monarchbooks's Reviews (547)

Mean Girls meets Jennifer's Body, a.k.a. an amazing sapphic, man-hating book about girls who are hungry for power and justice, and who never leaves messes... until they do 😘

Very quick, fun read. Wish the content Warnings at the beginning had included sexual assault instead of just sexual trauma, but it wasn't explicit, so I didn't spiral or anything. Very inaccurate to Greek mythology.

How do I know this is a good book? Because I annotated it. Twice. As a rule, I typically do not annotate contemporary books, I don't need to. Annotations are to help track my thoughts and connect the dots so I am less confused and overwhelmed by fantasy books. But there were two very important scenes that I felt the need to annotate in this book, a contemporary, because they struck a chord in me. Oddly enough, neither annotation was for one of the two main characters. 

One was for Redford who, after the third act break up where Dani is being comforted by sisters, comes home to Chloe's apartment and says “If the guy I’m supposed to kill is that big fucker from the video,
we’ll need an airtight plan.” Obviously very dedicated to his significant other's family and I love that and I love how serious he seems about it. 

The second was for Jamal, who is dating Zaf's sister-in-law through his late brother and when talking about proposing he says “What kind of ring do you get a woman like that? Plus, it has to match the first one.” Some guys might expect her to take off the ring from her first husband, but he doesn't even question that she'll keep it on and that he will find one to match it. Perfect man. 

Fake dating. Playboy whose weak in the knees for the girl next door. "No strings attached" sex. Women supporting women. In depth discussions on the effects of family structure on your mental health. You'd think that'd make a perfect 5, right? No. Because Stephen's assholery is never explained or properly acknowledged by him. Kristin should leave that man, I expect compensation for having to read about that man. Mostly jokes, but Kristen does deserve her own book where she gets what she deserves (and it ain't Stephen, at least in his current state). That being said, I will be reading the rest of the series and I hope Stephen redeems himself. 

Childhood friends to strangers to lovers. Second chance romance. Hate fucking. Secret relationship. One bed trope. "No strings-attatched" sex. What more could you want from a book, especially when both love interests are bi? Nothing, because this book is absolutely perfect. 

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/track/2QrQCMel6v2JiLxqrg4p2O?si=WRNrp0YbQ8i7AEgrdt3yhQ&utm_source=copy-link

I will admit, I spent a long time saying I would never read this book, and that was a mistake. While it started out slow, and the characters were hard to like, or even understand at points, I still loved this book, and regret not buying the entirety of the Grishaverse series. I want to learn more about Nikolai and Zoya, and desperately want to know what happens with Inej and Nina and Wylan, and the rest of the crows of course (but mostly them). 

Pros: A+ storytelling, might have a new love of heist stories. Found family aspect was nice as well. The dynamics between the crows were my favorite part to read. 

Cons: Difficult to read at points, I had to reread a lot of paragraphs. 

Content Warnings: Violence, Murder, Genocide, Past Sex Work, Drug Use, Slave Trading 

NOT SPOILER FREE

Look, I have spent three years hoping and excited for this books, and maybe that was a bit of the problem. I loved the general plot of the book but some stiff bothered me, like really bothered me. Why is sex mentioned like every other page in a YA book? It isn't explicit, but it's brought up an uncomfortable amount. Also, these characters are at most 19, why are some getting married and having kids? I get that Dylan's whole thing is wanting a high school romance like his parents but at married with a kid at 19? That sounds like a nightmare. I love his schemes throughout the book, but the reasons behind them drove me crazy. Finally, Ben and Arthur talking about "that one book where  everyone dies at the end" just made me mad, there was no reason for TBDATE to be referenced, it barely made sense in the scene. 

My Organized Unorganized Thoughts: 

It is 12:44 AM and I am crying because sometimes, even when you read the last page first, the sad ending can still shock you. Sometimes, you can feel it deep in your bones, like you're bathing in the sadness. 

I started this book with the thought that I would hate the formatting of the book, the interview style storytelling, but it was so interesting to see different perspectives, how two people remember the same moment so differently. 

"Artistic rivals to almost lovers" meets "right person, wrong universe" may be my new favorite obscure, hyperspecific trope.

And now, I write messages to the characters:

To Teddy, Thank you for being the father figure that most people don't get in life. The ache that went through me in scenes with you and Billy is one I'm quite familiar with - it hurts to know that men don't have to be terrible.

To Camila, It takes a strong person to love someone as unconditionally as you loved Billy. Love that lasts a lifetime is heartbreaking and you, despite what you may think, handled it perfectly.

To Karen, You were such a relief to read.

To Billy and Daisy (because how could I write to you guys individually?), You're chemistry, you're deep love of each other, the ebb and flow of your two... the acknowledgement of how it would never work, not in this life - that is what made this book. If the multiverse exists, I just know that you two would work out in at least one. And don't feel guilty about that, you made different choices in that life. That's okay. 

To the band, to Simone, to Rod, to Artie, to Julia, all the  people (characters) that came together to make this book, just know that you broke my heart in the best way.

To TJR, In a way, the ending of this book reminds me of HIMYM. But instead of hating Ted for going back to Robin, in my heart, I hope for a somewhat happy ending for Billy and Daisy. 

I will write a review once my brain lets me.