I was extremely excited to read Children of Blood and Bones. I have heard about it everywhere, and waited months to receive the book from the library. That is a lot of pressure to put on a book, yet I believe Children of Blood and Bones lived up to all the hype.

There are two main things about this book that I absolutely love. The first is the cultural aspect. Fantasy novels are not all that diverse, and it is exciting to see this changing. Society will not change until it becomes normal to see diversity, and I am excited that literature is paving the way. This book is the best of current fantasy and fiction in general.

In the same way this book encompasses everything that I loved about fantasy novels growing up. There is a band of travelers going through obstacles to complete a quest that will save the world. It has been too long since I have read a good epic fantasy, this is an amazing epic fantasy.

That is what I love about this book. It is a fusion of new literature while still staying true to the roots. It truly is a masterpiece.

Added to all of that there is beautiful writing, complex and dynamic characters, and an amazing magical system. I am anxiously anticipating, like the rest of the world, the sequel.

On top of all of this there is an afterword by the author where she speaks about why she wrote this book. I think it was as emotionally impactful as the entire book. If you have not picked this book up yet, do. It is worth it.

I absolutely loved Vicious. It was a masterpiece.

There were complex and dynamic characters that had their own voice. There was an amazing plot that was told wonderfully through a unique perspective. I am in awe of how it was all intertwined. The ending. . . predictable but perfect.

Vicious is a dark science fiction tale that looks at individuals who gain "super powers" due to dying and coming back to life. It is a tale that questions the hero/villain troupe and looks at individuals as dynamic and complex people.

I was in love with the book from the first chapter and was never let down.

A Fistful of Charms is probably the book that I remember most in The Hollows series. I find this interesting, since it is the fourth book, and I would think I would have remembered the first three more.

It was interesting rereading the book as I spent the entire novel anticipating what would happen next. It was a well written story that has become a part of myself. I loved revisiting it, although I would gladly wait for my next reread until I have forgotten some part of tale.

The Way of Kings is the start of an epic fantasy adventure that follows a multitude of characters across various parts of a kingdom. I found both the plot and the characters complex and engaging. I appreciated the layout of the novel, where the story lines were structured in a way that was easy to determine who was the narrator of the section. With a wide variety of characters it can become confusing, but Sanderson laid it out in a way that I always knew where I was.

I felt very drawn to the characters and the world. Even though the book is extremely long, I was engaged from beginning to end. I did not want the story to end and was ready to jump right into the second book.

Dumplin' was a book I picked up because BookTube would not stop talking about it. I wasn't all that sure how much I would enjoy it, and kept pushing off starting it. I wanted to read it, but not quite enough to prioritize it.

I finally decided that it was time, and I cannot believe I waited so long. I bing read Dumplin'. I did not meant to, it just happened. I started it and kept reading until the next thing I knew the book was finished.

The book is very YA, with very YA characters. I read a lot of YA, but really enjoy adult characters more. I have enough of teenage angst with my kids that I do not always want to read about it. Yet, I appreciated Dumplin's angst. It was done realistically and well. I was very impressed with the representation in the group - the balance between positive body image and health. It is possible to have both and represent both and I think Murphy nailed it.

I did not expect to relate to this book as much as I did, and I did not expect to be swept away - but I did.

I kept seeing this book around the book world. Everyone had given it such amazing reviews. It was also everywhere over the book stores. I finally picked the book up and gave it a try. I had almost no idea what it was about. I mean the cover was a bit of a giveaway that it is about reapers.

I love Neal Shusterman’s writing. He is extremely talented. Everything is so vivid when you read. The characters are so vivid. There is an active backstory to every character, yet you never feel bogged down when you read. The topic is a bit gruesome yet is presented in a way that is not over the top. The book really makes you think.

When the book ended I was ready to pick up book two. Since I could not I went out and started another series of his. I love when I read a book that is well worth all the hype that I had heard.

Citra is a scythe learning her own way to live with being a reaper. Rowan has become a vigilante dispensing justice to those that are above it. New characters are introduced and more detail is given about the Thunderhead and the world in general. The novel is full of twists and turns and comes to an ending that left me breathless.

There are parts of Scythe that I liked more and parts of Thunderhead that were so much better. While I could not pick which novel I enjoyed the most, I do know that I cannot wait for the release of the third book. If the series ended at Thunderhead I would be extremely sad. Thankfully it is not.

I love Shusterman's writing. He does not disappoint. There were periods of Thunderhead that were a bit too morbid for my taste. Thankfully they did not touch the line to triggered like his book Unwind did.

I ended up giving this book such a high star ratting because I found the writing humerus, and I found the ideas in the book making me think about other ideas.

That does not mean that I do not think that this book is without it's faults. It is not as cohesive as I would have preferred. The book starts off with a thesis of what it will deliver and ends with a . . .well I can't really deliver any of that

just wait for the AI apocalypse

.

I found human nature to be a bit too simplified. The talk of the emotional brain versus the logical brain is a very simplified way of looking at human perception, and then he kept lumping it into mental health without actually making any links.

I like the way that the book made me think about things outside of the book, more than I liked the book itself. However, I also think that is a positive of the book. I do plan on going back and reading Manson's first book.