Before I picked up this book, I’d kind of gotten to the point where I thought that maybe YA contemporary romances just aren’t for me anymore. I’m definitely not in the target demographic, and many that I’ve read recently have been very disappointing.

But this book reminded me that it doesn’t matter what audience a book may be targeting. A good story is a good story, end of sentence. And this is a really good one.

What I liked:

1. The friendships. I love the friendships in this book. Claudia and Zoe, Claudia and Iris, Gideon and Noah...it all works so well for me. It just feels so authentic and everyone should have friendships that close.

2. The sibling dynamic. This could also go with friendships, but I’m giving it its own point because I just loved Claudia’s relationship with her brother and sister. Also Gideon’s with his sister.

3. The romance. It was so good. I loved their friendship and how it grew over the course of the book. I loved their banter that was in turns sarcastic and witty. I also really felt invested in Iris and Paige’s relationship.

4. Gideon. I know I could talk about this in the romance point, but he deserves kudos just on his own. One of my pet peeves in romances (especially in YA contemporary) is the he’s-a-bad-boy-jerk-to-everyone-but-me trope. Why would a girl want to be with a guy who treats everyone around her like shit?! Gideon is the sweetest. But he’s sweet without being boring. He’s a quirky guy, and I think it was really smart of the author to give him these quirks because it keeps him interesting. His interactions with Claudia are adorable, and his bromance with Noah is probably one of the best I’ve read.

Things I didn’t like:

...


...


...

I honestly can’t think of a single thing. Are there moments the characters (especially Claudia) do things I wish they’d done differently? Sure. But at the same time, each of those decisions were authentic to those characters. It didn’t feel like a plot device just to move the story along.

I loved this book. It’s one of my favorite of the year. I think it’s definitely the best “fluffy” book I’ve read this year for sure. If nothing else, it proved to me that a good story doesn’t have an expiration date. A 15-year old and a 35-year old can both read this book and thoroughly enjoy it.

So I watched the film adaptation of this book a few years back, not realizing that it was a book first. I kind of wish I’d never realized it. The movie wasn’t great. In fact, it wasn’t even good. But it was kind of fun and silly and I wasn’t mad that I spent an hour and a half of my life watching it. I can’t really say the same about the book. I just did not like it.

What I liked:

1. The concept. I would sign up for something like Austenland in a heartbeat.

2. The length. It was just around 300 pages. If it’d been longer I don’t think I could’ve finished it.


What I didn’t like:

1. Jane. Really, it all comes down to Jane for me. I feel like if you like her character, you’re going to like this book. Unfortunately, I found her headspace a terrible place to be stuck for the 3 hours it took me to read this. She is whiny, indecisive, and neurotic. I hate the fact that she feels so much shame for loving Jane Austen and specifically P&P. She actually hides the DVD set of the BBC Pride & Prejudice in a planter in her home. It felt like the author was trying to say that it was something to be embarrassed about and that really rubbed me the wrong way.

Also, she has no agency whatsoever. Nothing is ever her fault. Before each chapter is a paragraph or two regarding Jane’s past ‘relationships’. I put that word in quotes because Jane’s definition of relationship is very broad. A guy she talked to by the mailbox could be a relationship in her mind.
Anyway, the paragraph will explain how they broke up. And it’s never something she takes any responsibility for. Even if she actually INITIATES THE BREAK UP.

Jane: I think we should break up.

Guy: Yeah, okay

Jane (thinking): Way to fight for me.

(This is not verbatim, because the book is across the room and I don’t feel that it deserves any more of my energy.)

She even ends one relationship because a guy snorted one time when he laughed...one time...and she thought: Mr. Darcy would never snort when he laughs.

😑😑😑😑

Honestly, she is insufferable. I think the reason the movie didn’t bother me as much (even though it wasn’t good) is that we weren’t stuck in her head listening to all her thoughts. But even though this is told in third person, we exclusively follow Jane’s POV, and she is annoying AF.

2. The ‘romance’. For a book that is using love of Jane Austen as a catalyst for its narrative, the romance in this book is severely lacking. I actually felt like the romantic interests (because of course there are two) deserve better than Jane.

I know this book was written quite a few years ago, and I’m sure many love it. I wish I loved it too. Unfortunately, this one did nothing positive for me whatsoever.

But I still want to go to Austenland.

3.5 stars. This book gets the upgrade to 4 stars mainly because of the wonderful atmosphere the author was able to create. I’m also really impressed with the fact that this was her first published book. Overall, I did enjoy this book quite a bit, even though there were a few things I found a bit confusing.

What I liked:

1. The characters. I like Sorina and loved her family, especially Nicoleta and Verena. Some of her illusions were not as developed as others, but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment.

2. The festival. I loved the descriptions of the festival and its different acts. I felt like I was there.

3. The concept. This book was very unique. I don’t know that I’ve read many fantasy murder mysteries before, and I thought it was really interesting here. I also thought the murder mystery was handled well. I had some theories as I was reading the book. Some were correct, others were not. I felt relatively satisfied with the reveals and the way the climax unfolded.

4. I liked that there was some diversity here. There are a few gay characters, and also someone who I believe is demisexual, although that exact term is never used.


What I didn’t like:

1. Confusing world-building. While I found the descriptions of the festival very lush and intriguing, I did find the world-building in general to be a little lacking. I feel like I don’t really understand the world outside of Gomorrah and even what Gomorrah really is. It’s referred to as if it’s the same Gomorrah from our bible, but the world itself doesn’t seem to be based on our actual world. We are told it’s a ‘wandering city’ and that there is an ‘uphill’ and ‘downhill’ but I don’t really understand how that works. When they move from place to place do they find a hill to set up the city around? Maybe that sounds like a ridiculous question, but I kept finding myself distracted and wishing I could visualize it a little better in my mind.
I will say that I listened to the audiobook for the majority of this and so it’s entirely possible that at some point this was discussed and I was distracted or something like that.

Also, the political rivalries were a little murky for me because I didn’t really understand the world outside Gomorrah. That could’ve been developed a bit more, maybe by actually interacting with these characters who are supposed to be the enemy...

2. While I liked the murder mystery aspect of this story, the very end did feel a little rushed to me. So much information was being thrown out there. I wish certain things had been expanded on a bit, and there were a couple of things that happened at the end that felt a little anti-climactic.

At the end of the day I thought this was a strong debut. I loved the atmosphere. I’ve heard people compare this to The Night Circus and I would say that if you are a person who enjoyed The Night Circus and also enjoys somewhat gruesome murder mysteries, you may want to check this book out. I am eager to read more from this author in the future.

Wow. This book is beautiful.

I grew up in Alaska. I spent my childhood in Southeast Alaska and later on lived in Fairbanks and the Anchorage area. I grew up in a fishing village. My father worked in both the logging and fishing industries, and was known to hunt now and again. My husband is a member of the Alaskan Native community. Never before have I read a book that felt so familiar to me. I felt like I knew every one of these characters, like they were my friends, my neighbors.

My husband and I moved away from Alaska a few years back, and this is the first time I’ve really felt even a little homesick. I will say it again. This book was beautiful.

If I had to talk about all of the ways that I felt connected to this book I would have my own book. The thing I appreciated the most was the way that the author was able to explore sensitive subjects like race, religion, and domestic violence in a way that was authentic and at the same time not judgmental. In her acknowledgements, the author thanks friends of hers from the Athabaskan and Inupiat communities for sharing their experiences with her as a part of her research for the book. I really appreciated that.

And for anyone saying that this story seems far-fetched in the way that it weaves together all these different character’s stories into one narrative, let me share a little story.

A couple of weeks ago, a coworker of my husband’s was asking us about our hometown up in Alaska. When my husband told him what the name of the town was, the friend said, “That’s what I thought. I have two friends going up there for Christmas.”
Apparently, they had actually lived in this small town some years back. Then the friend mentioned that one of them drove delivery for the local pizzeria. That pizzeria was my first real job in high school, and my sister was the manager there later on. So these people know my sister and also are friends with someone who is friends with my husband in a completely different state. Moral of the story? It’s a small world and people are more closely connected than may be apparent.

Anyway, to say this book is one of my new favorites is understating things. I love this book. I can’t wait to read it again.

“There’s not much left for me on Earth. I wanted to go as far away as possible. But they don’t tell you the pain comes with you. They don’t tell you that hurt travels at light speed too.”

I’ve read more sci-fi this year than I have in any year previous. There are some really great books coming out right now that are sci-fi, but are also easy to get into. Sometimes I feel like science fiction can be a little difficult to get into, especially if the concepts are really math/science heavy and not as focused on actual plot or character development.

Luckily, Nyxia does a great job blending character, action, and mystery. I really enjoyed this book.

The story follows Emmett, a young black man from Detroit. The story takes place in the near-ish future. He finds himself on a spaceship competing with 9 other people for the opportunity to go down to an alien planet to mine a useful substance called nyxia. As a member of the mining group, he would secure his and his family’s future and be set for life. Unfortunately, not every recruit will be offered a spot on the final crew.

What I liked:

1. The characters. I liked that there was a diverse cast of characters all from different backgrounds and cultures. I am not a member of any of these communities, so I can’t speak to the representation, but I didn’t sense anything overtly problematic.

2. The pacing. This book starts right in the middle of the action and continues at a good pace throughout the book. I never felt like the book dragged, not even through parts that were more character-focused. The combat and action scenes were very well-written.

3. High Stakes. This book didn’t shy away from putting its characters into dangerous positions that you weren’t sure they were going to make it out of. There was a tension that mounted up to the very end, and I really liked the sense of urgency in this book.

4. Super quick read. I was completely hooked after the first page. This book is almost 400 pages and I finished it in about 4 hours because I just didn’t want to put it down.

5. The competition. I enjoy books with competition as a main focus. I thought the training and combat sequences were really well-written, and I liked that there was also a focus on what effect this kind of competition would have on someone’s psyche.

What I didn’t like:

1. I do wish we’d had a little more explanation regarding nyxia, primarily how people can become linked to it and what all that really means. This is something I’m sure will be addressed in the future installments, so this is a little nitpicky.

2. There is a romance I felt could’ve been written better. I wish it had just been hinted at in the first book and expanded upon in the second. It felt like it was a little too rushed for me, especially after all the good character development in the first part of the book. Again, it may be a little picky, but when so much of the book is so good, those little things stand out.

I can’t wait for the next book to come out in the series. I’ll be picking it up for sure!

So, this is going to be unpopular opinion time. I see people are either absolutely loving this book and giving it 5 stars, or DNFing and giving it one or two. I definitely didn’t HATE this book. However, I understand why some people wouldn’t be able to get through all the purple prose.

What I liked:

1. That cover! 10/10 possibly one of the prettiest covers ever. I also like the forest green and gold lettering of the naked hardback. Very beautiful.

2. The ending. I thought the reveal at the end was interesting. It didn’t blow my mind...but it held my interest.

3. Diversity. All of the cousins are bisexual, and one of the male characters is gay. They are also of Latino descent.

What I didn’t like:

1. Too much unnecessary description. I love lyrical writing. But there was so much flowery (pun intended) nonsense cluttering up this book. It became incredibly repetitive. The author would state something and then go and spend multiple paragraphs describing and explaining the statement. Then she would state it again, and then have a couple more paragraphs of description. One major example of this happens at the end and would be a big spoiler, so I don’t really want to be specific. But it would be like a writer saying, “The dog was asleep.” And then spending two paragraphs telling you exactly how the dog was sleeping and where she was lying down and what color the dog was while it was lying in the sun and what it was dreaming about and so on. And then the author essentially repeats herself and says, “The dog was napping.” And then two paragraphs on how everyone around the dog perceives it...about 50 pages could’ve been shaved off this book just by cutting out all the repetitive description.

Seriously, I don’t need to be told about all the different flowers in EVERY. SINGLE. SCENE. It’s just too much. And it’s really too bad because there are really some beautiful passages in this book that I feel get a little lost under the weight of all the purple prose.

2. Character development. I feel like I didn’t really know any of these characters that well. I actually thought Fel was the most complete, complex character, and he had amnesia most of this book. Estrella was okay, but if I’m being honest, the only reason I was able to differentiate her from her cousins is because it’s her POV we are following.

I also thought Bay had some interesting moments, but I spent so much of the novel being annoyed by her and the way all of the cousins fawned over her that I almost didn’t care. We don’t actually learn much about her until the very end of the book, and by then it’s too little, too late.

3. Unhealthy relationships. I didn’t like how co-dependent the cousins’ were with each other. It is mentioned a couple of times that other people see them as interchangeable, which as I said before, I do too. However, that is the fault of the author for not giving them unique personalities.
But in this case, that’s not what I am referring too. They all get very territorial over one another, especially when it concerns love interests. At one point, Fel mentions that the cousins are ‘marking one another’ and it felt like that kind of possessiveness was prevalent throughout the book.
Also, I did not understand why all the cousins were so twitterpated by Bay. And again, that’s the fault of the author for not developing her enough. She was the quintessential Mary Sue. All I knew about her was she had pretty hair that she wore in a braid...and I’m out. But in their eyes she’s perfection and they’re all obsessed. It was annoying.

4. ‘Plot’. There is not much in the way of plot in this book. Now, I am not someone who needs a super plot-heavy story. However, in that case I expect a very character-driven narrative. That was not the case here. I found myself getting distracted by all the flowery writing and losing any threads of plot in this story, to the point that I would backtrack and actually read out loud so I could figure out what was actually happening.

5. World-building. I understand that this is a magical realism, and that exact time period doesn’t really matter, because it’s all about the characters and magical elements. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for the characters enough to get lost in this story, so I kept thinking, “When is this supposed to take place? Where is this supposed to take place? Did I miss a sentence somewhere that said this was Texas or California or something?” The most technologically advanced thing references in this book is a car, but that doesn’t really narrow it down much. Estrella and Fel make one trip to town in the book, and that seemed to be the only part where the author was like, “Nah, I don’t need to describe this stuff. Everybody knows what a town looks like! Let’s get back to the garden and talk about ALL THE FLOWERS AGAIN!”

I will say that I was curious enough about the origin of this so-called ‘curse’ that I continued reading. I wanted to see if they’d be able to break it. And since the ending was the best part for me, I guess I’m glad I finished it. I really want to read Anna-Marie McLemore’s other works. I’m really hoping I love them as much as others do. I wish I could’ve loved this one too.

3.5 stars

I liked this follow up to The Great Hunt, but I did have a couple of issues with it.

1. Aerity decides to run off to find Paxton so she can sow her wild oats with him before marrying Leif, who she realizes early on in this book has no intention of practicing monogamy in their upcoming wedding.

This happens after new beasts show up to terrorize the land. I’m sorry, but how stupid can you be?! It just doesn’t make any sense. It feels like a big plot device created in order to get Aerity to a specific place in order to move the plot along, rather than something this character is doing because that’s just who she is.

2. The story unfolded in a way that, while fun and readable, was also relatively predictable. I had the same issue with the first book. There were no surprises, and everything unfolded exactly as I knew it would. I still enjoyed the writing, even though the actual plot points weren’t surprising in the least.

3. I didn’t care for Leif in the first book, and I liked him even less here. Yes, he ends up doing the right thing in the end, and we’re supposed to believe that he’s grown, but we don’t actually witness that growth at all in the course of the story.


I know a lot of people don’t like the romantic aspects of this story, but I found myself invested in the relationships. I especially liked Wyneth and Harrison, and wish we could’ve had a little more interaction with them. I would totally read novellas of the three main couples...but then again, I’m a sucker for romance.

I also loved Furball. He was probably my favorite thing about this second installment.

I would probably give the series as a whole a 3.75. I really enjoyed it while I read and found I didn’t want to put it down, even taking my issues with it into account.

I will check out more from this author in the future.

I really disliked this. Corrinne was whiny, snobby, snotty, and shallow. Her shitty attitude was so obnoxious. I kept waiting for her to stop being such a shallow little witch, and when it finally happens like 60 pages from the end, it seems to happen out of the blue and for me it was too little, too late.

It was like a really crappy Hallmark movie.

There was also a huge emphasis on body shaming in this book that I really had a problem with. Corrinne says that she is a size 4 at the very beginning of the book. Later, she talks about how she is ‘fatter’ than her mom...I’m sorry, but someone who is a size 4 talking about how fat she is disgusts me. And all through the book, there is so much conversation about fattening food and carbs and all that garbage. I was so over it.

The cover would suggest that this is a cutesy southern romance. The cover lies. There is zero real romance in this book, because Corrinne has terrible fucking judgement.

I also thought the ending of this book was so lazy and implausible.

I honestly don’t know what the point of this book was. There is no plot to speak of. I expected it to be one of those coming of age stories where the spoiled rich kid finds themselves out of their comfort zone and learns what is truly important in life...and I guess that’s what it was, but I’ve seen it done much more subtly in other books.

None of the characters have any sort of depth to them. My favorite was probably her friend Kitsy, and we don’t really get to know much about her.

That’s the real problem with this book, in my opinion. We don’t really get to know the supporting characters in this story because it’s told in Corrinne’s POV and she’s too selfish to actually spend any of her energy thinking about other people. It’s all about how everything affects her.

This review is a little ranty and rambling but I am just so annoyed by this book.

3.75 I was extremely wary going into this book. The ratings are all over the place. It seems like people either love it or hate it. I am really happy that I decided to give it a shot, because I really enjoyed this book!

Most of the negative reviews I have seen are from people who have DNF’d the book because of issues they had with Paxton being a misogynist. One scene in particular, where Paxton ogles Aerity, is brought up. And I’m not trying to say that people shouldn’t DNF books they aren’t enjoying. But I have to admit, that part of the book didn’t bother me in the slightest. She checks him out as well and no one seemed to have a problem with that. He never hurts her physically and any time he makes her uncomfortable with his words it is to discourage her from thinking of him as a suitor. If anything, Aerity is the one pursuing him, not the other way around.

Also, Paxton grows throughout the story, and as we learn about him and his past, we begin to understand his dislike of the royals and his motivations.

I also liked the character of Aerity and her sister and cousin as well. I like that they are strong and intelligent and capable.

As far as the plot goes, I didn’t feel like it was incredibly unique. I figured out the reveals before they happened. But the writing was intriguing and kept me totally invested, even though I knew what was going to happen.

This book wasn’t perfect. I wish that we’d had a bit more exposition about the different cultures that had come together in the hunt, but perhaps that will be expanded on in the next book. I also thought the ending felt a bit rushed and I’m not sure where the author will go from here, but I’m going to pick up the next book right away, so I guess I’ll find out.

At the end of the day, I’m glad I picked up this story and didn’t listen to the naysayers, as I really enjoyed this world and these characters.