I wanted to really hate this but I didn't. It had A LOT of flaws.

Feyre is really annoying. And utterly stupid (and not because she can't read). Like, how dim do you have to be to not think there was something else going on here?

And, same as all the dark fairy tales, I always have a problem with the fetishisation of male violence and brutality as sexy.

But (and despite it basically being a book about sexy overpowering males) I found it highly readable and didn't want to put it down.

You could write a list of the tales that it has been 'inspired' by (Beauty and the Beast, The little Mermaid, Twilight just to name a few) and despite the multiple problems with all of those stories, I like them too.

I'm not sure what I expected this book to be.

I was left floundering early on, feeling lost in the narrative voice and not able to get a grasp on it. The first couple of viewpoints are, I think, deliberately jarring - and then they begin to settle and what feel like disparate voices become harmonious.

Some of the voices were more enjoyable/engrossing than others but all of them kept my attention and I love this kind of Tarantino-esqe mixed up chronology.

Some of this novel is painfully harrowing. I don't know loads about Korean history - aside from the very basics. But this novel is a really thoughtful and readable exploration of identity - how does it form, change, and develop? How do we use it to survive? What does language have to do with identity? How is being a part of the diaspora interact with our notions of identity? What happens to our identity when we are forcefully removed from our roots?

Read with the kids. I didn't particularly enjoy it. I'm not sure it held the kids attention either.

I was really really looking forward to this. The concept sounded so unique and interesting but the delivery just didn't do it for me.

It is written in bite sized chapters - which felt ok to start with..but as it continued, and the tone of the book started to become established, it just wasn't vibing for me.

It felt choppy. I don't feel like I'm getting to know the characters. I gave it about 80 pages or so and yet - I feel like I'm having the characters described to me, rather than just being shown who they are. It feels surface like to me. And I mean, he's turning into a shark for crying out loud. Give me something meaningful. Maybe I've not given it long enough but it's not clicking for me.

The quality of the writing remains the same. But the plot just has me turning the pages. The ending was waaaaay too happy but, if they'd killed Rhysand off I'd have RIOTED. I'm still not a massive fan of Feyre (jealous, probably) but I've basically ripped through 700 pages in 5 days so I mean, yeah I really love these books.

I'm not entirely sure it can be maintained over any more books than this but we'll see because I'm sure as hell gonna try them!*



*Things I really did hate
- where are all the questions marks? So many questions posed as statements. They're quite clearly questions.

- how often do people vomit in fear or terror? I mean *really* ? Because they're all vomming all over the place here.

- I was annoyed at how quickly the bit with the Ouroboros was over. It's literally this whole big thing and she just goes in and has it. Briefly talks about it later.

I've finished it!

This one is basically porn tbqh but I'm here for it. I loved this story and I DEFINITELY get the Cassian love now. I really really disliked Nesta up to this point and this one had a really brilliant redemption arc. I wasn't overly happy with the portrayal of Rhysand in this one but I'll let it go! The whole Valkyries and sister bond thing was really up my street.

I've absolutely loved this series so far, it's given me a little shove back into fantasy, which I haven't read in such a long time, I've forgotten how much I like it.

Got to just get in the queue now waiting for the next installment.

I was all set to give this 5 stars but I'm settling in 4.5.

This book was glorious. I zipped through the whole thing in almost a single day.

This was such a lovely exploration of friendship, found family and M/M relationships. I don't have much experience in reading shifter love stories but I found this one to be tender and thoughtful. I loved the relationship between Ox and Joe. There are more books about these guys and I will read them as I am totally invested in this pack now.

I know some readers had an issue with the age difference but it never felt icky to me.

I really loved that pretty much everyone was queer. And it was just normal and fine and casual and not A THING.

There were issues. Ox went from feeling like brother to complete sexual infatuation in one paragraph. We had the relationship already there, but this bit felt rushed.

The ending is kind of where it dropped down that half star for me. The build up of the villain plot was long, and then over very quickly. The language became a bit repetitive. And I did feel the whole thing was a *smidge* too long.

But honestly, I lapped this up.

I had no expectations when I picked this up. The cover lured me in and then a book group I follow was reading it, so I dived in.

Early on, I found some of the language choices odd, or jarring and there were elements of repetitiveness within the language which always sits funny in my brain and niggles at me.

But it's minor quibbling really. I loved this world. There are Fae and dragons and brooding villains who aren't what they seem. All good stuff. It was harsh and unforgiving, brutal and jagged. The FMC is struggling with some real trauma resulting in a great love of slaughter and bloodlust.

And this story is letting us work through that with her. Unfolding a secret history that even she isn't aware of and opening both her and the reader into a world that is softer and loving.

It's not particularly challenging to pick apart, but I like that - I don't need my stories to be an unfathomable mystery - I want to be able to connect the threads. And here, they are dropped into your lap before she becomes aware of them, and that anticipation of how she will react and cope and heal is what makes this story so compulsive to read.

Ended on a complete cliffhanger and I have to wait OVER A YEAR for the next one!

This was brilliant. Jude is such a great protagonist and I couldn't get the measure of her. She's delightfully conflicted and did things that made me roll my eyes, and cheer her on and mutter profanities under my breath.

Cardan is going to be fun to read more of as well. It was quite clear that Jude had a very skewed vision of him in her mind and his feelings about her seemed clear to me, but I am going to enjoy reading about their relationship, especially given the ending of this one.

I am hoping the world building develops a bit more - there are hints and glimpses into a complex world here but it's only developed in part here where it directly relates to the story - I'd like to see that fleshed out a bit more.

I found the pacing a bit slow at the start, it felt very YA to me as well (which is fine, that's what it is!) but the school scheming gave way to proper court politics which I preferred. Jude's journey to spy extraordinaré was a *bit* quick but there's no special snowflake trope here to put me off (thank god!)