hallereads's Reviews (197)

well I have read quite a few psychological thrillers as about a year ago this was my favourite genre but they have never been as creepy as this !!! from the get go there was gripping tension and suspense. as the book went on the story was more and more twisty which I think is essential in any psychological thriller. however there was a few elements missing for me personally. at the end I thought that it needed to be tied up better and I finished it left with a lot of questions! it seemed to be wrapped up in only a few pages when it could have been done better in a couple of chapters. but that’s my only criticism!!

funny. frank. honest. depressing. nostalgic. ironic. despite the depressive elements of this book, I really grew to love the story. the characters were hilarious, special recognition has to go to Dick (

okay, just incredible. honestly I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses but I didn’t feel as obsessed with the story and characters the way I felt about House of Earth and Blood... until I read this !!! everything I felt was missing from the first novel; the worldbuilding, the character development, the passion and love was in a Court of Mist and Fury !! from start to finish this book was a rollercoaster in the best way possible. I am officially completely hooked on these books and Sarah J Maas. I personally felt like this novel had a more matured feel than ACOTAR and for that reason alone I loved it. meeting new, amazing characters (yes of course I’m talking about the inner circle) was essential in ACOMAF. very very excited to read A Court of Wings and Ruin!!

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after much deliberations I finally read daisy jones. I think I was worried about how hyped it is and unfortunately I hate to say I didn’t love it as much as other people do! I think there was just a few elements missing for me and felt a little predictable. however I did absolutely love the way it was written in “interviews” style, it was nice to have lots of different MCs and I’d love to read another book written like this! I loved the concept of the book and have to admit the 60s/70s is one of my favourite periods to read about

hmm. okay. I tried so hard to like this one, and don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy some parts of it! I think Unsworth is a fantastic author and I really did adore the way this book was written. the prose was funny, unique and original. it was ironic and hilarious in all the right places. the book was FULL of brilliant quick wit and quotes. however, and I think this is the point, the protagonist was wildly unlikeable. It fell short on a few elements for me and felt quite inauthentic and self-absorbed. the last few chapters definitely brought me around and I’m glad for that because at first it was looking like a DNF

hmm. where to start? I was looking forward to reading this book for the last few months, so while it was on 99p kindle I grabbed it, then proceeded to not read it for months because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. sad to report this book fell into that category, and I was wildly disappointed and actually left angry? :(

this may be a very long review so I’m going to make a few short points of summary:
- some funny and authentic quotes throughout the book
- little moments of relatability
- zero consent discussion
- zero contraception discussion
- zero sexuality discussion
- zero trauma discussion
- poorly written
- disordered eating joked about, not taken seriously

the main protagonist, Violet, is a naive (sometimes beyond belief) lost millennial in desperate need of something “wild” to add to her life. throughout the book she is inconsistent. she constantly spends money and then complains about her horrible flat; whilst living in the centre of London, doing a well paid, respected job, despite the fact she does whatever she wants at work, leaves early, turns up late etc? she spills food on herself constantly, spits at people and yet everyone in the book desires her.

regardless of Violet, the book is poorly written, the explicit scenes mechanical and robotic. there are weird plot holes where one of the main characters works at a women’s aid yet is best friends with characters that admit to grooming and mentally abusing young women?? besides this, the book deals with trauma in poor fashion. I think this book could’ve been such an opportunity to discuss hedonism and young people and sex, but it ended up being one-dimensional, flat and really quite superficial. sometimes when I was reading it felt like an unedited draft? I know a lot of people seem to love this book, but if I have any advice: avoid at all costs. not only is it badly written, it handles some very serious traumatic experiences and mental health issues in the worst possible way. if you do choose to read this: take the trigger warnings seriously

TW: bulimia, eating disorders, sexual assault, rape, grooming, mental and emotional abuse, death (children)