I read this book by audiobook which I normally don’t do because I don’t follow the plots of audiobooks as well as physical books. However, I think this book was good for an audiobook because of its simple style and lack of complex plot; it’s the perfect book to be read aloud. I enjoyed each story but didn’t connect with all of the characters. I also really enjoyed the concept of the book but some aspects fell flat. This could be due to translation, as the original story is in japanese. Overall, good listen/read if you want some sad impactful stories and a chill vibe. I will be checking out the rest in the series.

This book is a series of short stories so I rated each one individually and took the average for my overall rating, which ended up being a 3.8 so I rounded up based on my enjoyment while reading. Here are my individual ratings for each story:

1000 ships - 3.5

Pythia - 5

Sabbatical - 1

The Hare and the Hound - 5

X House - 4

The Ravages - 4.5

Four Funerals - 3.5

The Unknowable Pleasures - 3.5

Weekend at Bertie's - 4

The Professor of Ontography - 5

Phobos - 4

Playing - 2.5

I really enjoyed most of these stories and while this book is classified as a dark academia anthology I don't think it is. The dark academia vibes were there but I was hoping for more, and many of the stories had connections to school/academia but were missing some of the very important aspects. however, I do think that the dark academia genre is complicated and cannot be fully captured in the form of a short story. Also, some of these stories ended on frustrating cliff hangers where I was left wanting more such as "The Unknowable Pleasures", which I really enjoyed until I got to the end. Lastly, I think this book is great if you're looking for new authors that write mysterious, moody, and dark academia based stories; I will definitely be checking out some of these authors and their other works.

I am so happy and so sad to finish this series. This book gave me whiplash with the amount of different emotions I felt, I think overall it was a good end. I will say that I was hoping for 5 stars on this book but some aspects fell short, especially after the tandem read of the last two books that were just amazing. I don't want to write a long review, like I do sometimes, because I still have a lot of emotions going on lol. Overall this series has been my highest rated and I can't wait to see what else SJM has to offer!

I loved this book! I know there are some mixed feelings about this book but all can be solved with the tandem read. Seriously people, if you hate the cliffhanger in EOS then just tandem read so that you only have like 100 pages to read before the last book. Also I was so excited to finally have more on Yrene; I think she is an amazing character and I loved getting more on her story! I really enjoyed Chaol's development in this book both physical and mental. There were a lot of big reveals in this book that are 100% necessary to the plot and what happens in the final book; I am saying this because I was shocked to find out some people just skipped over this book like oml HOW CAN YOU SKIP IT. Some of my favorite parts of this book was Nesryn's POV and I am so glad that she gets to be happy. I cannot wait for the final book!

Yet another amazing book in this series! I loved all the pairings and development of said pairings hehe finally some spice. I think the start was a bit slow but other than that this book was amazing and so much was revealed I am in shock. I will say that I did the tandem read with Tower of Dawn and I 100% believe it is necessary because not only does it make what's happening in each book hit harder but there are also connections to be made. Also cannot imagine ending on the cliffhanger with this book and having to read 600+ pages of TOD before the last book so PLEASE consider the tandem read.

POOR AELIN OML this girl cannot catch a break, I was tearing up at the end I really hate how much she suffers for other people. I hope Rowan gets her back ASAP.

I don't even know where to begin... I feel like this book just sets the tone for the second half of the series. I finished this book in 2 days and could not put it down it was so good. I loved every twist and introduction to new characters or development in the current characters. I am not going to say much more other than in my spoiler texts so onto the tandem read I go!

I AM SO HAPPY AROBYNN IS DEAD!!!!! I wish he died a more brutal and slow death but it was still very fitting and also amazing that he died under the hand of someone he didn't suspect. God I hated him. So happy with the development between Rowan and Aelin, I am a huge sucker for tension. I can't wait to see more of them! Lastly, it is so WACK that Perrington is actually the one in charge... I knew something was coming if they planned to kill the king but damn.

wowowowow I loved this book! I cannot believe not a single one of the books in this series has gone below a 4 for me; these books are seriously so good. I loved the development of Celaena in this book and also the different POVs with each of the characters we know and love, but also the introduction of Manon as well.

I will say that I am so happy I read the assassins blade right before this because it felt like all of Celaena's suffering was finally being dealt with and she started to heal and accept who she is. Finally seeing her grow and be able to control her fire was amazing! Also... ROWAN OMG

I cannot wait to start reading the next book... literally starting it as soon as I submit this.

ouch ouch ouch ow pain ow. I wanna start by saying I read this book after crown of midnight so I was ready for the death of Sam (not ready at all actually) and it still hurt!

I really enjoyed reading this book after crown of midnight because it revealed many things that I didn't know and personally made each connection worth reading on. I think that reading this first in the series would have been just as enjoyable, however it could have been a bit hard to get through due to not knowing Celaena yet.

This is especially evident in how slow some of the plot is; I truly think I enjoyed this book more because I know what's going on with present day Celaena and how far she's come from what she's endured

. Each piece of information I found out made this book more enjoyable and also painful so I am glad I read it this way (we will see if I change my mind when I finish the rest of the books). I love this series so much and I am not even halfway through!

I loved this book AH! I really enjoyed all the emotions and mysteries within this book; I also think there was a lot of character building/ development. All the twists and the ending were amazing! I am so excited for the next book in the series.

So happy to be finally reading this series! I enjoyed this book and think it's a good starter for what's to come; I can tell that there's a lot of potential for world building. I also love a good competition and a violent main character so overall I really enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the way this was written and can't wait to see what comes next, not much to say other than that!