ANOTHER BOOK THAT I READ THIS YEAR AND THEN NEVER MARKED?

jeez.

anywho, it was pretty good, from what i can remember.

This book was never dull!

“IM THE OTHER GIRL FROM KANSAS.”

ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇᴅ:

Amy and Nox. They were both my favorite characters and I could never stop smiling when they showed up. Their character development was also amazing!

This plot and idea is so amazing and twisted to the point where it is impossible to put this book down. I could stay up all night re-reading this and not be mad.

The world. The world. THE WORLD. Oh, and did I mention the world?

The pacing of this book was perfect! I couldn’t stop marveling at how wonderfully paced it was.




ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴅɪᴅɴᴛ ʟɪᴋᴇ:

My only downfall with this was the ending. If you have read the book, you’d know what I’m talking about. The twist was only there to expand the series and force you to read the next book (The Wicked Will Rise).


OVERALL RATING: 5

PROS:

• very complex vocabulary which I really enjoyed

• the mysterious aspect was very unsettling (in a good way)

• the plot is very unique. ive never seen anything like it

• the characters were very well built

• THE PLOT TWIST

• very well paced


CONS:

• too short!

read this for school—it’s a cute empowering story. that’s all i rly have to say.

i finished this book (finally, i know) and i just really dread the idea of actually writing a review for this book, so heres a shitty review:

molly was very immature and was super bitchy with her sister for absolutely no reason. the love triangle was weak but there was pretty neat representation. love the lgbtq rep. it read like a fan fiction that won the Wattys and it got turned into a real book. a solid three stars.

-rebe

(*my overall rating is a 4.0)
(mild spoilers)

hello everybody and welcome to my first review in, like, ages. 2020, aside from being a horrible year, put me into the worst reading slump ever. but now i am so very determined to NOT BE IN A READING SLUMP ANYMORE. and, if you are currently in a reading slump, this book is perfect to get you out of it.

now, let’s start with the actual review.

so, i’m gonna start off with characters. the only qualm i have with them is there are way too many. i only could differentiate them by page 200. it didn’t help that they all had odd, obscure names that are hard to remember (do you know how many times i forgot it was jameson, not james? or zara and cara? or skye and kai? or constanaine and clementine?)

and i already finished the book and i am still so confused about the family tree and who’s related to who and all that kind of jazz.

but aside from that, the characters were cunning and rude and just what i’d expect corrupt rich people to act like if all their money privilege got ripped out of their hands.

jameson was oh-so-attractive but, as much as i have a crush on him, he’s very toxic. jameson and grayson were just...filled with toxic masculinity. it was just on the surface, so very subtle, but it was certainly there. i’m not sure if that was what the author intended, but it was certainly what i observed. jameson and grayson’s constant need to “protect” avery, and always touching her in ways that sound like they’re petting a dog or stroking their most prized treasure. in other words, they don’t act like she’s their equal.

it was so...creepy. in my opinion, at least. avery saw it as them being soft or letting down their guard, but that’s certainly not how i saw it.

aside from that, i liked how they showed just how corrupt jameson and grayson are and how much their past mistakes define them, especially emily. i dislike grayson (A LOT) and i like jameson (even though he just sees avery as a way to win the final game) but they were very interesting characters that were VERY important to the plot.

one last thing about grayson: why did he just do a full 180 on his feelings for avery? one second he hated her with his entire being and the next page he just felt he needed to “protect her” and “be there for her”? nah fam, i don’t get it.

now onto the better brothers: nash and xander.

nash was very mysterious but also really...cool? i’m not sure what the right word is but that’s the best one i can think of. he was sweet and i like how he had the inherent need to protect anyone and everyone. not as crucial to the plot but he was a cool character to have around.

xander was...THE BEST CHARACTER IN THE ENTIRE BOOJ HE DESERVES THE WORLD OMG.

in all seriousness, xander was wonderful. he DIDNT use avery for anything, he made sure to go through with what his grandfather wanted, even though he wanted to win the game. xander was funny and comedic while also being helpful to those playing the game. i would take his scones any day of the week and omg will he please take my hand i’m marriage—

okay, i’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

the rest of the characters were...characters. they all had very similar character traits, so it’s hard to talk about them without saying the same thing about each of them.

what i will say before we talk about avery is: i feel so so so bad for max and libby.

although avery was a good person, she just outright used max and libby, especially max. max deserved so much better and i feel bad because, as she mentioned later on in the story, avery only ever really cared about herself. she never even bothered to ask max about her own life and what was happening. i will give her the benefit of the doubt, though. avery was under a lot of stress.

avery was great in the beginning, but as the story progressed, i started to like her less and less. she got more and more curt and emotionless. i hope she gets better in the next book, and i hope she ditches grayson and jameson.

also, was that supposed to be a love triangle? was it not supposed to be a live triangle? i don’t even know, dude, i was so confused with the romance. the kiss was random and unexpected, and it was almost like an afterthought.

aside from that, the writing was wonderful, the descriptions vivid and gorgeous. i fell in love with the Hawthorne House! it seemed like a wonderful place.

anywho, the book was good and i would definitely recommend! the twists were mediocre, though, so be wary. i completely knew that harry (the man avery played chess in the park with) was going to be related to the Hawthornes.

hope you enjoyed this VERY LONG review!

-rebe

(**DNF at page 172)

i just...ugh.

i know i only had 32 pages left but i just couldn’t continue with the book. this is like the first book ive truly DNF’d in my life, so i guess that goes to show how much i didn’t like it.

i thought that I could possibly pull though but after trying really hard i just couldn’t get through it.

Emily as a whole was just weird. she was extremely obsessed with Wes. it wasn’t it even a crush it was INFATUATION. she knew everything about him and fantasized about things that would never happen. it was extremely unsettling to see and i couldn’t continue with the story.

the whole ‘plot’ was over by page 60. then what? it was so dumb. i don’t even know what to say. Kayla, Jill, and Emily did not have a good friendship. it was toxic. so, so, so toxic.

the only part i liked about this book was Wes. he seemed like a great guy with great intentions. he did nothing wrong to Emily and she still assumed he was playing her and messing with her heart after he chose Amanda for the dance.

i am truly baffled by this book.

-rebe⚡️

as of right now, i’ve decided to DNF this book. maybe it’s because i just don’t like witches or the fact that christmas just passed and i was reading a book about witches and blood and shit, but i’m putting it down for now. maybe in the future i’ll pick it back up but for now she’s gonna be sitting on my shelf.

DNF @ page 194 (for now)

im sorry Gia was just so insufferable, poor Hayden

DNF at 32%

oh geez

this is a REALLY bad reading slump if freaking poetry can’t get me out of it.

this is the second time i DNF a rupi kaur book. i’ve tried to get through them but they end up being a lot more sexual than i previously thought.

and it’s not wrong that kaur is telling us a pout her r*pe story and sexual assault story, but i feel she should put a warning on the book, anywhere on the book. i mean, this really took me by surprise and as a young teenager (i’m talking 13 years old, people) this made me extremely uncomfortable while reading.

i was all for The Sun and Her Flowers. the beginning poems were actually good and i definitely enjoyed them, but as i got somewhat deeper into the book i found that i was getting more and more uncomfortable. i picked up the ebook again just right now to continue and i immediately returned it after i read the poem where she literally talks about shaving her hair down there (if you know what i mean).

i’m just not going to continue with a book that makes me physically uncomfortable, sorry not sorry. i guess this author’s work just isn’t for me.

-rebe