Girlie pop really can't trust anyone.

Some pacing issues in this one that made parts a bit slow. But there were some iconic scenes between Cardan and Jude. This shit truly is real enemies to lovers, and I ate that up.

Did I actually care about Taryn pov? ...... nah

I'm gonna echo what my friend Kat said: that I wasn't sure how I was going to get past the bullying at first, then we realized that they can just BOTH be horrible and manipulate each other !!! This is true enemies to lovers (but v slow burn and romance is not the focus).

The one downside to this series is it feels like prior knowledge of fey/fae culture is needed, because the worldbuilding doesn't do a great job of explaining some dynamics particularly between fey and humans.

Unfortunately this didn’t really live up to how much I enjoyed the first book. Besides adding in new POVs with Kora and Nova chapters, I found the first 300 pages to be extremely slow moving.  I also felt a bit like I would’ve benefitted from reading the author’s other series, even though they are separate. From what I understand it’s kind of a whole universe that’s been created. Felt a tad bit like I was missing some link while reading.  

Wow! What a wild ride, especially with the graphic audio. I did follow along with an ebook as it was my first time reading this (and there's def some small bits left out of the GA, so I'm glad I did that - it was mostly inner-dialogue stuff but still a bit curious). The ending of this book really takes off and that especially on GA was like "eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!"

I just honestly had a GOOD ASS TIME reading this book. Really enjoyed the characters! Lightsong especially was just hilarious (also one of my fav tropes: the reluctant hero). The interactions between characters was fun to read, good banter. Sanderson is really good at writing distinctly different povs and then weaving them into a storyline that comes together in the end. THE MAGIC SYSTEM is SO cool! Felt like magic created for visual artists for sure.

The ending was what is described as a typical "Sanderlanche" where there's really a point of no return while reading and you're not gonna wanna put it down. So much happens at the end it's a lil nuts in a "I'm at 96% in this book and HOW is this gonna end" way - and how it does end is a little abrupt. Supposedly, Sanderson is going to write more in this world, and I could definitely see how that's possible with where things end (although it is definitely still a standalone so no worries about a cliffhanger).

So far... this is my top rated Sanderson book, but I've just started Stormlight and was told to read this before Words of Radiance (which I have HIGH expectations for).

In the author's note N.K. Jemisin wrote that she had a hard time finishing this series (and switched it from a trilogy into a duology) because the things she wrote about in book 1 became reality. I can totally understand losing motivation, and indeed it was eerie to read about - it really did not seem like fiction.

Unfortunately the struggle was felt while reading. The pace of the book was a bit slow - not a lot happening from each character's pov until towards the end. It felt a little meander-y and I wasn't super engaged overall. The political storyline in particular I did not find super compelling. I did really enjoy the 'interruption' chapters that visited the other cities & really emphasizing just how young the US (and NYC) is. I found the ending to be a bit too tidy also. I really loved the first book, so it's a shame this one didn't quite meet that high bar.

These remain fantastic audiobooks, they really are almost like graphic audios with sound fx! If you're going to read this series and enjoy audiobooks I highly recommend those.

When I’d gotten to 80% in and the past conflict still hadn’t been revealed I knew I was going to feel like the ending would feel unresolved. And I was right.  

Writing this review with tears in my eyes ( + 1/2 a star just for that). 

It's a little puzzling to me this book isn't being marketed as belonging to the Part of Your World series because they are connected. But it also seems as if all Abby's books have little easter eggs and she is building her own cinematic universe.

I enjoyed the funny way these two main characters meet on Reddit and the whole setup to 'break a relationship curse'. Obviously as you read you know it's a romance and they have to fall for each other despite the set up. But this book ends up being about a lot more, as Abby's books often are. Emma is dealing with childhood trauma from a very unstable mother and this makes her very distant to people in her life, with the exception of her best friend/foster sister. They move around constantly and Emma can fit her whole life into two suitcases. Girl is running from her problems fr.

Justin is dealing with his own family drama as he is preparing to take over custody of his 3 younger siblings. Abby really knows how to write a book boyfriend! Justin is so funny and the 'date surveys' were sending me! He is so sweet with his siblings and shows early on that he is such a kind and caring person. Earlier on in the book there's plenty of laugh out loud moments. I loved how Emma teaches Justin about empathy for others because despite her rough childhood Emma is very forgiving. 

The ending though had me so emotional! Abby really knows how to rip your heart out and stomp on it before putting it back together.

"Say Don't Go" by Taylor Swift 

Essential reading. Wish more people would read.

I've been vegan for a long time (over half my life) and I still learned so much from this book. If you are at all curious about veganism and why this lifestyle matters I urge you to read this book.

I’m being generous with 3.25 stars to be honest. It pains me to say that because I loved Silver Under Nightfall so much and I’ve told so many people to read it! and I still will…but as a stand-alone 

The first half of this sequel wasn’t too bad, I was enjoying the banter between Remy and Malekh a lot. It was a tad spicier (still relatively closed door or just not graphic) but we do head into kink territory! The throuple relationship truly is the one saving grace in this book. However there wasn’t a ton more development persay, and there definitely wasn’t the same tension here from the first book.

I had such a hard time following this plot. There were a lot of new characters from different vampire courts introduced, but none of them felt distinct from each other so I couldn’t keep track of who was who and where their political loyalties were. It felt like there were multiple kind of plot twists (for lack of a better word) happening and the plot got really convoluted. I love political fantasies, but this was poorly done because it moved  very slow and felt like a really different world almost from the first book. Idk there was a lot of new world building which seems strange for the second book in a duology.

The action scenes, which were so fun to read in the first book, in this were sparse and very quick. Every conflict seemed to be resolved too easily (this was a bit of my critique in the first book as well, but was exacerbated here). Monsters like weren’t the focus anymore??

It also definitely could’ve been at least 100 pages shorter. 

And in the end his dad and mom weren’t actually bad? Like it was that the night king was ultimately at fault? I actually don’t understand it. I guess it’s nice that Remy reconciled with his dad but it didn’t necessarily feel earned?