4.5 stars

Y'all. ALL THE FEELS FROM THIS ONE. And it took me one day to fly through. What a great read.

Full review to come!

A STEP BACKWARDS.

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I have been loving this series and I’m a general stickler when it comes to science fiction. The first book was good, the second was great, and this one fell flat. I’m not sure what quite happened, but it didn’t click as well as the rest.

For starters, I did not like Eva at allllll. She was annoying, very abrasive, unwilling to listen to anyone about anything, and ran off whenever she could. I couldn’t handle her disrespect for others and a myriad of other issues. Unfortunately she was a big part of this story and was happy she had a resolution for the end, but was otherwise unimpressed.

I missed having Vincent and Kara as the stars. I really grew to love their relationship. It was this weirdly beautiful, opposites attract kind of thing that I was all over. Without this dynamic duo playing a bigger role and being mostly in the background it left be bummed.

I loved Rose and Mr. Burns though. They were a good duo that brought so many interesting theories and points out. I didn’t realize just how crucial Mr. Burns was to the entire series! He was this odd, chipper man that always had a story to help Dr. Franklin. Rose was a favorite because she actually did try to understand what was happening and wanted to be a solution. I appreciated her work in trying to figure out how to handle the aliens and what would help the world survive.

This at times got weirdly political (as if it was remarking on things happening today). I tend to stay away from books like that personally because I prefer to use reading as an escape. I hear that stuff all the time and didn’t need to have it repeated from the author’s opinion in a book.

There wasn’t a lot that actually happened over the course of this particular installment. A lot of flashbacks to a different location (10 years prior) took up a ton of space in this already small novel. Anytime we flipped to the present things weren’t progressing at all and I didn’t know which time period I preferred. All I really remember are people arguing. That’s how I remember this book. I wish more time had been spent solving the at present issues rather than giving me a ton of backstory to things that have already happened.

Overall audience notes:
- Science fiction
- Language: a lot of strong language throughout (personally thought it was too much)
- Romance: none
- Violence: war, battles, poison, cancer, threats, robots battling, physical

DNF at page 76.

I could not even with this book. Mostly the dialogue that took it from young YA to feeling like I was watching middle schoolers interact and try to be cool.

I also hate when books start with a prologue that's the ending. WHAT IS THAT. I know we bascially *know* the ending of this book, but it still isn't fun for me to read it this way.

This was a crappier version of [b:Heartless|18584855|Heartless|Marissa Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1477740245l/18584855._SY75_.jpg|26322524] by Marissa Meyer (which I absolutely loved).

CAN I HAVE BOOK THREE PLEEEEEASE?

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Whoa y’all. This was one of my top TBR books for 2019. After last years Sweet Black Waves, I was left SHOOOOK. And here I am, still feeling the same. I seriously have no clue where book three is going to go. Many, many things happened in the last 50 pages of this book that really brought home this solid 4 star rating.

Branwen is a mystical MC. I never know quite what to do with her. I like her most of the time, other times I want to shout at her, but all in a day’s work right? I feel like she has a lot on her shoulders that have heavily influenced her decisions on motives. Branwen doesn’t always make the right choice, yet I can tell her heart is in the right place. That ending though? Oooooh boy, I can see myself being utterly devastated by the last book. I’M SPECULATING WILDLY.

I’m here for Branwen and Ruan though. As soon as he walked on screen, Tristan was out of my mind (well, that happened at the end of book one). They have great chemistry and while I didn’t love how their relationship started, I loved how it formed from that point. What read as a bit rushed, was well thought out. I want to see more of them ASAP. I get a happy ending right?

Ugh, you know who I hate? Tristan and Eseult. BYE FELICIA. Goodness gracious. Both of them are whiny, immature, and selfish. I can’t handle them and need them to be taken down a few pegs. I wanted to feel more remorse for them, but really struggled too. They definitely weren’t making it easy on me.

Marc. This man grew on me. Made my heart hurt. And i just wanted to find him and give him a hug. I think he needs one after that hand he was dealt this book. THAT POOR MAN. HE JUST WANTS TO BE A GOOD KING. I want him to get the story he deserves, though I’m worried if that will happen. I also don’t want to go into detail because I don’t want to spoil it for y’all. You will love Marc by the end of WSS.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop in here. And i gotta say, I’m not sure that happened? There were some moments at the end where secrets started spilling out. I am excited for book three (and did you see the cover reveal? GORGEOUS). Really though, I love this setting and the way this re-telling has been done. It’s all fantastic.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy + retellings
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses, one mild-detailed love scene, a few others (that are not even fade to black, whatever is considered before that, she says “I need a distraction” then the scene ends, but you know what they obviously did), a lot of discussion of maidenhood (being a virgin by the standards of the religion for this fantasy)
- Violence: murder, poison, knives, swords, battles, skirmishes; fairly detailed/bloody at times
- Trigger warnings: miscarriage resulting from a bad fall

3.5 stars

DID I JUST READ A HALLMARK MOVIE?

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Yes, I’m pretty sure I did. This book was everything you expect when you choose to sit and watch a Hallmark movie (which I know we all do sometimes).

This was really cute. I was into the romance between Annie and Drew. They had some great banter and I could feel their chemistry with each other. Things felt like they developed at a good speed (even though it was only over a two week span, remember: Hallmark-esque).

I ordered the side characters. She had a great friend who was truly their for her and helped Annie get out of her shell. Annie’s Uncle Don was fun too. He showed a lot of unconditional love and had some tender moments. They were both sweet and had enough pages in the story for me to feel connected with them too.

As someone who hasn’t seen any Tom Hanks rom-coms (don’t @ me), this was a bit heavy in the analogies to these movies. IT WOULDN’T END. I got tired of the crazy repetitiveness of her talking about romantic comedies. I get it, Annie is obsessed. This influenced her ideas and decisions so much that I would get frustrated that she couldn’t see past her rose-colored glasses. There were waaaay too many metaphors.

This is quick and charming. That’s its best feature. If you’re looking for something that has some witty banter and a cleaner romance this would be a good pick. I wish it was a bit longer so we got some more depth from the characters, but it’s fine! This was still a nice read.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: some strong language
- Romance: some kisses, one love scene that has no details (literally says: “we had great sex last night” but that’s it for details – it’s very clean for a romance)
- Trigger warnings: discussion of death of parents

3.5 stars

THIS BOOK STILL WEIRDS ME OUT.

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I’m honestly not sure where to start on reviewing this book. This was really hyped on Bookstagram by a few people I follow as a good book but it’s best NOT knowing anything about it before going in.

And I feel that’s the way this review is going to go too. I don’t want to give much of anything away because [to me] the intention of this book is to truly form your own opinion on how it ends.

This starts out really trippy, creepy, and I had to read with the lights on right next to my husband (if you’re new to this page: I am scared of all things even remotely creepy). After we got to what appeared to be the biggest twist everything else got psychological, philosophical and odd.

I really felt and understood her portrayal of motherhood. As a parent myself a lot of those pieces I was able to connect with. This work of fiction though was more of a miss for me besides that.

As you can see, my review is a bit scattered, because this book is a bit scattered. I still would recommend this for those interested because it’s a very short, very quick (small, choppy chapters) read and I think it’ll bring out a different reaction in everyone!

Overall audience notes:
- Fiction / Thriller
- Language: some strong language
- Romance: some kisses, two a little detailed love scenes
- Violence: falling into a pit

KARMA COMES AROUND RIGHT?

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Because seriously, this one character. I can’t handle it if they don’t get what’s coming to them. She caused a crazy amount of drama all on her own. Was I impressed? Maybe a little, but also YOU’RE NOT A NICE PERSON.

Any who, back to my review here. This book made my heart huuuuurt. It was a darker book than I was expecting. Not that anything intense happened, but a lot of hearts are broken, smashed and tossed around. I felt like I was watching one of those historical TV dramas where you just can’t look away. I’m used to seeing this kind of drama unfold from McGee because of her previous series (The Ten Thousandth Floor). I think if you know that going in you’ll enjoy it more because you’ll know a bit of what you’re going to see.

I wish the character profiles were a bit deeper. Everyone dove into relationships that I wasn’t hating, but also wasn’t sure how much I was loving them. Later into the book I did feel for them more. I was frustrated with the lack of plot, but I know this is more character/life driven than anything REALLY happening.

The ending was expected, and still made me sit their after contemplating WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I think the next book will hold a lot more substance because we get to see a few characters stand out a bit more. There’s a huge entangling web of point-of-views, story lines, romances, and more that I’m sure will only cause more drama.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult contemporary
- Language: none
- Romance: lots of kissing, some sleeping overnight together (but no sex), one sex scene that is very fade to black and not detailed whatsoever (you know what they did of course though)
- Trigger warnings: cyber-bullying

3.5 stars

FELT VERY TYPICAL YA FANTASY.

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I haven’t had a chance to get to this review for a few days, and now I’m sitting here trying to think about everything that happened and I can barely remember. Uh oh.

This was a very typical young adult fantasy novel. Mostly unremarkable, but you still enjoy it. You just don’t LOVE it. That about sums up all of my feelings for this.

Things started off a bit slow and confusing. We dove head first into the story and I had a hard time adjusting to the magic system, world, politics, and relationships of everyone. What I was feeling was the second chance love story between Kate and Corwin. Was a bit rocky, and full of Corwin trying to show Kate how much she means to him. Though he made a mistake I wasn’t totally comfortable with *shrugs;* wasn’t a full deal breaker at least. They had some good banter, and a few touching moments with a solid ending. I’ll take it!

It took me awhile to figure out what the plot was. I didn’t know who was bad, what we were trying to stop, and where the main focus lied. I’m thankful that this all worked itself out. As I finished it, I definitely understood what was going on and think that this will make the second book infinitely better. There were some odd political discussions that seemed out of place. And also, the weird battle/trial thing between his brother for the Kingship? What is that?! This was random too and I know it still has to end in the second book, but I need more info. Because WHY.

I did finish this 500+ page saga, which means I didn’t hate it. It was just stagnant. I’ll keep an eye out for the second book and we’ll see if I get around to reading it.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses, and almost love scene (a little descriptive)
- Violence: battle, animal attacks, swords, guns, magic; not intensely gory/bloody