stitchesandstationery's Reviews (306)

This book... emotionally eviscerated me. As in, I sobbed through the entire last 60 or so pages. What started as a lighthearted YA novel with an overly relatable main character somehow morphed into a violent dissection of every fear and every insecurity younger me ever had (and current me still has, if we're being honest). Charlie was the perfect leading lady, with a dynamic supporting cast. She's raw and honest and flawed and beautiful and I just am so SAD that I was TWENTY-SEVEN before I read a book about a girl that felt like ME. And the fact that she's brown and has the most stressful family dynamic and an impossible set of (her own) expectation to live up to just means that she's the perfect heroine for absolutely anyone. I love her, and I would do a lot to protect Charlie Vega.

If you're looking for a clean romance you can read quickly, this might be the book for you. We've got some enemies-to-lovers action, a good supporting cast, and the classic fake dating.

I just couldn't love this one. It was cute, it was quick, and the music industry angle was fun. But the characters felt a little flat to me, the timelines didn't always make sense, and I think some of the plot points would have been  better served by a book that could hit a little harder. Also, I just will never be able to get emotionally invested where the main driver of conflict in the relationship is literally always miscommunication (or complete lack of communication in a lot of places).

With all that, this was:
⭐⭐⭐

Good, cute, and quick but just not for me.

I will literally read whatever Leigh Bardugo writes. Particularly THE THIRD BOOK IN THIS SERIES THAT WILL NEVER COME SOON ENOUGH.

Sorry, calming down.

I'd say this bad boy is 4.5 stars for me.

Not quite the same jaw dropping perfection I felt with Ninth House, but it kept me hooked and entertained, and I was dying to know more. Leigh kept me on my toes, kept me guessing, and kept me hungry for more lore and drama and demons.

I will say that Hell Bent leaned a little further from accessible fantasy than Ninth House did, but not so far that it felt disjointed or disconnected.

Darlington? Still loml. Dawes? Still want her to be my bestie. Turner? I'm just high key picturing Michael B. Jordan in expensive suits so like... 😍 Once again, I'm attached to the characters and their pains and their stories! 

 Christmas ended weeks ago, but naturally I'm still reading my holiday romances. Oops 🤷🏼‍♀️

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

[This would have been 3.5, but the second half just really pushed it up a notch]

Tropes:
Grump + sunshine
One bed (sort of, anyway)
Friends to lovers

Two Irish strangers end up travel buddies for ~10~ Christmases flying from Chicago back home, and share the bumps and bruises a decade of life brings with it. workaholic Molly and go-with-the-flow Andrew. Their banter was amazing, their chemistry palpable through the pages, and their families are dynamic and just plain FUN. This was a good mix of lighthearted, holiday fun but also just a dash of seriousness. I wish we had gotten more time with the families, and I wish we had explored some of the struggles both Molly and Andrew were facing. But Andrew was a perfect dream and I'm obsessed with him. 

This cover led me to believe this would be some sort of drama/contemporary lit situation. It was NOT 🥵

Grump and sunshine, small town, lottery winners, forced proximity, secret kid, over-protective Norse god of a man all rolled into one steamy package (heh, get it?)

I devoured this, and pre-ordered book 2 already.

Babel was...a lot. It was emotional, it was draining, it was critical, it was candid, it was hopeful, it was fearful, it was frustrated, it was confused.

We covered a lot of ground in this one, and it was always comfortable or pleasant.

In short, and not nearly as eloquent as anything in the book? Empire = bad, capitalism = bad, white people (namely old white men) = the actual worst.

She was heavy on the dark academia, with a light sprinkling of fantasy. She was heavy on me wanting to SCREAM and to THROAT PUNCH Professor Lovell and allllll of his cronies. It has me reexamining my natural tendencies on, well, a lot of things.

Ugh, it was so good and I can't find the right words to do it justice right now. 

I'm a sucker for historical fiction, so this one was a no-brainer for me. But it went beyond the HF I've read in the past and I am just so enamored with what I just read - though this is also proof that I didn't retain a thing from my European history class. Oh well.

I found all of our heroines charming and inspiring, while also having flaws (okay, maybe not Adrienne). They were beautifully written and came alive on the page. 

I loved this book. This was...amazing. I might have to circle back to this review to come up with words that fully encompass how much I loved this book. But let's give it a shot.

Some reviewers have said that Elizabeth and Madeline are unrelatable and that the book feels out of character for its time, but..isn't that the point?? I didn't find the book to be preachy, and instead found it to be inspiring and found that it hit a little too close to home a few too many times. While this was supposed to be a chemist in the 50s, she could have easily been a chemist in 2022, which is infuriating and saddening. If only Elizabeth Zott had been real (but let's raise a class to the women who are their very own version of Elizabeth).

I will recommend this book to everyone I encounter from here to eternity.