This is only available as audio, at the moment. I had the holds come available through my library. I have been dipping my toes into actual fiction audio but I'm still struggling. I'm not sure if that hindered my experience with this book but I did not love this one. I love the fact that it's STEM and NASA was so cool to read about. I didn't love the romance for some reason. Maybe it was because it was so spread out or maybe it was just me. I just couldn't connect with their relationship and felt like it was more friends. It was cute at times but maybe I'm over the miscommunication trope?? 

 

This book is ANGST. I didn’t know what to expect going in. I didn’t have the highest of hopes because I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mexican Gothic. I’m not a fan of horror and that was a bit too creepy for my comfort. I get why it’s such a huge hit but it wasn’t for me. I’m glad that Dini remembered I had this book on my TBR. We buddy read this together and it helped! I’m linking Dini’s review because it’s brilliant and I’m struggling with my words. lol!

This one was a struggle to get into because we get thrust into a story without really getting much of the world building. This book is full of Mayan mythology and it was so well done but it took time to get there. I know that Dini and I thought it was slow-paced and the fact that we jump into a journey with no real explanation or build up. I’m so glad that we kept pushing through because we really ended up loving this. The story takes a minute to get into but once you get into it then it is hard to put down. The world that Moreno-Garcia creates is so interesting and the writing is so beautiful. I’m not kidding- the writing is gorgeous!

My favorite thing about this book was the angst-y romance. Wow, was it intense!! It was predictable but the journey was a wonderful ride. Casiopea and Hun-Kame’s bond is one that I will not forget. Their slow burn romance was the thing that makes this whole entire book. The book is basically their journey to find different objects and we get to meet a lot of awesome and crazy characters. It was so fun seeing all the magical elements come into play.

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot! I was pleasantly surprised and I’m much more open to this author because I almost thought she wasn’t for me. I’m amazed at how beautiful her writing is. I remember loving that about Mexican Gothic. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this type of ending. Although, with further inspection I do see how it fits the characters perfectly. Even though, this started off rough for me, I’m glad that I pushed through it. I will forget this beautiful and slow-burn romance for a long time! 

 The very first thing I want to talk about was the recap! Honestly, I wish everyone would do this. It was very informative and gives great recaps of each of the characters’ journeys from book one. There’s also a glossary and character list. It was brilliant and VERY appreciated! Honestly, it just put me in such a good mood starting out this book!

Now, I’m giving you a fair warning, this is going to be a hot mess of a review. I loved this book so much and it made me feel so many things that I’m still wrapping my head around it. I will admit, this was a bit intimidating for me. I can get overwhelmed when it’s lengthy and the second book in a series. There’s always that fear of the “second book syndrome.” My friends, this book does not suffer from this. There’s so much action and I never had an issue with the pacing. I enjoyed this book more than the first book!

The characters in this series are just so rich, deep, and memorable. I went to Twitter stating, Orka is becoming one of my favorite characters of all time. I do not say this lightly. She is such a force. Her POV and journey is the one that I’m the most invested in. She’s such a complex character and just brilliantly written. Her inner thoughts add an extra layer to a scene and her character. I have impatiently waited a whole year for this book because I wanted to see where she ended up next. Towards the end, it was so gripping that I could barely stand it. My poor broken heart. I was having physical reactions to her chapters, and I can’t say anymore. I’m just glad my child was asleep, and my husband was at work. He would have thought something was wrong with me. lol

“Real courage is to feel fear, but to stand and face it, not run from it.”

There are additional POV’s in this book that I enjoyed. We get to see the side of some of the not so “good” characters and it was fascinating. I remember not liking a couple of characters as much in the first book, but they have become much more interesting in this book. There are so many different characters, but they all seem to stand out. I’m in love with so many of the smaller supporting characters that I have to hold my breath during each action scene. Svik and his cheese!! haha, I loved this book as much as Svik loves his cheese!

Along with the fascinating world are the amazing action/battle scenes. They are really intense, but the vivid detail is great. There is a lot of plot in this book and I really don’t know what to say without giving things away. Gwynne manages to have heartfelt and even funny bits throughout to help with the intensity. There’s a lot more of the gods language in this book and I just glazed over them. I don’t think it really gives or takes anything away.

There are a few things that happen in this book that are really triggering if you do not like bugs. Also, if you are creeped out by anything related to parasites. I had to stop for the night when I got to one scene because I was so grossed out. I do not like bugs. I get why it’s in there and how it came full circle was great, but I wish I could forget that scene.

Overall, this was one of best second books (in a series) I’ve read in a long time. I loved it more than the first book and I’m pretty much shattered at that ending. I will now be jumping into his backlist books to get me through the next year. I cannot wait to see where these characters end up. I’m not sure why the books I love are the hardest to write reviews for. If you get anything from this, just know that it was a brilliant continuation to Shadow of the Gods!

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinions! 🙂 

 This was leaps and bounds better than any of the other books I’ve read in the Twisted Tales series. This is my 4th book in the series and my favorite, so far. Belle was great and not as annoying as the other MC’s in Braswell’s other books. There are a lot of similarities to the original story but a lot of different takes. It was so fun seeing how she took the story. All the magic and new characters were great. She takes a completely different route to that ending and it was an entertaining ride. I’m not sure why I’m still surprised to see such dark and brutal moments in these books. I don’t know that they are age-appropriate, for the intended age. Overall, I enjoyed this one and I am so glad. I was about to call it quits. I am looking forward to the next book, which is written by Elizabeth Lim! 

 This was such a fun book!! Was it predictable? Absolutely but I enjoyed the ride. This is your typical enemies to lovers book, which is my favorite trope. There's a lot of family drama and honestly, it was kind of sad how they treated Kareena. Kareena is faced with a decision to marry or lose her mother's house, which she thought she would one day have. This starts her on a dating journey but then Dr. Prem Verma kind of gets in the way. There are a lot of things that Kareena is very stubborn about and I guess it's to keep the plot going. It was just a bit annoying that she kept the dating going for so long. I really enjoyed the message chains with all the potential dates. Girls, it's so hard out there and I feel for you. There's something that REALLY drove me crazy, in a bad way, and it's Prem Verma referring to his p*n*s as "charlie." Guys... nooooo. It's not cute and it's insanely weird. It comes up a lot and he talks to it like it's an actual person. It would have probably been a higher-rated book if not for that. Overall, it was a fun and quick read. 

 Okay, if you pick this up then have the tissues ready. This is the comment I received all the time about this book. This is a book that I pre-ordered but hadn't picked up, until now. I knew I had to be in the right mindset for this one. It was surprisingly a fast read, even with the tough content. The emotions in this book are intense! Lenni and Margot meet in the terminal ward. Lenni is a teenager and pretty much questions "why," about everything. Her friendship with Margot is so heartwarming. They end up doing a project together, for the one hundred years of their lives. We get stories about moments from each of their years. I loved the flashbacks and learning about each of their stories. I won't get spoiler-y but Lenni's story just broke my heart. The author did a great job of breaking up some of the intensity with humor. I loved Lenni so much and I think you would too! This is a great read that will have you feeling all kinds of emotions but worth it. I'm surprised I don't see this book everywhere. 

 I do not remember who recommended this as part of my 12 for 12 this year. Tori is pretty much a hot mess. She's constantly getting fired from jobs because of her temper. Desperate for a job, she interviews at a bar, she shouldn't have been able to enter. It's kind of funny seeing all the obvious clues that are completely missed by Tori. The three mages are a bit of a mystery to me. I'm not sure if Annette Marie is going to have her involved with all of them but it seems that way. I did think it was fun and fast-paced. It was just what I needed to break up some of my bigger fantasy books. I would have never picked this up on my own and I'm so glad that it was a recommendation! I do plan on continuing the series. :) 

SECOND READ:

Okay, this was a buddy read with Dini and a re-read for me. I will say that I did like it better than the first time I read this, 8 years ago. It could be because I buddy read it, which really helps me enjoy a book more. lol. Just like last time, I was confused by the ending. Things escalate but then we kind of just jump forward in time and things are fine? It didn’t make sense and it was quite jarring. I still like most of the characters but I really hope we learn more about them in the future, especially Ronin. I’m a little confused on why so many people LOVE this series but maybe it happens further in the books? I need more and I really hope that we don’t have a love triangle going forward but it might be that way. I have to remember that it was quite popular back then. Dini and I are going to pick up book two in May, I think.

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This has been on my TBR list for a long time. I decided to take the plunge and read this in one sitting. Now that sounds misleading. I read this in one sitting, not because I couldn't stop, but because I have limited reading time at the moment. The synopsis sounded so interesting to me. Although, I was surprised to find that the synopsis didn't really match the actual book. I think the synopsis takes the wrong thing to describe the plot. I thought this was going to be about Blue's struggle to not kill her one true love. Turns out, this book is about a bunch of different people, trying to find a dead king that will grant one wish. 

"There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve, Blue. Either you're his true love...or you killed him." 

How intriguing is that?!?! I was so excited to see how this would play out and how Blue would save him. You know, that has to happen! Well... after we meet the Raven Boys, things don't really go how I thought they would. Blue ends up with Adam. Then they all decide to look for this king together. That about sums up the book. The plot did not really develop much and it was slow at times. The author actually did the POV of several of the characters. While, it was good to see, it was a little much. There was too much back story that I would have a hard time getting back into the current story. I was getting a little overwhelmed and it took away from the story itself. 

Stiefvater did a great job with the actual characters. They were all very interesting and had a lot of character growth by the end of this book. I loved how they all were so different but so close. Blue actually fit right into the group. Although, she is with the wrong guy, I could feel it. I'm pretty sure that Adam did too. I didn't think that much really happened with that relationship. They didn't move forward too much, so I'm a bit confused on where they ended up. 

Actually, there's so many things that were not explained at the end of this book. I think there was more unanswered questions at the end of this book than answers. I'm hoping that the next book will clear a lot of that up. I also hope that we get what we wanted with this first book with Blue. 

Overall, this was an interesting story and I will be reading the next book to find out what happens. I hope that it's not as slow paced and that we get more of Blue in this book. I really enjoyed her character and it was a shame to not see her more. I also hope that there is no weird love triangle with this. Although, with Adam in the mix, it seems to be heading that way.

 

Now, I went into this without reading Sense and Sensibility first. I do plan on reading all of Austen’s work at some point. It didn’t hinder me at all and actually had me in more suspense than the first book. Going in blind was probably a big reason for that. I’m glad to report that this was just as enjoyable as the first one! These are such fun retellings.

I loved the Dashwood sisters. they all added so much to this book with their varied personalities. Marianne is the detective that wants to take over in her dads footsteps. Elinor is the secret chemist that takes care of everyone. Margaret was actually one of my favorites. She’s the youngest but the budding novelist and has all these little funny one-liners. She’s so funny and I really want to read her book! haha.

Since I didn’t know the original story I was in for a few twists. I can’t talk about how she changed or interpreted the story but I really enjoyed it. I don’t know that the romances were the strongest points of this book but they were sweet, even if predictable. The pacing of this book is so great and flows so nicely. I read through this one so quickly and I just couldn’t put it down.

I was a little sad that we don’t get appearances of the characters I really loved in book 1. I think there are some hints to seeing them in the future, which I do hope.

Overall, I loved this cozy murder mystery! I think I can kind of see where she’s taking this series and I’m ALL for it. It’s really exciting if it’s going in the way I hope. If you want a fun and fast-paced Austen retelling then this is for you. Even if not, it is still a lot of fun and I really recommend this series!

Thank you, HarperCollins & Edelweiss+ for a copy of this arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced by the free copy.