"Your strength is in your bones and in your blood, and no one can take that from you."

Excuse me while I sit in denial that this trilogy is over.

What a fantastic conclusion!! Beasts of Prey was one of my favorite books the year I read it, partially due to the completely immersive world, but mostly because Koffi and Ekon felt so real to me. I read so much that it's rare for characters to stick with me, but they're both characters that I think of them all the time. Ayana Gray did them both such a service with this book; I truly cannot think of a better way for their story to have ended.

Without going into spoilers or plot-specifics, this was perhaps one of the most fun books I've read in a long time. The mythology, the banter, the setting, Ayana Gray's flawless playlist; they all created such an enjoyable reading experience that led to me flying through this book. Despite my sadness that it's over, I can't help but feel like the story met such a satisfying end.

Beasts of War cemented this as one of my favorite YA trilogies of all time. I will happily continue to recommend it to everyone.

Now, I shall return to anxiously awaiting an announcement for whatever Ayana Gray is working on next because I will - in fact - read everything that woman writes for the rest of time. 

Maybe a good book for someone just beginning to recognize the systematic issues in their faith, but not much use to anyone further along their journey than that.

This has the strange sense of if your megachurch pastor discovered human rights for the first time lol. The author's faith did spread throughout the book, which was both understandable and expected, but with that knowledge the scriptural inaccuracies were undeniably obvious. Claims such as, "God has never preferred one nation over another" are inaccurate and will be recognized as such by most Christians, which renders many of the points you're then making obsolete.

Not to mention repeatedly mentioning the violence perpetuated by the Catholic church (which was all extremely true) in a conversation about Christian nationalism, the military, and the death penalty, yet never even mentioning that the Catholic church as a whole - specifically since Pope John Paul II - have been extremely strong advocates against violence (even military violence) and the death penalty. It's a minor detail and perhaps not even noticeable to most people, but as someone that grew up in both the Evangelical and Catholic church (+ experienced extreme anti-Catholic bias from the Evangelicals in my life) it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I feel like I'm sounding harsh and I don't mean to. This wasn't a bad read and the author did broadly touch on many negative aspects of Christian nationalism. Even though I'm no longer a member of the church, I'm heartened to see so many Christians recognizing the pain that we've caused for so long.

Overall, this was okay, but only truly useful to a very small demographic of people. Otherwise, one would either be too deep in these beliefs to hear him out or too far along in their journey for this to be anything new. 

As always, very sweet and wholesome. Especially appreciated the focus on Nick and Charlie as separate individuals in this one, though I love their relationship.

Not my favorite addition to the series, but that could be because this felt like a bridge book/filler. It wasn't bad, just not my favorite.

(not rating because I don't rate graphic novels) 

 "How would you tell our story?"
"Curses and dragons and fights are all well and good, but our story started far earlier than that. It all began with a dream I had as a child..."

TW: confinement, emotional abuse, fire/fire injury, injury/injury detail, violence.

I'm absolutely living for how cute this series is so far.

Growing up, I'm not sure if I ever watched Sleeping Beauty more than once (I confess that it bored me quite a bit lol) so I went into this one with neutral expectations. Prince of Song & Sea was one of my favorite books of last year, but it was also following my favorite Disney movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. And how much Linsey Miller was capable of making me care about Phillip. To me, she both honored the original story while managing to create something new and engaging to both fans of the film and maybe people that didn't care so much.

The banter was actually funny and I loved the emotional depth that was given to a previously very cardboard character. However, my favorite aspect was the agency and life the story gave to Briar Rose/Aurora, without fundamentally changing her character. Not only was she given a strong voice and the ability to consent, but the author also kept her as a soft, kind-hearted individual that loves singing and dancing with animals.

Since most of this book follows Prince Phillip training to use his magic and his dreams, the plot and pacing could feel quite stagnant at times, making an otherwise short book feel much longer. Though there is enough humor to keep the reader interested, it did feel redundant at times. This, paired with getting irritated at Phillip's character flaws (I understood them, I sympathized, I was still irritated at times lol), could make the reading experience a bit tedious.

Overall, though, this was such a fun book. I stand by the fact that (so far) the Princes series is one of the best decision Disney has made in regards to novel adaptations of their films. Linsey Miller has truly done a fantastic job. I highly recommend both already published books to anyone that's a fan of Disney, whether obsessively or just because you love the nostalgia.

Also... as someone that is a firm believer that Cinderella III: A Twist in Time is a stellar film (partially due to Prince Charming being a fantastic character) I cannot wait for A Prince of Glass and Midnight. 

Easily one of the best - if not the best - non-fiction book I've ever read.

While it's on the longer side, don't let that intimidate you. Isabel Wilkerson writes in such a way that when I wasn't reading Caste, I was thinking about reading it. 

Harrowing, eye-opening, and extremely educational; if I could make everyone read just one book it would be this one.

“The decisions of our past are the architects of our present.”

TW: alcohol, blood, body horror, body-shaming, claustrophobia, confinement, death, death of a loved one, drug use, eugenics, fatphobia, genocide, infertility, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, mental illness, pandemic/epidemic, panic attacks/disorders, pregnancy, racism (including use of Romani slur and negative stereotyping), rape, sexism, sexual assault, sexual content, suicide, violence.

For someone that doesn't believe in the term 'guilty pleasures', I can't deny that this is definitely my guilty pleasure series.

There's no denying that the Robert Langdon series is cheap fiction, with formulaic plots and enough conveniences to make one roll their eyes quite often. Not to mention the issue of the way women are written (there is the same variation of a sexy, smart ((yet not so smart that the equally sexy, fit, ageing Professor Robert Langdon can't teach them)) female character every. single. book.) or any of the other list of issues I could present.

And yet... there's something inexplicably fun about these books, despite all of the grim and often grotesque plotlines.

As for Inferno specifically, I can't help but feel conflicted. In some ways, this was the best of the Robert Langdon novels thus far and in others... it was undoubtedly the worst. It was the first of his books to actually catch me (partially) by surprise, whether through good writing or my own exhaustion, I do not know. It was also the hardest for me to get into and the bleakest of all of his books.

I always have issues with the representation (or lack thereof) in this series, but it felt even worse in this book. From having a sexually assaulted woman refer to herself as damaged goods, implying that infertility made one incomplete, the rampant fatphobia, and equating female baldness with being a monster(?) things were just handled very, very poorly. Which isn't surprising, but still felt a bit worse from his other works.

With that being said, I flew through this book. For being pretty chunky, it was an incredible fast-paced, quick read. Even though I predicted most things, there was an element that shocked me, the feeling of shocked whilst reading was a surprise in and of itself. I both enjoyed it and hated it, which leaves me rather conflicted on my overall feelings.

So I shall put it this way: it was a decent Robert Langdon book, but perhaps not a decent book.

 While I'm grateful for the work that the author did compiling the very limited information we have on John Wesley Gilbert, I am afraid this book fell quite flat for me.

As I mentioned before, the limited information available gave this book a very uncertain, practically watery tone most of the time. There were quite a few 'maybes' and 'perhaps' utilized, which sometimes made this feel like I was reading someone's notes on this man, instead of his biography. Pairing that with a rather dull writing style made this a sometimes difficult read.

With that being said, I am still glad I read it and for the small glimpse into this underappreciated man's life. I will not soon forget him, though the book itself may soon be forgotten. 

 “... and the deepest, most fundamental part of her life involved a love of books. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to shut the rest of the world out, and have nothing to worry about, except the next page of whatever she was reading.”

TW: ableism, animal cruelty, animal death, alcohol, blood, body horror, body-shaming, bullying, car accident, confinement, death, death of a loved one, drowning, fatphobia, fire/fire injury, gore, gun violence, injury/injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, murder, racism, sexism, sexual content, stalking, torture, transphobia, violence.

A unique, cozy delight.

From first hearing about this book, I was nearly positive that I would love it and I'm so glad I was right. Books that include secret, morally ambiguous societies called The Library are quickly becoming a favorite sub-genre for me. Though this was a pretty dark story at times, the entire book had such a warm, cozy atmosphere that felt like reading in a library. Not all novels with a focus on books/reading are successful at feeling like a love-letter to readers, but this one succeeded.

When I say that, I also know this book isn't for everyone. The world-building is a bit complex and chaotic (purposefully!) and it has an almost historical fiction vibe. It has everything from Fae, to dragons, to zeppelins, and cyborg alligators. I know this might have thrown people out of the story, even myself, but I actually thought it was delightful lol.

My rating is a bit lower due to feeling like some of the representation in this book was a bit... messy, to say the least. Particularly when it comes to the character Kai. It was nothing major, slight references or passing comments that felt like the attempt at representing his culture had been poorly researched.
Also... without spoiling... there's a twist at the end that inspires comments that are both transphobic and upsetting at nature.
While I don't believe this was the author's intent, I would be remiss to ignore that these were still noticeable flaws.

The other thing I want to touch on is that, while a lot of people shelve this as a YA novel, I complete disagree. From the discussions had to the level of violence, to the maturity of the characters and the tone of the writing itself, I'm shelving this as adult.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book! It was a bit clunky or predictable at times, but never in a way that detracted from my overall love of the story. I'm excited to see where the series goes from here. 

 "Forever the war will rage, until united, the three shall die. Humans made low, then fae made lower, Then elves in ignorance, gone is their power, Cursed to endure, cursed to survive. All shall perish lest all three thrive."

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

➳ 4.5✶

TW: animal death, blood, child abuse, classism, death, death of a loved one, dementia, emotional abuse, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, mental illness, murder, physical abuse, sexual content, torture, toxic relationship, violence, war, xenophobia.

Both a delight and a triumph, Faebound is proof that Saara El-Arifi is a master of the fantasy genre.

From the easy-to-grasp worldbuilding and magic systems, to the complex sibling relationship and the flawless distinction of every character, this book was just as amazing as I had hoped for it to be. If you're someone that's easily intimidated by adult fantasy, afraid it is too dense or difficult to comprehend, this is a fantastic place to start. Not only was it fast-paced, but it was also impossible to put-down.

Even the basic elements of the story are brought to life in a vivid, reimagined way that gives the book the unique feeling of being at once familiar and incredibly unique.

My only complaint is actually about the romance(s) and the fact that I had a really hard time connecting with either of them, which is a bit rough when the story is meant to be fantasy-romance. I can't exactly expand on the individual reasons why due to risking spoilers, but I will say that they both felt oddly rushed and inauthentic to me.
I mention it only because I want to say that even though I didn't connect with the romantic elements, this was still a fantastic story and a perfect beginning to a new series.

I'm incredibly grateful that I was approved for an ARC and forever willing to read anything and everything Saara El-Arifi writes from now until the end of time. I really do recommend this to anyone looking for an inclusive, easy-to-read yet still incredibly well-constructed fantasy.

Even just for the animal companion element alone. That should be convincing enough.