dlrosebyh's Reviews (773)

Bree's only goal was to learn the truth about her mother's death.  She joined the Legendborn Order, a covert organization descended from King Arthur's knights, only to learn that she possessed ancestoral might. Bree has changed into a new person now.

However, the Order's long-running conflict with demons is reaching a lethal apex. And Nick, the Legendborn boy who captured Bree's heart, has been taken hostage. The Regents, who control the Order, forbid Bree from fighting. As the living anchor for the magic that maintains the Legendborn cycle, she is a mysterious girl with unheard-of power who needs to be protected.

Bree and her friends are forced to flee in order to save Nick as the Regents make it clear they will stop at nothing to conceal the conflict. However, there are adversaries everywhere, Bree's own abilities are unpredictable and lethal, and she is powerless to stop her developing attraction to Selwyn, the wizard sworn to defend Nick to the last end. Bree must learn to harness her powers from the ancestors who used them first—without losing herself in the process—if she is to have any chance of protecting herself and the people she loves.

I anticipated that this book would be one of my favorites, but I did not anticipate that it would top my list of favorites for the year 2023. It's just the way my YA fantasy should be. When Sel eventually confessed to Bree, I was shouting, which is unusual for me because I detest love triangles. Given that we didn't get to see much of Nick in this book and since the tension was so palpable throughout, I'm now rooting for Sel and Bree. I like having enemies to lovers from time to time.

I practically held my breath the entire nearly 600 pages of this book because I couldn't put it down. I don't know if it's because I finished this book at four in the morning, but the conclusion was so unexpected. And the fact that it has a cliffhanger? So you're telling me the release of the next book won't be until 2024? I'm about to do some nefarious things.

I understand that many people didn't enjoy how action-packed it was, but I did. Because a different problem will surface in every single chapter, it was almost criminal to put the book down. You need Alice to take a break, else you can't. She's such a comic relief character, which is why I adore her. 

All of the relationships in this book—romantic, friendshipal, family, etc.—were so excellent and well-developed that they increased my love for the characters. Despite the fact that Nick was barely mentioned in this book, it did a wonderful job at winning me over because I wasn't really fond of him in the first. As Sel previously stated, I believed him to be some white supremacist bullshit (and a nepotism baby).

I also felt the book had a fantastic plot; it was really action-packed (I know some people didn't like it much, but I did), and while it was a little bit repetitive at times, I thought it was handled very well since, in my opinion, the repetition made the story more vivid. This kind of repetition provided more details about Bree's character, which I appreciated. It's not your standard repetition where it seems like the author was pressing ctrl c + ctrl v on their computer.

But in addition to the story and the people, I really adored how the universe essentially grew. Since we were just learning the fundamentals of being a Legendborn in the first book, it was kind of just a 20% zoom out. However, in this one, because it was action-packed, characters were fleeing from one location to another, which caused the world to expand.

Obviously from the cliffhangers, I do have some occurring questions. Hopefully, they can be answered in the next book of the series.

Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem to have a good future ahead of it. But when he receives a bag of sand for his thirteenth birthday, things start to become strange. This sand bag is not your typical one and it is swiftly taken by the evil librarian cult that is enslaving the world by stifling truth and promoting lies. The sand will give the malicious Librarians the advantage they require to rule the planet. 

I've been looking for a book that captures the chaos of Percy Jackson for a very long time, and I believe I've found it. Is it as good as Percy Jackson?Most likely not. However, did I enjoy it? I thoroughly enjoyed it—and it's clear that Brandon Sanderson had a great time writing this novel, too. Reading Alcatraz's cheekiness was a lot of fun, especially when he revealed in the prologue that he is writing under the pen name Sanderson in order to confuse the librarians. It undoubtedly establishes the tone of the story.

Barcelona in 1945 is a city slowly healing in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets— an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

If I said it didn't take me a while to get into the book, I'd be lying. But because of how flawlessly the novel unraveled, I believe it was worth it. This kind of literature was exactly what I was looking for because the plot felt so magical and transported me into an other kind of universe. I certainly enjoyed it. I don't read a lot of mysteries or historical fiction, but this author really outdid himself.

I was reluctant to read this book because it was written by a man, it was set in the post-war era (which isn't my cup of tea), and it was so much hyped.  Usually, praised books leave me unimpressed. This is mainly because the book was either poorly written, poorly executed, problematic, or the story wasn't engaging. But this one was so excellent that it often rendered me astonished. I hadn't intended to continue with the series within the first 100 pages, but I want to drop everything now and read the other novels.

People in the city of Eldra are governed by ancient prophecies. Because of the elder seers' forecasts, the high council has maintained its position of authority for ages. Growing unrest after the fulfillment of the last infallible prophesy resulted in murders and, eventually, a rebellion that lasted for more than ten years.

Cassa, the rebels' orphaned daughter in the present, is adamant about taking revenge on the high council, which rules Eldra from within the citadel walls. Cassa struggles to come to terms with the heritage of rebellion her deceased parents have left her and the worry that she may not be able to carry the load because her only companions are the no-nonsense Alys, the laid-back Evander, and the consistently underrated Newt. However, it might be too late for Cassa and her allies to save the city or themselves by the time they solve the enigma of the final infallible prophecy.

I didn't find the book to be in any way poor. The writing was great, the plot was interesting, and the characters were incredibly endearing and diverse. Don't get me wrong, I get why people enjoy this book, especially for the lgbtqia+ members out there; it's just that it didn't really stick out to me. Nonetheless, if you see a found family of teen rebels, I would always be there being their #1 supporter.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," as the saying goes. Oh, I might as well start to follow that. Look at the cover—it has the lover sunglasses, the fuck the patriarchy red keychain, the mirrorball, the red converse, the letters—so it's Taylor Swift coded—and that's one of the things this book thrives at. Each chapter is titled after a Taylor Swift song, and the song title is tied to the chapter's content in some way. Other than that, let me go over the book's pros and cons. 

 

Let's start with the pros. It certainly contains well-thought-out information. It's quite difficult to connect song lyrics to chapter content. Next, it was clear that the author was really a swiftie. The author is knowledgeable of the references, dates, and so forth. Finally, I enjoyed how rom-com-y it was. If you need a good chuckle, the comedy in this book is not forced, unlike other novels. 

 

So, bear with me since the cons are numerous. To begin with, the characters were undeveloped. I mean, Zander was obviously awful from the start, but I was expecting for some character growth. He was extremely controlling and obsessed with her, which was really annoying. I get that he wants her to have fun, but with how controlling he is? I doubt they were happily married for at least three years. He was also subtly misogynistic, but the author will always pull the “he was raised with a feminist mother and sister” card. 

 

Zoe's character development was better than Zander's, although I wish she would speak up for herself in some instances. I don't have much to say about her other that, I found her relatable in some way. 

 

Zander and Zoe were... dare I say, toxic together? I mentioned earlier that Zander is rather controlling, and Zoe seldom speaks out for herself. Zoe didn't have the best communication skills either. Although the author implies that Zander knows her better than she knows herself, unless he's some kind of magician, which he isn't, Zander won't know all that runs through her mind. I wish Zander had allowed Zoe to speak out at some point, because he had crossed certain boundaries several times. 

 

Let's go on to the plot. The premise was fascinating, but the execution was poor. It became too repetitive. It's always Zander pushing Zoe out of her comfort zone, Zoe gets upset but eventually says yes, Zander does some romantic stuff involving Taylor Swift songs, then Zoe backs out because she's worried about the future. Furthermore, it was enjoyable for a time, but as you repeat anything, it definitely becomes duller. 

 

 

Finally, let us bring up the writing style. It was simple to read, a little childish at times, but still bearable. And though, a large chunk of this plot hinges, once again, around Taylor Swift references. Moreover, as much as I admire the author's use of Taylor Swift references, I found them to be too forced and cringe-worthy. It reminded me of me attempting to get my non-Swiftie friends to listen to Taylor Swift for the millionth time in less than a week. 

Siobhan is a fiery life coach who has much too much on her plate. Miranda is a tree surgeon who is used to being treated like any other worker. Jane is a quiet volunteer at the local charity shop who has no self-esteem. 

 

These three ladies are strangers with only one thing in common: they were all stood up on the same day, Valentine's Day, the worst day to be stood up on. And, unknown to them, they've all been stood up by the same man. 

 

I was completely perplexed for the first 75% of the book. The book  moved so slowly. I had to look up the timeline, and one thing I'm thankful about is that there is no formal cheating in this story. The male protagonist was annoying and manipulative in my opinion. I can't believe I knew nothing about this man by the conclusion of the story. 

 

The plot was likewise rushed. Beth O'Leary basically had to cover three romances in under 341 pages. Another point is that until the 80% mark, this book isn't truly a romance novel, unlike what the market sold it to be. They're merely the lives of these women who were dumped by the same guy, as well as their "relationship" with him. None of the characters truly stuck out to me; they all seemed stereotypical and bland. 

 

Speaking about the characters, I found them to be really irritating. Tell me how I know 15-year-old teenagers who can converse with greater maturity than 20-30-year-old adults. They spoke like real toddlers, which I despised. You can't make me like characters I've hated for the previous 200 pages. You should've done it earlier. 

 

Many people advised me to stay for the plot twist component... But where had it gone? I'm not sure if it's because I consume so much media, but I actually predicted the plot twist and it wasn't shocking at all. It was the most transparent plot twist ever. It made me dislike the book even more. If you're going to create a plot twist, make it surprising so your readers will be fascinated.