sometimes_samantha_reads's Reviews (283)

Daniel Kraus made a huge impression on me from his Zebulon Finch duology and I was excited to read something else of his. The descriptive writing was 100% there but I will say I was disappointed by the misleading summary. The book itself was good, just not what I was expecting because it didn't line up with the summary. I was looking forward to a murder mystery thriller but ended up reading about a lengthy flashback (nearly the whole book) about two isolated events in a friend group's lives. I probably still would have read it if the summary represented it accurately but I think I felt the book was just ok because I was expecting something totally different.

So, I would say it's worth the read but don't get overly excited based on the summary.

By the end of it, I can say I want to read book 2! But I personally found Feyre to be incredibly annoying because she's so naive. She's definitely a strong character and did some cool things toward the end of the book, but the entire time I was reading I was also getting frustrated with her. I also found the beginning of the book hard to get through and dry, but since this series has such a strong following I pushed myself to keep going and figure out why. Like I said, I'm invested! And I've heard book 2 is better, but it shouldn't have taken 150+ pages for the plot to actually pick up. The first 20 or so chapters took a lot of will to get through. The rest, I stayed up all night to finish! 

If I could give the book over 5 stars, I would. My god, did this book deliver. It's not in my typical genre but I'd heard nothing but good things. Even still, I let it sit for just about a year without touching it. I even thought "let's just read this then" when I picked it up, thinking about what I'd read after it. I'm kicking my past self for not diving head on into this one! I haven't felt so enveloped in a story in a long time. My 5 senses were blessed to read this book. I caught myself holding my breath, with sweaty hands, my heart beating fast as I lived Kya's life. I felt her loneliness, her despair, but also all her happy moments. This book made me feel things in a big way. I felt them deep in my core and I can't imagine myself forgetting about this book - ever! I'll be the first to admit, I'm heavy-handed doling out 4 and 5 star ratings but this one was above and beyond. I hardly ever re-read anything. I have only two books that I have historically returned to, but now I'll have three. I won't continue gushing about this book any further in this review, but just know, that I could!

This is my first experience with the Lore Olympis series. I wasnt aware of the online book until this one was popularize on booktok. I took a mythology class (involuntarily 😅) in college and it's pretty fun seeing this twist. It's definitely as dark as the actual mythology and some times I had to stop for a breather (that's where the .5 was docked... its a bit triggering at times, but that was to be expected). The art is beautiful and I'm excited to read volume two when I can!

My boyfriend and I are finally able to purchase some plants this summer AND keep them year round indoors! I loved that this book had a glossary of popular plants and I also appreciated that the author is from Pennsylvania and studies horticulture so I knew better how our plants would do in southeast PA in summer. 

My other favorite feature was the "diagnosis" pages. It gave what to look out for and possible causes as well as how to fix it if possible. I'm excited to start plants shopping and have a lil garden this summer!

Once again, I appreciate F.C. Yee and how he has made Avatar Kyoshi the best she was meant to be. The first generation who watched the show has grown up and I for one loved the dark, challenging, and bloody nature of this duology. It was rough a lot of the time and Kyoshi was bound to mess up time and time again, which I think made her so great! It really fir the outline of her character from the show. I think this will be a series a revisit as often as I revisit the show.

I don't really tend to go for straigh  up romance but I seem to be on the fluffy train lately, and One True Loves did not disappoint! The cover was so pretty and it was all shiny in the "new" section of the library. I picked it up, saw Black romance and immediately checked it out. It had a lot in there about Black identify, living life to the fullest, adventuring, and loving while Black. I loved that I could relate and finally see myself mirrored in the love interest perspective. I haven  read Happily Ever Afters yet, but after this, I can pretty safely say I'm a new Elise Bryant fan!

I'm enjoying the Sailor Moon series a lot! I've said it before but I'll say it again, I was not expecting this to go so deep! I picked it from the library shelf because of the sparkly cover! And I'm thrilled by the time travel, magic girl power, and people's faces literally melting off. It's great! 

I'm really enjoying Sailor Moon! When I first started reading it, I had completely no background other than the look of her character. Going into volume 2 of the eternal edition I was honestly taken aback by and drawn in by faces melting off, bodily sacrifices in the name of love and protection, and the grand doom and darkness that the guardians have to face! It's shaping up to be much deeper than expected and I'm excited to love right along to volume 3 (I'm glad I scooped the first 3 from the library instead of stopping at the first. Reading them all in a row is better!)

Nothing but 5 stars for Alice Oseman!