CW: drug addiction, PTSD

I’ve heard people say that this is the best book in the series so far, but I have to say that I disagree. It’s average in the same way the last two were. I keep reading these novels because while they’re not of especially great quality, I find them fun.

I’m not really invested in any part of this series. Jamie and Charlotte are decent protagonists; my favorite characters are probably Lena, Leander, and Shelby. I liked that this book finally had alternating POVs. Charlotte broke up Jamie’s monotony. I like their complicated dynamic, and that of their respective families. Nothing is simple with Holmes, Watson, and Moriarty, and frankly, it’s entertaining. Admittedly, the plot was a bit weak in places, with a lot of things frantically tied up in the end and a dreaded antagonist monologue; however, I do like that the mystery’s resolution never goes quite the way I expect it to. The end nicely set the stage for the fourth book. Also, on a random note, time seems to pass strangle in this book. Sometimes many chapters span only a day, while weeks pass in two or three others. It’s an interesting way to write a story, but for the most part it works.

This review is terrible and it’s 12:30, so I’m going to end it here. I didn’t really like or dislike anything about this book, so it’s hard to articulate my thoughts. I’m not super excited for the finale or anticipating its release, but I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out.

(Honestly, the average books are the hardest to review.)

CW: sexual abuse, emotional abuse, parental abuse, anxiety, panic attacks, ableist slurs, racism, attempted suicide

I didn’t really know what to expect going into this novel, but I enjoyed it. It was poignant and gripping, and to be honest, words can’t entirely do this novel justice.

I loved Kiko and I was rooting for her the entire time. Jamie was a bit clichéd and made some questionable decisions, but for the most part he was a sweet, precious boy and I love him. I think their romance complemented their characters, and in general it was just really sweet.

I liked that Kiko’s art was such a big part of the story, and the little piece descriptions at the end of each chapter. They were vivid in my mind and I think they added an extra dimension to the book as a whole.

Another focal point of the novel is Kiko finding family and learning to love her culture (she’s half-Japanese) and herself. She gains confidence and courage, and it was truly admirable. By the end, her character arc is evident and she’s stronger than she ever was.

From cover to cover, this novel was complex and compelling. Akemi’s writing is emotional, realistic, and beautiful, and I’m definitely picking up more of her work in the future. If you can handle the content, I absolutely recommend you do the same.

3.5 stars

CW: human experimentation, torture, racism, genocide

This has been on my tbr for like two years and honestly, it wasn’t what I expected at all. It was good and definitely unique, but not as good as I’d hoped.

I really liked the skin-shifting aspect; it was very interesting without being gross. I liked Yael as well – she was an ambitious, cunning protagonist that pulled through her uncertainty. I was rooting for her. The wolf tattoos were a nice addition to her character, and I liked the backstory chapters weaved into the story.

However, despite the thrilling premise, the story wasn’t thrilling. All of the riding chapters tended to be monotonous, with a few unexpected sabotages. I would’ve liked to see more of the other racers and the real Adele’s life and previous Axis Tour. After Adele is kidnapped, she’s never physically present again. I think that could’ve been handled better and increased the intrigue.

I didn’t see the end twist coming, though unfortunately I also didn’t care either. It was a great way to set up for the sequel, but personally, I’m not interested in reading it.

This novel was good, although arguably not worth the hype it used to get. I enjoyed it in some ways, not so much in others, but Invictus is definitely the better of Ryan’s books that I’ve read thus far.

CW: transmisia, gore, blood, violence, murder

This is a really unique concept in a really concise, convenient little package, and I enjoyed it.

The novel is very diverse: it features an asexual protagonist as well as a trans boy, a Latinx boy, a Japanese boy, and potentially a lesbian. Throughout the book, there’s suggestions of mental illness due to characters’ situations, though nothing is mentioned outright. There’s only a bit of an issue when said protagonist explains asexuality and how it differs from aromanticism, and the whole thing is reads a little like an info-dump.

I wasn’t such a big fan of the gruesome details included. I’ve read murder mysteries before, but none quite so gory as this. Honestly, it probably isn’t even all that bad, but I’m squeamish and I didn’t care for those parts. *shudder*

While I liked that this was a super quick read, I think the length was also its downfall. The plot is intriguing for sure, but kind of rushed. There isn’t much done about the murders, just police investigations that are brushed aside to preserve the school and orders to stick to the buddy system. I liked the mystery itself, but I think it would’ve been better if there was more time to build suspense and explore the aftermath of each murder. I didn’t guess the murderer’s identity until about a paragraph before the reveal, so the mystery was good, in my opinion. Again, length and pacing were the biggest issues.

In relation to my prior point, the length also affected my feelings toward the protagonist, Nancy. She felt a bit flat and kind of passive; she didn’t really do anything. No one in this book really *did* anything except try not to get murdered, with varying degrees of success. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ However, it seems that Nancy was the only character I had problems with; I loved Sumi, Eleanor, Kade, and Jack, even Christopher, in that order. Eleanor was a zany grandmotherly figure and I loved her.

I picked this up because I knew I could get through it quickly and get back on track for btat, but I ended up enjoying it more than expected. It was dark, whimsical, and eerie, and I liked it. Hopefully the other books are just as good, but not as gruesome.

CW: murder, sexual assault, rape, internalized homomisia, homomisia, violence, blood

I went into this novel hoping for a good thriller, and it delivered. It was fairly dark and very fast-paced, and I was hooked. The story gets right into the action and keeps getting better. Around 150 pages in I had a theory and I was so sure I was right, but I wasn’t in the slightest. This book continually threw me for a loop and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

My favorite part of the story was undoubtedly Flynn and Kaz’s relationship. I realize the plot takes place over the course of only two weeks, and they very much have an insta-love situation. However, they’re cute together, so it’s okay. It’s also a *little* bit of a hate-to-love, kind of, so what’s not to love?? Flynn is an overly defensive but well-meaning closeted boy, and Kaz is a Muslim POC that’s secretly a teddy bear. I liked seeing their relationship progress, especially in the final pages. ❤️

On the other hand, I think my least favorite part was Micah’s reaction to Flynn coming out. Micah is Flynn’s best friend of thirteen years, if I remember correctly, and he’s absolutely horrible to Flynn when he comes out. He feels “betrayed” because he’s told Flynn “all of his secrets that matter” but Flynn kept this huge thing from him. Um, no?? And in the end they end up back to normal so easily, which is fine, but I just think he got off the hook too easily. If he’s really Flynn’s best friend, he shouldn’t have made such a big moment about him.

That aside, this book was well on the way to getting my elusive 5 star rating, but the final twist ruined it for me. It was very well done, but I personally wasn’t a fan. I feel like the book was wrapping up nicely and then said twist kind of erases the progress, if that makes sense. I respect it, although I definitely wish it hadn’t happened. Without it, this probably would’ve been a new favorite. Maybe that’s extreme, but it only really makes sense if you’ve read it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This novel took me by surprise in terms of both plot and enjoyment. If you like thrillers and you aren’t fazed by darker elements, I’d absolutely recommend it. I can’t wait to read more from Caleb!

3.5 stars

CW: panic attacks, anxiety, PTSD, death of parents

[E-arc provided by Netgalley. This doesn’t reflect my opinion or the content of my review.]

This was my introduction to Destiny’s work, and while it wasn’t especially great, I did enjoy it. I went in basically clueless, and I think that’s the way to do it. This was a fun fantasy read that I’m sure others will enjoy as well.

All of the protagonists were flawed and interesting, which is a good thing since they’ve all got POV chapters throughout the novel. I think they complemented each other, and I liked their banter and shenanigans. Ensemble casts can be hit or miss, and I can safely say this one was a bit.

However, in my opinion, the stars of the story were definitely Newt and Evander. The latter is bi, the former is queer, and the two together are adorable. They have a glorious slow-burn romance, and I’m pretty sure 80% of my Kindle highlights were moments between them. They make my heart happy.

ETA: There’s also an asexual protagonist. I think that part of her was written very well. I forgot to mention this when I originally wrote my review, so sorry about that.

I also liked the magic system. It was unlike anything I can recall reading prior. There were rooks, seers, diviners, and sentients, and each one had some variation of divination and/or memory reading/manipulation abilities. There was also bloodbonding, a painful ritual that, if successful, could bond a person to a pure metal such as iron or silver. It was interesting, and explained in a way that avoided info-dumps.

I’m going to be brief here to avoid spoilers, but I will say this: for me, killing protagonists is a risky path to take. It can be done well, but if it’s done, my biggest pet peeve is said protagonist(s) being revived or surprise! they managed to escape death. No. Either kill them off or leave them alone. Let’s just say that Destiny did this trope right.

If you’re looking for a unique fantasy with protagonists of color and a side m/m romance, I recommend picking up this one when it releases October 9! I’m certainly going to read Destiny’s debut… eventually. 😉

[Arc provided by publisher. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.]

I wasn’t actually planning on reading this until I received a copy in a big box of galleys, but I’m rather glad I did.

Death and Night - 4 stars - I could see parallels between this and The Star-Touched Queen. I loved revisiting the Night Bazaar, in all its beautiful eccentricity. This story was full of whimsy, rich dynamics, and a lovely, stubborn romance.

Poison and Gold - 4.5 stars - This was my favorite of the three. I liked Aasha in A Crown of Wishes, and I enjoyed seeing her star in her own story. She was sweet and determined but clueless, and her mistakes were quite amusing. I found the training with Zahril interesting, though I would’ve liked to see just a bit more from the implied f/f romance.

Rose and Sword - 4 stars - It took me a couple of chapters to get into this one, but I liked it nonetheless. I loved seeing Kamala again, as I always did like her. I didn’t realize who these characters were until near the end, but I think it was done very well. This is definitely the most emotional of the novellas.

While this bind-up isn’t my favorite of Roshani’s work, I enjoyed it. It was magical and quick to read, and allowed me to return to the world and characters I loved from her previous books. If you loved TSTQ and ACOW like me and wanted more, also like me, I recommend picking this up! It’s out tomorrow, August 7, and it’s a lot of fun.

2.5 stars

CW: death of a parent

[Arc provided by publisher. This doesn’t affect my opinion or the content of my review.]

I didn’t know what to expect going into this; I’d never even heard of it prior to receiving a galley. However, for me, this wasn’t as good as the synopsis made it seem. It’s not that the book itself was bad, just that I … wasn’t interested, I guess? It’s an intriguing concept, but I was just bored. I didn’t particularly care about any of the three protagonists, and the world-building had some holes.

Dnf at page 100. My arc is 384 pages, but according to Goodreads, the fc is 352. So I got like 27% in before I decided to call it quits. I didn’t read much, so there isn’t much to say in my review.

Nonetheless, this might be up someone else’s alley, so I’d still recommend giving it a try when it releases on August 14. But maybe get it from the library first, if you can.

CW: gore, death, blood, mention of suicide, cannibalism, panic attacks, kidnapping

Dnf at page 222/50%.

This book has a really unique premise and I really wanted to like it, since I’ve seen a good number of people in the book community talk about it and how good it is. I did like it, but I also read half the book in three days. It’s summer and this is a fairly short book; it took me three days to read 222 pages. In my opinion, that means there’s something wrong. So yeah, this had a lot of potential but just wasn’t for me.

A brief list of things I liked:
- the map
- the world-building, although it could’ve been better
- the format, with the hidden words and messages, the ink smears, and the covered paragraphs; it was really cool (I’m so eloquent.)
- Captain Reed and his crew
- not sure if this counts in a review but the cOVER WOW (lowkey tempted to own the complete trilogy just for aesthetic reasons, even though I dnfed this and have no plans to read the other two.)

I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t like this, as books and pirates seem like a good recipe for a book, but what can you do. I’d still recommend this if it sounds intriguing!!

3.5 stars

CW: racism, Islamophobia, death of a parent, 9/11

I’m white and somewhat of an atheist, so the themes and rep in this novel are not mine to comment on. What I can say is that this is a very well-written multigenerational story about culture, family, and religion, that’s both emotional and humorous. I liked the characters and relationships; they were flawed all around, but felt genuine. However, I think the time skips could’ve been a bit more distinct, as there were times where in a paragraph it would be months, or once even years later. If I had spaced out, I wouldn’t have caught that, yet it seems to me to be a fairly important detail. And this is definitely a character-driven novel, as there were a handful of times that felt especially slow to me. I did like the ending, though, because it felt complete, like the story had come full circle.

Although it was a mostly average read, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to those that enjoy stories of family and identity.

Rep: Bengali Indian protagonists, black side characters, Somalian side character