I preferred the first half of this book to the second. I actually thought it was going to be a solid three star book. Not great, but fine. It definitely lost steam in the second half. My main issue with this book is that it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. I feel like there is a kernel of a good idea here, but the execution is lacking. It feels like a very run-of-the-mill post-apocalyptic story. There isn’t enough depth to the characters or the world. There is never any reveal or twist to surprise the reader. It’s very simplistic.

The pacing was slow and I found myself very bored in the second half. If I hadn’t listened to this on audio I don’t think I would’ve finished this, and it’s only 270ish pages.

I was bored of Stephen as a main character. For someone who has grown up in this world, he seems very naive and helpless. I didn’t connect with him at all, and his inner conflict about being like his abusive grandfather did nothing for me.

There is also a romance that did absolutely nothing for me. Jenny is the epitome of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Their relationship happens with really no foundation. I just didn’t get their connection. Her character was very one-dimensional.

For people searching for a plague-induced apocalypse book, I highly recommend Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This one, not so much.

I would normally DNF a book like this, but the first 1/3 of the book had enough promise and the book was short enough that I just pushed through with the audiobook.

So I actually ended up enjoying this book more than I thought. Was it perfect? No. Not by a long shot. But was it more than I expected? In some respects, it definitely was.

What I liked:

1. The romance was cute, for the most part. I actually liked Emilio quite a bit, and he didn’t fall into the trope of being a major asshole to everyone except the main character, which is kind of what I expected when I started this book.

2. The exploration of Alzheimer’s. I’ve had close relatives struggle with this disease and this book did a good job conveying the helplessness that you feel as a loved one of someone with Alzheimer’s.

3. Jude’s voice. I can’t say I loved Jude and all of her decisions, but I thought the author did a decent job giving Jude a very unique voice. The writing was, on the whole, relatively simplistic, but Jude felt real to me.

What I didn’t like:

1. The vow/oath/pact. Whatever you want to call it, I don’t like that the romantic plot to this book focused so heavily on this silly pact a bunch a grown women forced their much younger sister to partake in. I also felt like the sisters read much younger than they were supposed to be.

2. Pacing. This book was too long. Cutting 50-75 pages wouldn’t have made a difference with the plot in the slightest, and it may have actually helped with the emotional impact, which was lacking for me after several repetitive chapters. I felt like this book really suffered in the second half due to the slow process pace.

3. Slut shaming. I was pleasantly surprised through most of this book at the lack of girl-on-Girl hate. Then Jude gets intensely jealous of a girl name Rosette and refers to her as ‘skankalicious’. Nice.
I’m honestly not even sure why her character was included. She only shows up in two, maybe three scenes, and serves no purpose other than to show that Emilio is really into Jude, to the point that he will ignore a hot girl draped all over him. She was nothing more than a prop. I don’t like that at all.

This wasn’t a terrible book, but it wasn’t great either. I wanted to love it so much because of the Alzheimer’s plot, but this didn’t fully work for me. If you’re looking for a YA romance with a bittersweet story of losing a parent, Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson would be my recommendation.

TW: Self-harm, suicidal thoughts/actions, bullying, anxiety

This book surprised me. It's been sitting on my shelves for awhile now. I'm trying to get my physical TBR down to a manageable number (it's out of control) and so I've been reaching for random books that I might not normally pick up in the course of a normal reading month.

I initially thought I would read 50 pages or so, dislike the book, DNF and ultimately un-haul it. I am so happy to be wrong. This book had layers and complexity that I wasn't expecting. It's not a perfect book, and the issues I had made it difficult for me to give it higher than 3 stars, but I think it actually hits more than it misses.

Synopsis:
Regan is a high school junior. She is the daughter of a Congresswoman. Her mother has very exacting standards and is very critical of her daughter in every way imaginable. As a result, Regan has developed an anxiety disorder and has resorted to bullyish tactics in order to maintain her position in her school's social hierarchy. That is, until all of her deceptions become public knowledge and she becomes a social outcast.

What I liked:

1. The discussion surrounding bullying. I thought this was done really well. I also think it's a very timely subject that was handled with sensitivity and care. I don't know that I've read many books where our main character is a bully. I knew going into the book that this was the case, which may have led to my low expectations. A protagonist doesn't have to be likable for me to enjoy the book, but I wasn't sure if there was going to be anything that would help me connect to this character. It could've gone so wrong, but I actually empathized with Regan's situation. I also liked that she takes responsibility for her words and actions. There is a redemption arc in this story that makes her a much more relatable character.

2. The discussion surrounding anxiety. As someone who has had panic attacks in the past and is close with someone who has also dealt with anxiety, this felt so authentic to me. I actually felt myself become anxious as Regan attempted to navigate the aftermath of her texts being leaked.

What I didn't like:

1. Predictability. There is a reveal near the end of the book that I guessed 42 pages into the story. I don't know that it was even foreshadowed very well. It felt like a very easy twist to figure out, to the point that I was surprised that Regan didn't realize it sooner. Although, to be fair, she was going through a lot of stress and drama so I can understand her not being able to figure it out. So nothing in this book really surprised me, which I was kind of hoping was going to happen.

2. Too-neat ending. I liked the ending of this for the most part. Without getting too spoilery, our protagonist learns her lesson. However, there are a few things that didn't quite strike me as believable. For example, there is one character who has been awful to Regan the entire way through the book, knowing all about Regan's anxiety, and at the very end this character does a complete 180. It just didn't feel true to me. I don't believe it. I wish there had been more groundwork laid down to redeem that character.

Other thoughts:

1. The romance was kind of cute, but it happened far too quickly. These characters have known each other for years, and their relationship has been antagonistic, to say the least. But just because they both end up being misfits, they fall in love with each other. It happens very quickly. One day she is bullying him, the next she is rejected by her peers, the next he's comforting her in a bathroom stall while she has a panic attack, and then she can't stop thinking about him. It was just too quick.

2. I don't understand how none of the teachers or faculty were aware of what was going on with Regan. Her texts and emails were printed out and plastered all over the school, yet not a single faculty member knew about it? Come on. It was little inconsistencies like this that made it hard for me to rate over 3 stars.

At the end of the day, I did enjoy this book. Far more than I thought I was going to. I am interested to look into more of Cole Gibson's work in the future.

I don’t tend to rate classics in the same way as I do more recent books. I try to take into account the fact that language evolves over time, as do things like culture and societal customs, all of which can inform storytelling.

I say this because if I were reading this story as a new release, I probably wouldn’t rate it 4 Stars. Sarah Crewe is the epitome of a Mary Sue. She’s amazing at everything and spoiled beyond belief, but also incredibly kind, thoughtful, and compassionate at the same time.

The conveniences of the plot are absolutely staggering as far as the ending is concerned. The odds that any of that would happen are zero.

But I don’t care. That is kind of the point of this book. It is fairytale-like in the story and execution, complete with the evil stepmother-esque character in Mrs. Minchin. Looking at it through the lens of fairy tales, it was absolutely wonderful.

I enjoyed this far more than The Secret Garden, which I found slightly difficult because of the use of dialect and also the fact that Mary Lennox was horrid through a good chunk of the book. I also loved the movie as a kid, so this was very nostalgic for me.

I love the Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson, I whole-heartedly recommend that series. This book, not so much. I just didn’t like it.

The premise was very interesting and many of the philosophical questions were intriguing, but I feel like I’ve read so many books that were similar to this but better.

I didn’t care about the characters. Nothing surprised me. I felt like there was no emotional depth or complexity. The ‘romance’ was absolutely unnecessary and underdeveloped. The plot was nonexistent.

This is a short book but it felt like it dragged on forever. I listened to the audiobook on 2X speed and the last two parts were so boring I could hardly force myself to pay attention.

I know there are two more books in this series. I don’t see myself continuing.

That being said, I still love Mary E. Pearson and can’t wait for her next book in the Remnant Chronicles world.

I don't tend to gravitate toward thrillers/mysteries in my reading, but I would really like to get into them a little more. This book was one I purchased off of Book Outlet months ago because I was intrigued by the premise and the cover.

While I enjoyed the book as a whole, there were a few things that hindered me from rating it higher than three stars.

For one thing, the use of flashbacks in this book was so overdone. Every single chapter had flashbacks. I even noticed cases where we would get flashbacks WITHIN flashbacks. There were entire chapters that were one big flashback. It grew tiresome. I feel like there should've been a different way to effectively relay information to the reader.

This is a symptom of a larger problem for me, which is the overall structure of this book. Almost without fail, every chapter was structured the same:

1. The current scene is set and we learn where Hannah is/what she is currently doing.

2. She sees something or someone says something that throws us into some sort of flashback that gives us background on the characters

3. We jump back into the present time and Hannah learns something mysterious about her husband.

4. Hannah attempts to rationalize it or berate herself for not trusting her husband. Most of the time she does both of these things.

It got really old. Within the first 3 pages of chapter 8, there were three flashbacks. One of them was referring to an incident which had just happened a few minutes prior. Why?!
This structure made the book feel repetitive, even as the story was progressing along.

My other problem was that nothing shocked me in this book. Now, that's not to say that there weren't twists and reveals that I wasn't expecting. I was able to get through this book easily because I wanted to know how all of these clues were going to tie in together. I had a few theories along the way, and for the most part, I was wrong. However, I also figured out was the ultimate climax/twist was going to be about 70 pages before we actually got there, and I feel like that could've been averted if the book's pacing was better. There is this big info-dumpy section that feels like a 'big reveal' about 80 pages before the end, but because it's obvious that there is a big chunk of book remaining, it was safe to assume that something else was going to happen. It didn't take much after that to piece the puzzle together.

All that being said, I do think that this could be a good book for a person who is just starting to dip their toes into mystery/thrillers. It's not difficult to follow, and the story is pretty straightforward...with the exception of all the flashbacks...

My son loves this book! He's had it memorized since he was 2.5 years old!

There are so many things to like about this book. The writing is descriptive and rich. I loved the inclusion of storytelling in this book to enrich the world, as folklore is an important part of any culture, and including it here just makes the world seem even more complex.
I also like the fact that this is a villain origin story. I think I knew that when I first received the book from the quarterly literary box from page habit a few months back, but I'd forgotten it by the time I actually decided to pick it up a couple of days ago, so that is also a box checked off for me. I love fairy tale re-tellings and like the idea of an Evil Queen origin story.

Where I run into trouble with this book is with the character of Xifeng. There are some serious inconsistencies throughout this story with regards to Xifeng, starting with her relationship with Wei. The reader is told over and over again that Xifeng loves Wei, but in the same breath we are also told that she doesn't *love* love him and that she feels fully justified in scheming against him for her personal gain, no matter how much it may hurt him. And this is all supposedly BEFORE she breaks bad.

Also, her relationship with her aunt is highly toxic. She is beaten and berated her entire life while still being brought up believing that it is her destiny to ascend the throne and become empress. She is ruthlessly trained by her aunt to that end. When Wei, the only voice of reason in the whole mess, denounces her aunt's actions, Xifeng does nothing but defend her and continue to follow in the path that her aunt set her on from her infancy.

When it is revealed that her aunt is actually her mother, it made very little sense to me. Why pretend to be her aunt? It doesn't make her actions any less abusive. It felt like it was done for the sole purpose of having a twist in the story. It didn't shock me at all. It just made me more frustrated with Xifeng, who continues to allow herself to led by her mother and the Serpent King.

I also thought Xifeng came across as quite wishy washy throughout this book, but not really. I'm not sure if I can adequately articulate what I mean by that, but I'll try. A situation would arise that would present a dilemma to Xifeng. She would be presented with a choice. One way would be what a sane, feeling, non-sociopath would do. The other is what Xifeng would choose to do. She always chose the evil, the conniving, the manipulative, the selfish action. However, before making that choice she would fret as if she was actually experiencing some doubt. She would contemplate the repercussions of her decision and how it would affect those around her negatively. Then she'd make her choice, see the repercussions, and always have a twinge of regret before justifying herself by claiming that everything she was doing was in service of her destiny. I don't mind characters who are selfish, manipulative, and conniving. They can be super fun. But it felt like the author was trying to create an inner conflict to this character to make her more than just an evil sociopath, but it just didn't work for me. She never truly tried to change what she saw as being her fate. The phrase 'actions speak louder than words' comes to mind when I think about Xifeng. There wasn't really any inner conflict that felt authentic to me. Every choice she made was deliberate and exacting.

This all comes to a head when we learn

about the Serpent King and her Aunt/Mother. Her mother tells her that this evil spirit manipulated her for years up to the point where she found herself with a child and no one to help her. She says she burned everything he gave her, but then still practiced the magic he'd taught her, the magic that told her that Xifeng would be Empress someday. Wouldn't it occur to her even once that maybe the magic itself was tainted being that it came from such a dark source? I don't understand why she would continue to use it and why she would teach it to Xifeng. It makes no sense. Also, this scene really angered me because we have her mother claiming that she loved her to the point that she would rather die than subject her to such evil, but this same woman then spent the next several years physically and emotionally abusing her continuously. Again, we are being told one thing but shown something completely different.

Then, we come to my biggest issue. Xifeng has no agency.

When she finally learns that the Serpent King never did leave her mother and has been guiding her actions since the beginning, and also that the Serpent King is who she's had within her this entire time, she says to Kang, "I told Guma he might be controlling her...controlling me and my destiny all along."

To that, Kang responds, " But you made the choices to get there. You did what it took to get yourself to the palace, to defeat your enemies, to put yourself before Emperor Jun. Your own two feet walked that dark road, as the Serpent God hoped they would."

This sentence feels like an attempt by the author to establish that Xifeng actually has free will. In her annotations for this book she never once intimates that Xifeng isn't making these choices on her own. She celebrates Xifeng's path to darkness.

But later on the same page, Kang asserts that becoming Empress is her destiny, saying, "This is what your clumsy mother tried to engineer, believing it to be her own wish."

So...Xifeng isn't being manipulated by the Serpent God and totally has free will to make all of her choices...but her mother was a clumsy simpleton who is a puppet of the Serpent God...You can't have it both ways!!! Of COURSE the Serpent God is manipulating Xifeng. It should be obvious to every reader. But it's not obvious to Xifeng. She has had any sense of free will stolen from her, and is now a pawn of the Serpent God. Having a being who is obviously in his control telling Xifeng that she has free will doesn't make it true! All that being said, she is doing none of this of her own free will. This Serpent God has been inside of her since the beginning of the story, guiding her actions, taking away her free will. Taking away any agency she may have had. I could've enjoyed a story about a conflicted but ultimately ruthless female protagonist, but I don't like that, at the end of the day, she is just the pawn of some man and his evil quest for power. I can't believe so many people see Xifeng as a strong character. She is being fully controlled by pure evil!

I guess at the end of the day, I'm confused about the aim of this book. Are we supposed to see Xifeng as a strong, femenist, bad-ass bitch? Because I definitely don't. She thinks that she is the one manipulating people and situations, and she is, but she is also a victim of that herself. Are we supposed to see her as a victim? I don't get that sense when I read the annotations by the author in the page habit edition of the book.

Even with all of the negative things I've talked about here, I still enjoyed most of my experience reading/listening to this book. I am intrigued enough to continue with the next in the series. I want to see how this is all going to end up.

I am shook.

I don’t read many thrillers. I read Gone Girl a few years back and thought it was just okay. I bought a hardback copy of Dark Places at a library book sale for $1.

It’s one of my favorite books of the year.

It’s disturbing and raw and unapologetic. The characters are flawed AF. I thought I’d figured out what was going on and was then completely shocked when my theory only turned out to be partially correct and the real truth was something I hadn’t even guessed for a second. I don’t often find myself totally shocked by thrillers, but this? Wow.

At different points in this book I felt annoyed, heartbroken, disgusted, and enraged. It really was gripping from beginning to end.

I listened to the majority of this on audiobook, and the voice actors were phenomenal. I highly recommend the audiobook for this book.

The only negative for me is that this book has had such an effect on me that I don’t think I’ll be able to pick up another thriller for awhile without comparing it to this.