I've honestly been hyped to read this since I first heard of this in mid-2020. I bought it almost immediately, and whenever I saw it laying unread on my shelf, I got excited for it all over again. I think I may have let the hype build up a little too much.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and enjoyed the time I spent listening to the audio. I'm not sure if in the end an audiobook was the best choice for this book purely because of how much focus you need to have to follow everything that's going on at points, but I honestly loved how the narrator's tone and presentation added to the story, and I think it lended more emotion to the voices of the characters that I might not have gotten otherwise. In the end, I don't regret my choice to listen, and whatever I may have missed due to small distractions, was made up for with the performance of the narrator. She did a fantastic job of showing the depth of emotion the main characters went through, and her narration made tense scenes keep me on the edge of my seat.

I think the main reason that this book is 4 stars instead of 5 is that I was a little let down by the overall ending. This book has so much build up, and I absolutely loved the moments where Gyre can't trust what's going on around her, and how this fact builds up slowly over time. This book had everything I expected in terms of psychological thriller, and the inability to trust Em yet the fact that Gyre has to only adds to it. However, with so much build up, I was expecting a bigger twist, instead of a few smaller ones. This let down mainly started when

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Gyre gets to the bodies at the end of the cave, and while the scenes themselves are harrowing, it didn't feel like there was this big realization alongside it. The same was true of the spores, which felt like a gradual realization over time since we couldn't trust that Em was telling the truth when she said it was safe.

In the end, it wasn't the twists that had me gasping, but the little hints that Gyre would find here and there that things weren't as they seemed. It made the twists feel disappointing because they didn't come off as good as the build up did.

However, this book wholly terrified me, to the extent I felt creeped out going downstairs at night to get the mail. This level of fear was kept high throughout the whole book, right up until the end. The build up of the book, and Gyre's inability to trust anything anymore by the end of it, made even

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the miraculous rescue at the end seem unsure until Gyre was actually out, since we had no way of knowing whether Em was telling the truth or not.

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In the end, I did overall really enjoy this, and I may reread this physically to see how the experience compares. I can't wait to read more of this author's work!

Re-read review!

Okay, so this review is post having loved this series for a good few years + coming off the high of watching the show for the 3rd or 4th time (seriously, it's amazing. Go watch it!!)

Most of me re-reading this book is me just making shocked faces at how close the adaptation got. I read this book in 2013 or 2014 and haven't read it again since, so I honestly could not remember a single thing except like, a few key moments like

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the stag

. This meant I enjoyed the show first entirely as its own thing, unsure of how much it deviated from the original book. Coming back to the book and then seeing just how close it was was a fantastic experience, and only made me love the show even more. These scenes were now playing out in full color in my head!

It did mean I was making comparisons of the book to the show now though, instead of vice versa. I grew to appreciate the small changes the show did in order to give Alina more agency, in all aspects of the story. I loved Alina in the books, but in the show she was a lot stronger of a character early on.

I still absolutely love the book though, probably more so than I did when I first read it. I didn't originally read the series close together at all, left me mildly disinterested after the end of book 1. (Books 2 and 3 sealed my love for Bardugo and this world though, and I do still think these are stronger books in the series). Rereading this book made me appreciate more what it contained though, and from early on Bardugo did a fantastic job of strong, distinct characters. Her world is also an easy one to sink into from the first page, though the visual imagery from the show that I know have in my head really aids the textual imagery of the book.

Overall, I can't wait to continue my re-read (I want to see Nikolai again!) and hope I get to see more of this story on screen soon!

I struggled a lot with this book. I wasn't necessarily a fan of Jandy Nelson's other book, I'll Give You the Sun, which is loved by a lot of other people, so I went into this one with tempered hopes. Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me, though I did understand the book's strengths by the time I finished (explaining the 3 star rating). I still didn't enjoy it, and too many aspects of it made me uncomfortable, but at the same time I think it was supposed to? So I tried not to judge the book for that, but still wasn't a fan of other things.

I feel like this book is very much insta-love, and lately I'm just not interested in that in my stories anymore (if I ever was). For me the build-up of the bond is the most important part, and I felt like this book had so much issues it was trying to tackle that this got sidelined. They liked each other at first sight, and then loved each other not much longer after that. Even if I didn't include any of the uncomfortable aspects in my star rating, this book would still fall to 3 stars based on the romance alone (since it seemed to be the driving force of the book).

I liked the love interest well enough, but he very much felt like the quirky love interest of the 2000/2010s, and he didn't always feel fully fleshed out. I also don't necessarily feel like I got a good idea of whom the main character is and wants to be, because the shield of grief is strong. However, I do think the story that lived in that grief was a good one, and I love how it intertwined with this story of the lasting familial grief that had already been circled around these people for years. The myth of the wandering gene played a strong parallel with these tones of grief, loss, and death, and I think this is where the story truly shined. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to blind out what I didn't particularly like about the book.

I'm not sure if I'll read another book by Jandy Nelson, since I'm just not sure if this author is for me. I can see how this book works for others, but I think I'm just outgrowing this style of YA a bit.

I've been super excited to read one of Emily Henry's books for a long time. I own a few (Beach Read, A Million Junes) that I still need to read, and finishing this book made me immediately put a hold on all the others at my library. I enjoyed this one that much.

I only had a vague idea of what this book was about when I went into it, since I had read the synopsis a while back and didn't necessarily feel the need to check it again before starting this. In the end, I'm kinda glad I didn't, because I just went with the flow of the story instead of being driven by expectations built off the synopsis (which may not have perfectly aligned with the book).

My favorite romance books are ones where it's mainly the MC and the love interest (or both MCs) spending time together, especially when it's just the two of them. This book is honestly 95% interactions between the two MCs, and their banter is fantastic. It made the book such a joy to read (and also a breeze to get through), and I found myself smiling almost the entire time. Many romance books get tied up in a million subplots, which often then detracts from the main romance, but that just didn't happen at all here. Yes, these characters had backgrounds and other issues in their life beyond each other, but the focus was consistently on their relationship, with little distraction. I loved it so much.

I also enjoyed this book all the way through. A lot of romance books toss in that third-act breakup to cause tension between the two characters and a lot of stress for the reader, and depending on how that's done, I can lose interest in the romance because I find certain things unforgivable in terms of their relationship, or find the breakup flimsy/thrown in just for extra drama. This book does still have that third-act breakup (what romance book doesn't though, honestly), but it felt real and was overall well-done. I believed it, and yet neither character was so much in the wrong that I didn't want to support their relationship anymore. It broke my heart just as much as it did theirs, and made me even more invested in their reconciliation.

There are also some heavier aspects to the story, that while they don't dominate the storyline (the romance is still always the focus), it adds layers to the friendship between Poppy and Alex, and I really enjoyed the discussions they had throughout the book, and the growth you could see happening in both of them. The main focus is on Poppy being heavily bullied in her school years, and how she's been made to be embarrassed about her family, even though she deeply loves them and doesn't want to be. Alex is mainly struggling with loss of his mother at a young age and the impact that had on his family (and how he had to step up as eldest sibling when his father became distant), and learning how to choose happiness for himself. These complex issues lend a lot of depth to the characters, and make their growth throughout the book even more compelling.

I also really enjoyed the back and forth storytelling this book employed, alternating between the now and past vacations Alex and Poppy shared, so we can see where they ended up as we're learning how they got there. It gave us plenty of background to the relationship while still giving the resolution to their conflict plenty of time to happen. If the book had simply tried to explain the background, we wouldn't have understood their relationship as much, from friendship to romance. If the book had started at the beginning and told everything linearly, we probably would have spent way too much time in the background, with a shorter, and less satisfying, resolution. It was the perfect balance for me.

Honestly, I'm not necessarily a friends to lovers person when it comes to book/romance tropes, but I loved this! I loved every aspect of the relationship between Alex and Poppy, platonic or romantic, and I can't wait to read more of Emily's works!

Reread Review

For some reason I was worried, going into this reread, that it wouldn't hit as hard the second time around. Let's be real, I was worried for no reason. This book hit just as hard the second time around.

This book is the culmination of all the build up (emotional AND physical) of the other two books. Readers are batted between heavy-hitting emotional scenes involving almost all the characters and action-packed scenes that keep our hearts racing. You've never felt more alive, all while your heart is breaking piece by piece.

I can't think of a single character that didn't have some scene in this book that made me want to cry (except maybe the Apparat... because ew).

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Alina's loss still hits the hardest, but seeing the Darkling lose everything he dreamed of (not in terms of power, but in terms of companionship and hope) broke my heart so much more this time around (largely due to Ben Barnes' more sympathetic portrayal of his character). I also loved that Mal's angst was tempered, and more poignant vs. just outright annoying. He willingness to give up everything for his country landed differently on the reread, and I appreciated it much more (instead of just thinking he was a dumbass the whole book). I also loved the growth we saw in Zoya, her willingness to follow Alina to the ends of the Ravka for the firebird. Genya's strength was also inspiring, and seeing her recovery, and her regain her strength (both physical and mental) throughout this book made me cry on multiple occassions.

. Overall, this is definitely the strongest book of the series, even if I enjoyed the setting of books 1 and 2 more. The emotional growth we see in this book is just fantastic, and I feel like this book rounds the story off really well, even if it's not necessarily what we all hoped for.

Reread Review

Rereading the books in the grishaverse has been a study in just how bad my memory is, apparently. To be fair, I did last read these books in 2016, and so much has happened since then. However, it was seriously funny how little I remembered, or remembered but thought was in a different book (I legit thought some of the events of SOC were actually part of Crooked Kingdom?? How???)

I never felt an ache to reread these books particularly, even though I had loved them, but I immediately remembered just how much I loved these characters as soon as I started. There's just something about these crows, and they seriously have the best banter sometimes. Some conversations are also just plain a mess because they are so chaotic, but I loved it. I love them!

Leigh did such a fantastic job of creating strong characters in this book. Not just in terms of physical or mental strength necessarily, but just how recognizable and distinguishable they are from one another. The POVs remain distinguishable even with the amount of them there are, and you honestly wouldn't even need the names at the beginning of chapters to figure out who was the narrator at the moment. They also all feel integral, as all the POVs add a different focus and character insight when telling the story. You could never have had just one or two narrators and had the same effect.

I believe this was one of my first heist books, or one where the heist was almost the entire plot, and I remember loving how this book used the trope and adapted it to this world with magic. While this book has far less magic than the original trilogy, I still love how you can see it in the background of the whole story. It just adds an extra layer to the plot, to the characters, to everything.

I can't wait to reread Crooked Kingdom now, especially considering how little I most likely remember (seeing as I thought most of SOC was actually taking place during CK instead...)

While this isn't a book that I love with my whole heart, I love it all the same. It was perfect for what it was, and I really enjoyed my time spent listening to it and what it did differently from other YA stories out there. There's a lot here that Levenseller did differently, and sometimes better, than some recent YA fantasy releases, and I loved the breath of fresh air that came with those changes.

First off, I absolutely loved our MC, and how she's different without being Different. She struggles with a lot due to her anxiety, and I liked how this was woven through the story. It wasn't a "quirk" only there for a scene or two, and really played a role in Ziva's whole character. I felt seen at moments, and loved how accurate and true the portrayal felt. It was also just fantastic to see a fantasy character struggle with anxiety, and have her still be strong, be a hero, be someone to look up to. I also loved other personality traits of Ziva's that set her apart from a lot of other female MCs lately. She's physically strong due to her line of work, but she's a pacifist through and through, and hates the idea of violence and inflicting it, whether directly or indirectly. For her, her weapons are meant to stabilize the country and keep others safe, not inflict harm. And when something threatens these morals, she fights against it, fights for peace and safety, rather than greed or power. She's good to her very core.

I also really loved the positive sister relationship here, and while there are some arguments between them, they're generally resolved quickly (a testament to their strong relationship). I love how much love these two have for each other, and how supportive they are of the other (but not ignorant of each others' flaws). I also love that sisterhood is woven into the very fabric of the world this story takes place in, and I can't wait to see more of that in the next book. I also loved how this sisterhood remained a core part of the story even when romances were being built alongside it!

The romances were also fantastic, and I especially loved what the author did with Kellyn. While he as a whole is an interesting character, if not wholly unique, I love how Levenseller kept him a strong, independent character even after he started liking Ziva. He still chose his family first, and he kept his motivations throughout the book. He didn't become just a shadow for the MC, like many love interests do, and I loved that. Petrick was also fascinating, and I really liked how things went down later, especially regarding some of the twists! It used a trope while still giving it a new spin.

The magic in this book was also pretty interesting, and I loved seeing the different types of weapons Ziva made, and the enchantments she thought up for them. I really hope we get more of this in the next book, and maybe even get to meet even more magic users! I'm super excited, and can't wait to read it and see what happens next!