ANOTHER GREAT READ.

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These have been some of my favorite audio books. Since I would highly recommend reading the original Mistborn series before reading this one it makes it easy to follow on audio. You already have the base for the magic system and religious aspects. All that gets added are some amazing characters.

I’m all over the Western vibes from these books. It’s still present and it’s still awesome.

Oh my goodness, I was thoroughly convinced I would never like a character, Steris, and by the end of the book I was LOVING her. She’s only played a small role in the previous books (hardly in them for that matter) and this one gave her more ample opportunity to shine. I love the slow and steady romance that formed between her and Wax. It always played a side role, but those tender moments when they are talking or just being there for each other had my squealing with delight. AND THAT ENDING. Oh yes *claps enthusiastically*.

This book really amped up the diabolic-ness of the villains. After finding one of their main bases, a lot the history circulates back from the original trilogy. Isn’t that crazy?! Sanderson has the ability to expertly weave two series (set 300+ years apart) with such skill that I’m blown away by that fact alone. Every little tidbit and Easter egg from the original series that’s thrown in only makes me love these more.

Wayne, Marasi, and MeLaan are such great side characters y’all. I LOVE THEM. They all have unique personalities with their own quirks. I like that we got to have POVs from both Wayne and Marasi because it only helps me understand them more.

Basically, I’m just happy these books exist.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses
- Violence: guns, physical, magic; all a bit detailed but not unnecessarily gory

I CAN RELATE.

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As an introvert extraordinaire, I could connect to quite a bit of what Nina was feeling throughout this book. That was probably my favorite part. The rest? Not as big of a fan.

I found it hard to read because I didn’t feel like there was an actual plot. Things were happening to Nina, but that was it. Nothing really moved forward. I did see a welcome change in Nina going from inflexible and unwilling to change to someone who was learning to adapt to the craziness of the universe and life in general. I did wholly appreciate this. I liked seeing this character arc.

The romance? Eh. I thought we were getting a cute story, but I felt it was allllll physical. They went on barely a date or two then sleeping together, to breaking up and I just shrugged my shoulders. I never felt an emotional connection to them and it made me not care either way what happened. It then got super cheesy at the end which only made it worse.

I also struggled with the third person point of view. I think I would have liked it more being only in Nina’s mind. The concept change to random characters was annoying and pointless. And there were so many random tangent paragraphs that I found myself often scanning.

This was a lackluster contemporary that I know I have an unpopular opinion about, but hey, can’t love them all.

Overall audience notes:
- -Contemporary fiction + romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses, a few fade to black scenes
- Trigger warnings: anxiety, loss of a parent

STILL ONLY HERE FOR THOMAS CRESSWELL.

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This wasn’t bad. I think it’ll probably be my favorite of the entire series.

I keep expecting these books to have a better plot line, because it keeps forcing whatever mystery is happening in my face rather than letting the romance really shine. And so far I’ve been disappointed twice. I think HPD would be better if everything was turned more towards the relationship between Thomas and Audrey Rose. BECAUSE THOMAS Y’ALL.

I fear every story will repeat the same saga. Murder, murder, run around, fight with Thomas, love Thomas, murder, solve it quickly. That’s what I see in my future, yet here I am already downloading book three. There’s something oddly catchy about these books and I think it all goes back to THOMAS Y’ALL.

Cleary, I have a new book boyfriend and he really holds all of the cards here. I love his banter, confessions of love and the general way he swaggers about. This paragraph may be small, but my love for Thomas is large. I understand why everyone reads these for him, I’m doing the same dang thing.

Audrey Rose is fine. She’s still one of those main characters that runs around scatter-brained and trying to accomplish everything while accomplishing nothing.

I liked the change in setting and though the mystery around Dracula was cool. We got to meet a lot of interesting characters and I didn’t pick the bad guy out super early so that’s a plus. I’m captivating by listening to these audio books.

Really though, THOMAS Y’ALL.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult mystery + historical fiction + romance
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses
- Violence: murder, baths of blood, bodies being drained of blood, autopsies, near drownings

4.5 stars

THE MASH-UP I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED.

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Ohhhhh I’m so happy I picked up this debut! Mulan? Project Runway? TOGETHER?

IT WORKED SO WELL. I got all of the Mulan vibes (my favorite Disney movie, by the way) from Maia’s actions and decisions. Then add in the competition to be the best tailor where there were even unconventional materials challenges?! Yessssss. The vibes this book gave off alone gave it a star. This was exactly what the synopsis gave me.

Maia and Edan were absolutely precious too. I had seen on multiple reviews that the banter is on point, and I’m here to put my vote in that THEY’RE RIGHT. It’s witty, sassy, and so stinkin’ cute. I really liked the way their relationship developed. I was surprised by a few bits of information about Edan that reminded me of other books and I was cool with it. I liked those additions and thought it gave another layer to who Edan is.

The adventure that these two went on was magical and enchanting. I was surprised that this was able to take only one book. I think it could have expanded into more if it wanted and still been captivating. Since this plot kind of wrapped up I’m curious where the next story will take us.

This is one of those typical YA fantasy books that WORKS. It’s why I love and read the genre regularly. The writing is delightful, the romance is on point, and the story is full of magic. I loved the world-building and the way the magic is set-up. Maia is such an easy character to love. I appreciate her loyalty to her family and how everything circles back to them. She’s brave, but also able to accept help. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses, make-outs, one or two fade to black, barely any detail love scenes
- Violence: magic, fire, physical, arrows

TOOK A NEW DIRECTION.

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This book is prefaced with Sullivan addressing how he changed up the timeline a bit in this story. A few chapters were immediately after the last book, then the next small section was a year later, then 3/4 of the book was SIX years later. I understand the need for progression, but why? This was the main issue I had with everything. I missed out on relationships, friendships and children (?!) that happened during this time. WHAT. I’m still sad I didn’t get to experience any of that with my favs. Changing up the timeline caused the book to be slower and took longer for the action to come in.

The politics and dynamics of this book have shifted as well. Nyphron is stuck in a never ending battle he refused to yield. While the other side pulls some trickery that has me wanting to beat down their door to take care of them myself.

Focusing on other characters in this book was new too. Most of the secondary (but much closer to first than in most books) really became the top main characters and point-of-views in this installment. I did like getting to know them better and seeing the strengths and flaws they possess. But don’t even get me started on the one scene with two of my favorites from the first three books because I will tear up all over again. IF YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW.

I felt there was a lot more evil drifting around. I have my eyes on so many people questioning motives, decisions, and partnerships. I think this second half of this series has the potential to go the distance, I’m just still iffy on it. Definitely will read the next book though, don’t worry!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: very little light language
- Romance: a few kisses
- Violence: skirmishes, battles, arrows, murder, beheading, kidnapping

THIS SURVIVED A NEAR DNF.

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I had to ask my Bookstagram friends if this was worth it to keep going. They did say the first book isn’t *great* but does get better, then the rest of the series picks up so I thought, okay…well I’ll finish it then.

I’m satisfied I did. It was nothing spectacular, but the premise is interesting.

MY BIGGEST ISSUE Y’ALL? The amount of unanswered questions you’re left with. No I’m serious. I have a list of at least 10:

- Why do the Queens have to kill each other?
- Who are seriously half these people?
- Anyone have a background story? No? Oh okay.
- What’s the Quickening?
- What is Beltane?
- Why does the Queen leave her triplets?
- Why triplets?
- Why is the island hidden?
- What’s the deal with the mainland suitors?
- We only met one…okay then.
- Random book boyfriends with no background? That tracks.
- What’s the Disembarking?
- Why is the island only sometimes visible?
- Where did the Queen even go?
- Why are they split up?
- How does this magic system even work?
- Why can’t they leave the island ever?

SEE? I’m seriously annoyed at how much I don’t know. The world-building is minuscule. It’s poorly constructed and I beg of the second book to get it together should I pick it up anytime soon.

While that was an issue I did enjoy how quick of a read it is. The writing is set up to where it takes out the flowery flourish paragraphs that I personally don’t need a ton of and keeps us involved in the story and dialogue. It did get better at about the halfway point, so there’s that.

But also, I hate Joseph.And I hate when cheating is used as a plot device. I can’t stand it in books and this was enraging to me. I didn’t like how Joseph went about his business and I don’t see the point of him sleeping with [redacted]. UGH. Clearly I’m still upset about it.

I like the differences in the Queen’s thoughts and mannerisms. They are unique individuals and don’t read as the same person. The magic system could use a thorough explanation. This almost read more like a prequel novel than anything else, because not much happened until the last 50 pages. We mostly got to know the Queens and see them trying to use their powers.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses, a fade to black, no detail, love scene
- Violence: animal attacks, poison, elemental magic, physical
- Trigger warnings: cheating

THOMAS CRESSWELL DESERVES BETTER.

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BETTER BETTER BETTER. Oh my goodness. Usually I give a book higher marks for making me feel intense feelings for all the things. In this case, the intense feeling was rage, so instead I marked it lower.

HOW DARE AUDREY ROSE WADSWORTH. This was cheating and I will stand by that firmly. I’m tired of seeing this as a plot device and it makes me upset every time.

Something kind of funny though? If this was a different story without a boyfriend and the girl was having this kind of flirtations and kisses with a magician with a mask? Yes. I would have loved the banter and the set-up of that. BUT IT’S THOMAS FREAKING CRESSWELL. WHAT.

Wow, I can’t get over this. My review is running away from me. It was the entire plot which is why it’s very much on my mind. Other than that, the plot consisted of the same as the previous two books. People die, Thomas & Audrey Rose try to find the murderer. Nothing new. It’s a kin to watching CSI (or something similar) where the same show essentially happens every time but you can’t look away. This is how I felt.

I love my boy Thomas though. And I missed him this book! Since Audrey Rose and her shenanigans took up most of the page time, I felt he was barely on screen. There wasn’t much banter between them, mostly angst and angry words.

This was honestly a big letdown for the entire series. I am curious how Capturing the Devil will play out because I’ve seen very mixed reviews.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult historical fiction + mystery
- Language: none
- Romance: some kisses
- Violence: physical, a lot of murder (by knives, hangings, animal attacks)
- Trigger warnings: cheating

Really can't get into the writing. It's a 25 year old but feels like I'm in the mind of a 15 year old

A GREAT RETELLING.

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I definitely think this is one of the better retellings of Beauty and the Beast that I’ve read.

This really followed the flow of B&TB. I could definitely tell what scenes were being recreated and the plot line it was going for. I enjoyed this take on it because of that fact. I liked seeing how someone else interpreted the story (and adding fae is ALWAYS good). This was full of faeries and the romance was kicked up to a much steamier vibe.

The romance felt a *tiny* bit insta-love at first. It came off as mostly lust and I was worried how that was going to affect the story. Never fear, the way that Sorcha and Eamonn built their relationship after some initial contact was fantastic. I loved the enemies to lovers type banter, the slow tender moments they had, that all led to a partnership that I ship.

Sorcha as a character was amazing. Her role as a healer gave focus to her decisions and mindset. I liked how firm she was on HER choices and that she never gave up on her original intentions for seeking out the fae. There was no wishy-washy character here. Sorcha was a lovely and strong heroine.

Eamonn was the beast. And that sentence is wholly accurate. His role was exactly how I expected it and I LOVED seeing the small things he started doing for Sorcha purely to make her happy. Ohhhhh so cute y’all.

The story itself was well put together and I thought the plot had everything it needed. There was a point and reasoning behind choices and I never had to ask why. I love the way the fae were woven into everything and I love all things faerie in general.

I’m definitely interested in continuing this duology (and the other books in this universe). This was a self-published book and I LOVE finding these kind of gems.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy romance + retelling
- Language: very little
- Romance: some kisses, make outs, one moderately detailed love scene
- Violence: physical, magic, skirmishes with swords, a creepy blood beetle epidemic

I LOVE THIS SERIES.

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This is one of those books where yes, 1087 pages is a lot, but 1087 is necessary to make this book the amazing story it is. Every dang page, every dang word, is WORTH IT. I read this slowly over a month taking my time to savor the story. There is so much here and everything is woven together intricately to create the Cosmere.

It’s hard for me to put into words a review because SO MUCH HAPPENED. And also it’s one of those trust me and read this if you love fantasy books type of situations. It’s better not having all the details. These characters will swarm your heart leaving you with no option other than to love them (and hate a few, but they meet some good endings).

Kaladin is my cinnamon roll that I CAN NOT HANDLE. This guy has been through hell and back and watching his transformation just from book one to book two is fantastic. I’m praying he survives all 10 books because I need him too.

The Kholin family is also getting some top marks. Dalinar, Adolin, Jasnah, Renarin. They are allllll stunners. I love how there is a wide expanse of age groups here and each character holds their own space in the story. Nobody is wasted by being thrown in casually.

Also, Shallan guys. In Way of Kings, we got flashbacks of Kaladin’s life. In Words of Radiance, we got Shallan’s backstory. If it’s a theme to have a character backstory woven into each book, then I AM HERE FOR IT. I loved getting to know her more and really started to appreciate her as a character.

THIS WORLD BUILDING IS INSANE. I can’t say that enough. I’ve heard it takes him years to write these books and I wouldn’t doubt that for a second. I can only imagine the thought and process it takes to make this elaborate of a world.

If you love fantasy books and want to take a chance on reading something big, try these. Trust me.

Overall audience notes:
- Epic fantasy
- Language: ass used once
- Romance: some kisses
- Violence: war, battle, swords, assassination attempts, magic, elemental magic, storms