I didn't mind this. I liked the full gender swap on both the characters. It's normally just one or the other. Curious about the mentions of the name Moriarty so I'll probably read the next one. It's an alright mystery but the characters weren't REALLY Sherlock and Watson.

The artwork is absolutely beautiful (especially the vibrant colours). I love seeing schools teaching Canadian history and acknowledging everything done to Metis but also looking at the loss of identity a lot of ppl have after Residential Schools, multigenerational trauma and The 60s Scoop.

Lip-Dip-Paint...Lip-Dip-Paint...Lip-Dip-Paint...Lip-Dip-Paint...Lip-Dip-Paint...Lip-Dip-Paint

Those words are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. This story is heartbreaking, infuriating and eye-opening. This made me rage even more than normal at American corporations. I also had no idea how heavily it was promoted to the workers! My god!

I was under the (very wrong) impression that once we figured out that radium was bad, we stopped using it (oh how naive I was) but holy hell! They were using radium bi-product in children's sandboxes! Just let that sink in! It was the cigarette industry before the cigarette industry! I had no idea how many products and places it was used in or the way corporations and government employees stuck their heads in the sand. EVEN WHEN PEOPLE WERE LITERALLY LOSING THEIR JAWS! I don't understand how I never learnt about this or any of these women at all during my 12 years in school + 4 years getting a history degree + 2 years getting my library degree! Why isn't this mentioned or taught when studying work safety, women's studies, WWI history?!

I did a bit of wandering around Google images for old newspaper articles and pictures which I would absolutely recommend! It's rather shocking but being able to visually place a face to the names made such an impact on me.

It's horrifying what had to happen to even get real safety standards in the workplace and how many people had to donate years of their lives.

I loved the writing. It's not a high paced adventure yet the book kept my attention all the way through and read like a fiction. I really found the media's role in the whole court situation fascinating!

RIP All these amazing women

thank you to Penguin Random House for the ARC.

full disclosure: I DNFed And I Darken and I've never read Frankenstein

Dark, creepy, messed up and suspenseful.i think White's writing did a great job of painting a dark yet alluring setting and tone--even for someone like myself that doesn't like horror. There were several twists and reveals that I didn't see coming which really influenced my enjoyment. I particularly loved the historical detail given to the role of women and how Elizabeth bonds with these other women despite being a kind of unlikeable person. I think the ending was done a little frantically and without the detail it should have but I enjoyed the book none the less.

Maybe I want to give And I Darken another try? *thinking face*

2.5/5

I'm actually kind of sad. This book really fell flat for me. It wasn't horrible but it just didn't do anything for me. It so much potential but nothing seemed to happen and everything was so predictable.

This was actually quite cool. I was expecting more of a detailed or intricate story since it is Schwab but it was enjoyable and I'll definitely read the sequel. I'm curious to know bout all the secrets of the inbetween world

So...wait! Is there going to be another sequel?!

I actually liked the twist they took with the sequel. It's much more of a Harry Potter magical duel thing compared to the original story. I also loved the LGBTQ rep

Side note: the audiobook wasn't great itself but I enjoyed the actual story

Huh. That wasn't totally what I was expecting and I'll be honest that I felt rather lost for a good chunk of the book but it did definitely get better as it went on. I eye rolled hard at the romantic triangle but I liked having several good/bad/grey sides or organizations to the story. Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars and I'll definitely pick up the sequel

1st attempt: DNF

2nd attempt: 2.5/5
I finished it this time! I didn't hate it as much as when I DNFed it but this book is so damn YA fantasy generic with half of the plot points of the Hunger Games. I also went over the message with a friend and she pointed out some of the kinda problematic things which I kind of agree with her about. I will forever remember the following phrase: "It's like the book version of your racist uncle's Facebook feed during Ferguson."

Also, sweet Jesus...relax with the romances. Just stop it! Please!

Hmm...I don't know. I feel a bit let down by this book.