I simply had to immediately pick this up after finishing The Wolf Den. I think this might become one of my favourite series ever.

The atmosphere in these books is amazing. I love the little excerpts from other literature at the beginning of each chapter and the little snippets of graffiti from the streets of Pompeii. It made me feel like I was right there with Amara.

Two out of the three books in this trilogy (third not yet published) have now eviscerated my heart, so I just know this series will leave me devastated and pining after a fictional character. And isn't that just the best feeling? 

This year, my goal was to whittle down my TBR by a lot and The Wolf Den was the oldest addition on my shelf. I put it off for a while because it’s a series and it’s quite a big book, but I am so happy I finally decided to pick this up!

I really enjoy reading about ancient civilizations. The Wolf Den takes place in Pompeii and brings to us the story of Amara – a woman with an unbreaking spirit who was sold to be a slave by her own mother and now has to navigate life as a prostitute, trying to get back her freedom.

The writing in this book is breathtaking and I was so invested in Amara’s journey to freedom. What I loved most about her was that even though she was living in horrific conditions, she remained strong, kept her eyes on her goal and did not forget it once, not for anyone. The relationships between Amara and other women in The Wolf Den were amazingly written. There was so much depth there. Above all, though, her friendship with Dido brought me so much joy. I love seeing women support women.

Recommended by a book club friend. The plot sounded intriguing, too, so I had very high hopes.

My general thought, or perhaps the biggest gripe, is that there was no reason for this to be YA. In fact, it would have significantly improved the story and made it more believable for the characters to be adults. A lot about the story just did not make sense with a couple of 17 year olds. The way the story was structured left a lot of room for confusion and ambiguity. One moment the characters are strangers, not talking to each other, and the next they’re best friends. I felt like too much was left out for me to be able to take their relationship seriously.

To be honest, I had little love for the MCs. I feel like they were too immature for such an important mission. They were supposed to be trained for this, but acted the opposite, which added to my “I can’t take this seriously” feeling. And then the ending… It was cute, it wrapped the story up, we found out the purpose of the mission, but again, it made little sense.

To sum up – tons of potential, but unfortunately the execution fell a bit flat for me.

A really gripping mystery! Reminded me a lot of The July Girls by Phoebe Locke and The Therapist by B.A. Paris. As I've read both, I kind of assumed what the end reveal would be, but it was great regardless. 

This book was a hell of a ride. I went into it with zero expectations, only knowing the general premise of the story and I am so glad I did, as I've heard that some readers were let down by their expectations. Some expected lots of adventure and travels, some expected big romance. This book is neither of those things and I believe that that's the entire point. Although none of the historical events she lived through or her adventures were described in detail, they were there, between the lines, just little glimpses. I think the story was supposed to feel kind of mundane at times. She wanted time and to live and that was what she got. The only negatives I'd bring out is that it felt a teensy bit drawn out and the character descriptions were repetitive. At some point, I was feeling exhausted having to read about dark curls and green eyes.

Nevertheless, this book will stay with me for a while. I didn't expect to love it, especially because it is kind of slow and that's not my thing, but it was simply magical and I enjoyed almost every second of it. 

I went into The Mercies with no expectations, except that it was supposed to fit the non-patriarchal society prompt of the PopSugar reading challenge. Other than that, I didn't know anything about it, not even that it was based on true events.

Well, it didn't really fit the prompt, which was disappointing, but that is not the book's fault whatsoever. I felt like the first half was kind of a slog and if you're like me and don't particularly enjoy a slower pace, it may be hard to get through, but I'd say that it was worth it and the second half more than made up for it.

I absolutely loved seeing the development of Maren and Ursa's friendship and I also loved the very unexpected queer reprensentation. The topic of the story itself was extremely frustrating and infuriating. Especially when you start to draw lines between today's society and see that not much has changed.

I usually don't enjoy open endings, but I felt like the author made the right choice here. I liked that she focused more on the women and their everyday and did not include vivid descriptions of the horrors they had to endure. I feel like she passed on their story in a very respectful way.

I really wish authors would cool it with the tiny girl huge man trope. Or mention it ONCE, not in every chapter. We get it, he's tall and wide. It's a novella, there's no need to keep reminding me in every single chapter, my memory isn't that bad. 

The ending was just atrocious.

That sex scene was essentially rape. He told Mara he didn't like sex and she just climbed on top of him regardless. It was just gross and idk how anyone likes this shit.