I really enjoyed the plot - I love a heist and I love the on-the-run trope, and this book fits into both of those categories. However, for me, the plot just wasn't quite enough to carry the whole book. I thought that the characters were a bit one-dimensional, and it was very easy to guess the murderer, since the cast of characters was so small.

I think I've read too many thrillers lately - I keep waiting for one that really shakes things up but I feel like I keep reading the same formula every time.

Not a super compelling thriller. The pacing was very slow at the beginning and none of the twists were all that shocking. 

Pretty average thriller. Josie and Alix were both very interesting characters. I really liked the interludes where some of the characters are interviewed for the Netflix show - it provided outside perspectives on the situation in a very natural way.

A beautifully crafted coming-of-age story that addresses the power of decision-making, the complexities of medical ethics, and how sickness and grief affect a family. This story reminds the reader that no question ever has a simple answer and no sure thing ever goes as planned. The characters were all super unique, so it was nice that we were able to read from all of their perspectives.

Such a sweet romance!

Good thriller, but it dragged a lot in the middle. The whole Enzo subplot felt so unnecessary since he didn't do ANYTHING in this book except follow Millie around and protect her, like he was her dog instead of her ex-boyfriend. Was it meant to be a red herring? Because I never really believed that he would have done anything to hurt Millie. The plot twist felt a bit convoluted, but it was interesting to see the world from Wendy's perspective.

This book was interesting, to say the least. It had very poetic language, which was beautiful in its own right, but made it difficult to follow the plot. It was very character-focused, but the strange nature of the world made it difficult to understand the characters.

Pretty good thriller! I really liked the beginning — the descriptions of Nina’s erratic behavior and Millie’s growing suspicion that there is something wrong with the Winchester family were really compelling. I loved the middle — Nina explaining her side of the story and finally being about to put the pieces of the puzzle together was very satisfying. The ending fell flat, though. Although it felt very cathartic for Andrew to get what he deserved, it all wrapped up a bit too neatly. It was just too convenient that the lead detective had such a niche personal connection to the Winchester family, it broke my suspention of disbelief. I still think I'll read the sequel, because I liked the author's writing style.

This book was WEIRD and not in the creepy way that I was expecting, but in a confusing and poorly paced way. The narration was written in the present tense, which doesn’t normally bother me, but in this case made the book difficult to read. Another problem I had with the narration was that the book only ever presented factual information about the worldbuilding when the narration was outside of any character’s point of view. When the narration was through Val’s point of view, nothing was ever learned about the worlds which made reading from Val’s perspective feel boring and kind of pointless. The worldbuilding made no sense, so it was frusterating when the characters acted like the worldbuilding made sense. I always felt like I was missing information. 

 

The only aspect of this book that I enjoyed or found interesting was the fact that it was an extended metaphor for growing up in a religious cult. 

ARC provided by Random House via Netgalley for an honest review.

THE BEST ROMANTASY! I loved every single page of this book! It definitely lives up to the booktok/bookstagram hype!

The characters were the best part! Violet "Violence" Sorrengail was such an iconic protagonist. I liked that she never backed down from a challenge. Her struggle felt very genuine. Xaden "New Book Boyfriend" Riorson was so much fun to read about. I loved the (maybe) enemies to (definitely) lovers dynamic. I spent half of the book blushing and kicking my feet every time Xaden got overprotective or soft around Violet. Liam was such a good friend to Violet, and

his death made me SO SAD

. Every single thing that Dane said or did INFURIATED ME!

The worldbuilding was SO GOOD! The school setting was really cool, and I liked all of the creative challenges that the students underwent. It was really interesting to see the way that dragons affected their culture. 

There was so much foreshadowing in this book that I didn't catch the big reveals, like

Dain purposely touching Violet's face to get information out of her

, or

Brennan being alive the whole time

. I have so many theories about this book. I can't wait for "Iron Flame" to be released!