Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
4.5 stars
So cute so cute so cute
Reese Witherspoon never misses
So cute so cute so cute
Reese Witherspoon never misses
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
This book was an amazing take on grief, family, and finding yourself.
Marigold’s family fell apart when her dad died of late stage pancreatic cancer nine months ago—now her life is destroyed, too, when she’s forced to move from LA to the middle of nowhere, New York.
Usually, books where the main character keeps making the worst decisions drive me absolutely crazy. However, I connected to Mary, and despite her train wreck of bad decisions, I genuinely liked her as a character and a person. Kate Sweeney managed to write a main character who is flawed, messy, and hurting those around her, while still making her an inherently likable character.
I feel like there isn’t a whole lot that I can say without spoiling anything, but if you want a story that’s sometimes sweet, heartwarming, and well written, but still hard hitting and messy with a healthy serving of teen angst, you definitely need to give Catch the Light a read.
Age Rating: 14+
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
This book was an amazing take on grief, family, and finding yourself.
Marigold’s family fell apart when her dad died of late stage pancreatic cancer nine months ago—now her life is destroyed, too, when she’s forced to move from LA to the middle of nowhere, New York.
Usually, books where the main character keeps making the worst decisions drive me absolutely crazy. However, I connected to Mary, and despite her train wreck of bad decisions, I genuinely liked her as a character and a person. Kate Sweeney managed to write a main character who is flawed, messy, and hurting those around her, while still making her an inherently likable character.
I feel like there isn’t a whole lot that I can say without spoiling anything, but if you want a story that’s sometimes sweet, heartwarming, and well written, but still hard hitting and messy with a healthy serving of teen angst, you definitely need to give Catch the Light a read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 18+
Spice Level: 1/5
4.5 stars
Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
This was a good book, at times, it was even a very good book, yet I still found myself a little disappointed. Chloe Gong’s previous book, Foul Lady Fortune was my favorite read of 2023 (and I read almost 300 books!), and this just did not live up to that. I really enjoyed Immortal Longings, but I just kept thinking, I know Chloe Gong is capable of more than this.
It was a decently slow paced book, and the first 30% specifically, dragged sometimes. I think this author shines in her plot twists and her character relationships, but we don’t get much of either of those early on in the book. Plot twists, of course, can’t happen until you have a developed plot, but when they came they were amazing. However, the character interactions were very minimal in the first act. It was all exposition, a bit of info-dump world building, and internal monologue. Calla and Anton don’t meet until the 30% mark, and up until they team up, there’s little interaction between them and anyone else, either. Things are happening, but there isn’t a ton of forward action, plot wise. It’s all set up for the later plot and reveals and action. While I was interested, and I enjoyed getting to know Calla and Anton, I was never fully engaged.
That said, the last two thirds of the book—especially the last third—were action packed, high stakes, and easy to get swept up in. I finally started to see the talent and skill I knew Chloe Gong to be capable of. There were twists upon twists, and they all had me shrieking and on the edge of my seat. There was romance that was a little twisted and a lot of fun. And there was banter and character dynamics that made you fall in love with not only Calla and Anton, but the side characters, too. Once I got to the turning point, that first big reveal, I could not put this down. I flew through the last half of this book, and my rating jumped half a star. And all of that is not even to mention THAT ENDING??? I cannot wait for the next book in the series, and I’m optimistic that since we already have a lot of worldbuilding and set up out of the way, it will start a little stronger than this one did.
Despite the slow start, I highly recommend this book. I love Chloe Gong’s writing, and characters, and twists, and I really did love this book in the end. I already need more.
Age Rating: 18+
Spice Level: 1/5
4.5 stars
Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
This was a good book, at times, it was even a very good book, yet I still found myself a little disappointed. Chloe Gong’s previous book, Foul Lady Fortune was my favorite read of 2023 (and I read almost 300 books!), and this just did not live up to that. I really enjoyed Immortal Longings, but I just kept thinking, I know Chloe Gong is capable of more than this.
It was a decently slow paced book, and the first 30% specifically, dragged sometimes. I think this author shines in her plot twists and her character relationships, but we don’t get much of either of those early on in the book. Plot twists, of course, can’t happen until you have a developed plot, but when they came they were amazing. However, the character interactions were very minimal in the first act. It was all exposition, a bit of info-dump world building, and internal monologue. Calla and Anton don’t meet until the 30% mark, and up until they team up, there’s little interaction between them and anyone else, either. Things are happening, but there isn’t a ton of forward action, plot wise. It’s all set up for the later plot and reveals and action. While I was interested, and I enjoyed getting to know Calla and Anton, I was never fully engaged.
That said, the last two thirds of the book—especially the last third—were action packed, high stakes, and easy to get swept up in. I finally started to see the talent and skill I knew Chloe Gong to be capable of. There were twists upon twists, and they all had me shrieking and on the edge of my seat. There was romance that was a little twisted and a lot of fun. And there was banter and character dynamics that made you fall in love with not only Calla and Anton, but the side characters, too. Once I got to the turning point, that first big reveal, I could not put this down. I flew through the last half of this book, and my rating jumped half a star. And all of that is not even to mention THAT ENDING??? I cannot wait for the next book in the series, and I’m optimistic that since we already have a lot of worldbuilding and set up out of the way, it will start a little stronger than this one did.
Despite the slow start, I highly recommend this book. I love Chloe Gong’s writing, and characters, and twists, and I really did love this book in the end. I already need more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Sexual content
This was fun! Predictable, but I enjoyed it & I can’t wait to dive into #2
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 15+
Over All: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
Lana (@thatgaybooktoker on TikTok and @thatgaybookstagram on instagram) likened this series to The Shadowhunter Chronicles—without the incest. And I have to say, she’s 100% right.
The Ember of Night series is urban fantasy and paranormal romance at its best, and the vibe and world reminds me of TSC when it comes to many of the aspects I like about it, and lacks the ones that I don’t (like I said!! No sibling relationships! Or cousins! Or anything of the sort!).
Shadow of Light starts right where Ember of Night left off, and Harley doesn’t get a break. This book also felt much more fantasy heavy than the first, involving other dimensions and fantasy worldbuilding. The lore intensifies as well, and I must say—it’s more unique than I expected. Molly E. Lee manages to craft a unique world and story that is still strongly reminiscent of the genre. It takes the common archetype of a paranormal fantasy romance, and utilizes it well without being confined to the cliches that can sometimes be found within the genre.
The steam between Harley and Draven definitely ramps up in this book. There are instances that I wondered if it was going to cross over into a little too mature for YA when it came to sexual content, but it never did, which I appreciate.
Honestly, I feel like the amount of lusting and sexual tension between the two of them ended up taking away from the story itself at times. It was just so much, and so blatant. It didn’t feel integrated with the rest of the narrative, and it wasn’t always written in a way that felt realistic or in a way I could connect with. It felt like every other paragraph Harley would get lost in her fantasies about Draven, and only 10% of the time did those fantasies feel natural. Don’t get me wrong. There were romantic scenes and make-out scenes and such that I genuinely enjoyed and felt were done well, but compared to the amount of such content in the book, they were few and far between.
Part of why that bothers me is because the plot and lore were really good, but they kept getting lost in the romance. The book had the potential to be a 4.5-5 star read if the author had focused just a little more on fleshing out those scenes and leaving out some of the scenes where Harley did nothing but drool over Draven.
I still recommend this book, especially for shadowhunter fans, and I’m excited to pick up a copy of book 3 when it comes out (I love that it comes out in May so I don’t have to wait a whole year!)
Age Rating: 15+
Over All: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
Lana (@thatgaybooktoker on TikTok and @thatgaybookstagram on instagram) likened this series to The Shadowhunter Chronicles—without the incest. And I have to say, she’s 100% right.
The Ember of Night series is urban fantasy and paranormal romance at its best, and the vibe and world reminds me of TSC when it comes to many of the aspects I like about it, and lacks the ones that I don’t (like I said!! No sibling relationships! Or cousins! Or anything of the sort!).
Shadow of Light starts right where Ember of Night left off, and Harley doesn’t get a break. This book also felt much more fantasy heavy than the first, involving other dimensions and fantasy worldbuilding. The lore intensifies as well, and I must say—it’s more unique than I expected. Molly E. Lee manages to craft a unique world and story that is still strongly reminiscent of the genre. It takes the common archetype of a paranormal fantasy romance, and utilizes it well without being confined to the cliches that can sometimes be found within the genre.
The steam between Harley and Draven definitely ramps up in this book. There are instances that I wondered if it was going to cross over into a little too mature for YA when it came to sexual content, but it never did, which I appreciate.
Honestly, I feel like the amount of lusting and sexual tension between the two of them ended up taking away from the story itself at times. It was just so much, and so blatant. It didn’t feel integrated with the rest of the narrative, and it wasn’t always written in a way that felt realistic or in a way I could connect with. It felt like every other paragraph Harley would get lost in her fantasies about Draven, and only 10% of the time did those fantasies feel natural. Don’t get me wrong. There were romantic scenes and make-out scenes and such that I genuinely enjoyed and felt were done well, but compared to the amount of such content in the book, they were few and far between.
Part of why that bothers me is because the plot and lore were really good, but they kept getting lost in the romance. The book had the potential to be a 4.5-5 star read if the author had focused just a little more on fleshing out those scenes and leaving out some of the scenes where Harley did nothing but drool over Draven.
I still recommend this book, especially for shadowhunter fans, and I’m excited to pick up a copy of book 3 when it comes out (I love that it comes out in May so I don’t have to wait a whole year!)