After finishing the first three of these and, to my unending surprise and delight, really enjoying them, I was sceptical that it could continue into books four and five.

This one is a bridging novel - diluting the Feyre perspective across the other characters - in anticipation, I guess, of the perspective moving in the next book.

It would be hard, almost impossible, to maintain the sheer build and crescendo of the first three of these novels. The intensely emotional drive required to sustain the relationship between Feyre and Rhysand would be a challenge to carry much longer.

So I get the need for this little novella - we need to see High Fae *life* when it's not just fighting for existence. We needed a little frippery, some fun.

My problem with that is that I don't think SJM is very good at it. She does crazy plot, and twists and spice and romance and heartache and heartbreak very well. But the dialled down parts of life? Not so much.

It was fine, and I plowed through it in a day - she remains readable. But I think these books need a lot of plot to sustain them

I'm still Rhysand til I die though.

I really hate that I didn't like this. And I don't want to dismiss it as 'another refugee story' because all refugee stories deserve to be heard.

This is a narrative based on 'The Boat People ' of Vietnam, and focuses on a family's tragic attempts to leave Vietnam in the 1970s. Anh and her brothers make it to London and the novel explores that journey.

The issue I had was that it didn't feel one thing or another. In part it's a straightforward chronological story moving from Vietnam, to Hong Kong to London. Interspersed are articles, letters and reflections. These are light touch political or philosophical in tone. But it didn't really add that much to the story and these are ideas that those of us interested in such issues are familiar with.

There were long stretches of this that didn't feel like it was saying anything, but was merely written to have it written down. The domestic story was one that is peppered with tragedy and disappointment but it didn't feel like it was doing or saying anything about it, other than recording it. But maybe that was just the point.

There were some thoughtful connections made - between the idea of the rootless ghosts of Anh's family and Anh's feeling of not belonging. The closure at the end was satisfying and tied in with the settling of the ghosts and the idea of 'the wandering soul'.

Disappointed not to have enjoyed this more as it is the kind of subject matter that is right up my street, but I think more could have been made of it.

So this was fairly terrible I'm afraid. The writing was not good. But I am kind of intrigued to see where it goes. I found this FMC SO annoying. I kind of get the Stockholm Syndrome but I rolled my eyes so very much. So I'm kind of interested in seeing if it's just poor plotting and pacing - maybe there is going to be a decent character arc starting in the next book that gives this MC some context for the patheticness she exhibits in this book. I can't cope with the helpless heroine, it's not my bag.

I think I will give the second one a go - let's give Raven a chance to save this FMC for me! I'd like to meet King Rot at least, and if it's as poor as this one, it will have only taken a few days to read.

I don't know if I'm in the wrong mood to read this but I gave it 113 pages.

I don't like the MC. It appears to be simply a catalogue of the various women he meets during his interminable existence and some modern mulling on the multiple feckless nephews that he has neglected to assist in any meaningful way. It takes him 256 years to realise that he might be able to intervene in some sort of positive manner which tells you everything you need to know.

I suspect that the fact of his elongated life is not going to be properly addressed which will annoy me incredibly if I commit to the full 500 pages, so I'm ducking out early.

These books have my whole heart. I read this book in less than a day.

Of course it's got the HEA which is FINE by me because if Cardan had actually died as a serpent I think I'd have thrown the whole series in the bin.

If I'd have read this as a YA I would absolutely have been trying to figure out how to braid my hair into horns on my head.

This started off a bit slow and I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as the first one - thankfully I was wrong and it picked up.

I continue to love Jude. I am really enjoying her muddling through this all. I am delighted at her wins and devastated at her setbacks. And I am utterly enamoured with Cardan. The ultimate vulnerable bad boy.

I despise Taryn. And I can't help but like Madoc - Holly has written this book and these characters in such a brilliant way - Jude craves his approval and when she gets it *I* feel successful.

It's rare for me to get behind characters. I like them sometimes, I feel empathy and sympathy for some of them. I dislike *many* characters. But it's rare for me to feel completely invested in them as I do for Jude.

I am putting this one down, ignoring my whole TBR and starting the third one immediately.

This started off a bit slow and I was worried that it wouldn't be as good as the first one - thankfully I was wrong and it picked up.

I continue to love Jude. I am really enjoying her muddling through this all. I am delighted at her wins and devastated at her setbacks. And I am utterly enamoured with Cardan. The ultimate vulnerable bad boy.

I despise Taryn. And I can't help but like Madoc - Holly has written this book and these characters in such a brilliant way - Jude craves his approval and when she gets it *I* feel successful.

It's rare for me to get behind characters. I like them sometimes, I feel empathy and sympathy for some of them. I dislike *many* characters. But it's rare for me to feel completely invested in them as I do for Jude.

I am putting this one down, ignoring my whole TBR and starting the third one immediately.

These books have my whole heart. I read this book in less than a day.

Of course it's got the HEA which is FINE by me because if Cardan had actually died as a serpent I think I'd have thrown the whole series in the bin.

If I'd have read this as a YA I would absolutely have been trying to figure out how to braid my hair into horns on my head.

I very nearly didn't finish this. Somewhere in the middle it felt like it was dragging. The pacing was patchy and this novel did not need to be 566 pages long.

I found the chemistry between Prisca and Lorian somewhat forced - I've seen it described as too much too soon by another reviewer and that's just right. There was some good banter but I don't think, despite the 566 pages, the time was taken to lay proper foundations. There was too much 'I hate him, I lust for him' back and forwards for me to feel invested in it.

All the twists were fairly predictable.

Having said all that, I am still interested in seeing where this goes at the moment and I am going to try the next one and see if it settles into something. I'm interested to see the rest of the world and the Fae and the general storyline itself was compelling. Despite the dragging middle, I had fun reading large portions of this, so I'll keep going for now.

I read this as a book club read and, despite Birdsong being one of my all time favourite novels, Faulks isn't an author I automatically pick up.

This one had an interesting premise - at the centre is a story about a morally dubious science experiment to create a hybrid being. The setting is both familiar and slightly dystopian, starting not too far into the future and ending 25 years after that.

Sadly, the execution just didn't do it. The plot was slow and meandering, the pacing all over the place. The focus was misplaced - half of what I read wasn't interesting. There were several paragraphs dotted around that were just info dumping.

The ideas that were batted about - genetics, and evolution and a world apparently beyond race but not, really should have been interesting. But somehow this book made that dull. The characters were all flat and blank, no nuance. And the ending was absurd. I skimmed most of it because I could see where it was going and almost couldn't believe it.

So yeah, pretty much a complete failure for me. Two stars for the ideas only.