themoonwholistens's Reviews (698)

“So, we’ll sit here in silence?”
“I’m cool with that, the world is too loud sometimes.”

FORMAT READ: Audiobook (Recommended)
SIMILAR VIBES: The Hate U Give, Eliza and Her Monsters, What If It’s Us
READ FOR: a Sherlock Holmes spin-off
TW: genderphobia/homophobia, abuse
READING LEVEL: Level 1-2 out of 5

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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*

OVERALL THOUGHTS: 4.0

The book features a non-binary character and the commentary about gender awareness was so prevalent. I was so invested in Ben and Nathan was just so pure. It honestly made me think about the LGBTQ+ awareness and I think this book was able to achieve what it was meant for.

It wasn't so dark and negative all of the time but also was able to show positive sides of Ben's situation which I think made it easier for me to relate to as a story for someone who does not have similar labels as Ben.

I thought the representation talk was really great. I actually learned from it and I think other people would too.

“The universe doesn't have to exist outside this bedroom, and that's perfectly okay.”

There were just some inconsistencies in the writing that bothered me a bit but, neverhtheless, this is definitely a book that should be in the hands of more people. It's just one of those books that I know would find home and would save someone out there.

“Labels can help people find common ground.”

PLOT: ★★★☆☆
WRITING STYLE: ★★★☆☆
CHARACTERS: ★★★★☆
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★★☆
PAGE TURNER: ★★★☆☆

“Fame, after all, is but the sum of all the misunderstandings which gather about a new name.”

FORMAT READ: Audiobook (recommended)
SIMILAR VIBES: They Both Die at the End
READ FOR: commentary about fame

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OVERALL THOUGHTS: 4.5

The commentary in this book about fame and how the modern society reacts to certain situations is so interesting to read for me.

The plot is very intriguing and I just had to know more as I read on. The more you read, the more things there are to figure out. I really like books that aren’t full on mystery but have that aspect of a mystery (e.g. fantasy-mystery and contemporary-mystery). So far these kinds of books are always a fresh take on “mysteries” and are. mostly the kind of mysteries that keep me interested.

I also really loved the narration and the commentary on societal topics.

It's very easy to read (listen) and I was just there for everything that was happening. It is written in the way that the narrator seems to be talking directly to the readers and there have been books where that doesn't work for me but it does here. It felt like I was on a journey that didn't have an end and it was amazing.

It was overall a very filling read and it so weirdly unique. I understand why so many people are in love with this book and I definitely recommend this to everyone who loves a good "contemporary" with an extra "something".


PLOT: ★★★★★
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★☆
CHARACTERS: ★★★☆☆
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★★☆
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★

ARC received from -Inkyard Press- in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

— overall thoughts: DNF @47% / page 171 —

It makes me sad to just be saying this but it was cringey for me. From the writing style to how our mc was acting.

There were a number of insensitive jokes made but I think the biggest problem with that was that these jokes weren't addressed or resolved properly. (A character makes a joke -> mc says it's bad -> we move on). Info dumps were done every few pages in the first part of the story which really took me away from the narration.

I really thought I would enjoy the plot of this more than I did as someone who is into musicals/music. I'm not that familiar with Othello but honestly this to me just reads like every other ya contemporary. Perhaps someone who has more knowledge about Othello might be able to connect to the story on a deeper level than I did.

There were so many overused tropes in this book with the best friends who have windows facing each other and a love triangle (I was really looking forward to a love square between guys and our main girl). Our mc is also going through the "I didn't know I was beautiful until a guy made me realize I was" phase. I understand that this could be relatable to some people but I'm just tired of reading that kind of trope.

On a brighter note, there are still a lot of positive aspects to the story in terms of body positivity but in my eyes I felt like it leaned more towards the first world romance problems rather than Liv’s own character development.

Olivia isn't perfect and she messes up (a lot), as do the other characters. However, I didn't really like Liv's motivations personally, she just seemed so hard wired into the problems of her romance life and expects everything to revolve around that? Again, I didn't finish this so perhaps she does develop more but up to the point that I read... I wasn't present in the story anymore.

Especially when I read the Israeli/Palestinian joke that other people were talking about, I didn't want to force myself through the rest of it. Which to be honest could be triggering to people and just contributes to the stigma that we have been trying to get rid of.

At the end of the day, it's a story about finding confidence in yourself. It was also very vocal about sex positivity which was a nice touch. There were parts that were entertaining and I see why people enjoy it... it just wasn't sold to me and the reasons that I read this book for weren't as prevalent as I thought they would be.

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I FOUND OUT THAT THE MAIN CHARACTER GETS THE ATTENTION OF FOUR (4) BOYS AND !!!!!

We love love-squares ♡♡♡♡ love-triangles are so overrated... give me pentagons, hexagons, and all the other polygons



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Booktuber books always make me so curious so I got really excited when I saw this in my inbox.

Oh and it's also an #ownvoices novel so there's that :)

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[rounds up everyone who has been asking for YA mystery thrillers] here's the book you've been looking for

— overall thoughts: 3.5 —
⇢ content warnings//

Spoiler

Animal abuse, Autopsies, Gore, Infanticide, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence

“I’m learning there is no one way for life to be lived, no one way to be strong or brave or kind or good. Rather there are many people doing the best they can with the heart they are given and the hand they are dealt. Our best is all we can do, and all we can hold on to is each other.”

FORMAT READ: Audiobook (Highly Recommended)
SIMILAR VIBES: ((nothing comes to mind at the moment, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it means it’s unique))
READ FOR: if you want the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue… but female version
READING LEVEL: Level 2-4 out of 5

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OVERALL THOUGHTS: 4.75

I really did start this series expecting a light contemporary read but it turned out to be a much deeper historical fiction than I realized. The characters in this whole series are just so well-written. From Monty and Felicity, to all of the side characters that were still given enough depth for you to care about the. They have backgrounds that make sense with the plot (which was surprising for me because I thought before beginning the first book that this was a contemporary series).

The audiobook was also performed very well. This is also true for The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue so... yes <3... I love this series



Both Monty and Felicity in these books realize that life is much more than what the society has set for them for them to be. Reading Felicity's side to it just made that even more prevalent and I.... I WAS LIVING FOR IT.

Specifically for this book, Felicity's character development was just as drastic as Monty's that I was left feeling so proud of them at the end of their books. I felt like I lived through Felicity's development as she went through it. Another one of my list of favourite heroines because she instead of whining she actually takes action towards her goals. I was so hooked and the overall story just sucked me in all over again.

The magical realism was also not something that I expected??? Like, at first I was all like "is this going to work?" but in the end, it did. It made the books a bit more on the fantastical side together with the fact that it's historical fiction... it just gave me those vibes. But I was (very much) okay with it.

I loved the piracy side of this series and how it's ironic to the "lady-like" and "gentleman-like" parts. I loved everything about these books and if you are thinking about reading this, I am here to tell you that you should. I don't care what your reading tastes are like, give these two books a try.

“But there are always consequences. Even in standing still. And I’m tired of stillness.”

… and excuse me, but was that an “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” reference? Or am I just imagining things?

“I can’t take another dead girl.”

FORMAT READ: Audiobook (Recommended)
SIMILAR VIBES: Daisy Jones & The Six
READ FOR: emotional read
TW: Abuse, Mental Illness, Pedophilia
READING LEVEL: Level 2-3 out of 5

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OVERALL THOUGHTS: 3.25

This was so heartbreakingly emotional to read.

The audiobook made it very atmospheric. It sounded like I was reading to a podcast with all the music and sound effects.

The reason my rating isn’t higher is because this was sold to me as a mystery and I saw everything that was coming. But that doesn't mean it's badly written or anything. I absolutely loved the writing style and overall atmosphere of the book. I really liked Sadie's representation in the story. If I was told that this was going to be more about sisterly love than a mystery then I might have enjoyed it more. The plot was very predictable for me so if you're going into this, just expect more emotion than mystery.

I don't know what else to say XD because it's a really good book but very different from what I expected.

I mean, I still cried at the last chapter and I can't contradict how this book is something that sticks with you.

PLOT: ★★☆☆☆
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★★
CHARACTERS: ★★★★☆
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★☆☆
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★☆

I just wanted to love this book and I'm just sad that I didn't.

I expected to absolutely L O V E this book because this is how it was sold to me:
- a dystopian amusement park labeled as mystery

…that’s it, that's all I knew. I was absolutely sold with just that and I am still disappointed.

— overall thoughts: 1.5 —

I flew through this book if thats a consolation… probably because I didn’t really care about what was happening

Spoiler

and people, actually the automatons or whatever you call them, were dying and disappearing, left and right, and I absolutely could not care less. I didn't get a sense of danger or anticipation, things just happened.

As I said I actually went into this book expecting to like it and I actually did, at first. I am a big fan of morality topics being discussed in a dystopia kind of world (i.e. Arc of a Scythe) that was really the only saving grace but even that… wasn’t explored??

Which weighed heavily for me since that’s basically what I read the book for. I wanted to more talk about how these automatons came into play but all Ana kept talking about was how she kept getting epiphanies but how she wasn’t supposed to be getting these epiphanies cuz she’s a robot and owen owen owen owen owen.

“Why would someone say a story that isn’t true? Maybe because it’s fun to believe in a fantasy.
It helps them feel better about their own lives. Even if the story doesn’t end well.”

The theme park and its rules weren't really fully laid out, they were just thrown here and there to justify an action which brings me to my next point.

I absolutely hated the romance. It felt so rushed and Owen is the embodiment of the basic male love interest. There was just nothing that made him different to me and he wasn't like... his own person, if you get what I mean. I couldn't separate him as a character aside from being the love interest.

Spoiler

They were literally about to die or get caught and he literally STOPS AND SAYS: "You're perfect." LIKE ?!?

I hate it when dystopia stories force a romance like, just give me the story without all these lovey dovey because I didn't come here for that. If I wanted the lovey dovey, I'll be over there reading a contemporary romance. Contemporary romances had a less basic love story than this to be honest.

I had no attachments with the characters whatsoever and this is coming from a person who gets emotionally attached to the protagonist’s pet animals (*cough* church, mister kindly, eclipse *cough*). and Ana kept saying she was “evolving” somehow but like… why???…how???…we all knew that this is the "I'm not like every other girl” trope (which I'm starting to hate now) but I need an explanation as to how we got here!! especially since this is a sci-fi novel

Being in Ana's head and experiencing all the story through her was also annoying because her dialogue and thoughts were so stiff which fits with her being a hybrid, but then when she out of the blue states that she feels something else and is supposedly 'Evolving' into something more, she is still stiff and annoying.

It's important to note that I am a person who has loved lovey-dovey books in the past okay. I am a Jennifer E. Smith maniac.

Here have a small list of quotes I found stupid in the later 50% of the book because I came here for the sci-fi:
- “I never meant to fall in love with you”
- I quote “When I met you...something changed.”
- And OF COURSE, they had to use the “it’s better to have love and lost than to never have loved at all”
- “You’re perfect”

The mystery. WHY is this labeled as a mystery. Actually, I get why but that part of the plot is just so extra non-sensical to me because they spent more time talking about how they fell in love rather than the mystery aspect of it. Not that it was so blaringly obvious to me but when they revealed it, I was just sitting on my bed going like "oh."

Spoiler

where is the build-up?? all the interview and courtroom scenes honestly did not even give me that much information. it was everything we all knew.

I came in here for the mystery okay. I was expecting a good mystery.

This book had SO much potential: if this had a darker tone and the amusement park system and the outside world was explained and explored more, I feel like I could have loved this. And of course if I was actually attached to the characters.
- scenes feel jumpy

I like stereotypical plots when I ask for it and are done in an enjoyable manner, don’t get me wrong. But when I’m reading SCI-FI/DYSTOPIA I expect THE CRAZIEST PLOT YOU CAN THINK OF that STILL MAKE SENSE!!

plot: ★★☆☆☆
writing style: ★☆☆☆☆
world building: ★★☆☆☆
characters: ★☆☆☆☆
themes: ★★★☆☆
pacing: ★★☆☆☆
page turner: ★★★☆☆

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“But sometimes remembering isn’t for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make

someone else smile. Those lies were allowed.”

— overall thoughts: 3.5—

tw: rape, drugs, death of an animal, kidnapping

For once we have teenager interactions that dont feel forced and aren’t cringey. All rejoice!!

I really enjoyed the way the story was told and Pippa’s perspective was the perfect way that it could have been told for me. The fact that it was we were following the way she was writing her capstone project was also really creative and made it more interesting.

My favorite part of this book is definitely the direct commentary on how media affects our prejudice against certain people and issues. There were even discussions on racism and other cultural biases that went into the actual murder incident. Being in Pippa’s head, seeing the way she thought about these issues was very compelling to me. She definitely isn’t one of those protagonists that just don’t notice clues as she tries to figures out who the murderer is. Which I LOVE because I’m sick of those protagonists that just don’t see the clues and we have to watch them run around.

Ultimately, it was the ending that knocked this down for me. Everything ended so abruptly. And this is probably a personal preference but I got put off by the fact that most of the plot twists happened around the last 10% mark??

I mean there were other twists along the way and I always love plot twists. But they were just one after the other towards the end and it just didn’t give me enough time to think about them and absorb it.

“As if they think I don’t already know. I came out of the womb knowing how to do academic references.”

The group of teenagers in this book was also one that I surprisingly didn't get annoyed of like I thought I would. They were very amusing to me and added a somewhat lighter feel to the overall tone.

There is a death of an animal here that I just can’t forgive and found completely unnecessary. This was one of the weak points in the plot for me, aside from how I just hate reading these kind of things.

Spoiler

First of all, the fact that Pippa’s dog was kidnapped and she was just willing to destroy everything she had worked so hard for the majority of the book was just so uncharacteristic of her in my opinion. To be honest, I probably would have done the same thing she did….maybe… but just the decision that the author made to use the dog and kill it off didn’t sit right with me.

And then in the end for the dog to just…. fall off, on his own?!? I fumed. What was the point of the dog dying then?

Her dad’s chill reaction to losing her laptop without any questions whatsoever was also weird to me.

This definitely read more like a contemporary YA than I wanted which I wasn’t the biggest fan of. I also wasn’t as shocked as I expected to be with who the real killer was? I don’t know this is probably just me though.

Other than that, all in all, this definitely falls on the better side of YA mystery/thrillers if that’s something that you are looking for. It was pretty exciting to say the least and like I said, the commentary on the influence of media was just intriguing to read! In case you were wondering, the mystery does get solved in this book so you don’t need to read the next book and see the plot drag on just to know who the murderer is.

The audiobook was also very well performed and I loved the narrator. There was also this effect they did whenever the scene is a phone call and I definitely recommend listening to it if that's something you are into.

plot: ★★★☆☆
writing style: ★★★★☆
world building: ★★★☆☆
characters: ★★★★☆
themes: ★★★★☆
pacing: ★★★☆☆
page turner: ★★★★☆

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"Hope is a powerful thing. Some say it’s a different breed of magic altogether."

UPDATE: I'm probably never going to review this book in the near future but I really need to read Legendary and Finale soon..

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THIS BOOK!!! There were parts that really seemed to weird me out and creep me out. . . but I'm glad that I actually got to finishing this until the end.

Julian . I want to just steal him from this book and run away as far away as I can from the Caraval world because they do not deserve him.


as usual, I am not in the right mind to write a full review right after reading the book so. . .

Full Review: [coming soon]