lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

Too instalove for me. 

I loved the first book in this series, The Luminaries, which was also my first book by this author. And this book did not disappoint! I’ve been eagerly awaiting it. I even held off reading the ARC the publisher sent me until closer to the actual pub date, which messed me up because of family things getting in the way and me getting a bit behind. But once I was able to pick it up I was flipping the pages as fast as I could because I had to know how things were going to turn out.

I guess I assumed this was going to be a duology, and for the longest time I could see it possibly getting everything all neatly tied up. But then a few other things happened and now I know there will at least be one more book and I am excited for that. Because this one left us with more questions, questions building upon things we were left wondering about at the end of the first book. Because even as some answers fell into place, they often led to new questions.

There was one big “reveal” towards the end, although I pretty much had figured it out in the first book early on, and I’m guessing most people who read probably did as well. Which is fine, the characters didn’t know, so it was still interesting to read and see how they would figure it all out.

New creatures or nightmares as they are called in the story were introduced in this book. And once again I found myself really wishing for the author to create or have someone draw all these creatures and create a compendium I can look at. I liked the way Winnie kind of felt for the creatures, that they were kind of like animals, some of them anyway, so how could they be blamed for just that.

And Winnie and Jay’s relationship is developing at a perfect pace. I’m also looking forward to seeing what obstacles they’ll face in the next book, and how they will continue to grow closer as friends again, and more.

The first book really got me and definitely ended in a way it could be the end. But the author has gone on to give Eden and Josh a second chance, but also to let the readers know how the trial goes, as that is also such a traumatic experience for victims who must prove their own innocence in this type of a case. And while I wondered if we needed this book, the author wrote it and made it perfect. It was nice to see how Eden’s life went on after. It wasn’t just all of a sudden everything was better because of what happened at the end of the last book.

Eden had a lot to still deal with, the trial, her family dealing with what had happened, and even just being able to move on. And then Josh was there. Eden got the chance to go to college and she took it. She moved out, and lived in the same building as Josh. It gave them the chance to hang out and also spend time with each other, as each was busy in their own way. Josh with basketball, even as he grew to wonder if he really cared at all about it anymore. Eden worked, had a job at a cafe with a jerk of a boss, and tried to be a first year college student. 

Josh had been the first person she’d actually told about what had happened to her that night. But even with telling him, she didn’t tell him every detail, so there were still bits and pieces that seemed like secrets or things just coming between them. Then the trial, oh was that so frustrating and sad to read, even as I knew that the defending attorney was going to ask those kinds of questions and try to paint her the way he tried. But Eden persevered, and even made a new friend with her roommate Parker. She started some bad habits again, smoking for one, but soon was able to push those aside, as she realized it wasn’t what would help her.

And then Eden made a mistake, a small one, understandable even, but also it was easy to understand why Josh kind of was so upset. You see Josh’s life wasn’t perfect either. He was dealing with his father supposedly being back on the wagon, sober for a long time now. But it was hard for him to trust his father after he’d done that so many times in the past. Plus basketball wasn’t going smoothly. Guys on the team were upsetting in how they reacted to a warning from the coach about how they treated women when the court case came to light. Then they accused him of not being all-in for the team, sliding by, and not deserving it. 

Josh and Eden have a break in the book. And as much as it sucks, it fit. It was real. It was a good thing. It reminded me of the end of the After series when Tessa and Hardin go their separate ways. Sometimes it is needed, to make a relationship not toxic, to solve the things about themselves they need to do in order to be able to be a good partner in a healthy relationship. So we do still get a happy ending for the two, and I love the way it happens.

There is one quote from the book, from the trial, that just really, really stuck with me. And is something I think so many people don’t even think about. When the defense attorney asked her, “Did you ever say no?” Her response was perfect, once she realized how to answer that question. “I couldn’t answer a question that was never asked…He.Never.Asked.The.Question…That’s my answer.”

Such a great book, after the first one which was also so good. Sorry it took me so long to read the first one, but it was perfect to read the two back to back like this. 

I’ve loved all of this author’s adult romances, so I was very excited for what was touted as her first YA. Now, personally, I feel it might be a little more New Adult than YA, but not in a bad way. I’m just thinking of the age of the characters. However, besides that, I really did love it!

I used to play chess when I was younger, I had a grandpa who was really into it. I was never that good though. And when I was younger I wouldn’t say it was very popular. Nowadays, there are more chess clubs at schools, my current school has one that meets in the library at least once a week after school and then goes to tournaments once in a while. It was fun reading about all the different chess moves and strategies with their names and some of the real players. I did want to Google a lot of the chess moves though.

As I read I wondered just if the students in the chess club at my school would know all these different moves and be interested in reading it. Although sadly to say, our chess club is made up of mostly boys, just like this book discusses how chess is pretty dominantly men. I liked that aspect of this book. My first year at my current school there was at least one girl on the chess team. But she quit coming after a while. And I have to wonder if it had anything to do with the type of misogyny, known or unknown that even younger males may put out.

As usual Hazelwood includes romance or characters that aren’t your romance heteronorm. For instance, Mallory would probably be considered bi-sexual. And I almost wonder if Nolan could have been considered ACE(asexual) up until he met Mallory and finally felt an attraction that he hadn’t in the past. I also liked the kind of fate-destiny trope of how the two could have met when they were younger, but it wasn’t until Mallory was older and probably ready for the meeting. And I’m sure Nolan might not have been ready earlier before.

I enjoyed the story, liked how Mallory’s family was so real in how they behaved. How her sisters actions were really like what I could see teens that age doing. A wonderful steminista type of story and I’ll be putting it in my school library for sure, and seeing if I can get any of our chess club members interested, boys or girls!

This was a short and sweet Christmas rom-com. The stranded together with one bed trope. Hockey player and his friend’s little sister. Enemies to lovers. But it was adorable and sexy, just like you’d expect from this author. I enjoyed reading it in her newsletter and then finishing it in the e-galley for the review. It was also the perfect start to my holiday reading for the year. Now I’m really in the mood to read more holiday stories. I loved both characters, and would love more from them or those people around them, Kyler’s teammates, and Iris’s brother or maybe friends? I also adored Rob/Puck.

If you haven’t started your holiday reads yet, this is the perfect one to get you started!

I have only read a few books by Pintip Dunn, but I really enjoyed them. So I was very excited when I heard about this one and was happy to get a copy from the publisher to read! While I’ve categorized it as a fantasy for the title of this blog post, it almost had some sci-fi and magical realism to it instead, or as well. The authors took different folktales from I believe Thailand or maybe some other Asian cultures that are similar, and then kind of cherry picked bits and pieces to create the different abilities the characters might acquire while on this magical island. But it was more than just the abilities, all of it fed into different situations from the folktales woven from these bits and pieces.

The science fiction aspect comes from the fact that it is a scientist holding them on this island and studying to see how they will develop the powers/abilities, and then trying to use it to bring someone back from the dead, as well as possibly other things. While I had a feeling about one person who does betray at some point, I didn’t see some of the other things that came, or that there would be more than one betrayal, or was it really? I’ve seen the complaints in the reviews, and I guess I do see their point that it isn’t really comparable to some of the things it was suggested to be like. But in the end I quite enjoyed it. It was a bit long for me overall at 400 pages, but again, I will definitely look for more books by this author, and her daughter, together or on their own!

So I didn’t get to this book before it was published because of some family issues. But once I was able to pick this up I was hooked! It was so good! From the very start, the way we got hooked on the main character’s dying wish to get a chance to do over all the mistakes she’d made. To go back and fix the problems she hadn’t seen as she’d helped those she thought she could trust. 

Fantasy doesn’t always grab me, often it takes me a minute or two to get into and it reads slowly for me because of all the descriptions the genre seems to include. However the author kept this story moving, kept me on the edge of my seat as I was reading, turning pages as quickly as I could just to see what would happen as Mingshin got to go back in time and re-do all that she felt she had misjudged or let happen. 

And right away things were different from the very first change she made. A new person came into play, one that from the start I wasn’t sure about. I mean from the very short end of her first life at the beginning, it seemed all the other princes weren’t any better than Ren was. So along with her, I kept hoping she’d remember not to let her guard down, not to think anyone was actually on her side, until they had proven in every way that they were. 

This especially was on my mind at the end when it seemed like maybe she’d taken another wrong turn. So when the person redeemed themselves, it worked perfectly with the story. The whole magic and other world that we got bits and pieces of at the beginning, and more as the story progressed really added to the story as well. While I think this shows as only a standalone, I feel like there is more we need, and I really hope for a sequel!