Mmm, emotional damage...multiplied by generational trauma. It was excellent and now I am sad.

What a beast - and filled to the brim with real beasts. Dragons, oh my god, I am such a sucker for dragons. And TALKING dragons? The imagery had my imagination in a chokehold. Don't even get me started on the short chapters. Short chapters are elite. 

My current thoughts on The Priory of the Orange Tree are murky as I come down from the high of reading, but I have made some notes in regards to this review. 

As many have already stated, this book would have been five stars if it hadn't been a stand-alone. It took me forever to build up the nerve to even open the cover, and it took all my strength to turn the pages. I had to weave in shorter (rom coms and erotica) novels to keep my interest from waning. The info-dumping that came hand in hand with the intricate world-building was almost overwhelming at points, and thus challenging to get through. Additionally, the plot twists became tiring after a certain point but maybe I missed a few clues along the way?

But it was so good, a fantastic fantasy!

My friend has recommended The Bone Season and I have recommended him The Priory of the Orange Tree. It'll be a good trade and I look forward to debriefing with him to further my thoughts. 

Darren and the mother being unhinged is *chef's kiss* just the right amount of drama for this story. I loved reading both the first part and this installment, especially as we dove into the backstories of the bears and built up to a fantastic final chapter. The style of writing is accessible and easy to digest, as all perspective jumps between the four characters and keeps a steady pace. I'm genuinely excited to read more of Rhodes work!

Oh man, I wanted to like this book - I really did! - but barely anything appealed to me in it. While I can appreciate the representation, I found that it lacked in many other areas including dry dialogue and an almost annoying cast of characters. The smut was prominent, but not worth it. However, it does feature a fight around the 75% mark as the main climax, which was pretty much the highlight as it felt somewhat realistic. 

I've heard good things about the other Brown sisters books, but I'm unsure if I will ever get around to reading them. 

This was so good? I--??? The vibes were so good?? The FMC has a personality and her love interests aren't walking-and-talking dicks. The "mystery" behind the mom is...meh, but I've got to admit, it did add drama. And the issues with her ex-boyfriend? Just enough crazy sprinkled into that man to make me think something might actually happen. As soon as I finished this one, I immediately began the second book until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. 

Ohhhh I really enjoyed this! My students recommended it to me, and I decided to give it a go so that we could discuss the series together, and I am so glad that I did. The premise, plot, and setting were very interesting, and since I haven't read much sci-fi, it hooked me fairly quickly! The author built a world that seemed so familiar and yet so far at the same time, and added characters that could be found here and there - filled with flaws. 

I've heard mixed reviews about the next book in the series, so I'm eager to read it myself and set up my own opinion on the matter. 

I….may have found a series that is too dark? For me, at least? I might come back to read the next in the series buuut not yet. The content just did not sit well with me, even if I did enjoy the plot’s mystery and writing style. The characters had good bases and I doooo want to know how it all ends. But later. I need some time to process how unhinged this was.

What a ride, my poor heart was continually being tossed around (in a good way!) throughout the entirety of this novel. The characters; compelling, and challenging, and a little cruel were created with such care that they absolutely sucked me in, chewed on me, and then promptly spat me out at the end of the book.  It was a mystery that I didn't want to solve by the end of the book, with several clues all pointing in my direction. 

Please be wary of the content warnings. No matter how much I loved this novel, I know that it won't be for everyone. The topic is heavy, and even if the characters carry the story, just know that the world is heavy on their shoulders.

I took the time to read this during my final online lecture for my Integrating Technology course today in honour of STEM ladies everywhere. However...that was a mistake. While The Love Hypothesis is exactly what I was expecting (fast-paced, character-based, third-person point of view, and oddly charming dialogue -reminiscent of fanfiction that I adore), I found myself disliking several points as well. These include, but are not limited to:

The miscommunication trope is near and dear to my heart, as miscommunication keeps the world turning but lying? I dislike it deeply, especially since she has 'good intentions' while doing it. The whole ordeal made me roll my eyes. The story starts and ends with

sexual assault

, which isn't my cup of tea. As a woman in science, the actual science felt like it was written for non-science people. This is just a personal bias, however, but I did think Olive's character was flawed in that sense since her whole personality was 'she loved science'. Oh, and the smut made me laugh. 

I was expecting better, but at the same time, it was exactly what I was expecting?
I will try another Hazelwood novel in the future, but she won't be at the top of my tbr. 

The epilogue, which begins with "- the women could not save themselves from the poison that riddled their bones, in countless ways their sacrifice saved many thousands of others." wraps up this compelling novel. While I found the progress to be slow in general, and the character list hard to keep track of at times, I truly did enjoy looking into the disheartening story of the "shining girls". Each step in their journey brought a new layer of sadness since I saw the pattern. I already knew what was going to happen each time a new name started painting with radioactive brushes. The scandal that unfolds around the group of dying girls mimics the unions that continue to fight today.