Readability: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Recommend: Yes

Alina has never been important. She has always been normal, an orphan. But as the darkness of the Fold envelops her, Alina finds herself summoning powers she never imagined before. As a dangerous discovery threatens herself, Ravka, and the people she loves, Alina will do anything to save them.

I read this with an audiobook and it was quite enjoyable. I think the universe and plot are really original and unique.

I like this book, but it’s not a 5 star book because it really didn’t captivate me. Although I could’ve finished this book without the audiobook, I think it would’ve taken me quite a while to get through it all.

Regardless, I will probably read the book in the trilogy.


After a year, I haven't finished this series. The introduction to the second book was not good enough to pull me in, an I realized that this book is not as good as I had originally thought. Though I like this better than [b:Six of Crows|23437156|Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618531219l/23437156._SY75_.jpg|42077459], I do not like it more than [b:Ninth House|43263680|Ninth House (Alex Stern #1)|Leigh Bardugo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553102141l/43263680._SY75_.jpg|53348200].

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★★★
Plot: ★★★★☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★★★
Writing: ★★★★★
Recommend: ✓


» PLOT «
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. As the loners start spending time together, they form a friendship that will teach them the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

This book is divided into 6 sections and each one of them are phenomenal. The obstacles and barriers that each of them went through were great at depicting each character and their thoughts/feelings.

» READABILITY «
This book took me a while to finish, and I ended up using the audiobook, however, that really isn't the fault of the book. (March and April are historically terrible times for me.)

» CHARACTERS «
Aristotle and Dante are great main characters. Not only are they lovable, but I absolutely love Dante.

Not to mention I love all of their relationships, either with each other or their families.

Finally, likeable characters. :)

» WRITING «
I adore the writing in this book. I've never read a book that had so many quotes that I've wanted to remember forever. The way this book is written is amazing and so beautiful.

» OVERALL «
This book is the type of book that makes me love being a reader.

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★☆☆
Characters: ★★☆☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗


» PLOT «
Bao's and Linh's families both own competing restaurants. For as long as they can remember, their families have been at odds, constantly avoiding each other. But after a chance encounter and as life pushes them together, they have an instant connection that goes against everything they've ever known.

Why does every single rivalry between families have to do with

miscommunications

? Can't two families just hate each other for good reasons and overcome those reasons anyways? Why does it have to all be the same?

Honestly, the romance was kind of bland and I didn't really see the romance or connection between the main characters.

» READABILITY «
This book was medium paced, and an easy read.

» CHARACTERS «
I personally didn't connect with any of the characters, which is odd, since I share a lot of similarities with both of them. I also didn't see the connection between the two main characters. Everyone in this book was so bland.

» WRITING «
The writing was average, nothing special.

» OVERALL «
This book was pretty plain, and I expected a better romance.

There's nothing wrong with this book. It was just bland, plain, and unoriginal.

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★★☆
Plot: ★★★★☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗


» PLOT «
Following the brief relationship with and death of Beck, Joe is once again in another relationship. But as that relationship also crashes and burns, it brings him to the West Coast, to Love. He doesn't want to hurt his new girlfriend-he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he's done, he may not have a choice...

I've already watched the second season to You, and this book does differ from the main plot in the TV series by quite a lot. The main/only similarities are the location (LA) and a few of the characters.

One of the things I didn't like as much was how the first few chapters of the book and the plot line that brought Joe to California was abandoned halfway through, then only briefly mentioned in the end and then again, abandoned. This wasn't like a Chekov's gun situation, it just felt like "oh, I forgot about Amy. How am I gonna bring her back to the end of this book?" It felt incohesive and separate from the central storyline.

» READABILITY «
This book was medium paced, and surprisingly, really easy to read. I didn't enjoy reading [b:You|36430011|You (You, #1)|Caroline Kepnes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549463282l/36430011._SY75_.jpg|39913517], but this book was a lot better that that one, largely due to the writing.

» CHARACTERS «
Honestly, most of the characters were pretty bland and unmemorable. Joe really carries the story and it's always interesting listening to him justify his terrible actions.

» WRITING «
One of the reasons I didn't like [b:You|36430011|You (You, #1)|Caroline Kepnes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549463282l/36430011._SY75_.jpg|39913517] was because of the cringy and awkward writing, specifically the dialogue. However, this book did not have this problem. The writing was easy to get through and told the story better than before.

» OVERALL «
I think I might be of the unpopular opinion when I say this; this book was better than [b:You|36430011|You (You, #1)|Caroline Kepnes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549463282l/36430011._SY75_.jpg|39913517]. I will definitely be reading [b:You Love Me|54847920|You Love Me (You, #3)|Caroline Kepnes|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600863656l/54847920._SY75_.jpg|70524608] sometime this year.

On the other hand, if you're not a big reader; just watch the TV show.

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Plot: ★★☆☆☆
Readability: ★★☆☆☆
Characters: ★★☆☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗


» PLOT «
An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar.

Nothing really happens regarding the plot, and I would be fine with that, had the characters been good enough.

» READABILITY «
This book would've been easy, had it not been for the blandness of the lack of plot AND the bland characters.

» CHARACTERS «
For a book that clearly emphasizes the uniqueness of each character, I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't hate them or anything, I just didn't connect with them or like them.

» WRITING «
The writing was good, nothing that made me not like the book.

» OVERALL «
I don't know what I expected from this book, but I do know that I expected more.

This book has a lot of similarities with [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea|45047384|The House in the Cerulean Sea|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384._SY75_.jpg|62945242], and the only reason I gave that book 3 stars was because of the small role of the romance.

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★☆☆
Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★☆☆
Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗


» PLOT «
Caledon Holt is the Queen's assassin, bound to the Queen and tasked to retrieve the missing Deian Scrolls. Shadow has been training for years to become an assassin like Caledon. As their path's cross, they work together to uncover a web of lies and secrets that threaten the kingdom of Renovia. With war and true love on the line, they'll stop at nothing to save everything they care about.

Okay, so when I first began to read this book, I had originally thought that it was possible that

Shadow was actually the princess.

I had hoped that I was wrong, but sadly no. I usually wouldn't have minded, but the way that the book was written, how the topic was purposefully avoided, and then we got a huge info dump at the end, that wasn't my favorite.

Nearly 10 days after reading this book, I've already forgotten the entire plot. Overall, the plot is pretty bland and I was never immersed in the stakes or storyline.

Regarding the ending, I more likely to finish this series (especially since this is only a duology). I disliked how Shadow's secret was kept from the reader, but I didn't mind with why it was kept from Caledon. The reveal (to Caledon) was nice, but I feel like it wasn't really something that needed to be kept from the reader.

» READABILITY «
This was medium to slow paced. It was okay to read through, but nothing really kept me invested.

» CHARACTERS «
The characters are pretty bland. There's nothing special to any of them. At least I didn't hate the two main characters.

» WRITING «
I mentioned above about how I disliked how a key part of the story was dodged

» OVERALL «
There is a 51/49 chance I'm going to continue this series.

Readability: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Recommend: No

For the last five years, Cam has been fighting the unbeatable battle with cancer. Her mother (Alicia) and sister (Perry), desperate to help Cam win this battle, pack up their lives to visit Promise, Maine, where strange things happen.

I have started and dnf-ed this book at least twice already, so this time, I used an audiobook. I have to say, without it, I would've dnf-ed the book again. I finished the whole book in a session.

There's really nothing significant that happens in this book.

» QUICK OVERVIEW «
Stars: ★★★★☆
*Plot: ★★★☆☆
Readability: ★★★★☆
*Characters: ★★★☆☆
Writing: ★★★☆☆
Recommend: ✗


» PLOT «
Lia Lee is a Hmong child living in Merced. With parents that are deeply rooted in Hmong culture, and a life threatening condition, the medical community and their Hmong beliefs directly clash together, only causing more harm and more distress.

*This is a nonfiction work, so the plot rating is a reflection of how well the story was told and how well the book was organized to tell a story.

I interpreted from the end of the book that on the idea of medicine vs. culture, Fadiman stood by Lia's family. Although I disagree, this book and story was really well told.

Although I didn't like the longer chapters about the Hmong community and how they came to America (I preferred Lia's story), they did help provide a wider context.

Not going to lie, this main story derives a lot from having miscommunications, and that produced a lot of emotion from me, specifically anger.

» READABILITY «
This books was medium paced, the better parts of the book centered around Lia, and the slower parts centered around the Hmong community as whole.

» CHARACTERS «
*This is a nonfiction work, so no specific rating, just the average 3.

» WRITING «
The writing serves as Fadiman's voice, and while she rarely chooses a direct stance, her writing does tell the story of the side that typically wouldn't have been told. It also tells the story really well, going on to explain a lot of intricacies and little things.

» OVERALL «
I liked this book more than I thought I would. Memoirs (and these types of books) have never been my favorite genre, and [b:The Distance Between Us|20346945|The Distance Between Us|Reyna Grande|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394749748l/20346945._SY75_.jpg|18461730] was an exception. I'd love to read more memoirs and biographies, but I have come to the realization that one memoir per month is my maximum.

Readability: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Recommend: Yes

They Both Die at the End is a story that focuses on the last day of Mateo and Rufus' life.

Great book. Although it is made clear that both the main characters die, it is still heartbreaking and is one of the few books that made me tear up. The story is told in an amazing way and I love that it is not just focused on Mateo and Rufus (there are a few side characters that pop up a few times and connect the whole story).

However, I didn’t like the romance aspect at the end of the book. I felt like it was crammed in to satisfy readers and I honestly think it was useless and unnecessary. I honestly didn't expect any romantic feelings between Rufus and Mateo. Even though I like being shocked, this particular romance wasn't good, expected, or even a slow burn. It was just two sticks next to each other for the entire book and then randomly, the sticks caught on fire (kinda like Mateo in the end). I didn't see this coming, so I didn't root for it or want it to happen. I was completely fine with it being a bromance.

Readability: 3/5
Plot: 2/5
Recommend: No

The Beak of a Finch details the live of two biologists studying Darwin’s finches at the Galapagos Islands. It starts on a desert island in the heart of the Galapagos archipelago, where Darwin received his first inklings of the theory of evolution. Two scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have spent twenty years proving that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. For among the finches of Daphne Major, natural selection is neither rare nor slow: it is taking place by the hour, and we can watch.

This book is very informative, but occasionally can be very slow. Great to learn more about life, biology, and evolution. Overall, an okay book, it's more informative than entertaining.