3.5

I didn't expect this. The rating, I mean. A couple of years ago I watched the movie, and I really enjoyed it. Earlier this year I read a different book by the author, The Sun Is Also A Star, and loved it - possibly one of my new favorite books. So, I expected to love this as well.

But I didn't.

It's not that I disliked it. I was into the story, I really liked the illustrations between chapters. But I just didn't love it, and a rating higher than 3.5 doesn't feel accurate to me.

'"One must always be careful of books", said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us."'

This was a reread for me. I read this book for the first time 4 years ago. It was after watching the Shadowhunters show, and I fell in love with the universe, so when I had to read a book for my Dutch class, I bought a Dutch translated copy to read. I spend many nights basically devouring this book.

(I also immediately read the second book, but stopped in the middle of the third because of a reading slump and it wasn't until 2019 that I finished the series, funnily enough again because of school, this time because of my exams. But that's not important.)

I read all the other Shadowhunter Chronicles books in English, and always wished to reread The Infernal Devices in English, but it took me more than a year to actually start. And wow I'm so glad I finally picked up this book again.

I read the 10 year anniversary copy, and can I just say it was an amazing experience with all the gorgeous art in it.

I was immediately pulled into the story again. Because it has been 4 years, I didn't remember much, yet it still felt as such a comfort to be back in this time in the Shadowhunter Chronicles. My love for Tessa and Jem had never left, but now got even stronger. The same for Henry, who is so underappreciated by both the other characters and the fandom.

(I am one of the few people who never really cared for will. Not that I particularly dislike him, I just don't love him like everyone else does. I was actually starting to like him in The Last Hours, but this book definitely reminded me about why I didn't in the first place.)

This is definitely a comfort book of mine, and I can't wait to reread the second and third books. I might end up rereading the other series as well, being back in this world feels amazing.

A fun add on to the Percy Jackson and made me even more excited to continue reading in this universe. At least, that is if I end up actually reading The Lost Hero instead of saying I will.

4.5☆

This was so cute!! I really enjoyed reading it. It was sweet, adorable and quick read. It's one of those books you can finish in one day if you have the time.

At first I wasn't a big fan of Nati, but in the end I definitely loved her. And William!! I loved him so much!! Also his love for socks, I can definitely relate to. I am wearing Superman socks as I'm writing this. 'Normal' socks are for boring people. Bright/silly socks >>>

I enjoyed the writing style. It was easy and quick to read, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Edit: what I forgot to add. When I started the last 50% of the book, I wasn't in a good mood. My anxiety got really bad because I had a nightmare last night, and all day I've been feeling the anxiety in my body. Reading this was a good distraction and actually made me smile multiple times.

4.5 stars

Do you ever read a book and have nothing to say, but it still doesn't feel like a five star book? I definitely enjoyed reading this book. The character was likable, the story interesting, surprising and unique. But I just didn't have that 'omg I love this so much!!' feeling.

Nowadays whenever I read a book, I write my thoughts down in my notes app. Both positive and negative thoughts. With this book I haven't written anything down. I don't really see that as a bad thing though.

Nonetheless, I would definitely recommend this book if you're interested in reading it.

"'Want', she told her, in a measured tone, 'is an interesting word. It means lack. Sometimes if we fill that lack with something else the original want disappears entirely. Maybe you have a lack problem rather than a want problem. Maybe there is a life that you really want to live."

TL;DR

+ Likable character
+ Unique story
+ Definitely enjoyed reading it
+ Surprising

- Don't have anything negative to say except that I just didn't have the 'I love this' feeling when reading and therefore can't give it 5 stars.

I thought I wasn't going to like this, BUT WOW I LOVE IT!!!

Lately I've been using some kind of format with writing reviews. I'd write down my thoughts in my notes app and quotes to use. But this time I was so into the book, I completely forgot to. Wow. I haven't been into a book like this in so long.

And the ending. Omg. I mean, I suspected she'd be the princess when it was revealed she was Lunar, but I didn't expect everything else to happen. I'm speechless. Wow. I can't wait until I have enough money to buy the rest of the series. I need to know what happens next.

Wow. What a ride this book was.

This August I'm using a 'jar tbr' to decide what I read this month. I was very excited when I grabbed a paper with this title written on it. I've wanted to read this ever since I first found it, but even after I finally bought it, I didn't pick it up because big books scare me. Once you start, it can feel like the book will never end.

Even though I might say some negative things, overall I really did enjoy this book and will definitely be excited to read the sequel when it is released. This is definitely a book I would recommend...

... though, if you're fairly new to the whole 'faeries' thing with books, I would recommend reading some other books with these themes first. 'Cause wow this got confusing sometimes. I've only read a few books with faeries before, and none were as complicated and confusing as this one. From the beginning there are many different terms thrown around, some get explained, some don't. But even with explanation, at the end of the book they still kinda confused me.

In this book we have:
- immortal beings
- mortal beings
- faeries
- fae
- unseelie court for all seasons
- seelie court for all seasons
- lesidhe fae
- sidhe fae
- gods
- furies
- the wild hunt
- titans
- and all different kinds of other beings, that I don't know whether they're fae or faerie in this book. They made vampires a kind of faerie (or fae, I don't remember, I'm not used to these two terms being different terms). But fox spirits are also mentioned. And trolls and goblins and all kinds of faerie beings.

So yeah, if this is your first go at faerie/fae stories, be aware. I kinda wished there was some kind of dictionary or whatever included to explain these terms to people who don't know what they mean.

I was surprised - in a good way - when I saw a trigger/content warning in the beginning of the book. I hope more books will do this! I'm not one who usually needs this, the only things that freak me out are sexual scenes and even mention of an animal being hurt, which thankfully doesn't happen that much in Young Adult. But for people who do need it, this is very handy.

This is a book where you have to pay 100% of your attention. Even a second of distraction, and chances are you'd have to reread a whole passage. I'm easily distracted, so many times I had to reread a few pages. But even when I gave this book my full attention, I had to reread some parts because I just couldn't understand what the hell was happening.

But besides rereading sentences, I also skipped some. Cause wow everything had so much details. Every character got a handful of sentences, even characters who only appeared once. And every room got full details. The floors, the walls, the ceiling. For me, sometimes so much details that I didn't care and skipped the 4 sentences to go back to what was happening. Don't get me wrong, detail is important and good, but too much detail... well, for me it was too much anyways, but I've read some reviews who agree with me.

Here and there I noticed some possible mistakes, like something being mentioned twice but with the opposite description or one person says something, but later someone says that someone else said that. But those are human mistakes that would definitely happen to me if I ever end up writing that book that's been in my head for years, so I'm not going to remove any points for this in my review, but I still felt like mentioning it.

We have four main characters, however two of these actually don't appear that much. Most of these chapters are from Arlo's point of view, and don't get me wrong I don't mind that all because I really enjoy reading from her perspective. Nausicaä also had some chapters from her point of view, but the other two, Vehan and Aurelian, only had a few, and I kept forgetting they were in this book until they finally, after more than half of the book, met Arlo and Nausicaä. I kinda wished, even though I loved reading from Arlo's point of view, that there was more of an equal amount of chapters with the point of views. I felt like I barely got to know Vehan and Aurelian the way we got to know the other two main character. Hell, I feel like we got to know some side character better than those two.

Again, I did really enjoy this book. Even if it sometimes felt really long and a bit exhausting to read, and I feel like it could've been a little shorter without all the extra details. It's a good book with a promising story, an interesting world building and characters with potential. It also has a lot of representation for the lgbtq+ community.

"A sidhe prince, a lesidhe guard, an ironborn girl, and a former fury - they seemed less like a serious investigation team and more like the lead-in to some terrible joke."

TL;DR

+ A lot of lgbtq+ rep
+ interesting worl building
+ I really liked Arlo
+ Also, not mentioned before, but I loved her scenes with her cousins
+ Characters with potential
+ interesting story
+ A content/trigger warning! Yes!
+ I definitely enjoyed reading this

- if you get distracted reading, there's a possibility you have to read some sentences
- sometimes I had to reread some things even if I didn't get distracted
- so many terms are used, it got really confusing sometimes
- even though they're main characters Vehan and Aurelian don't have a lot of point of view chapters
- so many details that I skipped because I didn't care what this random character who never again appeared looked like and what he was doing and what the room he was standing in looked like even though the room would never again be mentioned

3.5 stars

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. My feelings are mixed and complicated, but I guess I'll try my best to write them down.

First of all, I'm not sure whether to round it up to 3 or 4, neither feel good. But I guess for now I'm giving it a 3 on goodreads, because I think a 4 star book should've been enjoyed more, and not have felt as exhausting.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this at all. I liked the story itself, the idea and the plot. But it was just so slow and long, it felt exhausting to read. Every time I read 50 to 60 pages, I got really tired and just couldn't continue reading - didn't want to continue for that day. And even if I almost read 100 pages, or reached the 200 pages mark, it just kept feeling like the book wasn't going to end. I don't exactly love that feeling, it's why I usually stick to Young Adult books with 300-400 pages, because Young Adult usually feels more... fast paced? I don't know how to describe it. But maybe adult fiction is just not for me.

Like I said, I did like the idea and the plot. I really liked reading the 'flashbacks', and loved that it started around 1700. I always enjoy reading historical fiction, especially if it's before 1900. It was really interesting to read how Addie adapted to this new life, how she learned to do things, how she slowly changed, the people she interacted with and the different places she visited. That is probably my favorite thing about this book.

I enjoyed the 2014 a little less, but I still liked it. Henry was an interesting character to read about and definitely relatable. However, I did see the twist coming. Not 100%, like I didn't think 'exactly this is going to happen', but it just didn't surprise me as all. More like a 'ah, I figured', moment. It was a bit predictable, but not in the fun 'ooh, I knew it!' way. I felt a bit meh about it.

I've seen many people talk about how sad the ending was. I do think it's a good ending that I didn't fully see coming, but I wasn't as sad as I've seen others say it was. But then, I thought [b:The Song of Achilles|13623848|The Song of Achilles|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540434493l/13623848._SY75_.jpg|16176791] was boring, while other people can't stop talking about how heartbreaking it is, so I guess that's just a me thing.

I'd still recommend checking this book out if you're interested in it. Overall, it's definitely not a bad book. It just wasn't a perfect fit for me, but it was still good enough to make me keep reading. While I wasn't eager to know how it ended, it was still a really interesting and unique read. And maybe this is a better fit for other people, who don't mind that this is a bit slow and long. If this was a bit more fast-paced (is that the correct English word? I don't know) and shorter, then I probably would've enjoyed it more and given it a 4.5 rating.

"Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives - or to find strength in a very long one."

TL;DR

+ I absolutely loved the historical chapters
+ It's a very unique story
+ I liked the characters
+ I really liked the idea of this book, the 'making a deal with the devil and then living forever but being forgotten by everyone you meet'part

- It was so slow and long, it felt like it took forever to make progress
- I couldn't read more than 50-60 pages a day (except the last 100 pages) because it made me really tired - not tired as in actually tired, but more like tired of the story, I didn't want to continue that day
- I wasn't really eager to find out the ending of the book
- Some twists were a little predictable, but not in the fun way

This was fun to read and fun to own! I really liked reading more about the Saints that were mentioned often in the Grishaverse and getting to know more about them. The art in it was also amazing. Definitely recommend this if you've read the Grishaverse books!

Oooh, this was so fun!! This is one of those books where you catch yourself smiling when reading. It's such a quick and light read, I read the last 75% in one day, while also having time for my visiting grandmother. I just didn't want to put this book down with every free time I had. It was fun and sweet and aaaagh I loved it!

I was a little scared at first. Becky's book are always a hit or miss for me. Some I absolutely ADORED, and some I didn't enjoy. There isn't really an in between. And I'm so, so, so glad that this one falls under the 'absolutely ADORED' category.

I really liked almost all the characters. The only one I didn't love was Anderson, but in the end I did like him more. I just hated how he acted towards Kate sometimes. Even though you later start to understand why, it still made me a little angry and frustrated.

And Noah. Oh, Noah. Usually with stand alone books I don't get attached to characters or ships, I need two or more books for that. Well, this is definitely an exception. I am now madly in love with Noah. And him and Kate are definitely a new favorite ship of mine!!

This book also made me a little sad, I wish my high school experience was like this. In my country we don't have after school classes, sports teams and games, theater stuff. Oh how I would've loved working backstage on a musical! (It is weird to talk in past tense about high school when I only graduated 2 weeks ago)

Another thing I loved was that this mostly focused on friendships and not on romance. Don't get me wrong, I love me some good romance, but romance isn't the only thing worth writing about. Unlike many other people, I don't believe romantic relationships are that important in life. Friendships are, and I hope to one day find friendships just as amazing as the ones in this book. Ones that will last forever, even with many changes in life. But not just the friendships, the relationship between Kate and her brother were also amazing to read about and made me wish I had a sibling.

What was also very relatable, was that Kate's parents were divorced. My parents got divorced when I was 10 years old, so I know all about your life being split in two. Though my parents lived further apart, so the distance was even worse. I don't think I've come across a main character having divorced parents before. It's usually just a main character with one parent while the other doesn't get mentioned or passed away, or the main character has two parents who are still together. But divorced parents, even though it's really common nowadays, especially for a lot of teens, is not as common in YA books. It needs to be more common. A book like this, where it's casually mentioned, and you see what it's like but also that it doesn't totally ruin your life completely, is something that could've helped me when my parents got divorced. Because I had never seen it before, none of my friends had divorced parents, and in books, shows and movies the parents were all together.

Not that I think any authors would read this, but you know, just in case, if you're writing or planning on writing a YA book, PLEASE include a character with divorced parents. It's nice to finally relate to a character about that in that situation.

And aside from all of that, the author also included a lot of representation. Which is classic Becky Albertalli, all her books include representation. And every time it makes me smile.

Alright, I think this is long enough.

"It's the most underrated sentence on earth. 'I know exactly what you mean'. Translation: no, you're not weird. Even your weird stuff ins't weird. You make sense.'

TL;DR

+ Kate and Noah are now one of my new favorite bookish ships
+ This was so fun and easy and quick and cute and sweet and ok you get what I mean
+ I didn't wat to put this away
+ So much representation
+ Also THANK YOU Becky for writing a main character with divorced parents
+ The characters were all likable. The only character I didn't really like, I did like in the end.
+ This focuses more on friendships, which is so important
+ Yet the romance is also a good part of the story
+ I wish my high school experience was like this