is a master storyteller, Shadow and Bone is just that first glimpse of what she has in store for her readers.

The book opens with a grade A taste of Hollywood slickness and insincerity. You’re ushered into the backlot of Harold Brothers Studios with Misha and his new “very big problem”. You don’t get an idea of what’s coming until after the startling piano scene, but when you do, it is so worth it. Look past the Hollywood archetypes and you start to see the thread that Chuck Tingle is weaving through his horrors. Each one isn’t just the boogeyman, it’s linked to something real and tangible in his life. All real horrors that if he doesn’t solve soon, he and his best friend will end up dead. This is how you weave social narrative into a book. It’s not preachy, it’s not beating you over the head, it doesn’t make you feel bad about your choices in life. (Looking at you Black Box of Doom; take notes man.) It’s taking the tired and expected tropes and beating new life into them with love and a deep introspection that frankly Hollywood needs to pay more attention to. This is what is missing. This is what is needed. Bring on the gay joy. It’s long overdue.