I had never heard of Edith Cavell, and this was a story that's important to share. Overall, I am glad I read this book, if only to recognize that there are so many stories that don't get told of the "ordinary" heroism in war. I definitely wanted more backstory or connections so I felt like Cavell was a real person, not just a perfect sacrificial nurse; even her letters to her mom were more checklist/duty than showing any specificity in connection. (Of course, I do understand that this was based on a real person and so the author likely didn't want to speculate where there was no proof.)

This book is hard to rate. Yarros consistently writes compulsively readable prose, yet I'm not sure I'd consider this section publication ready. While there were some great moments, this was the weakest installment of the series for me. Lots of elements were repetitive without providing satisfaction. It felt too convenient to have another family member assumed dead come back into play, especially since there was no real resolution; they just flew to the next island. Somehow there's a huge war and tons of twists and yet Violet still notes that she's skipping homework to have sex with Xaden? So many side characters have extremely convenient powers and decisions. 

I admit, for as many problems as I find with this series, I can't help but reread all the books when the next one comes out. Yarros excels at page-turning romantasy; it's easy to burn through one or two hundred pages without spending much time or thought. Still, there are some recurring problems that keep me from loving these books fully.

If I had to choose one area of concern, it would be dialogue. First of all, this could be more personal preference than anything - maybe I'm just too much of a Wheel of Time and Sanderson girl at heart - but the gratuitous swearing takes me out of the story. I get that not every fantasy author wants to use unique in-world curse words, but when there's five or six curses on a page, every page, it's hard to stay present in a supposed fantasy setting. Also, the conversations often stray from believability or allowing us as the audience to make decisions for ourselves. For example, after an over-the-top dramatic exchange in chapter 4 between Xaden and Dain that feels more like a wish fulfillment fantasy than a real scene, a character named Nadine has to tell us, "that was hot," and then Imogen responds even more directly, "love triangles can get so f-ing awkward, don't you think?" I understand that Yarros wants to provide an accessible fantasy that can be read by anyone, but that doesn't mean the audience needs to be so obviously spoon-fed; in my opinion, that style is more off-putting than helpful. 

Also, I don't think I've felt the impact of most of the deaths in this series because Violet's narration is often unnecessarily callous. She dwells on it when it's convenient to the plot, and then five seconds later, any stakes, danger, or death will be forgotten as she speculates when she can next get Xaden in bed. The frustrating stagnation of their relationship does nothing to stop the repeated focus of other characters on the romance: even within the fictional universe, the audience has to be constantly reminded to care about Violet and Xaden together, while the actual critical politics and hard decisions are skirted around or summarized in oblique references, never to be expanded unless Violet gives a convenient info-dump.

So much about the setup in this series could be quickly poked apart. As just one example: "Seventy-one candidates fall from the parapet...four more than our year." Violet says this casually, maybe even proudly, which is crazy. Why does a war college make that many untrained volunteers die without giving them any training? Why would more die in a year without rain? If the parapet is so dangerous to kill that many people, how can Violet easily cross it barefoot in a dress a few months later just to spend more time with the boy she can literally both sense the presence of and hear talk in her mind?

However, I don't want to overlook the fact that what this book is about - romance between dragon-riders - it does deliver. Overall, this is a good time if you don't look too closely. There's a lot that's done well and/or is just plain fun to read. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up rereading this series again. 

I was lucky enough to get a digital ARC for Farina's fantastic debut. I found this world intriguing, with a compelling magic system (I definitely wanted more time spent seeing them train and develop powers) and enough political intrigue to be interesting without being at all convoluted. The love triangle all being childhood friends with interesting power dynamics made for some gut-wrenching reveals (though I wished the other characters besides these three had as realistic and fleshed out of reactions, motivations, and goals). I was not expecting the masquerade ball trope, but it worked and I thought it was done well. The ending definitely gets you primed for a sequel! 

A great addition to the series, with great battle scenes, compelling character development, and exciting worldbuilding developments. Even on a third (I think) reread, there's so much to digest and explore. I love that we get to end with a wedding and the happiness feels earned.

If I had to choose a favorite Cosmere book,  it would be this one. We've already got some of the world and characters established, but we get plenty of more information and growth here, yet there's still so much more to come and we have somehow a satisfying ending, too. Some of the most iconic Sanderson scenes, like the boots and "Honor's dead, but I'll see what I can do," are in this book. We understand Shallan completely now, compared to where the understanding was at the beginning of this book, and we still get believable advancement for Dalinar, Kaladin, and even Elhokar and others. A good balance of action and politics combined with interesting additions to our knowledge of the worldbuilding and magic system makes this maybe an even better reread than on the first time through.

There were so many aspects here that I loved - a woman finding her perfect match through realizing he'd been there all along, sisters helping each other, a friend group in Regency England. I actually would've love more of the sister and friend relationships explored, as sometimes I think Mary got off easy with kindness she didn't deserve based on her behavior. I do think the main couple are a good match, but it would've been even better if he had real competition that made both of them recognize that there are realistically more than one possible option for each person so that you have to really commit and choose each other to make it work.

I am 99% sure I'll never live in a 2 bedroom NYC apartment and not let my kids do extracurriculars during the year (?) but nevertheless there were a lot of aspects to this book that felt like they could be applicable to me, even in my current 2-person family stage. I want to mostly drink the Kool-aid of this "Tidy Dad" mindset - embracing maintaining order as an identity piece.

 I was lucky enough to get a digital ARC from the author for this engaging read! This fantasy novel has a unique combination of magical abilities (healing, enhanced senses, and memory erasing) explored through an engaging sibling dynamic through Bellanova "Nova" Darkov and her brother Denali.

Denali is determined to save Nova from being exiled as a "miscreant" for not manifesting a magical ability; Nova is determined to get back home...only for them to realize that they have to confront their past to make a difference for the future of their kingdom. This was so gripping I had to read it in one sitting, and I'm glad this is the first in a series because I definitely want to see what happens next in Ghandria! No spice + some hints of a found family give this novel some sweetness, but there are still definitely stakes that make for a real page-turner. 

I love everything Rubin does, and this collection felt like little windows into her research and insights throughout the years. Some of these aphorisms were familiar (but can never be overstated); others were importantly new to me. So fun! I'll definitely be returning to this one.