“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”

I continue to be impressed by certain authors' abilities to create such beautiful, impactful stories in such a short amount of pages.

This was powerful and really well-formulated. The narration style could have been an injustice to the story, making the reader feel distant and removed but instead, I felt like I was genuinely being told the events by someone that had witnessed them. Something that I found extremely impressive.

It did take me a bit to connect to the story, though I'm always willing to admit that might be reader error lol. The world-building blended together for me at times, but once I figured it out, I really was invested in the story.

Overall, I can totally see why this as beloved as it is and I look forward to reading more from the author. 

"I am surrounded by many splendors, and yet I am alone."

A lovely concept, a beautiful setting, yet still a very boring book.

I usually love slow-paced books. If people complain that a book was too slow-paced, I will sometimes specifically pick it up because - most of the time - it means that the story is more drawn out, the characters are given more space to grow/connect, and the plot is more satisfying. However, that was not the case with this book.

I spent most of my time reading it incredibly bored, wishing for the end. It was not bad. It was just simply very meh. The characters were very much fulfillments of their roles and nothing more. The world-building was very interesting, but sometimes felt side-lined for the mystery. The romance (or whatever you want to call it) felt rushed somehow, despite how long everything seemed to be taking.

As I said, this is not a bad book. There is plenty to love about this book. It does read sort of like a fairytale, which may help others overlook the things that took some of my enjoyment.

Judy I. Lin is a very talented writer and I do think that this is works very well as a standalone, I just wish things had been executed slightly different. 

“We are all stardust and stories.”

No book has ever been recommended to me as much as this one, which made me excited and hesitant in equal measure. Considering the three star rating, I guess that was fair.

Like with The Night Circus, I completely see why everyone loves this one as much as they do. The writing was mystical and lovely, the book as a whole was a love-letter to the magic of stories and possibility. Time and Fate are central themes of this book and both are utilized in random and inexplicable ways, tugging the story along even when it doesn't make sense. Zachary is a lovely, relatable protagonist for most readers - kind, with a quiet sort of bravery.

However. It's also a bit of a mess.

I know - to some extent - this is purposeful. It's the point, the central heart of the story but I still wish things had been at least slightly coherent. It's a hard line to walk, creating a story with so many elements and wishing to leave it open-ended in such a magical way. I respect and understand that.
But by the end, I kind of felt like the entire book had been pointless. Instead of not getting all the answers, there are no answers.

There's also the thing with the dialogue and relationships feeling incredibly awkward and forced to me. The insane amount of Harry Potter references aside, I found almost all of the relationships in this book really uncomfortable? I haven't seen anyone else say that, so maybe it's just me, but the point still stands.

With all that, it bears saying that there were parts of this book that made me feel like it could be a five star read. There were also parts that were very much one star material. So as I critique it, I also want to say that there were parts of this book I found spectacular. The author was capable of capturing a kind of magic with her words that few authors can and I recognized how special that was.

Overall, I can see why so many people recommended this to me and they were right; I did enjoy it. Just not as much as I was hoping to. I wholeheartedly understand why this is as beloved as it is. I recognize that the praise is deserved, even if it isn't my favorite. 

"The Bees keel over, clutching each other's legs, asleep. They dream of pools of nectar, clouds of pollen, and evening dew heavy with flower scent. Why dream of anything else?"

Before I say anything about the book, I want to say that I listened to the audiobook and the narrators (Cherise Boothe and Larry Herron) were incredible. They gave this project their all and I was really impressed. If I was basing my enjoyment simply off of their narration, this would be rated much higher.

With that being said... I did not love this.

This book had so much going for it. It was so creative, with characters that go through so much (joy and heartbreak), genuine queer rep, and a heart that focused on climate change and our connection to nature. There's genuinely so much to love about this book and I wish I could rate it higher.

However, this was one of the most draining reading experiences I have had in awhile. Nearly every technical flaw was present (for me). From disjointed pacing, to a very tell-not-show writing style, I even felt like I was being held at arm's length from the characters. At first, I thought I just needed to focus a bit more and that the story would fall into place, but the longer I read, the less I connected with the story.

I had such high hopes for this book and I really wish I could have loved it more, but that unfortunately wasn't the case. I think there's a very specific audience for this book, but I can't properly articulate who I think that would be. This is such a unique book that I can't think of anything to compare it too lol.

Again, this had so much going for it, it just didn't work out for me. 

“To anyone who’s ever felt lost in a wood. There is a strange sort of finding in losing.”

A bit of a let-down after how much I enjoyed ODW, but still a solid sequel with a second half that makes up for the flaws of the first 50%.

I struggled so much to get into this one and I think - beyond any objective flaws - I missed Elspeth. I really enjoyed following her in book 1 and reasonably, she wasn't a large presence in this book, but I found that my enjoyment really suffered without her. Not that I didn't appreciate Elm and Ione, but I simply didn't care about them the way I was supposed to.

There's also the issue of the characters feeling slightly... childish in this book, compared to ODW but that's irrelevant.

Despite my qualms, the last half of this book was really good. As good as the first book, if not better. It took me a week to read the first half and less than fifty minutes to finish the last 40%, if that's any indication.

It was like we reached a certain point and something shifted. Though it was still lyrical and beautiful for the rest of the story, the writing style was suddenly addictive, the solutions actually felt well-crafted and satisfying, and by the time I reached the end of the book, I was actually super emotional about what was happening.

So, I'm conflicted and yet I still really enjoyed this duology. It was fantastic in some ways and less fantastic in others. It's still something I highly recommend, and a series I know I'll revisit in the future.

I said this in my review of book one, but I'm really curious to see what Rachel Gillig creates from here. I look forward to reading whatever it may be. 

“The greater the desire, the greater the suffering, and now she desired greatness itself.”

The praise for this book is so well deserved.

Brutal, powerful, and dark, yet also lyrically written and interwoven with elements of the fantastical, She Who Became the Sun was masterfully crafted. I went into the story with minimal prior knowledge of the history the story pulls from, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment and understanding of the story at all.
(I will admit to confusing a few characters and political allegiances at first, but I'm more than willing to say that's probably reader error and not on the author.)

Zhu was one of the best main characters I've ever read. From the very first scene to the last, it's impossible not to empathize with her. Even when decisions are made that seem irredeemable, they never seem unnecessary or overly cruel. As someone that appreciates flawed characters but is really tired of books where the author has the characters make brutal decisions simply for the sake of featuring flawed characters, this was such a breath of fresh air.

The discussion of gender and queer identity in front of the historical backdrop was also incredibly interesting and well-written. There were lines in here that took me back with how insightful and powerful they were.

Overall, there's nothing I can say for this book that hasn't been said. It's fantastic. Perhaps not for everyone, due to the slower pace and focus on politics, but fantastic nonetheless. 

"But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning. Every wish demands a price."

Such a fun, original YA standalone! Perfect for anyone that's looking for a well-developed, but low-commitment story.

I was hesitant going into this because I have a bad track-record with seafaring fantasy novels. Anything ship/boat/pirate adjacent usually doesn't work for me (odd, with how much I love mermaids) but that concern turned out to be unfounded. This was a delightful story, with fantastic world-building and characters that were well fleshed out.

This does read on the younger side of YA, which I didn't mind at all, but might put off some readers. As it was, though, I loved how much this felt like a young adult book - rather than an adult book trying to reshape itself to fit the confines of a young adult audience. It was both magical and transportive, the way adventure movies can feel when you're younger.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! It also has sea-dragons so... I mean, it's worth the read for that aspect alone. 

"A library with a deadly enchantment.
A dark fae lord who wants in.
A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power."

Very conflicted on how to review this one.

For one thing, I kind of feel like this is being mis-marketed a bit. This is not an enchanted library book. This is a book that has a very small portion spent within an enchanted library, and I think that's an important distinction. If you're going in this for a book of cozy bookish library vibes, that's not what you're going to get.

What you are going to get is a fae story that follows very similar story beats to other fae stories, complete with a love triangle where both love interests suck and a main character that can't seem to fully decide on her core motivations (for those of you that read the book, yes, using the word core was intentional there.)

To be clear... this isn't a bad thing. There's a lot this story has going for it, especially if you're someone that really likes a particular type of romantasy. I think a lot of readers will probably not be bothered by the same things that bothered me, leaving them to enjoy the really cool aspects of this book. The world was interesting (I wanted more information on how it was set up, though I assume that's coming in book 2), some of the descriptions were lovely, and the food sounded delicious.

I know a lot of people will love this book, I know there's a lot to love about this book, but there's also a lot of things that I feel were just not thought through or executed well - like the pacing or any of the plot reveals. I don't think this will bother everyone, but it bothered me. A lot. And pairing that with the repetitive, tell-not-show writing style... I really struggled to connect with the story.

Overall, this wasn't bad, it just fell flat for me. 

“To the quiet girls with stories in their heads.
To their dreams—and their nightmares.”

Dark, atmospheric, and a bit romantic; the perfect book to make me stop thinking about life for a bit.

I'm always hesitant to pick up books once they get super popular (not because I have a superiority complex), but I do have a track record of not enjoying most super hyped books, though I really want to. Thankfully, this was one of the cases where I had a really fun time.

It wasn't without flaws and there were moments I rolled my eyes at the convenience of the plot but overall? It was a really good debut. I've been struggling to stay engaged with quite a few of the books I've read recently, but this one took no effort at all. I loved the setting, the world-building, the character interactions, the writing style; it all worked so well together and made an enjoyable, pretty unique book.

This actually saved me from the beginnings of a reading slump and I now have borrowed book 2 from the library to keep these vibes going lol.

I feel like if you enjoyed the Caraval trilogy and are looking for something similar but more mature, you'll really love this. Conversely, if you didn't like Caraval's world-building and overall vibe, you may not enjoy this one. They're very different stories (other than the card magic) but the goth, whimsical vibe reminded me of certain aspects I really enjoyed about Caraval.

Overall, I had a fantastic time with this. It kept me interested from beginning to end, and even though I predicted where the story was going, it was never in a way that made me feel annoyed.

Though it did take her way too long to realize what the Nightmare was.

I look forward to reading whatever Rachel Gillig writes in the future, especially if it's as atmospheric as this one. 

Hadn't heard of this until my library got it and I feel kind of conflicted on it? On the one hand, this was thoroughly researched and educational (I particularly appreciated the information on America's history with supporting Israel) but it also seemed to take more of a neutral stance than I was expecting.

Still interesting and I'd recommend it, but fair warning that the inclusion of the author's opinions can be a bit off-putting at times.