Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This could’ve been so good, it was so good. The missing girls, the woman with missing memories whose father was a cult leader, the cult! And even the supernatural element could’ve been well done but I’m so tired. Tentacles do not make an eldritch horror. That aside, I loved Andra as a character and Valerie’s progression was so interesting and I wanted more info but at the same time, I think the book could’ve been shorter because the pace definitely dragged in some parts.

Oh Fitz. My poor baby with horrible decision making skills.

I enjoyed this 10x more than Royal Assassin. Even though it was longer, the story felt so much easier to get through. I wish Fitz was better at listening to directions, because continuously skilling after being told not to was pissing me off. I loved his journey/character arc from near animal back to man, and how his outlook on life and his relationships shifted throughout the story. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Starling and Kettle but I do understand how much they provided to the overall narrative.

I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion or not, but I actually liked how simple Regal’s motivations were. I think it added a lot to his character more than him having a whole evil, complex, thought out plan would have. 

This was a fun little palate cleanser of a book. I was irritated that TJ fucked anything that walked but Lola was this innocent wallflower, that was only with TJ and didn’t even have a secondary love interest. Phoenix was super cute. The third act conflict felt forced, but overall, TJ and Lola’s relationship was cute and I was actively rooting for them throughout the whole book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think this was a really solid collection of folktales from Ireland. Each writer had a clear and distinct writing style. I think that Tale of the Piper was my favorite story but Modern Horrors was my favorite section overall. The grouping for the stories was cohesive and there wasn’t any story that didn't fit the overall collection.

I feel super conflicted about this book. It was so so so slow to get through. I really like Hobb’s writing style but it both felt like nothing major happened until the end AND that everything that could go wrong for Fitz, went wrong. Kettricken and Patience were my absolute favorites, Kettricken because she truly embodied a queen that cares about her people, even in a foreign land and Patience because she took Fitz under her wing and cared for him as a mother even though by all rights, she didn’t need to give a shit about her husband’s bastard. Also, I know Fitz was only like 16/17 during the book; but, I hated that he made so many impulsive decisions despite being trained not to do that, and then would be all “woe is me” when it would blow up in his face. Despite all my issues, I will be reading Assassin’s Quest because I’ve heard that it’s better and because I have my attention caught again by the ending of Royal Assassin, which I would’ve never guessed while reading.

I’m not sure if it was the writing style or something else but I didn’t enjoy this. For a short book, it dragged on. I kept wondering when it would be over. I didn’t care for Baby, Shelly or Neve. The setting was cool and the idea of the plot was so cool but the pace was so slow and there wasn’t any sense of dread, creepiness or impending sense of doom that I expect from horror. This was more aligned to dark fantasy. Two stars for being sapphic.

I enjoyed this more than Dragonfall. I think this was a really good conclusion to the duology. There was more character exploration and worldbuilding, but it was not nearly as much of an info dump as the first book. I really enjoyed the different POVs and I found it a cool technique to have Arcady in 1st person, Everen in 1st and 2nd, and Sorrin in 3rd. I think it gives insight to the characters beyond just what we read about them. It was really enjoyable.

I didn’t like this as much as I had hoped I would. I feel like 20% of this book was infodumping, which slowed the pace down to the point where I kept waiting for the story to start. Also, while the plot was mostly straightforward, but, at the end, the plot began getting messy to the point of losing steam. I did like Arcady and Everen as characters, I wish there was more focus outside of the physical attraction. I also wish it had explored the themes more, it felt a bit surface level.

This was the first classic I ever read as a child, and I remember devouring it within  a night. Rereading it as an adult, I don’t know what the fuck I was on. Maybe it’s because I can identify  how racist this book is compared to when I was 9 and couldn't formulate actual critical literature thought. I recognize that this was feminist for the time but it was only white feminist. Bertha is portrayed as insane because of her mixed heritage. Rochester was extremely misogynistic and Jane marries him despite her being a strong, independent woman. Overall, it was super misogynistic and racist.

I need book 2 in my hands right now. I need every edition of this possible. Jesus Christ this was so good. I was hooked from page one. I loved this even more than One Dark Window.  Sybil was such a complex character. I loved the way her relationship with Rory was built. The gargoyle was easily my favorite character. The Omens were so creepy and twisted, almost reminiscent of Pan’s labyrinth. The gothic vibes were well executed and the world was so atmospheric. I need book 2 in my hands right now, but until then, a reread is should suffice.