OH MY GOODNESS THAT TWIST AT THE END.
DID NOT SEE COMING.
Can Wax get some joy in his life? PLEASE, goodness gracious.

This series is fantastic and I am loving them.

Full review to come!

WHOA TO THAT LAST 100 PAGES THOUGH.

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I listened to this as an audio book and thought it was really well done. At first it was a little confusing with the changing time periods each chapter, but once they stayed in the same place (a few chapters in), it was easy to follow and enjoy.

This book was trippy. I picked it up on a whim and ended up buddy-reading it with a friend and we were both wholly impressed with how much we liked it by the end. Enough to seek out the second book soon.

Esta and Harte had all the angst and I am STILL WAITING. Their slow-burn enemies to lovers is a small fire currently and I am soooo wanting more for them. I love watching them interact and each time they ran into each other it was awesome banter and had me snickering. These two stole my heart. But mostly, Harte Darrigan. He’s the heart of this story (I’m not even mad about this pun).

The mystery kept me on my toes. I honestly didn’t realize who the bad guy actually was until late in the book, practically when it was announced. I MEAN WHOA. That was amazing. I love when books keep me guessing. There was an even bigger twist that I had NO IDEA about. I don’t know how much it’ll play into the next book, but it was still crazy. Those are the best kind of reveals.

I love all of the secret societies and magic gangs that were running around New York in the 1920’s. It was an interesting world and added even more danger as they went on increasingly risky heists.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult historical fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: a few kisses
- Violence: guns, knives, physical, ritual murder

THIS WAS A LOT OF BOOK.

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This was my second 1,000 page book in August 2019 and whoa, I thought I might not make it. I found that with this style of writing if I commit myself to about 100 pages/day I’m a lot more interested. It’s a lot to read, and a lot happening, and it really was nice to put this down, read something lighter and come back to it. I think it allowed me to really immerse myself in reading it and taking a slower pace.

I absolutely love Kvothe and only want happiness for his poor, tortured soul. Though with the interludes during the present, I’m not sure if that will ever happen. I love the interludes and find that it adds more intrigue to the mythical-ness of the story. Kvothe has to deal with so much on a daily basis and is able to take it all in stride. I find that his ability to be pretty much great at whatever he does not as in your face as it sounds.

Denna. Denna. Denna. I’m honestly not sure where I stand with her. I know she and Kvothe are both young, so I attribute a lot of her actions and choices to that fact (and her unknown history). Sometimes she annoyed me at such an intense level that I wanted to put the book down, other times, I wanted her and Kvothe to speak to each other much more plainly. Really lay it all out there. There’s an interesting relationship brewing between the two of them that I will have to wait to decide my full opinion on.

They’re a million + 1 characters in this book that I could spend forever discussing. I really don’t have anyone that sticks out as someone I can’t stand so I loved moving from location to location getting to know everyone on an even deeper level. Speaking of location change: they’re multiple in this book! YAYAY. Love a good adventure. It was definitely needed to spice up the book. I was bored of hanging around the University.

The 4 star comes in because this book is just too long. When I compare it to other very very long novels, every page really means something or stood out to me. I thought that some pieces of this book could truly be shortened and it still would be a great read. Way super, over the top curious where the last book will take us. Especially after this crazy long wait.

Overall audience notes:
- High fantasy
- Language: a little throughout
- Romance: kisses, a good handful of light detailed love scenes, nothing explicit (from some phrases you can tell the implications)
- Violence: magic, swords, poison, knives, explosions, fires, voodoo, physical
- Trigger warnings: physical abuse, mentions of rape (off-screen)

A QUICK READ WITH ALL THE FEELS.

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This is one of those books that came in hard and fast and left me reeling.

Annika is a brave, strong, caring and loyal woman. She is on the autism spectrum and while I can’t speak to whether this was a good depiction or not, I love how quirky, unfiltered, and sweet she was.

This was a second chance love story with Annika’s first everything love, Jonathan. I ADORED HIM. He was someone who may not have always understood Annika, but never tried to force her into something she wasn’t comfortable with or treat her poorly otherwise. I think we all want to feel that kind of respect and love in our lives. Their relationship flowed beautifully and I appreciated that this second-chance wasn’t because of some over dramatic break-up. Both Annika and Jonathan may not have handled the break-up in the best way (which they both acknowledged), they were at least finally able to discuss what needed to be said.

JANICE. What a friend y’all. I also think everyone needs a friend like her. She was absolutely wonderful and I thought her and Annika’s friendship was amazing. Their friendship grew and changed over time as well, and I love that they continually reached out to one another even when states apart.

I thought this was a great use of the back and forth timeline trope. Sometimes it can get bogged down in one area or another, but this one flipped back and forth at the perfect times. The chapters are shorter and easily flow. I literally finished this book in one day because I could NOT PUT IT DOWN.

The twist towards the end did blindside me a bit. There were definitely a few hints I am now looking back and realizing. Was it necessary to add that craziness? Maybe not, but I still panicked and flipped out nonetheless. I didn’t love how quickly it ended, but since I got my tender and sweet love story I’m okay with it. I could have definitely used an epilogue though.

Overall audience notes:
- Fiction + Contemporary romance
- Language: a little throughout
- -Romance: kisses, make-outs, a few explicit love scenes (but not vulgar if that makes sense)
Trigger warnings: bullying, miscarriage, depression, suicide ideation, plane crashes

Kept thinking this is a good book, enjoying it, then that ending hit and WOW. Stellar. I will definitely be picking up book two. This was a great read!

Full review to come.

2.5 stars

UNFORTUNATELY. I WAS BORED.

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The entire time y’all. I kept reading thinking things were going to amp up, and they never did. And I know it’s a series, but I was more annoyed that I felt like I got ZERO answers than wanting to read the second book. I even had a bookish friend who told me what happens in book two because I really didn’t want to read it (though I will say, it does seem moderately more interesting in case you want to pick it up).

It took til about 200 pages (halfway-ish) for anything to happen. I was way more interested in the flashbacks where the original murder had taken place than I was with Stevie at school. Most of the story focused on being in school and meeting other students (which were all trying way too hard).

The original story was interesting and I wanted that to play a bigger role in the present timeline. That really drove the story for me.

I hated most of the side characters other than Nate and Janelle. This group of three were building a solid friendship and I was enjoying seeing that dynamic. They were supporting each other and being kind when Stevie made some bad choices acting as a wannabe Sherlock Holmes (not on board with her going through people’s things).

I did NOT GET THE RELATIONSHIP WITH DANIEL. It came out of literally nowhere. Luckily, not in an instant-love kinda way, but just a flat-out, wait all of a sudden we’re making out kinda way. I did become a fan of Daniel towards the end of the story though. He was probably my favorite character.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult contemporary mystery
- Language: a little
- Romance: a make-out
- Violence: multiple descriptions of murder

LOVED THIS STORY.

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I have always been a huge fan of Greek Mythology. It’s fascinating and I am enamored by the stories. This was no different. I didn’t know much about Circe prior and I was swept away with how Miller created her story. Props to the audiobook too because that was STELLAR. Great narration and easy to follow.

The writing was beautiful and lyrical. Completely entrancing seeing Circe live her life. It was amazing seeing all of the characters that were in this book. I couldn’t get enough of knowing and learning about the titans and gods and all of the humans Circe loved. It is a bit of a slower paced book that is still able to hold your attention. I wanted to keep reading and following Circe on her journey.

Odysseus played a huge role in this story. From reading (and all together loving, because let’s face it, I was in high school and could care less at the time) the Odyssey and only barely grasping what happened there to feeling like I got a whole new side of him. I know this is all mythology, but everything FELT real. I was deeply in love with all of these characters, especially Circe and Odysseus. Circe was strong, brave, and cunning. A goddess in her own right.

There was a magical world built around the myths of Circe and the titans. I loved exploring the land and even though this book is mostly set on an island, you would never know it. A lot continually happens and I am wholly impressed by this book. I’m definitely interested in reading The Song of Achilles now!

Overall audience notes:
- Fiction + Fantasy + Greek mythology
- Language: a little strong language
- Romance: kisses, mentions of lying with each other and spending the night together, so you definitely know what happened, but nothing is descriptive
- Violence: torture, poison, physical, shipwrecks, monster attacks, magic
- Trigger warnings: rape (end of Chapter 14, a little detailed; happens to Circe from a group of sailors that come to her island); two descriptive birth scenes

3.5 stars

SO YOU’RE SAYING THERE’S A CHANCE.

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This is how I feel about #teamcassius. Anyone with me?! We’ll come back and visit this in a few paragraphs.

Okay, so I maaaay have over-hyped this for myself a bit and maaaay have been a little disappointed. What picked up my spirits though was that by the end, it was clearly a book two. Book two syndrome is alive and well here. So while I was bit let down, and thought this was slow more often than not, the ending was ON POINT AND I AM SO HERE FOR WHERE IT MAY LEAD.

Where may it lead you ask? Oh yes, back to #teamcassius. It isn’t even a love triangle [yet] and I am pushing for it. Who am I? I’ve loved Cassius from day one (I can’t handle a brooding Prince trying to be a better person than his father). And this caused me to never be fully on board with Kiran. Kiran got better over the story, but his protective and dramatic streaks left me wanting to put him on the side. There were some really sweet and cute moments with Aurora though. I’m clearly conflicted.

I love the rotating multiple POV. I am a sucker for a bit that gives it to me in all the angles possible. The POV flashbacks with the Stormlord weren’t necessary though. It took up too much page space and I wanted to go back to the present. I don’t think it really gave new information (other than I supposed a deeper understanding of his mistreatment). Ooh, well, okay it did drop one HUGE tiny tidbit, but then nothing happened with it so I think it could’ve waited.

Aurora is not my favorite heroine. I enjoy her character and think she is pretty tough and mostly brave. She is trying so hard to be a good royal for her kingdom that she is making so many mistakes it’s distracting. We’re building through a character arc with blunders left and right. I have high hopes for her in book three (like being nice to Cassius – y’all agree with me right?!).

Claps all around for the ending. It was just what the book called for and had me begging for more. And you know what relationship I’m excited for? The brewing something between Novaya and Jinx. They’re SO CUTE. I was cool with all the screen time they got. That’ll be one to watch for. I also can’t get over the creativity of the storm magic concept. It’s a big ticket item here. It’s so cool and well thought out. I love the dynamics of this magic system!

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses, make-outs, one little detailed fade to black scene, multiple mentions of *what they did* the night prior
- Violence: violent storms, physical, swords, murder

3.5 stars

I’M NOT SURE WHERE TO START.

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This was nothing new in the world of young adult fantasy. That’s not generally an issue because I know it must be crazy hard to be completely new. My issue here was that the story didn’t anything else to help me ignore the fact I had seen this all before.

What I did like is how dark it actually kinda turned out to be. Holy wow there was a lot of people murdered in this book. It followed the story line well and only two people weren’t actually dead which is pretty solid considering almost everyone never actually dies (it’s okay to kill characters off sometimes guys, I stand by this).

It was a pretty short book (under 400 pages) and everything happened SO DANG FAST. I felt like I was running while reading this. I really wanted some slow down moments where we got to know characters on a deeper level that helps me form bonds with them. I was on the cusp of hitting that with a few and wanted MORE.

All of the twists were so well telegraphed I saw them from a mile away. No, scratch that, 10 miles away. From the moment they walked onto the screen I knew what was going to happen eventually. It was probably the biggest factor in bringing down the rating. I wanted more intrigue and confusion. Instead, all of the big moments were announcing themselves as bright as humanly possible.

Did I ship the relationship? Yes. Could have used an extra dose of enemies to lovers but nonetheless, it’s sweet and I like where it’s going. I did not understand the point of throwing out the first guy within the first quarter of the book (you’ll understand if you read it). Since I didn’t know anyone that well it made shrug and roll my eyes.

My evil characters are luckily, pretty dang evil. So I’m here for that. I want to see what they do next because it’ll definitely be interesting. This book ended in a way that made things seem like *the end,* but it turns out there’s more. We’ll see what happens next!

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses and confessions of love
- Violence: blood magic, poison, knives, murder (better detailed in triggers)
- Trigger warnings: murder of an animal (pretty gruesome and detailed), murder of a pregnant woman (baby does survive), other detailed and gory murders, attempted sexual assault and a suicide (a mother does it to save her son)

3.5 stars

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I was going to write a long review on my blog, then realized I didn't really have a long review to write. When it comes to non-fiction and history books I like to focus my review on how the information was put together in the novel. The history will not change and if you're interested in this topic then definitely give it a chance!

I found this really intriguing because I truly didn't know any of this information. I had heard about HeLa cells in passing during my years in science classes and with my college major being health. I loved the expansion of who Henrietta was and about her life and family outside of the research.

Learning about the research was fascinating too though. It was crazy to see the effect her cells had on the science community and what they were able to establish from them.

I didn't love how often I felt the author put herself in the story. I know she was trying to add something by going over exactly how she got the information and who she met, etc., but I don't think that was necessary. The family history and the people she met who could been laid out in a different way. I didn't need to hear about her driving around in circles trying to find someone or other fillers to take up page space.

Overall audience notes:
- Non-fiction
- Language: some strong language
- Trigger warnings: descriptions of child abuse, sexual abuse of a child, racism, medical experimentation without full consent, spousal abuse, murder