robyngamez's Reviews (450)

This book fell a little short for me. I don’t know if that’s because I had such high hopes for it after reading Verity, but I didn’t find myself loving this.

The characters lacked development. We really only got to know Leeds, whom was very selfish. This book is called “Layla” yet we knew absolutely nothing about her. Same thing with Sable.

I found the ending to be predictable. I expected a lot more from this.

I enjoyed this one more than the first book, but there were some things I didn’t like about it.

For example, Peter. He was annoying and did not communicate with Laura Jean. If he wanted her back, why did he have to be so petty? Taking back the necklace? Big dick move. Also, I hate Gen.

Laura Jean should’ve ended up with John Ambrose. He was all about her and so so sweet.

After reading “The Paper Magician,” I noticed that there were some faults that I hoped would be built and improved in the second book in the series. However, I feel that this book had the same issues that the first one in the series had.

In “The Glass Magician,” yet again we find Ceony in a place where she needs to the save the day. Mg. Thane has healed from getting his whole heart stolen, so business is as usual until a paper mill that Ceony was touring for her apprenticeship blows up. Excisioners are after her again. I feel that we don’t get a clear picture or understand the true motivation of the Excisioners. We just know they are bad and must be stopped, and somehow an apprentice fresh out of magic school will do the job. Not only that, but she’s going to figure out how to break an unbreakable bond that much older and practiced magicians have never been able to do before her.

I feel like there was an element of racism in this book. The bad guy happened to be Indian, and Ceony even noted that she shouldn’t feel bad vibes from a guy just because he’s foreign. I did not like that.

Ceony is still in love with Mg. Thane, and in this book, we learn that he also has feelings for her. I don’t know about all that... The element of romance didn’t need to be in this series, but I suppose every heroine has to have a lover (even though it hasn’t gotten to that point yet).

Overall, I did enjoy this book, but this world has SO MUCH POTENTIAL and it isn’t tapped at all. Slowly we learn bits of what this world entails, and I’m going to continue reading it because I have high hopes.

This one was my favorite book in the “Paper Magician” series. There is one more book, but as it is not following the same main characters, I do not plan on reading it.

Ceony is finally going to take her magician’s test, but because she does not want Mg. Thane to be accused of favoritism, her test will be administered by Mg. Bailey, whom she will be staying with for three weeks prior to her exam. But of course, there is still an Excisioner out there — Siraj.

Siraj has escaped from prison, and Ceony fears that he will go after her family, so naturally, she tries to track him down herself. One evening when tracking him, she runs into none other than Mg. Thane himself, and together they are able to take him down for good. I was glad to see Ceony and Mg. Thane using their magic and working together. Ceony has become a master of multiple magic’s despite assuring Mg. Thane that she would not be using that secret, and it proved very useful for her.


When Ceony was staying with Mg. Bailey, we learned that he was very, very petty. Almost petty to the very end. I did not like him at all. Luckily, in-spite of his attempts to deter her along the way, Ceony was able to pass her magicians test, and she was even able to impress Mg. Bailey with her spells and Folding.

I was glad when Ceony confided in Mg. Aviosky about learning how to unbind from one material and bind to another. I just wish we knew what she was planning on doing with the information. It could benefit many, but in the wrong hands, it could cause chaos.

That ending though?! I’m hoping Ceony said yes to the proposal (duh). If there is ever another book released in this series following Ceony and Thane, I will be reading it.

In Always and Forever, Lara Jean, we follow Lara Jean through her last year in high school as she is making her decision on what college to attend. Lara Jean is planning on attending UVA with her hot, lacrosse playing boyfriend, Peter Kavinsky. Unfortunately, Lara Jean does not get into UVA, and has to consider other options. I was rooting for Lara Jean to find herself and put herself first in this book. She has always put Peter first, and I just wanted her to make a decision for herself!

Peter was very annoying in this book. His communication skill still sucked, and it seemed like he was pushing Lara Jean away the whole time, so I was on board when she dumped him. Of course, Lara Jean didn't mean to, and they ended up back together, but I was glad that she did that.

John Ambrose made a little appearance, and I was still rooting for that guy. When he said that he was admitted and going to William & Mary, I was hoping Lara Jean would go to and they'd end up together.

I loved that Jenny Han made Mr. Covey a large part of this story. I loved that him and Ms. Rothschild relationship developed and flourished. I honestly found it slightly annoying how Margot reacted to this. She was always portrayed as mature and adult-like, so it was a little out of character for her to be so petty about Mr. Covey and Ms. Rothschild engagement.

Overall, this was a great finality to the To All the Boys series. If I had read this when I was younger I probably would've been more saddened by its end.

Blood & Ash is an urban fantasy following Ashira Cohen, a private investigator for non-magical cases. Ash is attacked while working on a case and after being evaluated in the hospital, she finds out that there is a hidden tattoo on her head. Shortly after, she realized that she has become a Nefesh (magical). Ash finds herself needing to work with a frenemy, Levi, a leader in the magical community. Romance eventually ensues, but it left me wanting more.

I honestly wouldn't have picked this book up if someone hadn't recommended it me because of the cover. I found myself having a hard time getting into the book, but I was finally able to around 40%. It became much more fast-paced and interesting.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has easily become one of my favorite books. I loved the way this story was formatted and told. I have seen this book so much on TikTok and I don't know why I waited so long to pick it up. It deserves ALL the hype.

Evelyn Hugo, was very Marilyn Monroe. She was easy to fall in love with and she was so complex. Just as Taylor Jenkins Reid did with Daisy Jones, I felt that she really was able to bring Evelyn to life. She was glamorous! As Evelyn tells the stories of her seven husbands and true love, my heart broke with her. There were so many things that I could not see coming and it left me SPEECHLESS.

This story was beautiful and heartbreaking. I don't know how else to describe it. I will always be recommending this book from now on.

This is the first story I’ve read from the Forward collection. I thought this was an interesting story.

Samantha is a horticulturist whom is documenting plant species to be taken onto a ship, Ark, that will be evading the world before it is hit by an asteroid. She discovers a new species of an orchid, and while doing so, also makes a new friend.