librarianlayla's Reviews (954)

A haunting page turner that draws the reader in and holds them until the very last page.

I adored this chilling book so much, it had so many things that resonated with me and I think that's what made it an all too real scenario for me. It had me on edge the entire time but I could not put it down, and like all of Katrina's writing it has left me with an ache in my chest.

If you're looking for a book to keep you unnervingly up at night, this is it.

4.5 stars.

A fantastic sci-fi with twists and turns, I loved it so much. Andra is a relatable and interesting character, I really enjoyed her growth throughout the book. The worldbuilding is fantastic and I adored all the little clues that were thrown out along the way. But most of all I adored the ending, it's not often I don't see something coming, but I did not see how that was going to play out until the final few pages where I was like wait... is it...could it be..... whattttt?! And I loved that. I cannot wait for the sequel - it's going to be a wild ride.

The only reason this doesn't get the full 5 stars is that I found the way the 'High Goddess' language is spoken, doesn't flow well. Or at least not in my mind. But that probably has nothing to do with the writing and purely to do with how my brain works, whereby I need to understand the accent/linguistics for a flow to appear to me. And the best I could do to obtain that was to imagine if the Texan and Glasweigan accents had had a weird linguistic love child and produced the slang.

Fans of the the Aurora Cycle books may also enjoy this.

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I adore this series so much, I thought the first volume was so good, but the second tops that. It tackles so many difficult topics, gives important history lessons and wraps it all up in fast paced superhero action. If you haven't got into this series yet - you're missing out!

A fun and fast paced hilarious magical story about a hotel for mythical beings, beside the sea in Brighton.

I really enjoyed the fun and outrageous characters in this story.

The only reason it doesn't get the full five stars is there is a minor part of fat shaming, and I think it's unnecessary.

But if you can ignore that small mention, then you will enjoy the madness that is The Nothing To See Here Hotel.

Adventure, royal politics, love, loss and most importantly friendship.

I liked the first book, but I adored the second one. It has left me with an ache in my chest and I loved being back with these characters, carrying on their adventure and seeing the lengths they all must go to, to move on.

Raw grief is the tide that brings us this beautiful sequel, and an ending that has rendered me distraught with emotion.

As witty and outrageous as the first installment in this series, Frankie's life in the Nothing To See Here Hotel continues to amuse and amaze.

It doesn't get the full five stars, because as with the first book, it does have one small section that niggled me. Mainly the perpetuation that dreadlocks are unclean representations of hair styles. Which is problematic and unnecessary.

But if you want a wild and wacky ride with more magical creatures and crazy twists, then this story is for you.

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A dark and action packed light novel centering on a Prince's quest to break the curse that has been placed upon him and an all powerful witch who aims to help him through their shared contract. Witty as well as intriguing - this story had a level of murder mystery to it as well as general magic quest. I enjoyed the characters and the story, the writing at times became a little repetitive but overall I enjoyed it.

3/3.5 stars.

I had really high hopes for this series but I mostly found the characters to be a little bland and they left me feeling nothing. However, the latter half of this book did pick up, and held a lot more emotion and depth.

Overall the series isn't awful, it just didn't live up to the hype for me. I wanted more, had I read this when it first came out - I probably would have been more in love - however I just felt it lacking in areas.

4/4.5 stars.

I enjoyed this book far more than I did the Shadow and Bone Trilogy.

I found the characters more interesting and had more depth to them. I felt the storyline was more gripping and held my interest, there were lulls, but overall I enjoyed the heist and the little tidbits of information regarding the characters backgrounds.

I received an eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so interested by the blurb for this story- a secret school that teaches it's students the art of telekinesis, an adopted boy learning more about his past. It all sounded so intriguing, it's such a shame that the execution fell short for me.

Not only is this story heavily sexist, I think it would have benefited from sensitivity readers as it's depiction of Native Americans was appalling. The characters had little to no depth, and the writing itself seemed juvenile and unfinished. Sentences seemed off, and whilst I appreciate that it was an eARC and improvements might have been made in the final product -there was just so much missing.

The two stars are for the idea behind the story and the small interesting nuggets that the world itself holds.