emilyburdick's Reviews (389)

Pastel, bright, colored covers can be so misleading. I picked this up expecting a quick, cutesy, easy read and while it was cute, there was so much more story and emotion in it. What started off as a story based on insane, awful, blind dates and being saved by the proverbial knight in shining armor, turned into a story of letting go and healing. The twist regarding Becca's fiancé was sad and I did feel for her, but, this wasn't the story I was looking for so I just thought it was okay. The cover and title both really read "romance" to me and this was more like fiction with a hint of romance. I would have loved to get to know Jacob a lot more than just some tiny chance encounters and a quick, basic, 20 questions near the end. I didn't really understand the point of the boss's sickness and backstory besides giving Becca someone to relate her tragedy to. 

This set of novella's may be my favorite so far in this series. There is something about Five that, even though I detest him, I love reading about him and his story. The first novella, which tells the story of Five and his Cepân, had me feeling so bad for Five. However, I could see his self-centered and power hungry ways coming through. By the third novella, once he partnered up with the Mogs, I had no sympathy for him once again. I loved the little bit of Nine I got to see (MY KING), and I loved getting to see the brainwashing Five got and getting some deeper reasoning for his hatred of Nine. Also really enjoyed getting to see some of Matt's story! He got his redemption forever ago in the end of the first book, and I've been sad to not see so much of him until I read The Fate of Ten. He really came through for the Garde behind the scenes. His help seems heavily rooted in his love for Sarah but I think somewhere deep down he respects John. I'm definitely reading these novella's to put off the last book until December. There are so many things I get scared will happen and I don't want to live in that reality yet...

I saw a TikTok recently that talked about the reader rated books not on quality, but if they had a good time while reading. That will be the method I adopt for my review of this book. I thrive on diving back into things I loved as a teenager, and Midnight Sun took me back to such a happy time. Sure, it wasn't the best quality book I've ever read, nor do I think it compares to the original series. It was definitely a solid 200 pages too long and there was a lot of repetitiveness, but I had to think there would be when it is literally a retelling of Edward and Bella meeting through a different set of eyes. I don't remember Twilight all that well, as it's been a hot minute since I read it, but I feel like Bella had a really good personality in this story. I hope that if I do re-read Twilight at some point, her personality matches the one I just read. Edward had some good vibes but he also had some total creeper moments that made me cringe like crazy. If I had to read about how he couldn't stand to be away from Bella in case she hurt herself, and how clumsy she is one more time I was going to throw the book across the room. My absolute favorite part of this whole story was getting to see the other Cullen's points of views, thoughts on Bella, and their personal stories. As if I couldn't love Emmett anymore...

All in all, this was good for my nostalgic heart. 

DNF. I’m trying this new thing where I don’t force myself to finish series/ read books I don’t like! I read Matched last year (I think) and it was just okay. Nothing special to me and I didn’t resonate with any of the characters. I knew a girl who read this series when I was in high school and maybe if I had read it then too, I would have enjoyed it.

I had a really good time reading this book! Mia has matured so much and grown into herself, I feel like a proud mom. Was she a little clueless sometimes? Absolutely, and I did find that a little draining. However, I think that might just be genuine to her character. I am so glad she's finally seeing what a bad friend Lilly is and has been for so long. I love love love Tina and I think she is such a sweet, good, supportive friend to Mia! I loved Michael and Mia together, don't get me wrong, but the way she whined and overthought about everything throughout their entire relationship will certainly not be missed. I think she is much stronger without him, and the loss of her first love will help her become emotionally stronger and maybe have a bit more confidence in herself. I adored the storyline of her reading her ancestresses' journal. I am always a fan of mental health representation in young adult books and I think Mia going to therapy is something so many young people can relate to. And her reactions to her therapists advice felt real too. The turmoil of being embarrassed and feeling like there's something wrong with you and not understanding why this professional won't just tell you exactly what to do to fix your problems was so real. The past few books in this series felt a bit lack-luster but this one got me hyped for the last two installments. I'm very excited to see where Mia ends up!

I enjoy this book more than the first one for the most part. I still found it so slow in some spots and there was so much extraneous detail that didn't add anything to the story (in my opinion). I think my problem is I haven't really fallen in love with the main characters the way I need to in order to care about their stories. Nikolai is probably my favorite character, but I have a serious soft spot for a cocky, flirtatious attitude. Mal somehow became a totally different character in this book, I still find him about as interesting as dust, but, he's kind of a jerk in this book. Do I see the reasoning behind it? Yes, but, all he does is boo-hoo about Alina talking to any other man and having power. Sorry she's the literal Sun Summoner, dude. She doesn't really have time to comfort you while she's trying to save the world. I liked seeing the darker side of Alina, but she also still annoyed me in this book. I just find everyone so whiney. I am looking forward to finishing this trilogy, but really only so I can read Six of Crows which I have much higher hopes for.

Were they the stories I wanted? Maybe not. Were they the stories I needed? I think so! I really enjoy learning more about Adam and his past/time helping Sam's dad. While reading the main series I have been waiting for him to turncoat but these short stories about his life and journey lead me to fully believe that's not in his character. I didn't really love Sandor's short story, it was kind of slow to me and didn't really add too much to the story. Although I saw a lot of parallel's between him and Nine that show Nine probably got a lot of habits and behaviors from Sandor raising him. And, it was cool to see that Sandor actually was never meant to be on the escape ship with the Garde.

~3.5 stars~ I feel like this series is dropping off right at the end and I’m upset about it. The last two books just haven’t been fully engaging for me and I found myself tuning out a lot during this one. It felt repetitive at times and the whole storyline of “humans gaining legacies” doesn’t vibe with me. Feels like it takes the specialness out of the garde, and negates their entire purpose and the entirety of their time on the run. I did enjoy the backstory we got for Setrákus Ra. But then to hit me with that shock at the end? That one hurt and I definitely was not expecting it. I also might be a bit petty because I didn’t see a lot of my favorite character in this story…like, where was Nine!! Really hoping the last book lives up to the rest of the series for me. I need a strong ending!

I'll be honest, I started this series for the forbidden romance, will they/won't they energy, and sneaking around hook-ups. That's what I liked about the first book, it wasn't anything to do with their true love and the overall plot. Imagine my disappointment when the second book absolutely obliterated all of that. I try not to complain too much or have too high of expectations for this genre, but it blows my mind how many men (of seemingly all ages) are pining for this basic, 20 year-old college girl. And how they all just randomly kiss her? And she's cool with it? Couldn't be me. Also, I can't imagine my boyfriend's brother openly speaking to me the way Rob does to Penny. It's like sex and objectifying women are his only personality traits...

This story started off at a decent pace but then it got so slow in the second half. There was so much back and forth BS between all of the characters that just seemed like filler writing. Nothing makes me more irate than when I remember these two have only been together for like a month and a half and they're already

deeply "in love", moving in together, fully dependent on one another and ENGAGED?!

The immaturity spills out of these characters like a damn waterfall. I also did not understand the inclusion of the new male character, Brandon, who has an instant infatuation with Penny, and then after seeing her go back to Prof. Hunter (gag me), proceeds to disappear from the story until the second to last chapter. I got so excited when we met him, I thought we were going to have a really sexy love triangle going on...but no. ALSO, the fact that her parents were unsupportive of their relationship when they revealed Hunter's age and then found out he was worth billions and were cool after that...nah. My mom would rock my sh!t if I brought home anybody and claimed to be desperately in love after a month of knowing each other. 

The writing is so mediocre in these books and it is so difficult to ignore. There were several editing mistakes in the book and, honestly, I saw better quality writing skills on wattpad when I was 13. I keep reading other two star reviews and I'm agreeing with everything they say. I honestly could write a full essay on why this book was a dumpster fire. Not going to lie though, I'll definitely be finishing this series for the sole purpose of seeing how much crazier and unrealistic it gets.