I really really enjoyed this! It's also honestly one of the best series to read with a friend because there's so much to discuss and theorize.

This book does a really good job of setting up the stakes of the story and furthering the reader's connection to both Nova and Adrian and their ideals. It also served to make the opposition between 'villains' and 'heroes', or Anarchists and Renegades, less obvious. We're further shown how power has the ability to corrupt people, especially people who are constantly paraded and celebrated as heroes. Additionally, there is attention given to the fallacies of a 'superhero state,' where people no longer rely on themselves but on the prodigies who have powers only (to the extent that the structure that is being rebuilt is not strong enough, as there aren't enough prodigies to do everything). It also muses on what happens when power is unchecked, and if the heroes will remain so if there is no longer any villains, or anyone for that matter, to oppose them. Additionally, it shows how that the removal of rights can often be a slippery slope, especially when the power to remove those rights is put into the hands of individuals. Overall, it was honestly just a fantastic book for exploring those themes through the lens of the superhero genre alone.

This series also just has a fantastic cast in my opinion, and the main characters are perfectly crafted to tell the story that Meyer wants to tell. Neither of them are the extremes of their side, and both are seen constantly questioning the world around them. They're intelligent, dedicated, and loyal, sometimes to a fault. It makes their waverings of ideals even more interesting, as it seems to be a struggle between loyalty to their friends/family (Renegades for Adrian, Anarchists for Nova), as it turns into a struggle between what they've been told and the reality they see before them. I also just love the relationship between the two as well, though thinking on how this relationship is probably doomed is actually painful.

There's also just a really good plot and story here, and I have so many theories that I hope to see come true! There's a lot of mystery here beyond the whole 'villains vs. heroes' storyline, and I love that. My only disappointment for this book is that there are very few actual reveals, when it feels like we still have so many left to go before this story wraps up, and I'm worried they'll only keep being put off until the end, when I think it'd be interesting to see how the story plays out after these reveals are made (AKA I want them to be done sooner rather than later so there's time for the characters to process and react with this new information). I still loved the book though, and I cannot wait to start Supernova!

(To be fair, this book was about three stars most way through because while I wasn't loving it, I wasn't hating it. But the ending was just too cringy and frustrating for me, and made me have absolutely no interest in continuing the series).

This book was... meh. There wasn't anything it did particularly well but it also didn't suck for the most part. It was tropey, predictable, and I literally guessed every single twist or plot point 50-150 pages before the main characters finally learned it. That doesn't necessarily make for a bad book of course, but there wasn't much else going for the book.

The characters were... not my favorite. I generally liked all of them, and had moments where I was genuinely invested in the romance between Cohen and Britta. However, the romance was also frustrating because it wasn't quite a slowburn, it was spotty. There were so many moments of intense passion/flirting/almost kisses, only for Cohen to suddenly pull away for no reason (and this was only partially explained). I also didn't necessarily care for the romance after they finally admitted they liked each other, and I hate the turn that the final 'twist' is taking, and the frustrations it probably means in book 2. One thing I did like was how Britta learned about

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her power. It wasn't a sudden reveal + her being shocked, but a slow procession of learning that perhaps she doesn't just have instincts, but is actually a Channeler

The plot was interesting but I was never truly invested because I guessed most of the major twists, so each piece of 'new' information didn't keep me engaged or invested. I mostly just felt like I was along for the ride, watching these characters react to information and surprises I already knew. Additionally, this book just dragged on and on. I listened to an audiobook and just slowly kept upping the speed because it felt like I was moving at a snail's pace. The book isn't even that long? It just feels reeeally long?

All in all, I originally had plans to read this whole series + the new book set in the world, but I just can't bring myself to do it. These covers are gorgeous and the texture of the paperbacks is just... so cool, so I'll probably hold on to the books themselves, but the story inside just let me down. I don't think it's a story I'll remember.

I picked this up as a last minute read to round of May and my two reading challenges, and I never thought I'd end up loving it as much as I did. This fairytale style book (a genre/style that I already dearly love) took all my favorite parts from some of my other favorites ([b:The Bear and the Nightingale|25489134|The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1)|Katherine Arden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1470731420l/25489134._SX50_.jpg|45268929], [b:The Dark Tide|52411049|The Dark Tide (The Dark Tide #1)|Alicia Jasinska|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580777187l/52411049._SX50_SY75_.jpg|69845950], [b:The Starless Sea|43575115|The Starless Sea|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554996038l/43575115._SY75_.jpg|66444785]) as well as drew so much from other 'actual' fairytales. I could feel the stories layer over each other and create something unique, and I think this particular story will stick with me for a long time yet (I also really love the title, it fits perfectly).

I love Echo so much. She's strong and resilient and loyal and so full of love for the people around her, even if not for herself. I loved watching her find that love for herself, and the amount of care and love she had for everything around her (from horses to people, from stories to wolves). She just had so much empathy, yet was still strong enough to fight for her beliefs, for her love. I also just absolutely loved the twist at the end, that

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she's lived her life twice, that she begged the winds to turn back time and allow her to try again to hold on to Hal. And I loved that this showed that while her scars did impact how the people around her viewed her, it didn't largely impact her or her overall story. I think that can give her comfort, can help her love herself a little more

I also really loved Hal and Echo's relationship, especially how it was resolved. Neither of them were perfect in the relationship, both made mistakes

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though Hal's was larger, more 'relationship-ending.' I loved their story wasn't a sudden happy ever after, that the pair weren't suddenly okay with everything they went through to get to their ending. Instead, there were awkward silences, unsurety, etc. and it made the relationship feel more authentic. Echo was honest to Hal about how while she loved him, his betrayal hurt, and their communication through this allowed them to move past this. I loved that.

Overall, I loved this book and it was a great way to end the month. I'm also definitely going to look at what else this author has published, and hopefully there will be more great books like this one.

This was such a good story to end the trilogy on!

I already really liked Safire from the previous two books, and I was really glad to see that this story was hers! While she stumbled a lot for me in the story, it ended up making me like her more. While she did hold on to her ideals a little longer than I expected, she did question them for most of the book, and I liked that. I also like where the story ended up taking her, in terms of her dreams and wishes and the fact

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she felt like she was allowed to seek out a life for herself, to find happiness, not just safety

. I also really liked Eris, from the very beginning. I caught on quickly that there was something special about her, and while I had guessed early on what it was, I liked watching her figure it out and then struggle with it. I liked how kind she remained even after everything she was forced to do, and how much she cared about the people around her, even if she felt they didn't care about her at all. Her story was also just heartbreaking, and I loved how it connected with the lore of the entire series.

The focus of this book was on the stories, just like the past few, but I felt like The Sky Weaver was once again fully focused on it like The Last Namsara was. I loved reading the snippets in between the chapters once again, and sometimes they were even my favorite aspect. I loved even more that the gods were even more connected to the story this time around, and that

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we got to directly meet the people who survived the stories, not just hear about them. I loved getting to meet the Sky Weaver and the Shadow God, and it added a lot to the story for me, seeing them humanized (or not, in the case of the God of Tides).

. I also liked the setting of the Star Isles, and the extra layers of magic that those islands possessed. It was wholly different from the dragons of Firgaard, yet still connected through stories.

One of my only issues with this book is that it was a little too predictable for me, and while I normally don't mind that, I definitely felt myself just waiting for the characters to realize the twists at some point. I felt like there were moments where the characters didn't question things enough (from the paintings in the hallway to Eris's power). Logically, it probably makes sense it took them longer because they didn't have access to both POVs and didn't know any of the stories, as the actual events of the stories were hidden and manipulated to hide the truth from the actual characters of the story. It didn't stop it from being a smidge frustrating at times.

The other issue has to do with what I also had an issue with in the previous book, a character having an entirely false perception of another character and it driving a lot of the plot and decisions of the character. It didn't last as long in this book, but there were moments where I was so tired of how Safire judged Eris and how cruel she could be. Once again, logically Safire's actions made sense, she didn't have the insight we did, but it didn't make it easier to read at times.

Overall, I'm really happy with the direction of this series and I can overall say I quite enjoyed it! The Last Namsara will always be my favorite though, there's just something special about it for me!

This book was just as wild as The Dead Queens Club but I enjoyed this one waaay more. It seemed to solve most of the issues I had with the first (too many shifting stories/loyalties that the reader was left confused, weird writing style, etc.) It may have also helped that I listened to this book instead, as the writing definitely feels like someone talking rather than a written story at points (and the narrator did a good job emulating Jade!)

I also just loved the premise of Jade getting back at all these horrible boys, and a lot of this comes from me having just read The Nowhere Girls as well.

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The assault was eerily similar, a group of athletes rape a girl together, with almost the entire team complicit.

How they dealt with the rapists was way different though, and I loved seeing the other end of the spectrum of being a 'victim' and bad men being punished.

I honestly just really enjoyed seeing Jade's plan come together (she's evilly genius at moments, and I love how her and her coven worked together), even if I didn't necessarily always like her (she's dark and manipulative, and the kind of girl I'd hate in high school). I also was really on board with her revenge, even if it got 'harder' to see the death of each boy as we learned more about them (your mind almost wants to start justifying their actions, and then you actively remind yourself what horrible people these boys are). I also quite enjoyed the ending, though I had guessed the main twist early on, and I felt like everyone got what they deserve

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except technically Jade since she'll probably walk free, but I'm not concerned with that. I kinda want her to.

This book kind of wants me to give The Dead Queens Club another chance, but I know I'll at least be reading this author's other books!

I can't believe I finally finished this series! I definitely couldn't have done it without my reading buddy, as there were so many moments of angst and tension that would've caused me to be too terrified to continue, but having to read set amounts a day really helped pace that out instead of overwhelming.

I would like to start this review by saying that I KNEW IT FROM THE START! Everyone knows the twist I'm talking about (involving Ace and Nova) and I just want it on the record that I was here for this from the start! It was literally about waiting for when it would drop haha.

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On the other hand, my friend and I did get the Phobia thing way wrong, and totally expected Phobia to be Adrian's dad, instead of his literal creation

.

Overall, I loved what this book did even if it didn't always go the way I was expecting:

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Nova got caught really early on, then released? then suddenly she showed her hand? and then! she started fighting for the good side

It wasn't the way I saw things going but I ended up really enjoying it and had a lot of fun with this series overall! I still love the messages it had about morality, power, superheroism, etc. and that morality generally comes in shades of gray, there's no villains and no heroes but a bunch of people working in between (that will generally always be some level of selfish, just varying in how much their actions follow this inner selfishness).

My main issue with this book had to be the actual ending though. I loved how the story itself ended, but I hate the epilogue felt more like it was setting up for a spin off series with its final twists and parting lines (that seemed to go entirely against? what the message of this series was?) I discussed this at length with my friend but it seemed to steal the closure that generally comes from epilogues, instead leaving lingering threads to continue the story with. It ended up feeling like mainly lingering threads instead of closed ones, and it's making it hard to fully detach from the book. Honestly, the twists and parting lines would've served better as an 'after-credits scene' that most Marvel films have, except for books. Give us our epilogue and parade and actual closure and explanation of how the world is now, then show us how the story is far from over, that all is not yet at peace. It's just a meh note to end on for me.

Regardless, I'm overall happy with the actual ending of the story and this series as a whole. I would've liked more time with the main characters after

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Ace was defeated

, but honestly endings never really feel long enough. All in all, this was another fun Meyer series, and I'm excited to read her next works!

(Also one final note but this book (and Archenemies, to an extent) really pushed this series from PG-13 if adapted to rated R? Because holy shit there were some gory scenes man (not many, but some))

“In the steady thrum that accompanies quiet, my mind is unkind to me. I think too much. I feel, perhaps, far more than I should. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that my goal in life is to outrun my mind, my memories.”

Stars (Out of 10): 8.5/10 Stars

Favorite Character: I still love Aaron too much, even after all this

Spoiler Free: It’s been about 4 years since the release of Ignite Me, and a little less than that since I finished the original trilogy. It’s been about 3 and a half years since I accepted that I wouldn’t get more from this world, these characters, these friends of mine.

It’s been a little less than a year since I heard the news, since I let myself hope (very tentatively) again. It’s been a little less than a year of excitement and speculation and hidden fears, as the ending of Ignite Me was optimistic, and you cannot make optimism span 3 more books. It was a little less than a year filled with uncontrolled happiness at the idea of getting to hear more from these characters, from Aaron and Juliette and Kenji, and maybe even Adam. It is impossible to explain the mix of emotions, almost all positive, at the news of these next books.

I should have been scared.

I should have realized that nothing would be okay anymore.

Now, I don’t want to go against the purpose of this section and add spoilers, but just a warning, prepare yourselves. The ending of Ignite Me was extremely misleading in terms of what happens next, and in the end, the path of Restore Me is much more realistic.

Additionally, just because the series suddenly takes a turn doesn’t mean that it’s negating the development and set up of the original trilogy. The characters still follow the same personalities, the world is still the same (just gets more development since Juliette’s positions causes her to learn more information about everything), and the writing is still 100% Mafi (and I love it.)

The only reason why I rated this lower is due to the overwhelming amount of new information. In the end, I’m too shocked to really feel emotionally moved by certain parts of the book. But besides that, I loved it, and I’m happy to be back in the world even if it is heartbreaking.

Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!

Spoilers: So, if you’re here, I’m assuming you’re also going through similar emotions as I am due to what happened in this book.

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Shock, fear, surprise? Just to name a few.

I think I’m still processing all that happened. Juliette has a sister. Warner has an ex-girlfriend. Juliette is not actually Juliette, but Ella. Juliette has parents who are super powerful.

Juliette accidentally killed hundreds and hundreds of high-position members of the North American Branch of the Reestablishment only using her voice.

Half of our friends are dead, suddenly and without care.

Where do we go from here? How can this ever get any better? I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

I do love all the openings that this gives us for the rest of the series, even if I am extremely overwhelmed right now!

Overall this is probably a quite helpful book (and I'll probably return to it when I actually need it) but I'm just not at the point in my educational path that I'm looking at 'starting a career' yet. This made only the beginning aspects of the book actually helpful (the sections that focus on self-discovery), since the latter sections are all very much about taking action now, whether that be researching jobs or applying for them, and that's just not where I am right now.

It also didn't help that so many of the exercises tell you to take the time and space to really work through them, but my class had so many deadlines attached to everything that I felt like I couldn't actually do them all fully. On top of that a lot of exercises tell you to leave your house to work, find a nice, new quiet space, but that's also impossible.

Overall I feel like this book has the potential to be helpful, just wasn't really helpful for me at this point in time. (Though I have to admit that the exercises at the beginning, where you figure out yourself and what you dream, were interesting/helpful, if not the chapters after).

Ahhh I loved this so much. The audiobook also extremely increased my enjoyment and the experience of reading this book because Kya was narrated so well, and the accents were so well done that it just heightened immersion for me. (I also really wish I would've been able to read this closer together, but the audiobook is so long that that was never really possible, but it would've made it even more heartbreaking, I think).

A lot of people would call this book slow, and it is, but it's also so much better for being slow. The author didn't try and insert needless action or moments of exaggerated excitement and the book was better for it, it felt raw and beautiful and real. This book was simply the story of Kya, of a marsh girl abandoned by everyone but the swamp she lives in, a girl who learns to rely on herself (and only herself). The small town near her swamp is filled with such harsh prejudges against 'swamp people', to such an extent that Kya only lasts one day in school as a young child, even though the school promised knowledge and warm food (two things lacking in her life up until that point). The story of how, with the help of very few, she teaches herself both to survive and thrive alone in her marsh with her collections and creatures, was heartbreaking.

The added court trial and potential murder of Chase Andrews, a story that's weaved in alternating chapters of Kya growing up, added intrigue and tension that otherwise might've been missing, and is a constant push to keep reading even when the story doesn't necessarily feel like it's going anywhere (which is often an issue to make some readers stop). Watching the trial progress alongside learning about Kya and her life made some moments even more heartbreaking and tense, and there were definitely scenes where I was so tense I couldn't breath, so worried that the prejudices against Kya would win out and they would kill her for being a marsh girl, for not being 'one of them' (even though they were the ones who never let her learn how to in the first place).

I also really loved how this story was written. The prose was beautiful, and I'd repeat lines in my head sometimes after having heard them. Owens did a fantastic job of making Kya's loneliness and sadness feel real and tangible, something the reader could understand and even feel alongside Kya. We hurt when

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Tate left her, when her father read the note and shifted back to his drunk self and left, when Chase took advantage of her

It was all just so wonderfully well done and well written.

All in all, I loved this (and honestly fully expected to, this is a well-loved book among my book club), and I'll definitely be reading other books by Owens in the future! (And definitely listen to the audiobook if that's your thing!)

Everyone kept telling me to read this book and how great it was and they were all right. I loved this a bunch, even if there are some aspects to get used to at first.

While I didn't have the biggest issue with this, the book really does read like a middle-grade novel. The writing style, often direct yet whimsical, fits exactly with other middle-grade novels I've read, but then the content is actually quite adult (not overly so, but there are many things said and mentioned that never would have been in a middle-grade novel). The protagonist is also just in his 40s too. This is definitely jarring at first, since content/plot didn't always feel like it lined up with how the story was being told, especially in the opening scenes where Linus is still working in an office. For me, it was something that grew on me though, so I wouldn't necessarily say it's a downside of the book, but it is something to be aware of in my opinion.

Even when the writing had not yet grown on me though, the characters more than made up for it. I love every single one of these characters dearly, and I could read a thousand scenes of their life together. The children especially are all so unique and well-written, and the reader quickly grows to feel as fiercely protective and proud of them as Linus does. The found family trope is also so well done here too, and it's a joy to read at points. They fit together like a real family (because they are!), and it's just so wholesome despite all the hate that still exists in this world. I also found the world-building well done, and this is a setting that could have multiple series set into it for sure, though I'm endlessly glad that this book is a stand-alone (no waiting involved!) There's so many angles to it, so many ways to think about this world with magical creatures that is still so similar to our own. I also really loved how the magical creatures themselves were built and developed in this book, a lot of times it had creatures we knew and loved already but with a twist.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, and I'm definitely going to go check out other books by this author!