So first of all, I need to say that I did really enjoy this book! I liked it a lot more than A Court of Thorns and Roses. However, I'm still giving them both 4 star ratings (confusing, I know). I just have some mixed feelings about this one...

To start, for the first 140+ pages...I wanted to add this to my DNF list. If I hadn't been buddy reading, I don't think I would have continued on. Luckily my friend was ahead of me and told me that it does indeed get better, so I pushed through. To me, the first hundred or so pages just seemed like it was dragging on and on. Without giving too much away...I course I understand why the author needed to do that sluggish beginning, but it was just too much for me. I was bored and not enjoying it at all. Plus, reading about how one character was treating another was absolutely infuriating. When the book picked up, I enjoyed it a LOT more!

I picked up on a lot of repetition in this one, which is my biggest reading pet peeve that I cannot let go for some reason. So of course that annoyed me. For example, the use of the word "prick." At one point I actually said out loud: "Good lord!! PLEASE use some other name-calling word other than that one!" Some instances were funny because you could tell Feyre was throwing it in Rhysand's face as a joke. But for the majority it was just too much. Some of the dialogue was also felt a little lame. For example when Lucien stated, "You're dead. You, and your entire cursed court." After they didn't get their way. Like, what is this? Middle school?

I found myself liking the characters in this book a lot more than A Court of Thorns and Roses, so that was refreshing. I think Mor was my favorite, but Cassian reminded me of a childhood friend so I was also drawn to him.

I really enjoyed the romance factor in this book. It wasn't over done like I always worry about. Though there was some repetition in the sex scenes that irked me.

I also really loved every single scene in Velaris!

And oh my goodness; The last 100 pages of the book were absolutely INCREDIBLE! What an ending!


Favorite passages:
“I often wondered what it was like to be that free and so settled within yourself.”

The slightly larger of the two, his face masked in shadow, chuckled and said, "Come on, Feyre. We don't bite. Unless you ask us to."
Surprise sparked through me, setting my feet moving.
Rhys slid his hands into his pockets. "The last I heard, Cassian, no one has ever taken you up on that offer."

"You do what you love, what you need."

I absolutely loved the sarcasm-heavy tone of this book. I found myself laughing so much! I enjoyed the fact that many times, the narrator was simply poking fun at the original storyline or the things the characters did. For example, when a character was about to begin a monologue, either the narrator or another character in the scene would poke fun at the speaker for raising their hand dramatically.

I would definitely recommend this book!

The first time I read through this book, I followed Shakespeare's path. I would definitely recommend doing the same to start this book to simply see how Ryan North wrote the story. I thought that this was also a nice little refresher; there were plenty of bits I had forgotten about. If you don’t read through this path first, there are some bits and pieces that Ryan North adds to try to keep you up to date, but you may get a little confused with the storyline.

Then at the end of my first read through, I did the math to unlock the secret character (I thought this was so clever!!). After fully reading her storylines, I jumped back to the beginning and began again.

I really liked that there was an option to choose a path that lets you read about the authors and the illustrators! And man, the list of artists is incredible! I loved all of the different styles. I knew I was recognizing some artwork styles while reading; artists that I knew Emily Carroll, Christopher Hastings, and Noelle Stevenson.

On one read through I found the Nurse side quest. My goodness was that one difficult! It took both me and my boyfriend quite some time to figure out the puzzle! I also discovered the three books inside the book, which were a fun little addition! This book was just filled with surprises!

I continued reading through until I kept running into the same passages over and over again. When I thought I had taken every path possible, I started at the front of the book and paged through to make sure I didn't miss anything. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that there was quite a bit I had missed! But at this point, I was getting a bit tired of flipping pages and re-skimming the same bits anyway, so I just read the ones I had missed and called it a day.

My favorite passages:

Haha WOW this is your first conversation with her and she's already bringing up religion and being devoted to her eternally. You wanna bail, Romeo?
Shout, "Hah hah hah right um I'm gonna go over there, bye" into her ear and bail: turn to 85.
No way, this lady is packed and stacked, especially in the back! Keep chatting her up! Turn to page 111.

"Romeo?" you ask. "Is that you? I mean, I haven't even heard you say a hundred words yet, so it's a little hard to recognize you by your voice. But your Romeo, right? A Montague?"

"OKAY FINE," you say. "But you'd BETTER be there. Don't, I don't know, commit murder and get banished from Verona or anything."
"Duh," Romeo says, and then he's gone. He didn't even comment on your foreshadowing!
Oh crap! Forgot I said your foreshadowing!!

“When this is over we’re going to talk about pronoun attachment ambiguity,” you say.

"...but how fun is it to read a fantastic book if you can't tell others about it, talk about it, and quote from it constantly?"-Amy

Such a cute story! If you are a book lover who enjoys books that are about books, this one is for you! Very predictable, but I was drawn right in and hooked from the very beginning. Of course, when I say "hooked" in this case, I don't mean that it was incredibly action packed or thrilling- it was just lovely! I loved the quirky characters, their love for their community, and all of their wackiness. I fell in love with this book immediately, possibly because I grew up in a very small town so I could imagine the storyline really coming to life. I felt totally immersed in this story while I was reading. I'm sad that I've finished it now...but I will definitely be re-reading it again soon!

I listened to this as an audio book, using it for my reading challenge prompt "An audiobook that has won an Audie Award." Yet again, I didn't know anything about this book going into it (as I like to keep it). When I picked it up from the library and saw the "Children's Book" on the sticker, I prepared myself for a quick and easy story to listen to. But when I started listening, I had to go back and check to make sure the CD's really matched up. The story begins with a bang that was 100% unexpected on my end!! So of course I was hooked! With audiobooks I tend to tune in and out, but with this one, I remained hooked throughout the entire thing! I would definitely listen to this again. I would also like to pick up the book and actually read it as well.

Overall, I thought that the setting and storyline were incredibly well done. There was a wonderfully spooky vibe through the whole thing. The characters were developed, unique, and incredibly loveable. I really liked that we got to watch Bod grow up in the graveyard!

I've read a few reviews where people said the storyline needed work and that there was a lot of unrelated things thrown in. I fully disagree. I loved all the bits that were added in! For example, Bod going to school in the real world. If that hadn't been added in, I would have wondered what he would be like outside of the cemetery. This experience also helps to set up the ending of the book rather than just having him enter the "real world" for the very first time.

I highly recommend this book!

"Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you."

"Heartachingly beautiful" is the most perfect way to explain this book. I highly recommend it. Just be prepared, once you start reading, you won't be able to put it own.

Love, love, love this book! Easily one of my all time favorites. Highly recommended for everyone! The storyline was constant as each character tries to find their niche in life, the writing style was wonderful, and the characters were nicely developed and I felt like I really knew them (even if they were incredibly shallow at first *cough* Will *cough*). I really enjoyed all of the Nirvana bits that were included after Marcus meets Ellie.

Full disclosure: I had already seen both the movie and the TV show before I read the book- I absolutely adore ALL THREE!

Wow. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a very long time. When I was reading it, I absolutely couldn't put it down. The storyline was incredible-it was heartbreaking and difficult to read but also hopeful, filled with love, and just plain amazing. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

Wow. This book had me hooked from the very start! It was dark and horrifying at times, but hopeful and thought provoking at others. The characters were so well developed and the storyline was fantastic (though dark). I loved that the story starts off with a bang-suddenly there is this girl (Minnow) that is covered in blood and is missing her hands. There is also a broken body is laying nearby. I immediately questioned whether she had anything to do with the bloodied boy, or if she had stumbled across him after he had just jumped off the bridge or something. In the next couple of quick chapters, Minnow goes to jail, court, and then juvie. While she is locked up, we slowly (though memories and flashbacks) learn about her very troubling past that had a few nice moments sprinkled through. I loved the way that the scenes were organized and that we slowly learned more and more about why she got to where she is now. However, my only complaint (and reason for the missing fifth star) is that the transitions could have used a little work here and there. For example, sometimes we saw Minnow talking with someone, then suddenly we were given a flashback but never learned how the end of her conversation went... Once, I remember Angel asking where she went once she had snapped out of a flashback so that made me question if she sort of dazed off each time a flashback happened during conversation. Of course the flashbacks could happen in a matter of seconds, which wouldn't really affect the current conversation she was having...but finishing up the convos in those situations would have been helpful so it didn't seem so jumpy. I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was well written, the flow was great, and it was very easy to read. I thought that the storyline was really interesting! I mean, a cyborg Cinderella? The modern twist on the fairy tales was pretty awesome! I was so happy that one of the stepsisters was on Cinder's side rather than them both being little brats. I wished that some of the characters were a little more developed (ex. better descriptions, a little more back story-esp. with the Lunars).

***spoilers***
I was a bit bummed that I guessed the twist back on page 114... Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the ending.

Just like my review for the first book, I would definitely recommend that a person read the actual book before the graphic novel because (obviously) quite a bit is left out. Also, just like the first graphic novel, the style in this one is very simple. Still a very fun read!

I cannot wait to get my hands on the third graphic novel when it is published!