"I might not be cut out to be the kind of superhero Wonder Woman is, who runs directly into danger with a shield and a uniform and near-limitless strength. But I can be a different kind of hero. A quieter kin. The Ellie Engle kind."

Super cute, heartwarming middle grade.

Used this as a bit of a palette cleanser and it was perfect for the job. I loved Ellie and her little world. The story struggled with the shorter page count, resulting in a bit of the plot being more rushed than I would have liked but that didn't detract from the cuteness.

All in all, a cheesy but lovable book.

I've decided not to rate this one because my feelings are so divided.

Objectively, there's no arguing against the fact that this book is a masterpiece. It's incredibly well-crafted, one of the most unique and immersive fantasy/sci-fi books I have ever read. For a world this expansive, I should have spent much of the book confused and yet everything was explained simply and vividly at once. There were moments that this book felt so real, I practically felt enveloped by the story; by the pain and the darkness and the little pinpricks of light.

Subjectively though... I didn't really like it, though that feels too simplistic for how I felt. This book seems to go beyond liking and disliking, considering the allegories and heavy subject matter. Enjoyment isn't exactly a word to ascribe to this book, even if it's your all-time favorite. Amazement at N.K. Jemisin's talent over her craft, overwhelmed by the enormity and scale of the world: maybe. But enjoyment, no.

However... even with those things being said, this book didn't work for my personal tastes. I'm not even sure why that was. I spent the entire reading experience trying to sort through why it is and I have no clear answer.

It can be such a hard thing as someone that reviews books, to try to figure out how to put your feelings into words when they conflict with what you know. Sometimes, a book can do everything right and it just doesn't work for you.

Tiny side-note, I didn't realize the character's identity was meant to be a reveal until I read other reviews saying they were amazed by the reveal. I thought we knew that the whole time. Now, is that me guessing the twist or was it never intended to be a dramatic reveal, I don't know. Either way, I wanted to mention it.

To bring us back to the beginning, I've decided not to rate this book because it would be impossible for me to rate it accurately. I feel too many things and nothing at all at the same time. This was an incredible book and at the same time, I have no urge to ever revisit it or carry on with the series.

Overall, this was... such a conflicting reading experience. If you, like me, are one of the last remaining members of the book community to not have read this book, I still recommend it (granted that the trigger warnings don't bother you). There's a reason that this book is as beloved as it is and I completely get it. 

I wish it had worked for me, but I'm still glad I read it. 

 Overall, a satisfying conclusion - though not without its flaws.

From the beginning, my feelings on this trilogy have been conflicted and The Eternal Ones was no exception. As with the first two books, there were parts of this book that were fantastic. An absolute masterclass in crafting a really gripping, immersive YA fantasy trilogy.

In other ways, however, it stumbled into many of the flaws I find in most trilogy finales. Things like disjointed pacing and melodramatic characters that make it a point to keep reminding the reader of just how far they've come from book one, going so far as to say "wow, this reminds me exactly of x event from when we met each other, isn't that crazy?" Which is one of my finale pet peeves.

With that being said, this was still a good book. Even with my mixed feelings, this is a good trilogy. It's unique and heartfelt, often finding a perfect balance between horrific and hopeful.

Ultimately, a series I recommend and an author I look forward to revisiting in the future. 

"You don't stop being the chosen one just because the war is over."

Absolutely overjoyed that dragons are having a bit of a comeback right now. Dragons are my fae, in the way that I will read almost anything that even mentions dragons.

Admittedly... the fact it had dragons was the only thing I knew about this book going in but if I had known that it had the burnt-out chosen one trope and siblings on opposite sides of a war, I would have picked this up the second it was released. Either way, I'm glad I picked it up now.

This was such a good debut and a really good dragon book! It had its flaws, namely falling into some unfortunate YA ruts (such as incoherent military planning and over-dramatized chapter endings throughout the book) but those were minor compared to all of the things this story did right.

We follow Faron and Elara, sisters that were dragged into a war as children and even though we begin the story in a time of peace, we can see that neither of the sisters have truly left the war. Not really. And that creates such an interesting dynamic, as we see Faron constantly pushing back against the worship given to the chosen one and Elara constantly trying to keep up with her younger sister's renown. Both sisters were distinct and interesting to follow, though I did struggle more with Faron due to her absolute stupidity.

Which leads me to both a plus and a negative: this book read very young. It's a YA, so that isn't a bad thing. However, it also had a tendency to pull me out of the story when characters that had almost singlehandedly won a war at age 12 (?) were so... incapable of thinking things through or even a modicum of self control. That paired with the overdramatized moments I mentioned earlier could make this a more difficult read for people growing out of YA, so while I don't think this is necessarily a negative, I do think it's worth noting.


Other than the few things I didn't care for, I really did enjoy so much of this story. I loved the worldbuilding and I'm a sucker for magical academy settings (even if we barely spent any time there). I loved the discussions of generational trauma and the lasting effects of war. I loved the sisterly bond and I freaking loved the dragons.

If you're someone that already loves YA fantasy and are looking for one that breathes new life into familiar elements, while also creating something beautifully unique, I wholeheartedly recommend this. 

“She is fascinated by how much romantic love can soften a hard life, highlight the best of you, not condemn the worst of you.”

As with most collections of stories, I find this hard to rate because I really enjoyed some of the stories and others... less so. Which is why I usually end up with a three star rating.

This one particularly, I feel a bit conflicted on. I really appreciated the new life that was breathed into some of these stories and genuinely enjoyed seeing the twists the author made, but I also couldn't ignore my second-hand embarrassment at a lot of the stories (the relationships and dialogue often felt awkward and stilted) or the characters that seemed to be walking romcom stereotypes. It sometimes felt like I was reading an adult novelization of a horse movie from the early 2000s, with the way the characters were speaking.

All in all, the things I liked and disliked are kind of split evenly down the middle, so to a three stars it goes. 

This was exactly what I needed right now. This book was not only insightful, but also a celebration of life and food and cultures. The end of each interview when they were asked their favorite foods just... filled me with so much joy and warmth.

I loved this book so much and if you - like me - were the kind of person that was obsessed with the FoodNetwork as a child, I think you will too. 

Just like Caste, this is easily one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read.

Isabel Wilkerson is an incredible writer and her way of making me feel like I personally knew each person in this book was astounding. For someone that never cries while reading, I will admit to sniffling quite a bit as their stories came to a close. To witness the stories of people that faced so much (unnecessary) adversity and change, to have a glimpse into the lives they created because and in spite of their surroundings was such a humbling experience.

Such a fantastic book.

Written in such a powerful voice, Black and Female was both educational and moving. Glad I picked this one up.

 "Gods require worship, and the purest worship is sacrifice."

Where do I even start with this?

I've been hesitant to pick this up ever since I read The Gilded Ones last year and felt extremely conflicted about it. I had found some parts excellent and other parts decidedly not. But I loved the excellent parts so much that I ultimately wanted to give book 2 a chance.

And in so many ways, it was such an improvement from book 1. Without giving spoilers, the story took the exact direction I was hoping for, the writing remained fantastic, and a lot of the things that made me feel weird

i.e. Deka's first kiss happening while her head is literally separated from her body like some scene from Robots

were absent.

I saw some people saying that this book lost all sense of feminism and to those people I would like to suggest other reading materials such as "Reading Comprehension for the Purposefully Dense". Yes, this book was a slightly less... female rage centric story; no, it did not lose all feminism. In fact, I would argue that this simply introduced its audience to a more complex feminism and the realization that the same systems that oppress and harm women, also harm people of other gender identities, orientations, abilities, and even simply men that from day one have been hammered into a shape they never chose; a fact that is inarguably true.

They did not lose their feminism, there was even plenty of female rage directed at what women experience at the hands of men but! they simply realized that acting as if women are the only beings harmed by these systems is inaccurate.

Now, while I am incredibly grateful and impressed by Namina Forna's abilities and willingness to discuss this complex issue, I do feel like it could have been handled a bit better at times. Insinuating that the most perpetrators of harm to queer men are other queer men was problematic, even if I do understand the root of the point being made.

I did struggle a bit with the characterization in this one, which surprised me because an aspect I loved of The Gilded Ones was the extremely vivid cast of characters. This book, however, had characters that almost felt like a direct-to-video Disney sequel; they're the same characters, yes, but the voice actor is wrong, the animation is off, and the dialogue seems to have lost some of what made that character so real in the original movie.

This seemed to extend to the romantic relationships as nearly everyone (and I mean everyone, save a single aro/ace character) was paired up with somebody. It felt oddly rushed, despite the fact some of the couples weren't revealed until the very end of the novel? I understand that this may have been a... side-effect of their age and the graphic things they're experiencing, leading them to need romantic comfort but it still felt forced.

That's really such a minimal part of the story and there's so much to be praised here. I loved the fact that - for how graphic the violence can get in this series - it is treated as graphic and horrific. Too many stories show overwhelming violence/abuse and simply gloss over it, the characters returning to their daily life with minimal scars to show for it (except for maybe a well-timed anxiety attack for the sake of furthering the romantic subplot, which is so annoying.) This series doesn't do that.

Things are dark and bleak and horrific; the characters all witness and experience indescribable horrors and have to keep moving. We see the moments that they fear what they've been through is too much for them and we see the choice to keep going. Each of the characters has their own trauma and ways of handling it, and though we mainly see through Deka's experience, there's never a moment where it feels like the darkness is ignored for the sake of a fast plot.

Overall, this was really such an improvement from book 1 (which was already good!) and in many ways, this was exactly what I had hoped it would be. If you struggled with book 1, I would recommend giving this one a try. Especially if you love corrupt gods, found family, an animal companion (I love him, your honor), and a main character that constantly has to accept that everything she knows to be true is very possibly a lie.