Ice Like Fire was a DNF for me. The first book in this series was okay; nothing about the plot or characters made the book stand out from anything other YA novel released in the last 10 years. This book just continues with that general mediocrity of the first book, but with more politics, making it worst than the first one. I made it about 150 pages through Ice Like Fire before giving up. Not only is the story unoriginal, but it also contains a lot of plot holes. It does not make sense for Meria to become Queen. After spending 16 years telling her Mathis is King and having him prepare to be King, Meria is actually the Queen? Nobody is upset about being tricked in this book or feels like this has caused Meria to be unprepared. That is not the only plot hole. How could all of Winter be destroyed? No Winterian was living outside of Winter? Visiting outside of Winter? And finally, the children are upset that Meria and company abandoned them. They had 23 adults and 2 children and eventually dwindled to 8 adults over the last 16 years. The anger seems very misplaced.

The entirety of book one is written from Meria’s perspective. Why did the author choose to change book two to dual perspectives? This book also Flip-flops between love interests, and it is annoying. Therion seems like a completely different person from Snow Like Ash, and it is clear like Maria will end up with Mathias. Why even introduce Therion as a likable character in book one?

The author also has no diversity in these books. While she writes about persecuted characters, they are the whitest characters in the book. They have pure white skin and white hair. She does not include people of color in her world-building. While she did describe the people of Spring having a darker complexion, the description was a tan, white person. The Spring Court is the villain of the series, so if someone would argue that there are BIPOC characters, they are the bad guys persecuting white people.

Overall, I give this book 1.5 stars due to a lack of creativity, excessive plot holes, unnecessary flip-flopping, and a lack of diversity. I will not be reading the next book, and I do not have any interest in reading something else by this author.

I was very excited to read Cinderella is Dead. A book with a Queer Person of Color main character fighting the patriarchy, what’s not to love? A lot. This book had been on my TBR since its release last July; however, its been a disappointment. I did not finish the book. I got about 200 pages in before I admitted defeat and put the book down. While the premise of the book is good, something about the world Bayron wrote feels off. I know it’s not so far-fetched that a community or a country put so much faith in a book, but something about the story makes me want to roll my eyes.

There is no romantic chemistry between Sophia and Erin. At the start of the book, I wondered if Sophia's feelings for Erin were unrequited or if Sophia was making Erin uncomfortable with her advances. It takes about a hundred pages before Erin shows feelings toward Sophia besides annoyance. Even then, it was more feelings of wistfulness and jealousy. Soon after Sophia, meets Constance, who I am assuming becomes the new love interest, and their relationship developed rather quickly. They have much better chemistry and camaraderie than Erin and Sophia, so there was improvement there, but not enough to save the book.

Sophia also acts like she is the only person who is forced to conform to societal pressure and tends to think only about herself. Erin continually tells Sophia she does not want to risk her life nor her family’s life and flee Lille, but Sophia continuously brings up escaping. Sophia is constantly talking about how she cannot make her own decisions in life. Yet Sophia wants to save everyone by taking them away from Lille despite Liv and Erin saying they want to stay. Sophia comes across as someone who does not think about how her actions affect other people and that not everyone wants the same life as her.

Two side notes that bothered me about the book: (1) private conservation happens in the middle of events with a ton of people around, but there never seems to be any real consequences to being overheard, and (2) this book could have used a map.

I got about 50% through the book before I had to put it down. I wanted to enjoy this book, but it was just a letdown. I cannot fully express why I disliked this book, but something about how Bayron wrote the story left much to be desired, two stars.

Captured by Erica Stevens is a different take on vampires where a group of rebels lives in the forest fighting to overthrow the vampire monarchy and release enslaved humans. The book starts with the main character, Arianna, being auction off to the highest vampire bidder to become their blood slave. While I enjoy dark romance books and have enjoyed books in the past with elements of human trafficking in the storyline, this book made me uncomfortable. Many of the elements from the plot felt taken from America's racist history with the enslavement of African Americans, and to change white slave owners to vampires and the African slaves to a white woman just made the story feel icky. Stevens managed to both write about the horrors of slavery and glorified relationships between slave and slave owner. I believe there are ways to write a book with human trafficking that don't glorify nonconsensual or power dynamics the way Captured does. By the end of the book, Arianna seems more upset about her failed relationship with a vampire than being held captive. I don't plan on reading the sequels to Capture and give the book 2.5 stars.

Ruined King by C.N. Crawford was not as good of a follow-up as I wanted it to be. Overall, the book fell flat, with a large portion of the conflict being about a miscommunication being Ali and Galin. Their relationship in this book did not progress very much. I don't feel motivated to read the next book in the series as I did after finishing The Cursed Prince. While I did enjoy the winnowing between the three tribes, that was probably the most exciting part of the book. Seeing more the relationship between Galin and his family was interesting; however, it ended rather quickly. Overall, I would give this book 3 stars and plan on reading the next book in the series.

I received an ARC for free in return for writing an honest review. Knights of Iron and Ink by Shannen Durey is a young adult fantasy novel about a young girl, Vera, who is a half-fae half-mortal looking for acceptance in the mortal realms. Her journey to find acceptance involves fighting beasts, confronting childhood trauma, and dealing with betrayal. I enjoyed the author's storytelling and world-building. The plot was fun and the camaraderie that developed between the three characters was funny and interesting. I think the series has a lot of potential and that Durey follow-up book will be even better.

The book did have several plot holes. At one point, the author says halflings cannot tell lies but never mentions it again. So the reader never learns if halflings can lie, or was that a lie? There are several other contradictory moments, but they are connected to the climax, and will I will leave them out of this review. The book did have some grammatical and formatting errors, mainly towards the beginning of the book. The map was also relatively simplistic, and while it was helpful to figure out where the characters were traveling, it’s not very pretty.

Several details in the book made me want to roll my eyes, with just how ridiculous they were, particularly with Ronan‘s appearance. The author mentions him being extremely tall and then has him riding a horse, where Vera says he doesn’t fit and his feet almost touch the ground. I found this ridiculous. The author could’ve made him extremely tall without making him taller than a horse and making him essentially unable to ride a horse, but then having him ride a horse for most of the book. The author also uses the word dark as a replacement for curse words, and I found it annoying.

The main character was relatively likable, and the themes were very relatable, with many young adults attempting to find acceptance in this world. Vera is funny, and she is flawed. There is good chemistry between Vera and Ronan; however, this is not a romance book. I did see the author marketing the book as enemies-to-lovers multiple times; however, there was no romance in this book. The book has one BIPOC character. He is Ronan's best friend and is in about 50% of the book.

I don’t think I would purchase a physical copy of this book if I wasn't gifted one; however, I would think about buying an e-book version, and I would download it if it is available on Kindle Unlimited. I give the book 3 1/2 stars. It has a lot of potential, and I will be reading the next book in the series. I think the author did a good job for her debut novel, and I look forward to reading the next one.

Crooked Kingdom was a good book that delivered a somewhat satisfying ending to the found family of Ketterdam. The character development of the series was excellent, with flawed characters working to overcome their problems and improve their lot in life. The heist was dramatic and exhilarating and kept the reader on their toes. However, the ending almost feels unfinished, and the author could write another book on what is happening with Kaz and Inej in future adventures.

SPOILERS

My biggest problem with the book was Nina’s unsatisfying ending. As a reader, I want to feel satisfied at the end of each main characters' storyline in a book. I did not get that with Nina. I understand she’s going to be in the King of Scars duology, but that is a different series. I should not be obligated to read another series to feel satisfied with how her story ends in this series. Her ending does not have to be happy either, but it does need a conclusion that does not make the reader continuously wonder what happens next. Matthias had an ending. The short chapter summed up exactly what happened and what’s happening to him after his death. Nina did not get this in that series. After Matthias dies, we only see Nina from other main characters' perspectives. The author decided to create separate series, having them take place in the same universe, rather than one series that is interconnected. While Nina’s storyline does not end in the Six of Crows duology, her story does need to have a conclusion in Six of Crows, even if it is just one more chapter telling how she feels.

I was always going to read the King of Scars duology, but that might not case for some readers. When Crooked Kingdom was first published, readers would not know Nina's story was continuing in a different series, and that could have changed how they felt about the ending.

This series is better than Shadow and Bone, but the ending left a lot to be desired. Overall, I dislike the idea that King of Scars can change how I feel about this book. That is a whole other series, and that should not affect my opinion of this series, but I feel like it could because Nina did not get a conclusion.

Overall, I think this book was good, but the ending could have been better. I give it four stars.

Poet X is about a young Dominican woman, Xiomara, growing in Harlem, New York with an overbearing judgmental mother, a present but absent father, and her twin brother. Acevedo describes society's pressure on women to be docile virgins, women’s desire to be themselves, and the sexualization of women by men, through catcalling, unwanted touching, sexual harassment, and sex-shaming.

While this book is only from the perspective of Xiomara, the author does not fail to show the pressure society has placed on men to be masculine through the protagonist brother, twin, and love interest, Aman. Xiomara also cast judgment against other women, believing what her mother and society have taught her about single mothers or women with children from different fathers.

The book also focuses on religious pressures children can face from their parents. The author illustrates that religious ideologies are an individual journey that parents cannot force on their children, despite what many people believe. The book reminded me of my own journey with religion as a child.

The book also exhibits that people do not change overnight, with Xiomara and her mother's relationship not miraculously improving after one sitting. Xiomara acknowledges that sometimes relationships with others will never be exactly how you want them.

Poet X is the best book I have read this year. It was extremely relatable, touching on many subjects young adults go through. I think Poet X is a book that teenagers should read in school. The book is diverse, has excellent representation, and fully desires every 5-star review it receives.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I think it's going to become one of the best books/series I've read this year (2021). To anyone coming from youtube/TikTok believing this book is "spicy", it is not. It is a cute enemies-to-lovers romance, but it's not "spicy". It does have a slightly more graphic love scene, but nothing that I would be too uncomfortable allowing at 16 or 17 years old to read.

Lou is a funny, brash, and stubborn character that continually pushes Reid past his boundaries. The side characters are excellent and captivate the reader's attention without overtaking the main storyline. The author also includes both BIPOC and LGBT characters.

I don't think this book is for everyone. It's not as fast-paced or action-filled as some other Fantasy/Action Adventure books out there, but it does tell a good story. I would give this book 4.5 stars and have recommended it to friends and colleagues who enjoy reading a historical fantasy.

Holly Black made an intriguing sequel in The Wicked King. This series does not focus heavily on Jude and Cardan's romantic relationship but instead focuses on Jude's fight for power over the men who continually dismiss her. Jude and Cardan’s relationship is more developed in this book than in The Cruel Prince, but the complexity makes it more than just an instant love found in many fantasy young adult novels. This book has more plot points than the first and heavily focused on court life and a monarchy’s political relations with outside groups and other monarchies. Jude continues to attempt to manipulate situations in her favor, so her temporary power can become permanent in the future in the guise of doing what is best for Fairy.

I am excited to read the next novel, The Queen of Nothing, and see the continued development of Cardan and Jude’s relationship and Jude’s quest for power. Overall I would give the book 4.5 stars

It took two attempts for me to finish The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black. During my first attempt, several years ago, I stopped reading the book after Cardan ripped the wings off another Fae within the first several pages. I wasn’t interested in reading a book that is where the romance is bullies-to-romance rather than enemies-to-romance. I decided to start the book again after encouragement from a friend who had completed the series and from reviews I saw on TikTok. My first impression was incorrect and this book is about much more than romance. This book is about a women’s grab for power in a world that continually underestimates and belittles her. Jude is a strong and flawed human heroine who lusts for power in the fae world. She is constantly out to prove that she can not only survive in the fae kingdom but thrive! The book had several twists and turns and I was surprised by the ending. It’s clear Jude is continually adapting her plans to new circumstances allowing the reader to be kept on the edge of their seat. Jude's romantic relationship with Cardan isn't a plot point in this story. Black leaves room for their romance to develop but spends most of the novel focusing on Jude's relations with herself and the fairy world. I’m excited to read the next book and would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy fantasy novels about the inner workings of the monarchy and court! Overall I would give this book 4.5 stars.