This was good! A good solid read. It wasn't amazing or a new favourite or anything but I'm definitely glad I read it

So what’s going on here?
Ekata Avenko thinks she has her life planned out, or the next several years of it at least; in a few days she will travel south, away from her kingdom made of ice, attend the university there, and eventually study biology for the rest of her days. However everything changes in an instant when, in the middle of the night, she is suddenly crowned grand duke of Kylma Above. Being the middle child in a family of 13, she did not expect to ever have the throne, nor did she ever want it. But her entire family, save for her, has been put into a magic-induced sleep that no one knows how to cure. And so Ekata is thrust into a world of politics, back-stabbing, an annoying and cruel foreign king, and a sudden marriage to a woman who's name she doesn't even know, all before her morning coffee. Not to mention the apparent plot to overthrow her, and possibly also murder her. No big deal. But due to a magical deal made with Kylma Below hundreds of years ago, an Avenko must always be sitting on the thrown. And so Ekata must work tirelessly to find the cure to wake her family, before the entire kingdom melts to nothing around her.

What I loved
First and foremost, the writing in this is phenomenal. This is the first book I've read by this author but I'll definitely be reading more. Girl knows how to do a plot twist, DAMN I didn't see any of those coming! The Winter Duke was very well executed, and I found myself thoroughly entertained most of the time even though I don't usually care for political stories. I think the world of this novel made me more interested in the politics, especially Kylma Below. I like that we got to explore the underwater kingdom quite a bit, but I do wish Meire had a larger role. I liked all of the characters, I thought most of them were pretty well developed and distinct personalities. My absolute favourite thing about The Winter Duke though, is how Bartlett went about integrating LGBTQ+ characters into the story. If you know me at all then you know I love a world where queerness isn't even blinked at, it's just a regular everyday part of their society, and no one even thinks to think twice about it. I absolutely adore that (and wish I could live in any of those worlds, ugh) and Bartlett did an amazing job at capturing exactly what I love. I loved the casual use of they/them pronouns, the mix of genders for the brideshow, and Ekata and Inkar in general. The romance was so cute, although a very minor part of the book. Overall it was just a really well book

What I didn’t love
I had a bit of a hard time with Ekata, mainly because she's painted in the beginning as this really intelligent person, a scientist with a constant sense of wonder about the world. And we did get the wonder quite a bit, but I found that we didn't often get the intelligent lmfao. I get that she was entirely out of her element in the political world, but the way she went about everything made her seem kind of dumb? Like she couldn't figure out the most basic social cues, could remember every bone in the human body but couldn't remember a few names, and had so much trouble making even simple decisions or understanding basic policy. I think Bartlett was probably going for a more socially awkward vibe, and also trying to show that Ekata had no idea what she was doing (which is fair), but it came across as unintelligent to me. It was also a little frustrating as the reader because, since she was the narrator and didn't understand or listen to any of the political talk going on around her, I also had a hard time following along with the politics which made it difficult to really care about what was happening. I feel like if I had been able to understand what the people actually wanted, I would have understood the motivations behind the ones who did the thing that I won't spoil. But at the end of the book, while the plot twist was really good and very well done, I found myself thinking "wait, why did these people want all of this to happen? What do they gain from it, or what do they hope to change after it's all said and done?" So that was a little confusing and most of the reason that I gave this a lower rating than I otherwise might of. I also wish there was just a touch more romance to it. I really liked the scenes Ekata had with Inkar, you really got to see who she was as a person when they were together, but they weren't together enough for me to really get invested in their relationship (I still was though because f/f romance of any kind is an instant stan in my books, especially in fantasy since it's so rare).

Overall thoughts
This was great, I definitely recommend it despite the few things that I disliked. And I can't wait to read more from this author!

Oh boy that was painful to get through. This just barely made it to 3 stars tbh

Characters are great
Writing style is nice
Romance *chefs kiss*

But world building? Who is she
Logic? Don’t know her
Plot? Don’t even get me started

So what's going on here?
Honestly? I have no idea. 464 pages and I have literally no clue what actually happened. The romance plot was done well, it was good and slow burn. But as for the actual plot, I couldn't even really guess. There were a lot of attempted assassinations, a lot of names being thrown around but no explanation of who they were or why they were bad guys, a revenge plot that felt like it went no where. Actually that's a good summary for this book as a whole, a lot of random stuff thrown together that didn't really go anywhere and just left me confused as all hell. That's about the only plot summary that I can give ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What I loved
I really enjoyed the romance and the characters! The main characters and a few of the side characters who had more screen time all had their own identifiable voices, they felt real and tangible, and they were a lot of fun. I especially liked the friendship dynamic between Lia, Xania, and Matthias. Coin interested me a lot but unfortunately he didn't play a very big role (even though his name is in the title and I spent the entire book waiting for some big reveal that had to do with him... it never came). As for the romance, it was pretty swoon worthy. I mean, they were flirting with lesbian romance novels, how could I not love it? I really liked that they recognized the huge power imbalance in their relationship, and that Xania wasn't afraid to tell Lia when she was being a bitch lmfao. I thought the entire romance was so well done, their relationship was fantastic, and I wish that had been the main focus of the book instead of whatever else was going on

What I didn't love
Pretty much everything else? I'm genuinely surprised at myself for even finishing it to be honest. I forced myself to read the last 200 pages in one sitting last night, because I knew if I didn't finish it then I probably wasn't going to pick it back up. It was just so boring! At first I was really into the political intrigue and the court drama and all that, but when I realized that was what the entire plot was going to be?? Yikes. It was such a snooze. There were no high stakes, nothing to keep me interested, the revenge plot fell completely flat, and basically every plot line that was attempted just got all jumbled up into one confused mess that didn't actually go anywhere at all. Also the time line threw me for a loop; there's one part at the end where I thought they'd been on the road for about 4 days, and then all of sudden someone was like "over the last two months of travelling" and I was SHOOK. So that wasn't done well at all either. Just everything, everything outside of the romance was not done well (for my tastes at least) and it was a struggle to get through

Overall thoughts
I'm mostly just disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this one, it was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases and it just didn't even come close to my expectations. I will definitely read more from this author if there's a strong romance element, but my first impression of her is not great. Oh well, not every book can be a 5 star!

Actual rating 4.5★

Y'all. I loved this book SO MUCH. Oh my god it was amazing. I finished it almost a week ago and I'm still not quite over how much I enjoyed this. It was so close to being a perfect book, and would have been a 5 star if not for one trope that I'm personally not a fan of (miscommunication/making assumptions about how the other person feels without actually talking to them), but overall this was such a stunning book. Also, that cover!! My god *chef's kiss*

If you'd like to hear me speak slightly more coherently about this book, check out my reading vlog from this week!

This was alright, not great but could have been worse

I'm not really going to leave a proper review for this, mainly because I don't care enough about these books/this author anymore to put that much effort into it. But this book was just ok, maybe even good, and definitely the best Cassandra Clare book that I've read in a very long time, and that's solely due to the characters in it. I have loved Magnus and Alec since the moment I first met them in 2011/2012/whenever I read City of Bones. Magnus continues to be exactly my kind of humour, even if it is a little bit of the bad kind of cheesy at times, and Alec is just wonderful and I love seeing his character develop. An added bonus that I wasn't expecting was getting to see how Aline and Helen met, that was absolutely adorable. The plot was alright, interesting enough to keep me entertained, but nothing overly special about it

Scavenge the Stars was a little bit... meh for me. It's weird because I like the plot, the world is really cool, the characters were likeable, I didn't see the plot twist coming. But still. Meh.

So what's going on here?
Scavenge the Stars is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo (which I have never read or seen so that was entirely lost on me) following Amaya/Silverfish/Yamaa and Cayo as their lives become interwoven in ways that no one saw coming. Amaya, known as Silverfish on the debtor ship she was sold to seven years ago, rescues a man who promises riches beyond her wildest dreams. When her debt is paid up, she finds and strikes a deal with the man she saved; he'll help her get revenge on her tormentor, as long as she helps him take down the man behind the whole thing. And so she becomes the mysterious and wealthy Countess Yamaa, tasked with befriending the son of the villain in order to get at him. But, as Amaya and Cayo get to know each other, they quickly realize that they are falling for each other. What follows is a tangled web of lies, treachery, and a whole lot of danger all in the name of one thing: revenge.

What I loved
This world is super interesting. I do wish there had been some more world building, but I am happy with what we got. I usually find the political aspects in books to be pretty boring, but I was actually quite invested in this one and would love to see more of it in the next book. I'm interested in knowing the history of the empires and how things came to be what they are, and would also love more of their folklore and myths. The bits we got in this book were spectacular. I especially loved the little snippets at the start of each chapter.
I also quite liked the characters, for the most part. While I didn't feel particularly connected or emotionally invested in any of them, I did find them to be fairly well developed and interesting. My favourite character was definitely Amaya, I found her to be multifaceted and I was genuinely interested to see where her character was going to go. I liked the dynamic of her deciding who she wants to be and the kind of moral greyness surrounding that. The rest of the characters were all pretty well done too, but Amaya really hit the mark for me.

What I didn't love
It took me a long ass time to get into this book, and even by the end I still wasn't fully invested in the story. I was kind of sighing in relief when I hit the acknowledgments, glad that I finally finished it. I'm not entirely sure what it is that made me not like it as much as I thought I would, but there was just something about it that didn't fully grab my attention. Like the pacing was good, the plot was interesting enough, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with it, I just kept finding myself being bored. I was actually about to move it to my "finish later" shelf and start something else, but I went to the gym today and needed something to listen to while I did cardio, which is literally the only reason that I decided to push through and just finish it today. If not for that, it would have been moved to that shelf (which is basically a shelf where books go to die/eventually be moved to my "dnf" shelf). And the plot twist, while I genuinely didn't see it coming, I didn't really find it be all that impactful. Any of them actually, I just realized that there were technically a few plot twists lmfao. Yeah, I don't really know how to properly explain why I didn't care for this, I just didn't

Overall thoughts
I will definitely read the sequel (whenever that comes out, there's not even a release date yet RIP), but more so out of a feeling of obligation. If this was going to be a trilogy then no I wouldn't want to continue it. But for one more book I can do it

This was so unbelievably amazing and I'm so mad at myself that it took me this long to finally read it!. Red, White & Royal Blue put me in such a good mood, it was such a delight to read! I don't ever re-read books but I could totally see myself picking this up a second time if I was ever in need of a guaranteed pick me up

So what's going on here?
Red, White & Royal Blue is an unlikely love story between the son of the president of the United States and the prince of Wales. It follows Alex as he navigates US politics, helping his mother with her upcoming reelection campaign, and trying to decide which path in life to take. He believes he has it all figured out, until he accidentally throws the biggest asshole he has ever met, who just happens to be the prince of Wales, into a $75,000 wedding cake at the royal wedding. This causes a huge publicity stink on both sides of the pond, an in order to save face face the two are forced to pretend that they're actually best friends, which would be easy if they didn't hate each other. What starts as a begrudging hang out turns into casual texting, then to late night calls about a deep fear of turkeys, and eventually turns into something resembling friendship. At least, Alex thinks it's friendship, since he has always believed himself to be straight. What follows is a heartwarming tale of figuring out who you are, the lengths one will go to for their family, and the overall message that true love will stop at nothing.

What I loved
This was without a doubt one of the best book I've ever read. I'm fairly new to the adult romance genre, but I genuinely couldn't imagine a better way to tell this story. Everything from the witty banter, the pining, the longing, the slow burn, the steamy scenes, and watching these two warm up to each other just had be absolutely melting. I really love that this had heavy focus on family too, which I'm finding is pretty rare in romance novels. I really don't have a way to describe the amount of joy this gave me, it really is everything that I could possibly want in a romance. I'll be recommending this book to people for yeeeeears, it's so good! Red, White, & Royal Blue had me literally laughing out loud and smiling at my phone multiple times, it made me so so very happy

What I didn't love
I actually can't think of anything that I disliked with this book. I'm sure I could find something if I thought about it hard enough, but I don't really want to do that. I just want to sit and enjoy this unrestrained happiness

Overall thoughts
Please just do yourself a favour and read this. Just do it. Please.

Excuse me as I quietly sniffle and wipe my tears on the couch in hopes that my roommate won't notice that I'm crying.

I'm very very glad that I liked this. I adored Wild Beauty but DNF'd Blanca & Roja, so Dark and Deepest Red was my test to see if I actually like McLemore of if Wild Beauty was just a one-off. While I definitely liked Wild Beauty more than this one, I still really enjoyed this and will absolutely be reading the rest of her novels

So what's going on here?
Dark and Deepest Red is told in a dual timeline. One is set in Strasbourg in 1518, following Lala and her aunt during the Dancing Fever that they would be blamed for if word got out that they were secretly Romani. Lala takes it upon herself to keep not only her family safe, but the boy she loves as well. The other timeline follows Emil, a descendant of Lala, and Rosella during a week that happens every year in their town where something magical happens. This year, the red shoes that Rosella's family makes compel those who wear them to do things they normally wouldn't have the guts to do. For Rosella, they make her dance in the same way those afflicted with the Dancing Fever did 500 years prior. While Rosella struggles to understand why she cannot stop dancing, Emil begins having dreams of his ancestor during her trial and knows he must learn about his family and Romani history, something he has made clear he does not wish to know about, in order to help Rosella before she becomes a danger to herself.

What I loved
Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I loved so much about this. The timeline that takes place in 1518 was just so beautiful and magical, and incredibly atmospheric. Lala and Tante's fear was tangible, as was the love and longing shared between Lala and Alifair. Unsurprisingly the writing style was gorgeous, as is expected with anything written by Anna-Marie McLemore. I adored the characters from 1518, and that ending !! Oh my god. Actual tears. Completely unexpected and so moving. I also really enjoyed learning a bit about the Romani people. I admit I know very little about them, aside from the very basics of the unjust history they have endured, so reading bits about their beliefs and ways of life was really interesting and something that I would like to learn about (particularly their death practices). The ending of this book though, I really can't get over it, it was so beautiful. And the author's note too; I usually don't read (or in this case, listen) to the author's note, but for some reason I did this time and I'm very glad I did!

What I didn't love
I really wasn't a fan of the dual timeline to be honest. I had pretty much no interest in the present day timeline up until the last, I don't know, 5-10% of this book? It didn't captivate me whatsoever, I didn't care for the characters, and I actually found it to take away from my enjoyment from the 1518 timeline. Maybe it just wasn't executed very well for my tastes, but there were many times where I was really into the story, whether it be a suspenseful moment or something really emotional, and then all of a sudden I was transported out of that into a story that wasn't particularly interesting. I found it to be pretty jarring and usually didn't transition very well. There have been other books where I've enjoyed a dual timeline (I can't think of a single example right now but I know they exist), but in Dark and Deepest Red I really didn't think it was necessary to have it. The present day story didn't add enough to make it worth being taken out of the story set in the past.

Overall thoughts
Incredible. Magnificent. 10/10 would recommend. So close to, but not quite, perfection but close enough that this story will be held near and dear to my heart for years to come!

I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I don't think it was this? But at the same time, this is exactly what I was expecting. Confusing but whatever

So what’s going on here?
Anna Durvalia's life takes an unexpected turn when, after the sudden death of her father, she is summoned to work as a chambermaid for the Countess. Anna couldn't be happier, as she had accepted her fate to be married to a man and spend her life bearing him children, as was expected of women in 16th Hungary but was the last thing she ever wanted. Anna quickly finds herself falling for Countess Elizabeth and winds up in her bed, despite warnings from other staff that Elizabeth is not what she seems. By the time Anna finally sees what they have been talking about, it is far too late for her to escape. Anna's only option is to go along with whatever the Countess wishes, and hope she doesn't turn her insatiable bloodlust on her next.

What I loved
That writing style though!! Ugh Lana Popovic is a master at gorgeous writing. I've only read the first book in her Hibiscus Daughter duology, but reading this book makes me want to read the second one right now. With Blood Countess, I especially loved the atmosphere; it felt so creepy and I could really picture it in my head while reading. I also liked the pacing, I didn't find it to drag too much or anything, which I was a little worried about going into it but was pleasantly surprised! But probably my favourite part of this book was the Blood Countess herself, my god what a wicked woman! I had never heard of her before reading this but I'll definitely be doing some research to learn about her. I don't know how accurate Popovic made her character, but I found her to be fascinating and really well written. I listened to this as an audiobook and the way some of her lines were delivered, and the way her character was written in general, sent chills down my spine multiple times. She was terrifying and I was thoroughly impressed with her character!

What I didn’t love
Unfortunately there was a lot about Blood Countess that I didn't like, predominantly Anna. I found her to be kind of annoying and pretty dumb if I'm being honest. I had a hard time feeling sorry for her, and I really don't mean to victim blame, but she kind of got herself into that mess. Anna gives the argument that she was so infatuated with Elizabeth that she couldn't see what everyone else was saying about her, but people were warning her about the Countess while she still had plenty of opportunity to turn back. I almost always hate insta-love, but especially in this case where the main character fell in love with someone knowing she was a monster. And even if she hadn't truly seen what Elizabeth was capable of before she was in love, she had gotten a taste and still loved her anyways. I just really didn't care for that aspect of it and it took away from the story for me. I think I would have actually liked it better if Anna had been just as evil as Elizabeth and the two of them lived a life of tormenting together. But instead Anna spent the entire novel trying to convince herself that she was still a good person and that she was the biggest victim here. I just don't buy it. Yes she was a victim as well near the end, but she literally chose to stay there at the beginnging even after she started realizing what a horrible person Elizabeth was, AND she did technically have another option, even if it wasn't one she wanted. I feel like being married to a man who loves you and treats you well is better than sleeping with and aiding a serial killer, but alright, do you Anna.

Overall thoughts
I liked this, but I hope the next story in this series will be better (and also gay, I really hope all of these books will be queer!!).

3.5 ⭐️

I was actually kind of conflicted with this one, which is a total shock because portal fantasy is almost always an instant love for me. Which is actually what saved this book from being a two start to be honest, the world was awesome and I had a lot of fun learning the politics and complications of the Realms.

I found the plot to be kind of lacking, and the timing was so weird too. There was one point around the halfway mark where Maddie said she had only been there for 2 days or something and I was genuinely shocked, I thought this book took place over several weeks at least. It was weird because it felt like too much happened in too short a time, but at the same time it felt like very little happened at all. I think it was just one problem being drawn out which a bunch of smaller, unrelated problems sprinkled in at random, but it ended up feeling pretty disjointed.

When it comes to characters, while I didn't dislike the main character, I did find her to be kind of forgettable. I finished this book only a week ago and I'm struggling to remember what her personality was. I also found her constant inner monologue about her brother got old really fast. I understand grief and recognize that her way of thinking is probably pretty accurate to what it's like to go through that trauma, but holy shit she couldn't go through a single page without bringing up her brother or cupboards or blue fur and just oh my goddd shhhhhh! It was way too much, to the point that I couldn't even feel bad for her anymore. I did like the other characters though, especially Taya and Graylin.

Overall I did quite enjoy this, even though it definitely wasn't a favourite. But I am looking forward to whenever this series will continue!