A laid back, cutesy YA contemporary romance with a fun setting and some good inclusivity. There were a lot of difficult topics covered in the narrative, but they weren't too heavily investigated. The tone stayed moderately light though there were moments of contemplation and some good information/considerations in the interactions of the characters. Speaking of characters, they were rather sweet and cute - Arthur in particular was quite fun. There are some good discussions about grief and self-confidence. The story reads really easily and quickly, making it a great comfort read. A sweet, fun YA.

There are a lot of And Then There Were None retellings out there and this is one of the good ones. The narration style is intriguing and the twist at the end was one I didn't really see coming, though looking back there are definite hints there for careful readers. Things moved very quickly in this plot and it was one of those books that you sit down with on an afternoon and then just don't want to walk away from. Though not one that blew me completely away, it was absolutely a great binge read. Perfect pick for air travel, sitting by the pool, or a rainy afternoon.

Emily Henry is always a slump buster for me. Her writing feels so effortless and yet conveys so much. Her characters are always great and the stories she creates feel like something new every time. I loved Harriet as a character. She was very real to me and there were a lot of things in her that I could align with myself. Emily Henry just has a way of creating characters who make me feel seen. The ending does feel a bit rushed and a longer, more thorough epilogue would have been helpful in making things feel a bit more realistic, but that was really the only stylistic choice that rubbed me the wrong way. Overall, this was a read I just immersed myself into and didn't want to leave.

Very rarely does a book meet the hype for me when I've seen it plastered all over social media like I did this one. Holy cow did Fourth Wing prove my skepticism wrong. I was hooked by page one and I DEVOURED this chunkster over the matter of just a couple of days. Do I normally like dragon books or things that fall in the high fantasy genre? Nope. Not in the least. Did I freaking love this one? Yep. Abso-freaking-lutely.

The action is nonstop in this book and it feels like Dungeons & Dragons meets Harry Potter...but more grown up. Magical school Game of Thrones? Maybe. It is brilliantly written and had me on the edge of my seat for nearly the entire journey. Oh...and hang on tight, because there is some serious smut wrapped up in these pages. I did not quite see that coming, but boy if that doesn't FIRMLY push this up into the New Adult/Adult categories.

Now...prepare yourself before you start this. Make sure you have your calendar cleared, sure, but also...don't bond yourself to any characters (because this school is seriously deadly) and prepare yourself because this ending is going to just slap you square in the face. I can not WAIT until book 2.

It should come as no surprise that I loved this book. TJ Klune just has a knack for writing interesting tales with some serious heart. This adorably queer Pinocchio retelling with bits of other sprinkled in pop culture references had me hooked right away and I adored Klune's lovely characters. The snarky wit in his prose is incredibly humorous and his plot moved so incredibly well. I could not put this book down.

An interesting thriller with a cult-style premise. Good twists and turns and a lot of cerebral work into creating the plot. There is some pretty smart manipulation of the narrative here and the writing feels pretty solid.

Unfortunately, the pacing was a little slow for the first half and there were moments that seemed to be a bit over the top for shock value that didn't really feel fully believable. There seemed to be a few moments where Nicole's judgment just wasn't logical, so these questionable moments pulled me out of the story. It was a very intense read with some decent stakes and there was definitely a lot packed into the story with an emotional load that felt like it was swinging all over.

The ending was okay with some great surprise twisting, but ultimately it just felt a bit rushed and didn't really fully flesh out the circumstances.

Overall, a decent read and some good writing that makes me think I may have to give McKenzie's backlist a glance.

After enjoying the first in this trilogy, I will admit that I was unfortunately disappointed with this follow-up. There is a lot of slow burn and teenage angst to this one, so buckle up for some whiny characters. Seemingly struck with sequel syndrome, this book just kind of wandered around a bit and felt a bit sloggy. There wasn't as much tension throughout the novel, but instead it all packed into the ending, leaving me with a cliffhanger.

While I do want to know how the story ends, it is always a bit frustrating when an author stretches things out in a way that just makes it feel like a grab for a third book. I don't really care whether a story is a standalone, a duology, a trilogy, or more...I just want a story that is going to consistently entertain me.

Will I still read the next book? Most likely. I really did enjoy the first one enough to hook me and the ending left me really wanting to know what happens. I just hope that the finale has some more solidly written character interactions, a bit more maturity, and a consistent action plan from start to finish. It was done in the first one...it can be done again. Fingers crossed.