I grabbed this book on a whim and holy moly it is amazing. I loved this clever little book! The narration is hilarious and wonderful, with a breaking of the fourth wall that had me giggling. It's perfectly dark, but still somehow delivered in a light, bubbly manner.

The imagination and creativity in this narrative mixed with Grimm's original tales made for a fantastic read that had me unable to put this book down. I read it in one sitting and I'm ready for the sequel. I'm actually a little sad that there are only three books to this series as I think this is something I could pretty much read forever.

Gidwitz's writing is fabulous and I love the characters he brings forth from the page. The narration is almost the star of the show, but the characters are rich and dark and propel the story in a way that makes you feel like you've just been sucked in the twisted fairy tale. It's a lot of fun. Recommended for mature middle grade audiences who can handle a little violence/gore as well as any middle grade loving adults. This one is a gem!

I LOVED this book. I've enjoyed Catherynne M. Valente's work before and find her writing quite fun. This was a different spin than I'm used to in her books, with a very dark tint, but it was just as enjoyable and I finished this book just wanting more.

The premise is fantastic and readers should go in knowing as little as possible. The plot is very clever and slowly unravels with magnificent subtlety. I would have very much liked a full length novel about this tale...I would even go for a prequel and/or sequel. The narrative is just creative and interesting and plain entertaining.

There is a lot packed into this little novella and I can't say much about it without giving the whole thing away. This was just brilliant and I loved it. I can't gush enough.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novella from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

2.5 stars.

I'm so sad about this one. The premise was golden, the cover is beautiful, it had so much promise. But it just wasn't fleshed out enough to stand solid. The writing is good, though laced with a lot of Asian culture that I was unfamiliar with. I actually liked this because I was able to do some research and learn about the Heian era and honestly found it quite interesting. But the book alone didn't do enough for me.

The characters are all very unlikable. That's fine honestly, as long as I can see reason in it and follow a pathway of a logical plot that explores their personalities and relationships. Nothing But Blackened Teeth scraped the surface on this. The reader is dropped right into an already moving plot without a lot of backstory about the characters or how they relate to one another. This is revealed in snippets along the way, but not in a way that really gives the characters enough body. All that I really gleaned from it is that they seem to generally dislike one another, or at least have a fairly solid apathy toward the whole situation. A majority of the characters are selfish and egocentric in a way that just irritated the crap out of me.

I could have overlooked my issues with the characters and taken them in as a pivotal part of the story, but the book didn't grip me enough to make me care. The atmosphere is there, but not as powerful as I would have liked. There is a lot of telling instead of showing and I think there were a lot of missed opportunities for totally creepy and tense scenes. Instead, they kind of get swept over and, as a result, I just didn't care. I was waiting for the gripping moment. And when it came, thought it was well-written and conceived, it fell flat for me.

I needed this to be longer and more fleshed out. I needed to see more instead of just being fed information. I needed more description, more atmosphere, and more tension. The bones are there, but this felt more like a pitch than a finished tale. Like I got the middle chunk of a rough draft and there was still more work to do. I'm bummed.


* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

There are things to love about this novel and things that keep it from being really great. I know that this is a TikTok darling, but I also know that there is a lot of controversy about whether it should be one.

I've loved E. Lockhart for a long time and got started with her novels by reading The Boyfriend List (Ruby Oliver series) and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks a near decade ago. I'm a fan of her writing style no matter what she writes, so the fact that I would enjoy this beyond a 3-star read was more or less a given.

I did enjoy the characters and the setup, but I will also admit that the plot (while I still found it enjoyable) was pretty predictable. I think there could have been a bit more mystery added to it and maybe a little better handling of the mental illness portion of the book. Still, I found it to be a quick and easy read and I wasn't upset about it. It wasn't her best for me, but I didn't find it to be a bad book either. Would I recommend it? Sure. But it needs to be clearly recommended as a bit of a mystery contemporary, not a thriller. I don't think the stakes in the writing are high enough to get that label.

So...if you enjoy E. Lockhart, don't let the haters sway you. Read this novel. Just remember...this is YA, it is NOT a thriller, and the twist is good but it won't blow you away. If you're like me, you'll have guessed it from fairly near the beginning. But...enjoy the ride. Because it's fun anyway.

Apparently I've found a new trope to love. Give me a novel with a female author centered on a band in the 1970s and a fiesty female protagonist and I'm yours. This is my third 5-star read with that premise so far in the last couple of years. Daisy Jones and the Six, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, and now Songs in Ursa Major Even the trope adjacent Malibu Rising scored for me with a 4.5 star.

Now, you may be reading my initial paragraph thinking, "why would you read the same book so many times?" And there, you would be highly mistaken. The beauty of these books is that each one has taken it's own amazing spin on the trope. I will admit that, heading into Songs in Ursa Major, I had apprehensions of it being just another Daisy Jones, but I was incredibly wrong. Ursa is a gem all in its own right.

Brodie's writing blew me away and I really hope she starts putting a string of novels soon because I need more of what she has to offer. Badly. There is so much atmosphere and I just felt enveloped in the story. I L-O-V-E-D Jane. What a fantastic character. Strong (but still with those internal insecurities), brave, and out to take what she deserves. True, she occasionally makes questionable decisions, but that's just her being human. I appreciate the fact that she isn't perfect. Her flaws are what make her feel relatable.

The plot just raced along and I was really living in the world the book provided. This was one of those situations where I stayed up way too late at night and devoured the pages. I was invested in the characters and completely enamored with the scene. Ursa is a powerhouse. It has so much packed into it. History, romance, music, fame, addiction. It's a one-stop shop.

I am wholly impressed with this debut. It's a book that will definitely stand on my own bookshelves and I may shout its praises too the rooftops until those around me are annoyed by constantly hearing about it. Wonderful. Now...Emma Brodie...I need more of your brilliance soon. I'll be anxiously watching the publishing lists.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

This was a quick and awesome read. It totally had me guessing and was great at the suspense. The twist came out of left field and completely wowed me. I'm a fan.

Novels with epistolary writing are totally my jam. Having this one be from both husband and wife point of view, plus the inclusion of written letters was awesome. I really enjoyed how that was set up.

The writing was really good and the pacing was totally on point. My only complaint about this one is the ending. The actual ending was great. The epilogue kind of ruined things a little for me. It didn't necessarily spoil the book, but it wasn't really necessary and I think it killed the high I had from what I consider to be the ending.

Will I read Alice Feeney again? ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY. I love her writing style and the subtlety with which she writes. Her characters are great, totally unreliable, and often unlikable. I seriously enjoy them.

This one is a win in my book.

I hate being disappointed by a book with a good premise. Gah. There was so much here that had promise and I really wanted it to be a good exploration of mental illness in youth. Unfortunately, the execution fell very flat for me.

The topics covered are very important and there were certainly some good messages explored and some difficult circumstances addressed. I just felt that the meat of the story wasn't full enough and the central focus got a little watered down by too much packed into a small story. Though it started off strong for me, things got overwhelming near the middle mark and the ending felt like it was a bit of too many things thrown in a pot too fast. It spun off in a way where the story felt rushed and the careful exploration of the topics was lost.

The writing style was also a bit difficult for me. The voice sometimes felt overly childish despite the middle grade/younger young adult set audience. It felt too basic and occasionally cheesy, with the "crazy" analysis going over-the-top and really just unfortunately becoming annoying and a detractor from the story. The use of the medical chart information also took me out of the story and made things more of a tell vs. show experience. There were also a few things with regard to the experiences and independence of Penny and her friends that felt unbelievable. The characters sometimes did things that were well beyond their age group and these things were very apparent to me.

The characters had promise and I really wanted to root for Penny, but as soon as the story of her mother became involved, I felt like the focus got a little blurred. I understand the intentions behind this story line, but I think it could have been handled in a way where Penny stood more at the forefront and her exploration of her history and own mental health could have taken up more bulk.

For me, this felt like the case of a book sent to early to publishing. It needed a bit more fleshing out and a bit more scrutiny to make it believable, authentic, and powerful in its impact. A story like Penny's is one I'm interested in and one I think is important. This execution just didn't do what I needed it to.

* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *