I wish this story never ended. I was so compelled by the writing and the characters that I never wanted the adventure to stop. Marissa Meyer’s writing is so good, it’s as if you’re really in the world that Lewis Carroll created. It’s all so awesome and super weird at the same time, which makes it so much fun! It was amazing to see Catherine’s character development. From the beginning she seems so sweet but after a while you notice she’s got some wickedness inside her as well. It’s more on the background but it’s noticeable. And that made me question if she would suppress it or let it take over. Because you know who she becomes, the answer is pretty clear. But why she becomes the way she is in the end, that remains a bit of a mystery.

I felt so sorry for Catherine most of the time. A lot of people were just so rude to her without any particular reasons. Or just because they had assumptions of her. Just because she’s the daughter of a marquess and people expect her to just be that. But that backfired on them and I just kind of felt like they deserved it.

I spoiled myself, but not entirely. I accidently read the last sentence, and through the story I was so scared that one of my favorite character wasn’t going to make it till the end. Even though I knew that it wasn’t going to be a ‘Happily ever after’ I still had so much hope. But that hope got crushed in such an unexpected way that I was actually able to except it. But it still hurts

I must say that I had middling expectations for this book because I didn’t like the series on Netflix. Although the story was interesting, the characters ruined it for me. especially Clary. But I wanted to give the books a try because they are so loved.

During the first 300 or so pages I was remotely bored. I liked the main characters even less. I found Clary to be very self-absorbed especially around Simon. She also was kind of hating on Isabelle just because she thought Isabelle was more beautiful than she was and because she thought her best friend was thinking the same thing. Clary was slut-shaming which is nasty and not something you should pass on to young people without addressing how wrong it is.
Jace was extremely obnoxious, rude and narcissistic. It’s good to like yourself but this was also just unhealthy behavior.

Luckily, they changed a little bit which made them a bit more likeable. I just hope they stay this way. I was so happy when I finally found myself enjoying the book. There was much more action, deceive, love and plot twists that made the story much more exciting. The rest of the characters were also really amazing and I loved to read about Luke’s story, I think it’s one of my favorite chapters. I loved Alec, Isabelle and Magnus and I’m very excited to read more about them.

Despite the fact that I was bored during 60% of this book, I do think that part was necessary to understand the characters, the world and its creatures. I’m relieved that the story really gripped me in the last chapters because that convinced me to follow trough with the series. Onto City of Ashes!

I loved this book from start to finish!

A Curse so Dark and lonely is a very unique retelling of Beauty and the Beast. When I heard it was another retelling of my favorite fairytale I bought it immediately. Then left on my shelf for way too long.

We start out in our modern world, Washington DC. Where Harper lives with her mother and brother. Her mother is severely sick and her brother seems to look at Harper as if she can’t take care of herself. Just because she has cerebral palsy. Through the story Harper shows you just how strong and independent she actually is. She’s a very strong and inspiring character.

Then we have Emberfall, an entire different and enchanted world. With an enchanted prince. Prince Rhen, heir to the throne of Emberfall, has been cursed to relive the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over again. Until he finds someone who truly loves him for who he is.

Until then, he is destined to turn into an ever changing beast every time at the end of the season.

I really liked how Brigid Kemmerer combined our world with a magical world. Even though it sadly isn’t a reality, it does make you feel as if you could travel to Emberfall as well. And that is something I really love ❤️



Each character made me have such strong feelings for them. Especially Harper. Because she has cerebral palsy, the people around her tend to underestimate her abilities rather quickly. Even her own brother. But Harper can do anything if she wants to, sometimes just a little different. She is so strong willed and it’s so inspiring, probably to a lot of people.



Rhen, is interesting. Tbh after finishing the book I couldn’t remember why I liked him so much. But my friend @dreamwavebooks reminded me of his strategic side that I also loved. I just wish we would have gotten some more of that.

What I aslo did really love about him, also because of how his character was written, was his will to do good. Rhen’s POV really showed me how years of trying to cure this curse has treated him. He seems desperate and because of that he makes mistakes. He can come off a little rude and pushy sometimes. But after a while, when he really shows he cares, you also see that he really tries. That made me really appreciate his character. It was also a lot of fun to read his POV’s.



I LOVED Grey. (He has curly dark hair and wears armor, how could I not?)

No but seriously, his character was so good. Even though I wish he was more fleshed out. (But that will probably happen in #aheartsofierceandbroken)

His loyalty, even though it was sworn, goes so deeply. Even for Harper, and I don’t think that’s just because she kind of needs to be kept safe? Because he truly didn’t seem to mind to send her back to DC at the start.

He seems so cold but cares and sacrifices so much. I can’t wait to see more of him!

The world building was okay, but there isn’t really a good explanation why these two world are connected, I would have liked a little more logic like that.

Also the side characters and side friendships didn’t mean anything to me. They were very instant and felt rushed, as if they weren’t meant to be cared for. Even though Harper felt strongly for her friends made through her journey, I couldn’t picture it myself. This would have been solved with some more chapters where the author showed some friendship bonding.

I couldn’t put it down and when I did I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I adore this retelling and want the sequel right now

“You take this world and make it what it should be. And don’t let the beliefs of a backward system define you. You are the one who has to live with the future, baby girl. So you live it. You understand?”

This story takes place in a time where woman can only climb society by marrying themselves off to wealthy men. This place is simply divided into rich and poor. And if you’re not rich then you’re less. Imagine being a woman and poor.

Rhen Tellur wants to become a scientist but what she wants even more is to cure her mother. A deadly disease spreads over the poor residents of Pinsbury Port. Rhen and her father, who’s the town’s alchemist, gravely work to find a cure. And when Rhen’s mother gets sick she decides to take more action into her own hands. But who would listen to a strange, poor girl? Exactly, nobody. She will have to do it on her own.

Or so she thought…

With her cousin and best friend Seleni by her side, the girls disguise themselves as boy to enter the examination labyrinth. Competing in this contest grands you a scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. If you survive and win that is.

Rhen is smart, probably more intelligent than any of the boys, but some can’t believe it and some don’t want to believe it. In the eyes of the men, women are expected to be pleasing for the eyes and perform wifely duties. One of many worst is Germaine. Not only is he sexist but downright disrespectful. When Rhen is being vocal about her rights and abilities, he sees her as something rare and wild that could and would be tamed. Not as something to be inspired by but as a challenge.
Even when Rhen proves her outstanding knowledge of maths, technology, sciences and engineering and shows her strengths, people still underestimate her and accuse her of being a fraud and a cheat.

The maze was epic! It gave me real Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire feels. Just longer and crueler. Throughout contestants getting poisoned, injured and killed, the voice of the maze, also known as Mr. Kellen. Accompanies them with grins and riddles. Riddles that have to be solved in limited time. It was such a thrilling experience for the reader as well to try and solve the riddles while threatening and horrible things happened the longer time passed. The amount of world building was just enough for me to see Rhen and the others fighting their way through the maze and not overdone in a way of me getting impatient with the speed of the storyline. I think it was perfectly done and I was flying through the pages.

Sam and Will are two friends of Seleni and I wish there was more of them in the story! They remind me a little bit of Fred and George…but just a tiny bit of crude humor. They were very likable but characters but I wish they were more fleshed out and had more sway in the storyline.

Vincent…hm..where to start? I don’t want to SPOIL THINGS for anyone but…I’d really like to choke him on bloodberries. BUT he’s clever, I’ll have to give him that. But also, he’s a pathetic little man.

Rhen is such a strong character. She never strays from the path that she wants to take and she doesn’t let anyone get in her way or hold her back. Her determination is so inspiring. And when people look down upon her, it only drives her to prove them even more wrong. She doesn’t let anyone speak for her because she can do it damn well for herself.

Lute is a decent character. Even though I like him with Rhen, he wasn’t a very fleshed out and memorable character and I didn’t really care for him.

Holm wasn’t very fleshed out but he wasn’t meant to be. Throughout the story he remains this mysterious ‘man’ with secrets and who does things that no one can explain. And it doesn’t get explained and I really loved that, it keeps you guessing.

Rhen’s parents encouraging her, to follow her dreams and not be afraid to show people who she is and what she’s capable of, is so admiring. I felt so much love for these 3 characters together!

I did not expect the plot at all and I thought it was very creative! Throughout the end there were things that surprised me and it made me love the story even more. The actual enemy in the story was something I did not see coming but thinking back it made so much sense. The author did such a good job in making you believe in one thing just to keep you distracted from the real threat.

It was adventurous, thrilling yet also had its funny moments mainly because of the friendship between Rhen and Seleni. It’s zo lovely to see such different characters work together. They know their differences and alikeness so well and I love how supportive they are and never let the other give up on what they want to achieve, even when it seems nuts.

“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”

This was amazing! I immediately got pulled into the story and it felt as if someone threw fairy dust into my face and I got compelled to follow the story ever since. The writing and the world building are so mesmerizing and captivating. You can feel the fae magic pulling you in as well. The world of the faeries is so fascinating, it almost blinds you from remembering how cruel, dark and dangerous it is. Especially if you’re human.

This book starts off with young Vivienne, Taryn and Jude. Right of the bat my heart got smashed because of how they lose their parents and don’t have a clue of what’s going on and why. Viv’s real Father, Madoc, finds her and her mother. Kills her mother and father to take her and her sisters to Elfhame. Here they grow up and it turns out that Vivienne, only fae amongst her sisters, wants nothing rather than to live in the human world to live a human life. While the other sisters, Taryn and Jude try their best to adapt, Viv has made it her mission to hate Madoc for what he has done, and she’s doing a good job with keeping that up.

Taryn and Jude want to make something of their life’s in Elfhame. Taryn by falling in love with a fae male so she can start a family. And Jude wants to win herself a place in the court. But to do that, she has to defy many other fae. Most aren’t a problem. But then there is Prince Cardan.

He’s so cruel, it’s in the title, but I couldn’t even imagine what he would do to creatures who are “less” than him and to humans. Many fae despise humans, but Cardan has rather special hate feelings towards Jude.

Jude

I love Jude so much. In the beginning she tried to be like the fae, tried to fit in but she couldn’t. And they wouldn’t let her. She was just a human girl that they could throw around like a doll, play with as a puppet and degrade whenever they doubted themselves. She endured all that, all of that while being petrified. But from the moment she and her sisters lost their parents and got taken away to grow up into the cruel world of fae, she learned to suppress that fear. The truth was, she could not be like the fae, so she vowed to become someone worse, someone even fae feared.

I am so excited to see Jude grow and put all those who wronged and undermined her down.

Okay so now that my praises and concerns about precious Jude can be cast aside, lets get to Cardan.

Cardan

Oh

Boy

Dark hair…. Coal black eyes…and a smirk. That’s all it takes to capture me and Jude. But the difference is that Cardan HATES Jude (with his own special reasons) Torments her and her sister every single day because he and his group of friends are just a bunch of bullies. And treats everybody else that he sees as “less and weak” with absolute ridiculous cruelty. And that’s what Jude keeps reminding herself of while staring into his beautiful coal black eyes.

Okay he IS cruel. But not in a way you might expect him to be. He’s carelessly cruel because he doesn’t care about things, at least that’s how he behaves. And even if he speaks entitled of himself, the way he treats himself isn’t that far off from how he treats others. He’s constantly being lazy, lazily cruel, and drinks a lot!
You do get to learn about how Cardan became to be this way. And it’s rather cruel and sad to read about. Jude even sees it with her own eyes.
But that still doesn’t make his actions any less unnecessarily cruel.


The cool thing is, Jude might even become somewhat cruel herself and I love that. Her being bossy towards Cardan and kicking his ass is what I’m here for. A female, who is human, who doesn’t let anyone, even high fae, walk over here is so fun and cool to read about. We love a strong female character.

Who we don’t like

is Taryn.

Taryn

I liked her at first and her sister bond with the others was so relatable (I have 2 sisters as well) And I get that you want to find a way to survive amongst cruel fae, but to do what she did…it was very low. That’s all I really want to say about it because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Locke

Locke goes on my list of ‘Characters I want to strangle in 2020’
I was suspicious of Locke right from the beginning. From the start he was so oddly nice towards Jude, that it couldn’t be sincere. He can’t lie with his voice but he can be treacherous with his filthy fae hands.


Vivienne

Vivienne was one of the characters I really loved, amongst her sisters she was the one who acted like a human the most even though she was the only fae. She feels so free. Her love interest is so cute and so normal and refreshing. And I can’t wait to read more about them and their relationship.


Madoc

Madoc was a weird character for me, but in a good way. I found him to be very original and complex. He’s bloodthirsty and does really bad things but on the other hand he really cares for his daughters and wants the best for them. Even when that has to be done by fighting them with a sword. It’s such an odd situation but I can’t help but love him.

“I live on the cusp of two worlds, trying desperately to fit into one.”

Alosa is the captain of her own ship. And for the sake of finding this ancient map that leads to a legendary treasure trove, she voluntarily lets herself get imprisoned by another pirate ship. Playing the role of a hostage, she takes the time she has to search the entire ship. Keeping up her act might not be as easy as Alosa had in mind. For she is not the only one that’s keeping a secret behind a mask. While being held captive, interrogated and tortured, Alosa keeps up her performance. Nobody can break nor yield the daughter of the pirate king. The only possible complication that could ruin the entire mission is one of her captors. The unfairly attractive and smart pirate Riden.

Alosa

I love how Alosa still takes charge even when she is held captive. She still holds power over the men on the ship.
Also, she has been through so much crap, literally abuse that’s being interpreted as conditioning and training. Compared to her past, no one can do anything to her that she cannot handle. But she’s still being tested to prove herself.
The reveal of Alosa’s second secret was really cool and creative. It would have been predictable if I knew more about the story and the second book beforehand, but I didn’t. So, it was a really nice surprise to me!

Riden

Riden comes off as the nicest out of everyone. But even though he is rather kind to her, I wondered if it was genuine or just a way of keeping himself busy while making Alosa comfortable enough to tell him secrets. Or confess where her father was hiding.
I love how dutiful and determined he is. He knows that his brother is horrible, but they are still brothers so he keeps him safe. As for their hostage Alosa, he constantly tries to keep her captive but save from the other pirates at the same time. And I kept wondering if it was because he needs her alive or if he cares about her.


Riden and Alosa

You can tell they like each other but they don’t want to admit it because they know that the both of them can’t be trusted. It’s so funny to see Riden keep trying to hold Alosa locked up and keep her from escaping and or getting in trouble. And it never works. But when he does keep her locked up, she tries to keep him on edge. Trashing his room, being annoying and teasing him. I loved when she started testing his patience.

Draxen

Draxen just wants to prove how bad of a pirate he is. And well, he is the captain so I guess to remain captain, he has to remind people that he cannot be defeated and that he will not yield. But Alosa is a captain of her own. It’s quite frustrating to see him downgrade her just because she is a woman. But that’s his foolishness and it bites back at him. It was surprising to me though, how easily he could be fooled. I found him to be pathetic.

-

I thought I was going to like this book but I turned out to love it! I never really read anything about pirates so this was a nice start. I love the characters and I can’t wait to read Daughter of the Siren Queen. I’m really curious if Alosa will be able to keep her powers from the sea in control or if it will consume her at some point. The plot change in the end made my need to read the second book even bigger. The thought that an even bigger threat was constantly under her nose was really unexpected and a really cool twist.

“Hope in this world bleeds out of the barrel of a gun.”

Juliette has been locked up for 264 days, 264 days of complete isolation. Separated from the world and all human connection. Except from a few people of The reestablishment. Locked up because she is a danger to society, just one touch of Juliette can be lethal...
She hasn’t spoken a word since. Until Juliette gets a roommate. A tatted boy with blue eyes, dark brown hair and a sharp jaw line. (are you swooning yet?)

But the boy, who’s name’s Adam, isn’t exactly who he pretends to be.
When The Reestablishment gets Juliette out of the asylum, she discovers that they have a lot more planned for her that just keep her hidden and left to starve. They want Juliette to become their weapon.

Juliette

I liked Juliette right from the start because you just know she never had any bad intentions and that most of her life; her gift has been more of a curse. Thrown aside by her family and the rest of society, Juliette always tries to be good. And she has been, but no one ever noticed it. Except for Adam.

Though Juliette has always seen her abilities as a burden, The Reestablishment sees it as a gift. And a great weapon. Especially the leader Warner, who seems to be obsessed with the idea of having such a weapon, and a beautiful girl, by his side. Together they could be unstoppable. Warner steps out of line many times, forcing Juliette to use her abilities and to see the extend of it. To see how strong Juliette holds herself together during all of that, while not knowing wo to trust is so amazing. I constantly felt myself rooting for her.

Adam

I just love him and cherish him. He has always cared for Juliette and risks so much for her safety! Also his little brother and him are so cute and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Warner

I feel like the only reason (right now) that anyone could actually like warner, is because of his teasing and flirting and being handsome. Because if you take that away, he’s just a power thirsty, perverted, manipulative prick. I don’t like him one bit. But there must be something about him that earns empathy and forgiveness, adoration or just impression because a lot of people seem to love him. I loved this book and I’m very excited to see what happens next. And because I am open minded I will not hate Warner just yet…but I’m close.

Some last thoughts

I DID NOT SEE THE ENDING COMING AT ALL BUT IT IS SO AWESOME. And I really like the characters that were added and I really hope that they will get more fleshed out, because there is so much potential!

“We were all villains in the beginning”

In Galton City there are two types of prodigies after the Age of Anarchy. The Renegades and the Anarchists. The superheroes and the villains, but it’s not as black and white as it seems.

I had a little bit of a hard time getting into this book, but that could just be because I was tired when I started it. (I just re-read the first chapters and loved them!... kiiind of want to re-read the whole thing again)

Because let me tell you, this book is a wild ride with so much suspension and really cool twists and turns. It’s as if before I started reading, I breathed in a big lump of air and only exhaled at the very last word of the book. And the end got me breathing heavyyyy.

One thing I love so much is that almost every single character gets so fleshed out. You get to know what their abilities are, what they look like, how they act and you get amazing backstories which makes every single character feel alive!

I have buddy read this a WHILE ago and writing this review makes me miss the characters and now I need to read Archenemies badly!