Shadow and Bone was a warm-up. This is Leigh Bardugo at her finest. Words cannot express the depth of this wonderful author’s skill. This duology is full of masterful storytelling, hilarious banter, and plot twists that will leave you guessing. These characters are incredible. I will certainly be reading the next series.

I adore the Twisted Tale series, but this one just…missed. I don’t think it’s entirely the fault of the author (I read What Once Was Mine by the same and greatly enjoyed it), but the writing style is sorely lacking.

Most of the blame lies with the format. Instead of twisting one element in the middle or beginning of the story and continuing from there, this one starts five years after the events of The Little Mermaid if Ursula had been victorious.

The characters are flat and I felt no connection to them. This story is meant to be a more mature outlook on the story where Ariel is left voiceless and defeated and has to learn to overcome her past, but it read as very cold and distant.

The romance was also practically non-existent. Ariel spends nearly the whole book with the mentality of “my feelings for this boy caused my defeat five years ago and I must avoid him.” Which…fair, but I pick up fairytale retellings for the romance, so I was disappointed.

I did not feel this book was engaging. I felt very bored and it truly was a struggle to get through, the complete opposite of other books in this series. And yet this was the one the publisher made a graphic novel out of? This was still an interesting twisted tale, but not a good book.

Simple. Short. Sweet. Spicy. Checks all of the boxes! The plot was a bit rushed, but that’s due to the format and to be expected. This book was in desperate need of an editor, but super enjoyable regardless! I look forward to the next installment in the series.

A cute collection of Sarah Anderson’s (Sarah’s Scribbles) comics about popular cryptids including Mothman, the Flatwoods Monster, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and many more. Sarah gives these characters new life and depth with personalities and backstories. These comics are hilarious, adorable, and just so enjoyable to flip through.

I came for spice, but these characters are just so heartwarming and lovely. Watching them slowly come together with healthy communication while navigating traumatic pasts was just…

I absolutely adored this novella. The character interactions are sweet, entertaining, and hilarious. The main couple’s relationship is so healthy and wonderful. They respect each other’s boundaries, communicate their needs, and love each other unconditionally. The MMC is nervous and adorable and the FMC is deliciously commanding. Even though they are complete opposites, they learn and grow together in such a delightful way.

This was such a cute, fun read! I have never been more inspired to abandon everything and disappear to a cottage in the woods. I adore the leading couple. Heather is a bisexual, gluten-intolerant sweetie pie and Moth is a silent, stoic monster with a heart of gold. They are so relatable, heartwarming, and funny. This book was super cozy, a perfect read for the first few days of fall.

I was able to snag an early copy of the sequel at the 2023 Mothman Festival, so I will definitely be starting that right away to see what happens next!

1.5/5 stars. Despite being published as an adult book, Forged by Blood felt like a stale YA. I wanted to love this book. African mythology is super cool and the premise sounded great, but it really missed the mark. The characters were immature, whiny, and insufferable. The plot is ridiculously confusing and hard to follow. The worldbuilding and magic system make zero sense. The narration is cold and stiff, so I couldn’t connect with the protagonist at all. This book had no redeeming qualities to me. I’m deeply disappointed with this FairyLoot selection.

The love triangle was the worst part about this book, in my opinion. Nevermind the fact that this story suffers from the same overused angry jealous boy vs quiet understanding boy, but the female protagonist treats them both absolutely horribly. Dèmi constantly manipulates them both and plays them against each other. She flat out says that she does not ever see herself romantically interested in one of them, but is making out with him five minutes later.

Many important world-building elements were not explained until after a related plot twist would happen, leaving me super confused, and even then the explanation behind it was lackluster and felt like an afterthought. These moments seriously felt like the author thought, “Oh, you know what sounds cool right now?” and threw it in there without any respect to previously-established world-building. If the author had sat down and planned out the world BEFORE writing the story, instead of forcing the world to bend around the current plot point in the moment, this book would have felt more cohesive.

The characters make insane choices that don’t align with their previously-established traits and developments. The dialogue is horrid. I don’t understand how the protagonist has survived this long being as whiny and demanding as she is. The audiobook narration makes it much, much worse. The narrator’s voice is so jarring and screechy, listening to the dialogue was almost painful. I don’t understand the motives behind a lot of characters because they seem conflicting and not well thought-out. I was just super, super confused the entire time I was reading.

Everything I could have wanted in a dragon-riding adult fantasy. Snarky dialogue, enemies to lovers, academy setting, forced proximity, terrifying dragons, death-defying challenges, and a dash of spice. I read this book a lot faster that I thought I would have. It was so action-packed that I couldn’t put it down. I have many questions and I’m very excited for the sequel.

Very cute story. This volume gave us a lot more background on the lore and history of the world, which I appreciate. The character interactions are still a bit clunky, but the plot really kicked up. I’m looking forward to the next volume to resolve the cliffhanger.