booksandfin's Reviews (123)

This book had such a strong opening and so much potential. Unfortunately it felt poorly executed.

Things I enjoyed:

Things I did not enjoy:

 spoiler rant incoming!!

Rook and Isobel are, in tropes and archetypes, what I gravitate towards in romance. However, they had absolutely no chemistry to speak of. The author relied on the reader viewing them as in love because she said so. In my honest opinion this book needed at least two more drafts. Several plot points fell flat and elements of the world were either hastily explained or simply glossed over. Don’t even get me started on the final chapter where Gadfly shows up and talks to them. That dialogue was HORRID. I’ve read plenty of young adult fantasy books before but I’m sad to say this one just didn’t hit the same or meet the marks it’s wonderful opening created. If the book had been let to develop further I could have seen a slower burn romance with more thoughtful characterization and world building.

Half a Soul ⭐️ 4.25/5
I loved this book and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have little gripes with the book. Elias is probably my favorite genre of love interest/ fictional man. I wish that the book was a little long to explore his obviously complicated backstory. Spoilers ahead

I’m not a huge fan of epilogues that summarize how the rest of the character’s lives go. In that regard I was a bit disappointed. I also wish that the book was longer. I feel like the ending got a little confusing and rushed. Having more time or even possibly a chapter from Elias’ pov would have been cool to flush out his connection with Faerie. Whenever it got brought up it felt a little forced/ jarring. But maybe J just like dramatics.

The Lord Socier ⭐️ 4.5/5
I loved this little novella and that it was written from Arther’s pov! I love Atwater’s hopeful undertones in her works while still facing the gruesome and contradictory nature of human (English/ European) society.  This novella gave me a glimpse into Arther and Elias’ relationship and I loved every page of it.

I really enjoyed this book and the one before it. The friendship between Sibling Dex and Mosscap is so cozy and heartwarming. As someone who often prefers platonic relationships, I adore how that’s shown here.

The only thing that threw me off in this book was when they visited Dex’s family. I never felt like the queerness of the book was overdone or out of place. It’s obviously normalized and part of society, which I love. That being said I feel like the author did too much with their family. Just as a reader and from a narrative perspective the insanely large cast was jarring and took me out of the story. The other incredibly small thing I didn’t like was the fishing scene. TELL ME YOUVE NEVER FISHED BEFORE WITHOUT SAYING YOUVE NEVER FISHED BEFORE!
Leaving a fish out of water for it to suffocate and die slowly is torture. Said as someone who grew up fishing and lived on a ranch. Kill the fish quickly and thank it. That scene was atrocious.

I absolutely love Stardust. I grew up watching the movie. It was and still is one of my favorites. I think I’ve seen it well over a dozen times (to be honest I’ve lost track) thus, I decided I should read the source material and was not disappointed in the slightest.

Of course some things are different but far and few in between. Some of the language used is outdated; however, it’s something I expected knowing the author and the time it was written.

Over all this was a lovely book and remains one of my favorites. 💜

This was a wonderful read and a very impressive book especially considering when it was written. I often paused and set the book down for extended periods of time. But I needed to do that with this one. I often found myself reading lines and knowing that they came from the 90s but clearly saw how they applied directly to our lives in 2024 America.

While this book still has some things that I think could be improved upon now, the format of an open dialogue between Gorilla and Man is (in my opinion) very accessible. Not everyone has the money or time to go and take college courses. I would, however, recommend everyone read this book. You just have to be willing to think and remember that it’s an older novel.

This book, despite or maybe because of the subject matter, still managed to be hopeful in the end.

Thanks this made me cry. It took me a minute to get immersed in the world, but I’m crying as I write this review :-)

Dex is living my best life actually and is horribly relatable. What a wonderful read as a 20-something that just graduated college with no idea what they’re doing!

“and the crickets chirped.” BRO I COULDNT. IT TOOK ME OUT. What a beautiful exploration of purpose and our relationship to nature as humans.

An enjoyable book but not without its flaws. There were a lot of cool ideas and concepts but I think they could have been explored further and better developed.

Zachery and Dorian’s relationship felt somewhat forced and lack luster. I would have liked the characters to have taken up more space on the page than they did. I think the author got too caught up writing the same sentence three different ways for the vibe of the piece rather than the punch. I also HATED how heavy handed and convoluted it felt at the end.

First and foremost: I hate when past books in a series are re-explained to me. It slows things down in a bad way and takes me out of the story. So... points off for that. Also, I care about Ronan but I wouldn't say that I like him. He's mean and reckless and frankly crude at times. I cut him some slack because of the whole (book 1 spoiler)

seeing your dad's dead body thing

, but still. Finally, I couldn't stand Adam in this. The way things ended in the first book really disappointed me and the fact that

they were never addressed in this book felt like I was cheated.

Honestly, I would have liked to truly understand what was going on with Adam sooner than we did. Same with some more compelling components of Adam's character.

This book kept me going because I adore Gansey and Blue's relationship. As always I am a sucker for fated tragedy and Gansey and Blue are my favorite characters. Also: I never thought that I would be the Noah fan that I am, but here we are. Noah is a great character, especially in this book.

Possible Spoiler Territory:

I HATED Kavinksey. I felt like not only was he annoying, but his character was flat. There was also NO explanation of the magic system regarding dreams. Maggie really asks you to just accept a lot. Also: how do you get a literal dream woman pregnant? Horrifying thank you. OH ALSO: Ronan being gay/ queer? Very very minimal and not prominent in this book which isn't really a bad thing, but I wouldn't tag this book as LGBTQ. Just my personal opinion. Maybe when it becomes a more central thing in the book? Like it doesn't have to be his whole character but I'd like it to be more known I guess.

Those are all my thoughts upon finishing the book. I definitely did not love it as much as book 1, but I care too much about the cast to not read the rest. Also: shout out to Persephone just as a character. She's weird and I like her for that.

what a delightful little book. This was a quick quick read and very heart warming. The little sapphic in me wish they had this in their childhood library. I think this little graphic book would be enjoyable for anyone and everyone. From lighthearted adventures to body positivity to magical companions. Just a sweet book!

It’s been so long since I’ve felt consumed by a YA series (positive)!

I’ve been putting off this series for… well, years. I can’t say I’m disappointed in the slightest. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The paranormal components were done spectacularly, feeling harmonized with the everyday reality of Henrietta. I can’t wait to read the other books. My only main complaint is how the last chapter wrapped things up.

I wish that we had more between what the hell Adam did and the last chapter. Some kind of explanation and a reason as to how they’re all still friends. Because honestly I would want to rid myself of him SO FAST. Like I know he was hurting and he had some shit going on but… nah. I’d cut him off.