Simply, WOW!

It's hard to know where to begin with this review after 700 pages there feels like so much to cover.

I had concerns whether returning to the spring court would lead to the unravel of some of Feyre's key character development from the previous book and was grateful to see her become ever more clever, cunning and deadly. The relationship dynamics feel very true to the events of previous books which i really appreciated. 

Sarah J.Mass certainly knows how to develop intrigue and build complex characters. None of the main characters within this book are meant to be perfect and you can see the development of them all. Betrayals,  alliances and romance all catalysts for change creating a very dynamic plot. 

The difference in Elain and Nesta's reaction to becoming high fae really impressed me. It would have been easy to follow a continued hatred thought process but really spoke well to the characters and individuals and the relationships they formed. I am loving the romance between Nesta and Cassian in addition to Elain and Lucien not having the 'easy-to-fall-in-love' fated mates. It really helps to hone in the mating bond powers within the ACOTAR universe.

This book was filled with some incredible plot points engaging in mythical beasts from previous stories and the tensions raised. I also feel there is a lot of new story plots to play around with in the remaining books! 

The Bone carver holds a special place in my heart within this story and by it choosing to appear before Feyre as an unborn child/future offspring of her and Rhysand ...  I loved the drama and moments it created throughout.

One of my biggest gripes with stories is predictable plot twists or changes which just felt too  out of place - this book caught me off guard on so many occasions and i loved it.  Similar to it's predecessors, this book had me in an absolute choke-hold in those last 100 pages. The twist and turns it took will plague my thoughts for weeks to come i'm sure. 
 

Tamlin's redemption arch, the deception of Amren, Lucien's Dad drama and a personal favorite the return of Nesta, Feyre and Elains father in the midst of battle! Truthfully, i got very emotional.  

That being said for a 700 page book, it's pacing seemed off at times with parts feeling incredibly slow though action scenes and plots twist really did help push a drive to keep reading. Slow paced but never boring, as it was nice to be wrapped up in the writing style though for a larger book a quicker pace at times wouldn't have gone amiss. 

I can't wait to read the next installment in this incredible series. 

I loved this book so much! Having really enjoyed the previous book of the Paws of Fame series I was so excited to read.

I loved the background details of the Harry Potter movies and Monkey filled my heart with such warmth.  This was a one sitting read as I simply couldn’t put it down.  

Unlike its previous book this tale just solely follow the one main plot point following Monkeys journey which I was worried would make the story too one-note but just made me feel so close to Monkey and all the beautiful moments he created. 

I felt so connected to monkey’s personality and generally felt heart broken during his bloat health issue, final demise and initial treatment from his past home.

A must read for dog lovers and potter fans alike and will be sure to watch the potter movies with a new found fondest for Fang. 

This book was a total flop for me. The only reason it wasn’t a DNF is because I was really hoping it would pull something special towards the end and it was part of my illumicrate subscription box.

I really hoped I could at least give this a 2 star but the ending blew that out. I’m honestly so disappointed.

As this is such a low rating I feel like I need to provide a thorough review to justify.

The only reason I can give this a 1 and not a 0 was some parts of the more ‘intimate encounters’ were better written than the rest of the book and appreciate the representation of diverse characters.

Otherwise ….

Characters
I really disliked the main character Eli, I found him incredibly immature for someone who is meant to be in his 40s. His humour was dull and whilst I can get the whole ‘miscommunication trope’ he was just borderline stupid.

Nick was actually one of my favourites for a large part of the book and his relationship with his daughter was lovely right until the very end!

He decides in the space of one chapter he is not going to move away with his daughter and ex-wife to another state (who is then basically then ignored the rest of the book), but when Eli mentions moving to a different state for a job he is happy to consider going?! That makes no sense!!

The only character that added any drama was Kay the ex-mother-in-law and that was short lived which was such a shame.

Plot
Maybe I was misunderstanding in this being a festive read. Whilst this is set over the festive period there just didn’t feel anything very festive about it - like it was such an afterthought.

My dislike for the characters really meant I lost interest in the love connection between Eli and Nick which when removed meant there was nothing else to route for in the story so felt completely two dimensional.

Writing Style
This may be more of a personal opinion but the writing style also really bored me.  It was heavily padded out by constantly reminding the reader that Eli and Nick used to date and grow up together without adding anything new to the story. It all felt so redundant and only led to disjointing the story.

Even in the scenes where Eli and Nick are first being intimate and the story was at least more interesting, Eli stripped back any building atmosphere to recall the events from the past - like why?! Just takes you straight out of the moment

Overall I just felt this book was written in a way which bored me and couldn’t set an atmosphere about 2 Characters that I couldn’t care for and made bad decisions based on a terribly told ‘miscommunication trope’ 

Do not recommend.

This book felt like the classic hallmark christmas / Bridget jones diary hybrid.

It’s was the cosy Christmas read I was hoping for this festive season. There is a great variety of representation in this book without feeling forced which I appreciated.

The story line isn’t anything particularly special but just light hearted fun for Christmas. The writing leaves a little to be desired but nonetheless, it left me longing for gingerbread cookies  and dreaming of exploring a Christmas market in the snow! 

I’ve seen a few other reviews flag the unrealistic time frame to fall in love in just 5 days - but I think the book makes it clear it’s a very playful connection between a chaotic bisexual and lesbian lover which I couldn’t help but enjoy!

This book had me gripped! I enjoyed the messiness from the fallout from the events of ACOTAR - the calls backs and depth really felt immersive.

I enjoyed the new characters brought in a lot and the dynamics that came along with it. 

This book had my attention throughout and loved every minute as the storyline and relationships developed.

I loved the grit and lust behind the bond and romance between Rhysland & Feyre! Rhysland could kick me in the head and I’d say thank you at this point. Take me to the night court please 🙏🏼

I was excited to start this series having heard really good things. I was somewhat hesitant that I might not enjoy it as I generally don’t read high fantasy type books BUT I really enjoyed this.

I enjoyed that the characters  each had their own quirks and differences which made it feel well rounded overall. 
Even for a high fantasy there wasn’t anything that didn’t feel too unbelievable in terms of the thought processes and plot movement which I enjoyed 

I can’t go any higher than 4 stars purely on the basis that as a first book it did feel a bit slow and drawn out at times but I suspect due to world building. Whilst it was steady, I only found myself truly gripped to the book in the last 100 odd pages.

Sadly I just couldn’t really get into this book.

I felt that whilst the writing was beautiful in places and very poetic at times it was also incredibly descriptive which left very little movement in the short stories. 

Having completed the 5th short story in this book it started to become a little repetitive. Whilst the technical plot is different they are all very much the same:

1) Girl/boy meets girl/boy falls instantly in love at first sight 
2) some small inconvenience 
3) end up together anyway 

I think this book would be better appreciated but a different type of reader than myself. 

The main decision to DNF this on the basis that each story started to feel too predictable and whilst ‘the love at first sight’ scenes are well written just started to leave me bored. 

For the most part I really enjoyed this book, the characters felt very well rounded and covered a lot of good themes and they intertwined nicely.

My only critiques is it did feel like there were a lot of characters to keep up with and some where more enjoyable to read than others which made me feel like wanting to rush through chapters to get back to a character I enjoyed more. 

Emmie’s plot line of the obsessive boyfriend was the only plot line that fell short for me. I had expected him to be the source of nasty messages she got, I felt like it was almost rushed at the end. Certainly could have played around with it more to amp up the tension.

 Though this is likely a writing style choice as whilst the book touches on deeper themes, I don’t think it was ever meant to be a high tension book.

Favourite quote:

"They want us to be small, so we have to stand tall. They want us to be invisible, so we have to be seen. They want us to be quiet, so we have to be heard. They want us to surrender, so we have to fight?”

What I would give to read this book all over again anew! My first Taylor Jenkins Reid book and thoroughly enjoyed her writing style. 

Whilst I have no desire for fame and fortune, she encapsulated it so well that you couldn’t help but feel you were right there with Evelyn.

The diverse range of characters felt fully realised and multi-faceted. The twist ending and chapter closure lines throughout had me gripped!

Will certainly be looking to pick  
up her other stories. An absolute must read! 

I absolutely loved this book! Such a heart warming story. I was worried that it may feel too one note with the main plot line for a non-fiction but there are plenty of smaller side stories which made it hard to put down! 

I am in love with Pickles and will 100% be looking to read the next book in this paws of fame series.

A must read for any dog lover!!