Grade: 90%
Characters 1-10: 9
Worldbuilding 1-10: 10
Plot: 1-10:8
Writing style: 1-10: 10
Enjoyment: 1-10: 8


Thoughts:
I am glad that I reread this and gave it another chance because the first time that I read this I really had no idea of what was going on and this time I feel like there are things that I don’t quite understand but I am happy that I now have a better grasp of the story.
Morgenstern’s characters are always so magical to me. I found most of the characters very interesting and really wanted to know how their stories connected to one another. I think my least favorite character was Zachary Ezra Rollins but I did appreciate what he did for the story.
The worldbuilding was phenomenal!!!! That was what I loved so much about The Night Circus. I felt like I could really picture the underground world of The Starless Sea. I love being able to really see myself in a world and I feel like Morgenstern really knows how to create a world that is so immersive that the reader can really feel like they are there in the story with the characters.
The plot was a little hard to follow so I would recommend that if you are going to listen to the audiobook to make sure that you listen to it at a slower speed and really pay attention to what is going on because if you are not paying attention you can really get lost in what is going on so fast. I thought that the story within the stories was interesting and once I was able to really pay attention and be able to follow what was going on I really enjoyed the story. The only thing that bothered me about the plot was the way that the story ended I like thing to be more wrapped up instead of the open ending that we got, but I do know that some people will love the way it ends it just wasn’t for me.
On the same level as the worldbuilding the writing style was fantastic. I think that Morgenstern is an amazing writer and I will read anything else that she puts out. I will say that for some the writing style being so flowery and lyrical could be a turn off and normally is for me but the way that Morgenstern does it just seems to really work for me.
For my enjoyment level of this book was brought down just be the amount that I had to concentrate and really focus on what was going on. I felt like I was constantly having to take notes to keep everything straight in my brain which could just be that I am a busy working mom who doesn’t have the brain power all of the time to focus so hard on a story that I am reading for enjoyment, but I still really enjoyed the story when I put forth the effort to pay attention to exactly what was going on.

Grade: 96
Characters 1-10: 10
Worldbuilding 1-10: 10
Plot: 1-10: 9
Writing style: 1-10: 10
Enjoyment: 1-10: 9


Thoughts:
This is a story of three sisters who endured unimaginable abuse by the one person who in my opinion should have loved them more than anything. This is the true story of Shelly Knotek and the unspeakable crimes that she committed against her children and guest who resided in her home.
I feel like Olsen did amazing research in making these people real life story so relatable. I found myself multiple times during my reading experience begging these girls to tell someone about what their mother was doing to them. I kept thinking about what I was doing when some of these events were happening and thinking about how my childhood was and how different the Knotek girls’ childhoods were from mine.
I think Olsen did an amazing job of conveying the tension in the Knotek house at all time and creating the atmosphere that Nikki, Sami, and Tori endured so well. I think that Olsen did an amazing job at describing the houses were they lived and the abuse in a way that didn’t glamorize the actions but also didn’t make it overly graphic.
I thought that the way that the narrative was formatted that the plot made sense. I feel like the plot was a little confusing in some points because we would go from being in the 2000s and then go back to something that happened in the 90s. I do think that it made sense to the story but it would through me off sometimes. I think keeping us guessing till the end about what happened was done really well.
I think that the writing was top notch. I think that the reader can definitely see how much time and research went into writing this book. I thought that the writing really captured the essence of who each person was and the parts that they played throughout the narrative. I also think that because of the physical reactions I had to some of the scenes that goes to show just how well the author described the tragedy of these three women’s lives.
I hate to say that I enjoyed my reading experience of this tragedy. I think I will say that this book kept me on the edge of my seat and made me have a physical reaction to the things that happened to Nikki, Sami, and Tori. I found myself wishing I could have been there to help them and I also felt the love that the sisters had for each other trying to protect each other from their mother.
This is something that I know won’t be for everyone but if you do like True Crime this is definitely one that I think you should check out.

Grade: 82 B
Characters 1-10: 8
Worldbuilding 1-10: 9
Plot: 1-10: 8
Writing style: 1-10: 8
Enjoyment: 1-10: 8


Thoughts:
I liked the characters in this story. So, this whole story is based on the fact that Kit believes her sister to be dead after a terrorist attack to a train that Josie was on in France. From the beginning we are to believe that Josie died on the train, until one day Kit sees someone who looks exactly like her sister and with some insistence from their mother Kit decides to go and see if it really was her sister because Josie’s body was never found in the terrorist attack. Kit and Josie had a very close relationship when they were children and through some traumatic events the sisters take some very different turns in life. I feel like Kit was a character that I wanted so badly to connect to but there was just something that didn’t let me fully connect to her. I think that is because Kit has grown to be a standoff type of person. Her job as an ER physician probably doesn’t help. Then there is Mari who is a mom and wife who flips houses and has many secrets that she is keeping hidden. I think that the characters are both supposed to be standoffish in some ways due to their past experiences, but I wish that I would have been able to connect with both of them more.
The worldbuilding was so immersive. I loved all of the descriptions of the beaches. I found myself wanting to go to the beach so badly while reading this book. I loved how the world felt so tangible and I could imagine all of the scenes in my head.
The plot moved a little slow sometimes but that didn’t take away from the story. I just found the jumping from points of view to be a little jarring to the moving of the plot at times. I think that the overall story well since we had two unreliable narrators because each one remembered thing about their childhoods in a little different way.
I though the writing style was easy to read. I think that the jumping of POV sometimes took me out of the story because I feel like it would switch POV at weird times sometimes. I feel like this was also supposed to be a mystery about what happened between these sisters and I don’t feel like there was any real mystery there was just miscommunication.
I did enjoy my reading experience of this book I think I just wanted more of a story about the love of sisters and how that love beats odds. From a personal aspect having a sister I just found some of what the characters did to be unbelievable and I wanted their bond to really be something that kept them together even through the traumatic events. I think that this did discuss some darker topics, but I also think that it could have been delved into more. If this sounds like something you would like, then I say go for it and read it. If it doesn’t sound interesting, I don’t think you are missing the next great American novel.

Grade: 86 B
Characters 1-10: 8
Worldbuilding 1-10: 8
Plot: 1-10: 9
Writing style: 1-10: 9
Enjoyment: 1-10: 9


Thoughts:
This is a reread for me and I remember when I read it for the first time that everyone was saying how trope filled this book was, but upon reread I believe I enjoyed it even more and wonder why I let my previous self be swayed by other peoples opinions.
First, I want to discuss the characters. For me I do not feel like Mare was a super original character, but I do feel like there were things about her in this reread that really made me root for her. I also thought that prince Mave was a well-done character and probably my favorite of the characters in this story. I feel like the other characters were not as well fleshed out as I would have liked but with this being the first book in a series I do see room from Aveyard to flesh some of the other characters out more and to also really make Mare and Mave the best characters they can be.
I found the world to be interesting for a first book I felt like things were explained enough to give us a good grasp of the world. I think that there is potential for more worldbuilding to be done but I felt like the world and the politics were described enough to get the reader intrigued to keep reading the series.
I think that the plot was well done for a debut novel. My only issue with the plot is that sometimes I felt like the pacing was a little off we would get some interesting scenes and then it would feel like instead of keeping the momentum going the story would stall a little bit. I think that the overall plot though was well done, and I didn’t see the twist coming even though I had read this before.
I feel like the writing style was done well for the audience that this story is geared towards. I liked the writing even though there were some of those “trigger” phrases like “she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.”
I had a good time rereading this and I definitely see myself continuing on with this series in the near future. If you read this book and let the hate from a few years back sway your view of this book I would recommend reading it with fresh eyes because I feel like I enjoyed it so much more this reread.

Translated by Ann Goldstein

This is the first book in the Neapolitan Novels series. Our two main characters are Elena and Lila. I really liked this book. I think that it shows a relationship they may have not always been the healthiest for the characters but it is a true depiction of how girls can find friends that push them to keep pushing harder.
What I like about this book for one is the setting. I thought the descriptions of Naples were absolutely gorgeous. I also really liked the way that this book dealt with some serious topics like the way families lived after WWII. I also really liked the narrator Elena. I found her descriptions of people and the way of life during that time very interesting and I enjoyed seeing how her worldview seemed to change as well. I also really enjoyed Lila and Elena as characters I though both girls were very well fleshed out and seemed to be real to me as I read.
I went into this book thinking that it was going to be about an amazing female friendship but in my opinion it was not a healthy female relationship. Some of the things that I didn’t like about this book was the pacing I thought there were something’s that were really repetitivea which pulled me out of the story a bit but when I was intrigued I was really enjoying the story.
This is a translated work and because I am trying to broaden my reading and trying to read more translated fiction I thought this book was very well translated. I do see myself continuing on with this series but I will probably read one a month until I am caught up with the works that have been published.