sarai0410's Reviews (404)

A second book that most definitely does not suffer from second book syndrome. Jumping back in with Percy and the crew as they attempt to revive the magical borders surrounding Half-Blood Camp was exciting, fast-paced, and had me wanting to read the third in the series immediately after finishing this one. The mythology references, reformatted into modern-society were hilarious (honestly the Bermuda Triangle makes complete sense) and I found myself having to look-up a couple of names to brush up on my Greek mythology, which I always love. 

This was a blast and it only made me more excited to continue the series. 

And of course - Tyson has my whole heart and

the brotherly-relationship development that we got to experience with him and Percy was amazing. I so hope we get to see him again soon!

This is a tough one. On one hand, I enjoyed the plot and was curious about the development of the relationships between Laura/Carmilla and Carmilla/De Lafontaine. On the other hand, Laura and Carmilla's relationship felt one dimensional and forced and their connection appeared seemingly out of thin air. Although there were hints throughout the story of Laura's depravity, there wasn't enough build-up of those thoughts/feelings when it came down to the acts themselves to make them feel truly apart of her characterization. 

The portions of the story that really took the rating down a couple notches were:

There was so little tension, so little feeling in both the scenes that I couldn't find myself to care all that much.

Overall, it was just fine. 

I think I'm done taking recommendations from BookTok when it comes to romance... 

This was a fun, quick mystery read to put me in the mood for more mysteries (a genre that I don't have much experience with). I love that the author worked with her mother, Judith Miller - an expert in the antique's world, on portions of the story to deliver a wealth of knowledge about the antiques they chose to highlight. The story concept was interesting and I enjoyed that the main characters, Feyra and Carolle were older women, specifically enjoying that Feyra was a mom that was trying to find herself after having spent the past 18 years exclusively dedicating herself to motherhood. 

For the mystery aspect, it felt very 'Clue' movie like at times (which I'm not mad about as it is an absolute classic) and the writing kept me interested enough to want to get to the end. The characters felt a little one dimensional and I would have liked a little more character work to make me feel something more for Feyra and her past with Arthur and the 'incident.' My biggest issue was that the writing felt a little clunky - I think it could have done with a little filler to smooth out the lines between chapters, but I understand wanting to keep the pace quick to keep the mystery/suspense moving. 

Overall, I had fun with it. Based on one of the blurbs, it sounds like this may be a series (don't quote me on that) - I might pick up the next if so because the antiques world is really quite interesting. 

I enjoyed this so much more than I did The Duke and I. I was quite irritated with Anthony's behavior at the beginning of the story, but I very slowly started to enjoy his interactions with Kate. Kate on the other hand I loved right from the beginning and adored her dedication to protecting her sister, Edwina, from a bad marriage; especially given how during this time period, a woman's opinion on marriage matches was so blatantly disregarded.

The relationship development between Kate and Anthony was fun - I especially loved the Pall Mall game - and I thought touched on the serious traumas they have both faced quite well.

I really enjoyed watching Anthony realize (with the help of Kate) that while he could be afraid of death, he shouldn't let it stop him from living his life and finding love.

While the plot concept was quite similar to The Duke and I - one of the rakish MMC attempting to not fall in love with the innocent, yet strong-willed FMC - I like the way it was done with Kate and Anthony much more than with Daphne and Simon.

The one thing that I was really missing from The Viscount Who Loved Me was more interactions with the Bridgerton siblings and Violet. While we got small tidbits, I absolutely wanted more of the witty banter we got to see in the first of the series. Still - I thought this was great.

Now onto An Offer from a Gentleman!

Unfortunately, this just didn't work for me. I was excited by the premise and the concept, but then quickly became confused and frustrated with the plot, pacing, and character 'development.' 

I did enjoy seeing Sasha's 'progress' (if you can call it that..) throughout her time at the Institute, but the structure of the story really pulled me out of any true enjoyment. 

I don't foresee myself continuing the series, but might look up spoilers at some point just to see if any loose ends were resolved. 

3.75 ⭐ I went into this having little knowledge of the Bridgertons world outside of clips on social media from the Netflix series and had very little interest in watching the show...but now I absolutely want to binge read the series and watch the show - I really enjoyed this! What drew me in the most was the familial dynamic with such fun banter between the children and their mom and how it seems they defy portions of societal expectations - Daphne being 'allowed' to wait for a love match, Anthony 'allowing' his mother to act as head of the house, etc.

While I enjoyed the romance between Simon and Daphne, specifically their banter, there were parts that made me uncomfortable - cough cough the scene - and I wasn't thrilled with the (lack of) resolution to it. 

After this I absolutely want to continue in the series and move to the Netflix series once I get caught up to the current season in book format. 

Alright alright - you got me Ali. I loved this so much.

This was my first Ali Hazelwood read and I now completely understand why readers love her work so much. The writing style was accessible and fun, the pacing was great and I was thoroughly invested in the characters.

I typically have zero interest in contemporary romance, but after this...you might just see me try one by Hazelwood - Bride was that good. 

Maybe it's my love of escapism through books that perpetuates my love of the 'door to another world/place/time' theme. Whatever it is, I always find joy in books like make use of doors.

The Book of Doors was no different - I found myself drawn into the story almost immediately and was thrilled to continue to learn more about what special books existed and how they came to be. While I enjoyed the characters - although they did feel a little flat at times - the plot is where this book thrived. As a very character-focused reader, I was so much more interested in what would happen next, what books would be found and used, how the protagonists tackled 'The Woman' and her goals, and what that meant for the special books in the end.