3.5

In this second book, the atmosphere built by Victoria Schwab is again deliciously spooky!

Paris becomes a completely different city under the veil and the existence of ghosts. The catacombs are so creepy and the history behind its existence, honestly, horrifying! Here in Portugal we have a chapel decorated with bones, literally called A Capela dos Ossos (The Chapel of Bones), in the city of Évora. I have been there and the creepy factor was high, so I can't imagine and entire network of tunnels under a huge and highly populated city... But because I love and have already been to Edinburgh, the setting on the first book, City of Bones, was more wholesome for me, I was more immersed in it.

I enjoyed the mystery and antagonist more than in the first, there was good and interesting character development, specially for Jacob; Cassidy still reads older than she is supposed to be. Loved the continuous focus on Cassidy's love for photography and the support given to her by her parents on her passion.

Really enjoyed knowing more and more about the ghosts, the veil and how it works. Eager to keep reading the series and delve further into this world!

I went in with no expectations as this is my first read from the author and was pleasantly surprised, finding some stories quite good and meaningful to me, while others went a bit over my head, they made me confused and not able to "read between the lines" or were to short to carry significance to me.

The writing varies a bit from piece to piece. Overall I found it enjoyable and lyrical, however, there were stories in wich it was the writing itself that made me confused by being to vague, to "dream like" and a bit disconnected (these styles are not my taste, but I know many people enjoy them).

I also really appreciated being able to see the inspiration from fairy tales and mythical creatures in some stories, the diversity represented (though I cannot speak personally for any of it) and most of the subjects I could interpret (love, friendship, loss and grief, growing up, among others).

My favourite was definitely "Plum Pie. Zombie Green. Yellow Bee. Purple Monster.": 5* - would definitely read a novel about it!

The rest I rate bellow:
3* Animals (interesting but disturbing)
4* Jacob
1* In the Dark (I really didn't get it)
2* Margret and Mary and the End of the World (I was quite confused, wich was a shame because I enjoyed the idea and the parallel reality vs myth)
3.5* Little Deaths (too short, left me wanting more)
4.5* The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night
4* Pebbles
3* Aunt Libby's Coffin Hotel
2.5* Sea Devils (found it a bit predictable, maybe that was the point though?)
2* Human Satellites
2.5* Bright White Hearts (the structure and the way it was told took away from my enjoyment)

Average: 3*, wich corresponds to my overall feeling finishing the book.

In the future I see myself coming back to reread the favourites, will definitely be reading more works from Jen Campbell and keep watching her channel!

Coming back to The Moors was amazing!

In previous books, this world was my second favourite (the first being The Goblin Market), so I really liked to come back and explore more of it, its characters, monsters, politics and history!

Loved the ensemble of characters, their friendships are so pure and heart-warming without being cheesy! The freaky science is so much fun and creepy at the same time - the horses were awesome!!!

I only felt that the resolution was too fast and too easy for how much the characters had to go through and how much tension was built up. Still really enjoyed the whole journey and preparation for the final confrontation.

Extremely curious for the next volume in this series!

Pax was a heartwarming novel about the connection between a boy and a fox, Pax.

The plot is a bit slow and repetitive, to be honest, I was expecting much more and in the end felt a bit underwhelmed. There are very important themes of war, anger, forgiveness and friendship. It had heartwarming moments and the best parts in this book were in the fox's perspective - it was a good surprise and original to have part of the story told that way!

The ending was what I expected and, in my opinion, the right ending for the story. However, there was no sense of closure for me, I wish it would have been done differently.

Peter basically does the same exact thing he did in the beginning, he tricks Pax and leaves. I didn't like they went trough the entire ordeal just to end the same way they begun, I was left with a sense of betrayal, again. Animals aren't stupid, specially not foxes, and the trust, fidelity and innocence of Pax is used twice in service of the plot - I cannot appreciate that.

Recommend if you like stories about journeys, bonds between people and animals, and the effects of war on people, families, communities, nature and the environment.

I listened to this as an audiobook (it was an average production), so I didn't experience the illustrations, and because of that I'm considering doing a physical reread to experience it in a different way.

My expectations were really high, wich certainly influenced my opinion, and, while I did enjoy the book, it wasn't everything I was expecting it to be!

In general, I enjoyed the writing and the story telling, there are some quite good passages. I didn't like, however, how a point of view would change almost mid sentence, reverting to the previous one two sentences ahead.

The concept (the façade of the suburbia crumbling when a outsider comes along or when an event occurs, starting a domino effect that unravels people's lives) isn't new, the characters aren't new and while their development is there it also feels like I have seen it before (I have seen similar characters developing in very similar ways). The plot is a bit too dramatic at points, being at the same time mostly predictable and using the miscommunication device to enhance said drama, particularly towards the end - with which, by the way, I was a bit disappointed.

While I didn't connect much to any of the characters, I cared enough to “feel the feels” when they were caught in difficult situations and to want to know more about their past and how their story would resolve.

I liked the moral greyness of the book, the existing different perspectives, the issues the books centers around and the time the author chose to place it, despite thinking it goes conveniently hand in hand with the miscommunication necessary to the more dramatic parts of the story.

All in all, I enjoyed it and was engrossed while reading the story but, at the same time, as expectations were high going into it, I was hoping for something a bit more innovative and impactful.

I will certainly be reading Everything I Never Told You and keeping an eye on future works from Celeste Ng!

The Last Wish is a fantastical and rich collection of short stories!

There are six short stories and another one that is split into seven parts ("The Voice of Reason"), serving the purpose of introducing the next story in the narrative.

I enjoyed our protagonist, Geralt of Rivia very much, finding his stories and his past very compelling. He has a very distinct personality and an unusual way of dealing with people and his problems.

Geralt is a Witcher. Witchers are essentially beast hunters and "magical problem solvers". However, people, in general, don't regard them very well. Geralt, in particular, is known for being exceptionally powerful, efficient and brutal! It is interesting to see how much of his reputation is true to his actions and intentions and how much comes from dramatic story-telling.

Both minor and characters that I suspect will become very important in the subsequent books are introduced to us. From the entire cast, the one I liked the most was Nenneke: her sense of humour, the way she scolded Geralt and the way she put people in their place with only her imposing attitude. The only other character that we get to know better, and I believe will be more present in the next books, is Dandelion, that serves almost like a sidekick for Geralt in a couple of stories. I liked how loyal he was to Geralt and his sense of humour, but his ability to be inappropriate often got them in trouble (he was so annoying at times). In the last story

("The Last Wish"), Yennefer, someone that I knew previously has significance in Geralt's life,

is introduced. While I overall liked the beginning of the arc for these two characters, I was put off by a couple of aspects... I am hoping that future books will explain better some of the things that happened.

This World is very complex and, because we are always changing places in each story (except for "The Voice of Reason") and meeting new characters, I found myself confused. Plus, the edition I read has no world map, so I didn't have a good grasp on the geography and political borders. Nonetheless, what we get to see and explore only left me eager to read more and know more about the world, its history and its lore.

Each story focuses on a new problem Geralt has to solve, some reading as retellings of well-known fairy tales, and by the end of each one we understand how important that episode of his life is and how it relates to is current situation in "The Voice of Reason".

I liked the stories equally, so I am not rating them individually. Overall, I give this book a very solid 4* and do recommend to every fantasy lover and person that played the game adaptation!

Can't wait to read the next volume :)

For the second instalment in this series, the enjoyment was pretty much the same!

I liked the main character less as she becomes so repetitive and whiny with her inner debate on freedom, but being in love and having betrayed her friends... It was constant and unnecessary. The characters were in general the same, with a predictable progression. The plot was also as predictable as before, same for plot twists, but I enjoyed the world building more, we get to know more about some of the other beings (beside humans) in this world and how they interact with magic, as well as their roles in the history of the world. I particularly liked getting to know the valkerax!

Not sure if will continue with the series, but it is was an enjoyable reading and there is space to improve and build on the plot and world in the next instalments.

The Guinevere Deception was my first read from Kiersten White and it is a bit of a mixed bag for me... There were elements I really liked and others that disappointed me, becoming an overall average fantasy.

The strongest element of this book for me was the world building, particularly, the presence of the more tradicional magic, how it is rooted in Nature. The descriptions for the forests and other natural settings were really enveloping, the power and importance they held was palpable. I definitely enjoyed that aspect of the story and writing a lot!

As for the plot, I liked it in the first part of the book, the premise was good and with potential for an original and powerful twist. However, from the middle point onwards, it went downhill for me, with repetitive scenes and a climax that left me underwhelmed. The antagonists are predictable (guessed it from the beginning), the resolution predictable and the motives predictable. I really didn't like the arc of our main character with those final revelations, her potential is wasted and the way she is made to believe in something instead of being trusted with the facts was, in my opinion, just a lazy way to keep the reader guessing, because the narrator herself is as much in the dark as we are. There was little logic to quite a few things. Also, the Arthur-Guinevere-Mordred thing: unnecessary and eye rolling...

The characters had ups and downs, I wasn't impressed with any of it, but, aside from some things revealed about the main character, I didn't hate any of it either. Shoutout to the scene where Guinevere has her first menstruation! You rarely see that in fantasy and I appreciate it and liked how it played out.

All in all, I actually enjoyed my time with this book, there were a couple of surprising things happening, but that second half had too many plot points that frustrated me. I recommend this book if you like fantasy with traditional magic and a medieval setting.

There is one particular big question that is left unanswered, at least for me, and me wanting that answer is what is going to make me read the sequel. Also, Merlin: I want to know more about him, his motives and how will his schemes unfold in this version of the Arthurian legend!