I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Currently I am at a process where I read one new book, then I reread an old one, then a new one again, and so on. So when I picked "Legacy" I was pretty excited, because I remembered how much I had liked it the first time I read it! Well this time, I couldn't finish it. I took me over a month to finally finish the book and I was really struggling in the whole process, to they point that I was afraid that I had fell into a reading slump!

One thing that really gave me trouble was the characters. The King (Alera's father) was incredibly weak and I don't know how he managed to remain king all these years! Then, London (Alera's personal guard) was very cocky and thought he knew everything, which may be true because he was captured in the enemy kingdom, but there's no need to be so sarcastic! You have to show some respect to your superiors every once in a while! Alera was mostly okay, but there were times I thought she was very immature and thought that the worst that can happen to one person, is marry someone they don't like. Which to be honest, is not entirely true, because there were many times she was supposedly confused by Steldor's (her betrothed) actions! And please, don't get me started on Steldor, he's absolutely hideous! My least favourite character of the whole book!

Another thing that kind of threw me off was the writing. I understand that the first time I read it that I was younger and maybe that was why I hadn't picked up on it, but it was really tiring at times. There were a lot of descriptions of everything and everyone and sometimes I felt like everything was moving extremely slow.

With that being said, I don't really know if I am going to reread the other two books in the series. I am being a bit reluctant to pick them up, because I didn't really go well with the first one. I know for sure that I am going to reread them one day, but not right after the book I'm reading right now, because I don't want to feel like not reading again.

OH MY GOD THIS BOOK! I loved it! It was full of twists and action and new characters and I just devoured it, I found myself I couldn't stop reading! That's how you know you've stumbled upon a good book when you have to keep reading no matter what! My favourite part of this book was the fact that we got a good look into the characters a bit more and many of their quirks and characteristics came to light.

Speaking of characters, my God, can we talk about Nikolai? *major heart eyes*
I have to admit I fell in love with Nikolai, even before we found out that Sturmhond was actually the second Prince of Ravka. The way he talks, how sweet he is deep down and that fact that although he's a privateer, he's in reality more honest that a lot of other characters in this book, are some of the reasons he holds a special place in my heart! He delivers each line with such confidence and humour that I want an entire series dedicated to him!
*King of Scars is about to come out for all of us Nikolai fanatics*

Alina and Mal's relationship is not my favourite, I have to admit. There are some moments between them when they are positively relationship goals, and then, there are other times, when they are complete opposites. I think their biggest problem is the fact that they have different desires and they envision different futures. I think that Mal should either realise Alina's potential or leave her for good. I don't think it's possible for the Sun Summoner to live a simple life like the one Mal dreams of. In my opinion, he is the one that has to change his life, because Alina is gifted with one of thee biggest gifts in Grisha history and asking her to give up her power, is downright cruel.
Of course, I do not excuse Alina's selfish behavior, but I do believe that she needs support in the task she has decided to take on.

The ending of this book was absolutely heartbreaking, because Alina was so ready to give her life for Ravka, that even though I am not sure I like her, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. What scares me with Alina is her affinity to power, just like the one the Darkling has and I think that finding another amplifier will eventually destroy her. I don't know what will happen next and to be honest, I don't even know what I want to happen next!

All in all, "Siege and Storm" is the exception f the rule that says that the second book in a trilogy is usually the worst. I enjoyed this book more than the first and my interest in the story didn't diminish for one second!

I loved, loved, LOVED the story and this new world Leigh Bardugo has crafted. I love Imperial Russia and the fact that there is a fantasy novel regarding this time period had me hooked from the start! I loved the Grisha and their powers and intricate political games they play, I loved how easy it was to read that book because it hooked from the start and finally, I loved that we don't have perfect characters. It's easy to think that the characters in this book are actually human, because they have flaws and the author didn't make the major characters likeable to everyone on purpose.

Talking about the characters, I don't know what to think about Alina. I love how devoted she is to Mal, more devoted than he seems to be to her, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes, when she fell for the Darkling manipulation. To be fair though, Alina didn't grow up among the Grisha, so that makes her a lot more gullible and inexperienced when it comes to the alluring world of the Little Palace.

For a hot minute, I though the Darkling would be this kind of villain turned hero, but as the story progressed I became more and more convinced that there is no way there's anything good about him, anything worth saving.

In conclusion, I have to say that I was draw to this book like a moth to a flame and I cannot possible wait to delve into the next one! Bardugo's writing was a pleasant surprise and I am eager to read everything she's ever written and everything she is going to write in the future!

Thank you Net Galley and Jane C. Brady for the free copy of this book in exchange with an honest review.

I was very eager to read this book because it dealt with bullying, which is a matter I'm incredibly into, since it's very relevant and I want to delve into it's causes and it's aftermath as much as I can. I think this book does a very good job of portraying how a victim of bullying navigates high school and how affected by it this person is, even out of school, when he/she is supposedly safe from the harmful comments and the mean behavior.

What impressed me most, was how amazing Jewel's family is. And by amazing I don't mean that they did anything extraordinary, they were simply an ordinary caring family, that only had Jewel's best interests at heart. I think it's important to portray good family models in books, because especially in young adult and contemporary fiction, I rarely see a family that's united and where the kids don't have problems with the parents, etc. It was very refreshing to see Jewel's family interact and I think it promotes a very healthy model of how families should be: close-knit, loving and supporting towards one another.

I had two problems with this book: 1) it was too short and 2) there was some stereotyping of characters and situations. Let me explain what I mean.
By "too short" I mean that I wanted more detail in a lot of stuff and I also wanted some situations explored more thoroughly. For example, we are told that Jewel sings, paints, does horseback riding, but we only read about horseback riding. It was like the other two hobbies were just mentioned to make her more interesting. Also, after a certain event, Jewel and Kaiden said that they wanted to take a more active role in preventing bullying and that they would organise speeches and stuff like that, which never happened and after a few pages the reader just reads that they work they did on that area was very successful. But I wanted to see what they did, I wanted to read about Jewel giving a speech, I wanted more from the book, because in my opinion that would make it more wholesome.
Now to my second point, there were some stereotypes being mentioned and I would love it so so much if they weren't there. For example, the "nerdy" guy had his glasses taped with white tape in the middle, which is such a stereotype for someone that's more studious than most. Why couldn't the "nerdy" guy have piercings? Or be super hot? Don't these people exist? Or the definition of someone who studies a lot and loves science is only what we see in high school movies?

Kaiden and Jewel's relationship was so sweet and not toxic at all and I was very glad for that. It was far from the typical high school romance and Kaiden was exactly what Jewel needed to help her get through another difficult high school year. Kaiden had such a nice and charming personality, even though he himself had been through a lot and I was very happy to see them together, because they fitted each other very good!

All in all, "Cascading Petals" is a very nice book about bullying that can be read in a breeze, as it is very engrossing and has interesting characters. It's a book that I would read again and would recommend to anyone who wants to get glimpse about bullying.

Thank you Vocarious Readers and H. S. Stone for the free copy of this book in exchange with an honest review.

This book sounded so promising to me! I really loved the synopsis and I was hoping it wouldn't be very stereotypical. Unfortunately my expectations were not met, and I was left struggling to finish it. My main issue was the fact that it lacked the spark that keeps the reader engrossed in what he/she is reading. There were many times when I felt that the situation was dragging and it was over analysed and over detailed.

I liked Annie quite a lot, I loved that she didn't lose her spark and determination to live her life the best she could, despite being inside a computer. She was very clever and very dedicated to save herself, and I love nothing more than a character who becomes her own hero!

The romance that ensued between Eric, the programmer and Annie was a bit predictable, because it's a trope that has been done one too many times before. We have seen a programmer fall in love with his creation or a computer programmer in books and movies countless of times and personally, I thought that it didn't add anything to the story. Eric could help Annie as her friend too, they didn't have to fall in love for him to come to the rescue.

All in all, "All that Remains of Me" is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone, especially people who know explicitly how computers work, they will feel very familiar with this book. Annie is a very nice main character and the story possess a thrilling aura as we reach the end of the story!

*Thank you Net Galley and Alice Kuipers for the free copy of this book in exchange with an honest review*

I really liked the idea behind this book and I couldn't wait to delve into it! I was a bit disappointed to see that it was a relatively small book, because I think the premise of parallel life's could definitely be explored more.

Lark is a very interesting character and a capable leading lady of this book, we see life through her eyes and I think she has a very nice personality in general. What was important to me was to be able to connect with her, since she's the main character, and I was very glad to find out that I could actually understand her motives and the way she was thinking.

The prospect of having to choose who to save in a situation like the one Lark found herself is absolutely thought-provoking and terrifying at the same time. After that moment Lark's life was split in two and we could see all the "what-ifs" unfold before our eyes. Lark was really different in each life, but not entirely okay with herself. I couldn't choose easily which life I thought was best for her, because both her pretty traumatic to her.

Talking about choosing what life was best, the only thing on that matter I have to comment on, is that probably her relationship with Alec wasn't the best for her. At first they were so cute, but as time went by, he became a bit demanding on the physical aspect and towards the end a bit violent, which really made me not to like him.

Overall, I think "Me and Me" is a well written book with a very interesting plot and a wide range of characters. If I had to point out one thing, that would be that I would really like the book to be a bit longer!

Thank you Constantina Maud for the free copy of this book in exchange with an honest review!

Overall, I really liked this book! It was a very interesting and original read with an area of intriguing characters and many humourous and adventurous moments! What I liked most about the book is the fact that the author seamlessly combined adventure and action bits with humour, which for me, is essential when reading a fantasy novel!

My favourite character is definitely Drynoe. I know it seems a bit "easy" to say you like the main character of a book sometimes, but in this case I'm way beyond justified for my likeness of her! She's a very strong-willed and determined girl and I think she posses many interesting attributes, that make her someone to look up to!

Something else that I really liked about the book, is the seamless way it incorporates Greek elements. Even though it's written in English, many words are Greek or derived from Greek words, and that makes the book all too familiar for a Greek reader!

The only "problem" I had with this book would be that sometimes I found the wording and the writing a bit complicated, some things could be said with fewer words for example. I do understand though, that this is due to the author's effort to make her writing more rich and interesting, do I can't say it bothered me that much.

All in all, I really liked reading "Hydranos". It's a very nice debut novel from an author that definitely has much to say and give to the writing community and I'll be anxiously waiting to see what she'll do next!

First and foremost, I need to say that this book is triggering to anyone who's suffering from anxiety. I found myself not being able to stop my brain after reading about Aza and her situation.

Apart from that, I believe it depicted truthfully how a person lives with anxiety and the pain that comes with trying to survive each day. The relationships we're pretty realistic and the one that pained me the most would definitely have to be Aza and Daisy's. As a person suffering from anxiety, it's my biggest fear that my friends view me as Daisy did Aza.

The romance was satisfactory but it wasn't the main point of the book anyway, so I didn't really pay much attention to it. That being said, I have to admit that I liked Davis as a character, he showed much strength and courage while dealing with his family situation and what he went through really made me admire him.

All in all, I have to say that I liked "Turtles all the way down". Even though it was painful to read from different reasons, I think it's a fine work that talks about mental health.