Who among the very bookish of us are not able to relate to Comet in some way? I know I can with our shared coping mechanism of escaping into books and generally looking for any kind of distraction to keep us from reflecting on the more unbearable parts of life. I kind of enjoyed how messy of a person she can be, given her background and home life it's not surprising, though she grows for the better throughout her story. 

I will say, for the most part, the first half is very typically YA, almost cheesily so, but I was somewhat amused by it. Once that halfway mark hits, it suddenly turns overwhelmingly emotional with Comet's relationship with Tobias, friction among her friend groups, learning to honest with her parents, her feelings, and generally being more open. It was wonderful to see that transformation and you really root for her when she starts to stand up for herself. 

But I gotta say, I will always hate that YA trope of the MC having two friends, one of them is decent and the other is just a passive aggressive acquaintance that gets off scot free for making fun of them with the whole "but I know they still like me deep down." It's just endlessly irritating. 

This book didn't knock it out of the park for me, but it was an entertaining emotional ride that never turned dull.

People, both in person and online, have been hyping this book up to me for years. It's definitely one of those books that blew up in the bookish world, as I see countless references to it in literary circles and a few best of and favorites list. Naturally, it makes one hesitant to pick it up, as who knows if it could truly live up to all its glowing recommendations and overwhelming presence. Fortunately for me, The Night Circus' magic has ensnared yet another reader.

The writing has this low key, subtle charm to it. I loved that, even though we got answers to some of the mysteries surrounding the characters and backgrounds, there are still some elements that remain in the shadows. Though I tagged this book as a favorite, it didn't have that feel as it initially lacked that instant spark of connection that comes with being truly invested in a story. But it wasn't until I was nearly finished that, with this book,it came more from a deep feeling of comfort rather than a wondrous exhilaration at the world's magic. There's a soothingness here, even when there's a hint of subterfuge and darkness to it. 

The creativity behind the circus' tents and acts are astounding and are best for those with a great imagination. I love stories with circus motifs, so I may be a bit biased, but the story absolutely takes full advantage of the wondrous possibilities of its setting. While the plot itself seems a bit up in the air, kind of going wherever it wants when it wants, I feel like it's suitable for a story about a magical circus, as even your typical ones are just places of chaos. 

If anything, I think my only complaint would be that I wish some characters had a bit more weight to them. Bailey in particular felt like such a blank slate that where he ultimately ends up in the book feels a little bit off, which I think could have worked if he was given a bit more personality. But I think it's only a minor gripe. Aside from that, this was a delight to finally read. 

The Sandman Universe continues to astound me with its on brand surreal and ethereal storytelling as well as art style. Nick Robles hits it out of the park with his artistic contributions and brought new life into this world and to the new characters we encounter. A must read for any Sandman fan.

As a thriller, this book certainly does its job. Though it's mainly slowed paced, I never found myself very bored, even though I found the Stevenson chapters more engaging than those taking place in the modern day. I sort of wish the two stories would have intertwined a bit more, as there isn't much to connect them. Still, it felt like I enjoyed them each as their own thing instead of together as a whole book. 

Loved the overall plot, pacing, characters, and how they interacted with each other. Xingyin is such a wonderful character to follow and I fell in love with her boldness, tenacity, and sense of loyalty. The writing style is strong and engaging, but the plotting can be a little messy. It seems like there are scenes missing at times, like the text mentioned Xingyin fighting a Bone Demon, but that was never shown to us, which is a shame since it would be have been neat to see and would have possibly shown her interacting more with Wenzhi. I'm not a big fan of love triangles, and the one here is no exception, but at least it wasn't entirely grating. Curious to see where the sequel is going to take Xingyin next.

This book had a really neat concept, our world shown through the eyes of a fox that's learned to write and speak human and his experiences therein. It's not that difficult to see the message laid plainly before us, a whack upon the head is less subtle. Humans are nasty creatures and really we should all be nicer. And that's it. The book is too short to really delve beyond the bare surface of the idea that yeah, people abuse and displace wildlife constantly, but what else is there to do? It reads like a call to action from a fox that still has some hope left, but I felt like we haven't spent enough time with him to feel anything other than standard pity.

The whole book just felt like it was riding off the gimmick of the phonetic writing style, which is meant to be endearing, but doesn't really save it from its other shortcomings. I guess I just wanted more from this idea than a story that only took me a half hour to read.

DNF @ 28%. Way too much going on and the combination of many different mythologies and lores was too much to keep up with, especially since the style of the story didn't lend itself to much explanation. 

A good readalike for Percy Jackson fans, who may enjoy the mythology aspect, but overall it fell a little flat to me. I think I was onboard up until the second half, where the exposition dumping was starting to lay on a little too hard and the climax was just ridiculous with all its interruptions and desperate one liners. There were many moments were I wanted to scream at Charlie "How could you possibly miss that or let that go unquestioned?" Everything just wrapped up too quickly and lacked a good focus. The book itself wasn't totally unbearable, but I don't see myself continuing with the series.

I gotta say, I'm torn on exactly what I think of this book.

On one hand, it definitely has the charm, humor, and just general ambiance  of a quintessential Diana Wynne Jones book. Things are never as they seem, people's egos constantly work against them, and somehow the grandest get-out-of-trouble schemes always go on without a hitch. I know a lot of people when reading this book are disappointed by the absence of Howl and Sophie for the majority of it, and I think that's majorly due to it being marketed as a "sequel" rather than a "companion" book. There are so many fantasies that change main characters between installments, but I think since Howl and Sophie are just such banger characters the shift feels a bit more egregious. While I fully enjoyed the little time they had here, I still managed to get some interest out of the new characters. But there's a problem. Namely, a lot of stereotypes and fatphobia.

The moment Abdullah looks on in horror at the two large women his family wants to marry him off to is somewhat uncomfortable as he really hammers in the whole "ew fat giggling women, clearly they do not have brain cells because they giggle, not like my beautiful, intelligent, (and thin) dream girlfriend." I can't rightly speak on the portrayal of obviously Middle Eastern-inspired characters and places, being incredibly pasty myself, but seeing how some of them look and act is a bit suspect. 

It's those tarnishes that somewhat drag the book down from being a truly enjoyable read. That and for some reason this book insists that Howl is somewhat of a coward? Which...wasn't really all that present in the first book? A slacker in some ways sure, egocentric yes, and dramatic in spades, but cowardly wasn't really a defining trait of his. Sophie, though, is still amazing because she's Sophie and has a good head on her shoulders. Not to get into spoilers but her reaction to being in a certain condition is just so perfect for her that it's what kind of entertained me the most during my read.

As a sequel, it is a bit disappointing, not going to lie. The new characters we're introduced to aren't as engaging as the ones we started with in the first book, though they have their moments. I'm not going to say I outright hated it or found it boring, just that it could have been a lot more than what it was.