Okay. Quick disclaimer. I probably shouldn't have bothered with this Novella as I read the Prophecy of the Forgotten Fae series and hated Mareleau from the first page to last. But, in my defense. I was hoping there was something I missed, and this novella would bring to light something amazing about her that I accidently skimmed past in the series.

There wasn't.

She was as awful as ever. The end. 

I wanted to love this, and I really think I put in a decent effort to, but I think there were just too many pieces that I couldn't connect to that it really really hindered me over all. 

I hate, haaaated the plot point of Teryn's body being taken over. I understand that it pretty much had to be, because we needed little lady that was stuck in the crystal with him to just information dump for 200 (exaggeration,but also not really) pages and there was no other way to make that possible, but I still hated it. 

I hated the teardown of Cora's character. She got some sweet powers, and that was great, but she also developed these super dark thoughts. Once she “accepted” that side of her, I was banking on her turning some kind of dark, and I was ready and prepared for it. But literally nothing happened. She just decided she NEEDED to be queen of Lela (because being queen of just one kingdom wasn't good enough) and no one else could, and that was THAT. 

Also. I haven't liked Mareleu's character since she was introduced in book one. I'm about to walk into her Novella (for reasons unknown) even though I can't stand her as a character. And yeah, she had her whole redemption arc in this one, but too much was done and said to make me absolutely hate her through the rest of the series for the author to turn around in the last half of the third book and be like, wait! You should love her now, she's actually the hero. Mmmmm.  Nope. No thanks. 

This book felt like a whole new everything to me in this one. Book one was amazing, and I loved every second. Book 2 and 3 felt like they were written about different characters. 

I really had a hard time getting into this book. I loved book 1. It was full of action, political intrigue, and unicorns! Different rulers from different kingdoms, amazing. This one? Ugh. 

I don't want to marry him, I want to marry his brother! I'm a princess, but not a *typical* princess, I don't want to have a ladies' maid! This book is all so petty and boring. I patiently waited for it to get to the thick of it, but I got so soooo tired of talks of marriage and pretend pregnancies. It all seemed so menial and boring and useless compared to everything we were up against in the first book. 

This book was so much fun. From pick up to put down, I had such a great time. 

The writing style is absolutely perfect for what it is. I love the breakdown of the (kind of?) fourth wall and the author constantly butting into the story. 

I loved the mystery and being pulled in five different directions. 

I love the absurdity of the train chase scene. 

And I love the insert of the additional author at the end. 

This book made me so happy. And really, that's all that matters. 

Sometime in 2015 ☆☆☆☆☆
08/01/2024 ★★★ 

Something huge happened to me in the last 9 years. That is the only explanation I can give as to why a book I absolutely loved the last time I read it was barely even mediocre this time. 

In my memory, this book was hilarious and sarcastic, and I remember having such a connection with the main characters that I couldn't put it down. 

When actually reading it this time, I mostly rolled my eyes, thought “as if” and “fuck off” and felt extremely sorry for all these pathetic men. 

3 stars might be generous, I won't lie, but I did enjoy Strauss’ writing style, and there were parts of the story I did find myself drawn to. It just wasn't enough to wipe away all of the Cringe and disparity of this book. 

I'm sorry to say this one didn't hit me the way the first two did. 

One of the things that I think Kat Ross did so well in the first two books was the split between characters. There was just the right amount of time spent on one pov before we scooted over to another. There was enough time spent on one plot point before it was connected to another part of the story. The way the puzzle pieces of this story were constantly connecting is one of the greatest things about this series. I'm never bored, I'm constantly working through everything and trying to make connections between all of the characters and plots and people and magic and ugh. It's been so amazing. 

Up until this book. This book was SO heavily focused on Malach. And I got it. It made sense why. But I struggled to get through the first 30%. I got bored of Malach. I got bored of watching his day to day life and his interactions with people and reading all his small talk. I was extremely not interested in reading about him potty training a kid.it was too much of him and crappy filler that I was really, reaaaaally missing Kasia and Alexei. 

When the plot did proceed, it was amazing, as usual. I love the way all of the characters intersect by the end, and I loved the addition of the new characters. 

I'm really excited to see where this story goes. It's a heavy series, there's no doubt about it, but I absolutely believe it's so incredibly close to perfect. 

I love that each one of these books is going to follow a different kid in the Magic Misfits. My daughter and I both absolutely loved Leila's story.

Watching her meet the Vernon's and grow into herself and find her place was absolutely wonderful. I do feel like I always hold a special spot for the first character a series is about, you know? The OG that sparked the first feels Ina group of people. I was almost a little disappointed to learn this book wasn't going to follow Carter, but diving into Leila's life was so much better. 

Also, Mr. Vernon's secrets are going to drive me mad. Like, as a parent, I totally agree with not telling your kids all your deep darks. But, as a reader, c'mon man! Give me more! 

The puzzles are also fun. I absolutely did not hate having to decode a bunch of Morse throughout. 

I really enjoyed my experience with this book. I took my time. I read anywhere from 2-10 passages per night before going to sleep, and so many of them put a little smile on my face. A few felt a bit rambly, and I found a few to be a little dumb. Overall, though, they added a little bit of happiness to my life right before bed. 

What more could you ask for from a book? 

This was so fun! 

While I just stinking do not like Mareleau, I absolutely adore every other character, so I think that her character is mildly acceptable (at best). 

Cora is everything I love in an fmc, she's badass, sarcastic and funny, she can handle her own and she has a cryptic past and I can't help myself but to fawn over every single word she says. 

Taryn and Larylis are everything I look for in a mmc. They're both different, but not that different. You have the typical heir to the throne and his bastard brother, but their relationship with one another is fantastic, and I was absolutely swooning over their dynamic. 

Add in a unicorn and Lex, and this was such an awesome adventure. I loved every second of this book. 

I loved this book. 

To be quite honest. I was worried a little ways in, when we started talking portals to other worlds, and monsters that were devouring them, but this story hooked me and got me so enticed I couldn't put it down. It was really, really well done. 

I do wish that there was a little more character growth with Seven, as she never really grew into the badass strong character that I look for in my fmcs. She relied on her mate to do all the saving, but other than that, her and Draivus were really great, and I loved their story.