emmreadsbooks's Reviews (1.28k)

Meh. It was a predictable plot laced with cliches about private school, combined with this inanely named secret society.... The Players? Really? We're following Jill, a character that I can't even begin to like, whose problems would all be solved if she just refused to cheat using study banks and actually talked to adults. There's near to nothing keeping her from actually calling the police, except for some trumped up loyalty to an overpowered secret society (except it's not even secret BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT IT). I can't even.

I want to preface this review by stating that this is a weird book and won't be for everyone.

But maaaaaaan did I love it!! As a mathematician, I so rarely find depictions of the field that I actually enjoy reading. They can tend to lean into cliches or be unnecessarily esoteric. This was not one of those books. It's one of those 'story within a story within a story', aka a nesting doll, but you don't really need to be able to follow the timelines to be able to enjoy the book. This is a story about mortality, family, knowledge, and discovery. But there are a multitude of triggers in this book, so beware.

This was a haunting tale about nature, loss, and wanderlust that will probably stick with me for awhile. While Franny was somewhat unlikable, how she viewed the world around her was another story. Hearing the vivid descriptions of her travels paired with all of the information about endangered and extinct species was my cup of tea. I did feel as though parts of her trauma were overdramaticized for the sake of the story, but I loved the ending.

This book damn near made me cry, which is no small feat. I loved Yadriel and Julian coming together throughout the story as Dia de Muertos approaches, though there were some stumbling points. I found most of the plot predictable, but there was a pretty big twist that I didn't see coming (points to you!). I read this book in 2 hours because I just had to know how it ended, and I'm just so happy with how it turned out.

Wow.... Just wow....

I never knew that I wanted to read a mafiaesque fantasy novel, and now I don't think I'll be able to read another one. This had so many characters, so much political intrigue, and just a beautiful magic system built into it. Shae and Wen are easily my favorite characters, but I honestly loved all of them. Plus it's so rare that a novel surprises me, but I found myself being consistently surprised by the plot twists and developments here.

JUST WOW!!!

This book fell short for me. I enjoyed the premise, but felt myself hating the characters. Honestly I empathized most with the witches and would've been happy if they'd just razed it all. But I will give Henderson credit for creating such a dark atmospheric setting for her novel. It was so creepy and spine-tingling that it kept me reading despite my qualms with the plot and characters.

Everything was going great for this book! I loved the characters, the plot, the setting, just everything...

Until it went too far into political intrigue and became less of a sci-fi multiverse story. And while it was interesting and engaging, I just felt as though I lost the heart of the book. Ultimately I feel as though if this was marketed as a dystopian novel, I would've rated it 5 stars. It's just a matter of expectations not matching up with reality.

This is probably the best romance book that I've ever read. Not only was it a book about books and the writing process, it focused on the main characters as people. There was much discussion about love itself and the delusion of happy endings, as well as plenty of homages to classic romantic comedies... And I almost cried at the end.

Yes, I'm secretly a sap and this book nailed it for me. I loved the plot, the intricacy of the relationship between January and Gus, the portrayal of grief, just EVERYTHING!!!

I know that there is controversy about this book, and I'd be lying to say that I don't see why. There's a paragraph here that perpetuates racist stereotypes about dreadlocks that did absolutely nothing for the book.

So you might be wondering.... Emm, why'd you give it 5 stars then?

Honestly it was a really good book. And I've given 5 stars to other books that have committed more grievous errors. Acknowledging our mistakes is key to moving forward and learning. If it happens again, then I'll tank my review and stop reading Scholomance.

All of that aside, this book was delightful. I loved the dark academia vibes combined with the lethality of a GoT book. This is not a new take on Hogwarts by any means, it's a book of its own. I loved the magic system, both the categorizations and the differentiation between mana and malia. El is definitively an antihero just trying to survive her junior year, and I loved having her as our reluctant protagonist. It lives up to the HYPE!!

I cannot believe that this book is currently available to just READ on NetGalley. It's a beautiful collection of fairy tales, some relevant to an overarching narrative and others left there to make you think. Add in the beautiful illustrations drawn for the pivotal moments, and it's perfect. I'd recommend this to fans of The Starless Sea or The Invisible Life of Addie Larue.