I was so looking forward to Yulenna's story, and I'm really disappointed in what I got. Looking back,  I should have read some of the reviews before I started. This book is not like any of the others in this series. I went from 5 stars to book one, to 1 star to book 4. But there was zero plot to this one. It just didn't work for me at all :(

I feel like a large part of this story was already done with The Kings Spinster Bride. A lot of it felt repetitious, even if it was a new story. 

I didn't really like Iolanthe. Her character bothered me, and I know she was meant to be super submissive and whatnot, but I don't feel like it was done in a great way. I'm glad that she eventually started standing up for herself, but other than reading and sewing, this woman had absolutely no personality. 

Agakor was fine. Big strong burly man stereotype. Other than being a Lord (but not your everyday lord, a lord for the people lord…) he had very little personality.  

I think this whole story was pretty typical. Nothing new was done here… Insta love - touch her and you die story. Awful dad sells his daughter story. You know the drill.

I am sad to report that I didn't love this one. 

I (kind of?) Enjoyed that we spent most of this book in our world. It was a different spin ok this series so far. But it was just okay. I think that this book just felt stagnant for so much of it that this time, I did find myself bored. 

I was so excited to see the appearance of a God that is prevalent in “our world” but he turned out to be such a dick that it killed it for me. 

I hated Kassam’s aspect. I didn't connect with him or with Carly. Carly has very little personality. Her mom was really the only character that I loved in this one. 

Carly and Kassam's relationship felt entirely empty outside of Hedonism. There wasn't enough emotion for me. The banter just wasn't there. Kassam had no personality and felt like a cardboard box. Their fight with the other god felt rushed, and we spent so much time sitting on the outside of it and not being involved whatsoever that I struggled with that as well. 

I skipped over bits of this book because I was tired of reading all of the *hedonism crap*.

This one didn't work for me. The characters didn't work for me. The story almost worked for me, but also didn't.  

I didn't love this one as much as Bound to the Battle God. It was still fun, but it wasn't the same vibe, and I really found that I was missing something throughout the book. 

It kind of followed the same premise as Battle God in how Max ended up in a new world and then followed the same sort of quest plot. While I really liked Max, there were times I felt the author may have been trying too hard to make Max the nerdy, quirky girl, and it felt a little artificial and forced. That being said, the pieces scattered throughout her book about her glasses were fun, and they made me laugh. 

The only real thing that I got annoyed with and frustrated with throughout this book was Max mistaking which aspect Rhagos was. At first, it was a great story line, because let's be honest, it was pretty obvious who he was. But it went on too long for me, and then I started getting annoyed. Once she figured out who he was, the book got so much better. I really loved reading this aspect. I laughed out loud so many times at Rhagos just trying to string along a simple sentence. 

Their relationship was cute and fun. I love Max's sense of adventure and hated Rhagos’ secrecy (probably exactly how I was supposed to).

These books are LONG, but somehow, they don't feel like it. I absolutely flew through both of them so far and never really found myself bored or exhausted by the length.

 While this one didn't push all my buttons (in a good way) it did have a lot of fun with it, and I did laugh and go “aweeee” to myself a whole bunch of times (read: constantly). 

I spent most of this book bored, I can't lie. 

I don't think that I liked the format that it was written in. This book was told from the men's points of view rather than the women. While it was nice to see things from their points of view, I really missed the relationship between the sisters.

One of my favorite things about book 3 was the way they loved each other, talked to each other, and interacted with one another. I was looking forward to seeing more of it in book 4, and instead, it was told from the points of view of Cerulean, Puck, and Elixir. Not only that, but it was broken up into thirds, and each one got a chunk of the book and moved on. 

It was hard for me to really connect with any of the guys because their parts were over so soon. There just wasn't enough oomph in this book for me. 

I loved the addition of their father. It was really the only part of this book I found enjoyable, and I absolutely teared up at their reunion. 

I just don't think this series was for me. I never connected with this world, or really any of the characters in it. While I loved Puck and Cypress and Cove, it kind of ended there. The way everything was broken up into parts really made it hard for me to get into it and really invested the way I wanted to be. 

This one didn't work for me. I realize it was a short kind of novella, and it started off strong, but it lost me about a quarter of the way through. 

There's nothing to this book. I liked Halla and Mathior well enough, and they were kinda cute. I guess. But nothing happened, and there just wasn't enough between them for me to actually enjoy this one. Insta love is not my thing.

Oh my gosh, this book. The epitome of don't judge a book by its cover. I'm not sure when or how this one ended up on my TBR, but I'm so happy that it did. 

I loved everything about it. I laughed so much. Honestly, this book was so much fun from start to finish. Faith is quirky and headstrong and hilarious in all the best ways. 

Aron, as a good that's been grounded to earth essentially, is clueless and entirely arrogant. The banter and conversations that happened between the two was just to die for. 

This book is long, and I was really worried that I would lose interest considering there's not as much plot to the story as I normally go for. But, at no point did I even want to put this book down, let alone did I get bored. 

The supporting characters were great, although I feel like they kinda stuck in the background. This book really and truly is devoted to Aron and Faith. The very large majority of it it just the two of them, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

I'm really torn on this one. It really doesn't happen often but i really am struggling with this series.

I just want more! There's not enough plot here for me. But that being said, I absolutely love the romance of this one. 
Going into a series that has the three sisters pitted into these challenges to save each others lives I expected trials, or tribulations, or real actual challenges. I feel absolutely let down. 

Book 1, we had the challenge of climbing the mountain. Which was the only aspect I actually enjoyed. Lark and Cerulean spoke in freaking riddles and I was so confused and lost and frustrated in their story that I didn’t enjoy it. 

Book 2 was the “hunt” which. Okay, sure. For half of the story she really was hunted. I accept that. I also accept Juniper's relationship with Puck, because I love them together. The banter is amazing. His sense of humor. Fantastic. His personality. SWOON. I think I just love Pck, not sure the rest of the book matters.

Book 3. I'm struggling! I didn't enjoy the dynamic of their relationship at the beginning of this book. I didn't enjoy their dialogue and quite frankly struggled to get through the first third of the book. Her “challenge” isn't a challenge at all. She literally had to do nothing until the last 20 pages. The rest of this story was just watching their relationship grow. Which, eventually I suppose I started enjoying it. I'm not sure when, or why, or what switch was flipped. But eventually I did go from hating them together, to liking them together. But we never moved into love. It sayed at like. I smiled at them a couple times. 

There just WAS NOT enough in this book for me, especially to justify the length of it. I also feel like Cove got shit on. Everyone else got their own book, but at least a third of her book also included her sisters!. 

Side note: I say she got shit on, but I probably would have given up on this book if her sisters didn't show up, I was BORED. I love the dynamic of all three sisters together. And the brothers too I suppose, but they are a side note here.

3 stars. 2 for the beginning. 3 for the development in Cove's relationship with Elixir and 4 for the sisters. Averaged out to 3. 

Looking forward to book 4 now that everyones together and some action might actually start going down. 

End review (read: rant).

Oh the end of The Spiderwick Chronicles. 

I'll tell you this, I'm sadder to be leaving this world than my 9 (9! She had a birthday) is. I think the giants were too much for her. And I think the idea of the Hydra's may have been too much for her. She wasn't really all that interested in this one, to be honest. I don't think I was either. While I like all of the kids, I really didn't like the idea of the Wyrm King. Of all of the Fey out there, and all of the creatures this book could have been about, they picked a Hydra. So. That was kind of a let down for me, I suppose.

The story itself was still fun, and I loved the inclusion of the Grace kids. So I think that's where my stars come from. When I asked K why she's rating it three stars, she shrugged at me. I can only assume she just mostly enjoyed the story, and was happy to see Jared again. She connected with him and Mallory much more than she did with Nick and Laurie. 

10/08/2021 ☆☆☆☆
05/27/2024 ★★★★

In Bloody & Honey, I complained that miscommunication was my least favorite trope, but yet I didn’t hate it overall. 

In this one I'm going to complain that amnesia is my second least favorite trope. But again, I don't hate the way that it was done. I think I honestly enjoyed watching Reid fall in love with Lou again. I didn't, however, enjoy having to reread Reid (haaaaha) having to learn his magic all over again. Or spew his hateful crap about witches again. I hate starting back at square one, which is what I felt like we did.  

I love the addition of new characters into the troupe. Jean-Luc turned into a character I looked forward to seeing more of, same with Celie. I really enjoyed that even though Morgane was no longer the real threat, she was still our villain, along with the key. 

This series is really well done, and I had so much fun with it. But it never hit the spot. The first one started off too slow, but I still had hope for book 2 because it did pick up at the end. Book 2 had a ton of action and movement in the plot which was amazing. Book 3 (other than the amnesia) was also full of plotting, action and witches and magic and I loved it, but there was that feeling that we've done this before with the insomnia. I also didn't love that Lou was missing for a chunk of the book when Nicholina took her over. 

The relationships and characters in this book are so strong, and are really well done. I love everyone individually, and I love their relationships with each other so much more. 

This was the conclusion that I wanted, and the closure I needed. I absolutely love this series. Even more the second time around.