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themoonwholistens's Reviews (698)
”What’s the point of living forever if you can’t take a few risks?”
FORMAT READ: Audiobook & eBook (iBooks)
SIMILAR VIBES: Every Day
READ FOR: easy read but emotional, well built characters, “that Christmas vibe”
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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
OVERALL: 4.5
kinda cheesy, not "the cheesiest of cheese", BUT IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE and I loved it!! But I wasn't super super blown away. Don't get me wrong... it was still a GREAT book.
The writing is super compelling, I was sucked in from the start.
For a standalone it took it’s time in terms of world building and, boy, did it pay off. Everything was paced perfectly to me and all the gut punches were delivered at all the right moments. There were certain things that was a bit predictable to me but it was so well done that I didn't care and I was just living in every single moment. The "magic system" is my absolute favourite in the Contemporary genre <3
The characters had so much foundation and were so well built (especially considering that this is a standalone). I was so invested in Holly's character. Not all of the characters had very detailed backgrounds but all of them had the right depth.
Mild Spoiler:
Spoiler
I CAN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT HOLLY AND ETHAN RIGHT NOW OR ELSE I MIGHT CRY ALL OVER AGAINI don't have anything else to say, to be honest, other than this is a great book and I felt every single page. It was emotional, it made sense, I LOVE IT OKAY!!!!! Cynthia Hand did a great job creating a story that is both believable and whimsical to keep your heart hopeful and in a Christmas mood.
”A loving heart is the truest wisdom.”
PLOT: ★★★★☆
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★★
CHARACTERS: ★★★★☆
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★★★
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★
// Thanks to Candlewick Press and Netgalley for the ARC to review //
“I suppose if we forgot stuff we’ll never know we forgot it, because we won’t remember.”
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*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
a general problem with fantasy books is capturing the attention of readers, but this book did not have that problem. This book is surprisingly deep for a middle grade book. It is complex and intricate with themes deeply woven into the story.
I like how certain middle grades books have the special talent of being so much deeper than they are meant to be.
As this is in the Fantasy genre, it dealt with topics that were more on the supernatural level but I was still able to heavily relate to it in a more philosophical way.
plot:
~ though it had a slow start for me, it picked up fairly quickly. The beginning was already enough to capture my attention. The timeline was spread out enough that it was able to show the development and change with the characters.
stuey and elly are so innocently cute that it makes the whole story seem innocent even though it dealt with sort of serious and heavy topics. The developments were slow but it hit me really hard and I couldn't help tearing up at some parts. And even though the structural flow did not appeal to me as much because it is a middle grade novel, I enjoyed it very much due to the topics that it tackled and how much it just hits you everytime.
“hatred combined with lies and secrets can break the world.”
characters:
~ the characters were written with so much passion that reading their relationships made my heart swell. I felt all the emotions they were feeling on a magnified level. Their connections just felt so real to me.
“Do You know what ghosts are, Stuey? I’ll tell you. They’re secrets haunting the memories of the living. So long as we carry their secrets, they refuse to leave. They wait.” “Wait for what?” “To be forgotten. My father has been gone for sixty years, but” — he tapped the side of his head — “he’s still here. He never left.”
this made me think of my own dad and i must be lying if i said that i didn’t shed a tear. The characters had diversity. Even though the style makes it seem like a very kiddish read, I was glad to have read it because the characters felt alive and they did start growing up towards the end.
Their families were very much present throughout the whole book and I appreciated how their actions played a part in the plot.
“we live in different worlds, different realities.”
themes:
~ it revolved around a lot of themes: ghosts, memories, dreams, friendship, family, growing up but most importantly, realities and what we choose to believe. Is there more than one reality? Are there different worlds? It provided a lot of philosophical ideas to ponder on and it always left me thinking.
what hit me the most was how in the end, Stuey forgot a significant part of his past with Elly, it signified how he has grown up. It showed that we change as we grow older and it made me realize that we won't even remember the things that we forget. But as long as it stays with us, it will stay alive though us.
~ In this story, it isn't important whose side of 'reality' is true and which is not. What is important is that you understand that each of us can have our own versions of realities, and that's okay. . . because we will always choose to believe our own reality.
“the dead live in our memories.”
Blog | Goodreads
FULL REVIEW: to be posted on my blog about a week before September 11
“I suppose if we forgot stuff we’ll never know we forgot it, because we won’t remember.”
⟹ MY BLOG ⟸
⟹ SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ⟸
*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
a general problem with fantasy books is capturing the attention of readers, but this book did not have that problem. This book is surprisingly deep for a middle grade book. It is complex and intricate with themes deeply woven into the story.
I like how certain middle grades books have the special talent of being so much deeper than they are meant to be.
As this is in the Fantasy genre, it dealt with topics that were more on the supernatural level but I was still able to heavily relate to it in a more philosophical way.
plot:
~ though it had a slow start for me, it picked up fairly quickly. The beginning was already enough to capture my attention. The timeline was spread out enough that it was able to show the development and change with the characters.
stuey and elly are so innocently cute that it makes the whole story seem innocent even though it dealt with sort of serious and heavy topics. The developments were slow but it hit me really hard and I couldn't help tearing up at some parts. And even though the structural flow did not appeal to me as much because it is a middle grade novel, I enjoyed it very much due to the topics that it tackled and how much it just hits you everytime.
“hatred combined with lies and secrets can break the world.”
characters:
~ the characters were written with so much passion that reading their relationships made my heart swell. I felt all the emotions they were feeling on a magnified level. Their connections just felt so real to me.
“Do You know what ghosts are, Stuey? I’ll tell you. They’re secrets haunting the memories of the living. So long as we carry their secrets, they refuse to leave. They wait.” “Wait for what?” “To be forgotten. My father has been gone for sixty years, but” — he tapped the side of his head — “he’s still here. He never left.”
this made me think of my own dad and i must be lying if i said that i didn’t shed a tear. The characters had diversity. Even though the style makes it seem like a very kiddish read, I was glad to have read it because the characters felt alive and they did start growing up towards the end.
Their families were very much present throughout the whole book and I appreciated how their actions played a part in the plot.
“we live in different worlds, different realities.”
themes:
~ it revolved around a lot of themes: ghosts, memories, dreams, friendship, family, growing up but most importantly, realities and what we choose to believe. Is there more than one reality? Are there different worlds? It provided a lot of philosophical ideas to ponder on and it always left me thinking.
what hit me the most was how in the end, Stuey forgot a significant part of his past with Elly, it signified how he has grown up. It showed that we change as we grow older and it made me realize that we won't even remember the things that we forget. But as long as it stays with us, it will stay alive though us.
~ In this story, it isn't important whose side of 'reality' is true and which is not. What is important is that you understand that each of us can have our own versions of realities, and that's okay. . . because we will always choose to believe our own reality.
“the dead live in our memories.”
Blog | Goodreads
FULL REVIEW: to be posted on my blog about a week before September 11
⟹ MY BLOG ⟸
⟹ SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ⟸
*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
UPDATE: September 28, 2018
Here are just some my raw thoughts, book notes, and emotions while I was reading the book. I do not yet have time to write a full-pledged review but I thought it was about time my thoughts were added. This is really unorganized and I just skimmed it before adding it here, so sorry in advance.
GENERAL THOUGHTS: I genuinely enjoyed this book and I was so intrigued but I encountered a few problems
overall:
- each house/family has their own power (different social levels in the different houses, and different families in the house)
- The fact that bisexual characters are not a big thing in the book and are just plainly part of the story. i think this was a very nice touch to the story, especially adding to the fact that this is a YA fantasy story
- i was underwhelmed with some of the details
- but the world itself is actually pretty unique
“Sometimes we’re not who we want to be because we’re supposed to be something else”
plot:
- i need to say that this was not the best in terms of storyline, the world was something very unique to me
- i do think there was much more that could have been explored aside from the search for Lourdes, for Enne’s side
- for Levi’s side, I was actually pleased with how his story went to an extent. i loved his character and enjoyed his background story but there just could have been more
- it seemed like most of the interesting parts of the story all happened in the past or everything was a result of something in the past
- i get that this is the first book, but I feel like there could have been more exploration in the word.
- the world building throughout the story was the weak point here
- there wasn’t really anything that SURPRISED me
characters:
“I just kept thinking, looking at you, that you had a winning hand. You play like you’ve already won.”
“That’s the only real way to play.”
- GOSH I LOVE LEVI
- first of all, his descriptions were different
- he’s bisexual and this isn’t something that is a big deal in the world
“Her doll-like features, her determined dark eyes—how could anyone not notice her?”
- ENNE underwhelmed me half of the time
- i didn’t dislike her or anything. she was just there for me.
- i was able to relate to her, and though her personality was not weak, it was not something I would describe as strong either
- JAC AND VIANCA are the two characters i feel we could have a little bit more explanation for. i really think they could have been th eminor characters that everyone would have loved
- there is a right time to kill off a character
“And every night he spent trapped in her empire, he dreamed of building empires of his own.”
- the relationships between the characters were actually good and heart warming and all that, i just wish that it was executed better, in a way that would make the readers REALLY feel their relationship and be able to relate to them
-----
UPDATE: August 25, 2018
“I never asked to be saved.”
“Everybody’s asking to be saved,”
This is the kind of books that you get you out of reading slumps. And I had no idea how much more I needed of this until I was close to finishing it.
I have a lot to say about this.
(( RTC ))
⟹ SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI ⟸
*All of my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible unless states otherwise*
UPDATE: September 28, 2018
Here are just some my raw thoughts, book notes, and emotions while I was reading the book. I do not yet have time to write a full-pledged review but I thought it was about time my thoughts were added. This is really unorganized and I just skimmed it before adding it here, so sorry in advance.
GENERAL THOUGHTS: I genuinely enjoyed this book and I was so intrigued but I encountered a few problems
overall:
- each house/family has their own power (different social levels in the different houses, and different families in the house)
- The fact that bisexual characters are not a big thing in the book and are just plainly part of the story. i think this was a very nice touch to the story, especially adding to the fact that this is a YA fantasy story
- i was underwhelmed with some of the details
- but the world itself is actually pretty unique
“Sometimes we’re not who we want to be because we’re supposed to be something else”
plot:
- i need to say that this was not the best in terms of storyline, the world was something very unique to me
- i do think there was much more that could have been explored aside from the search for Lourdes, for Enne’s side
- for Levi’s side, I was actually pleased with how his story went to an extent. i loved his character and enjoyed his background story but there just could have been more
- it seemed like most of the interesting parts of the story all happened in the past or everything was a result of something in the past
- i get that this is the first book, but I feel like there could have been more exploration in the word.
- the world building throughout the story was the weak point here
- there wasn’t really anything that SURPRISED me
characters:
“I just kept thinking, looking at you, that you had a winning hand. You play like you’ve already won.”
“That’s the only real way to play.”
- GOSH I LOVE LEVI
- first of all, his descriptions were different
- he’s bisexual and this isn’t something that is a big deal in the world
“Her doll-like features, her determined dark eyes—how could anyone not notice her?”
- ENNE underwhelmed me half of the time
- i didn’t dislike her or anything. she was just there for me.
- i was able to relate to her, and though her personality was not weak, it was not something I would describe as strong either
- JAC AND VIANCA are the two characters i feel we could have a little bit more explanation for. i really think they could have been th eminor characters that everyone would have loved
Spoiler
- some characters (REYMOND) were kicked out of the story WAY too early without everything being properly establsihed yet- there is a right time to kill off a character
“And every night he spent trapped in her empire, he dreamed of building empires of his own.”
- the relationships between the characters were actually good and heart warming and all that, i just wish that it was executed better, in a way that would make the readers REALLY feel their relationship and be able to relate to them
-----
UPDATE: August 25, 2018
“I never asked to be saved.”
“Everybody’s asking to be saved,”
This is the kind of books that you get you out of reading slumps. And I had no idea how much more I needed of this until I was close to finishing it.
I have a lot to say about this.
(( RTC ))
“There’s one kind of lie even you can tell. Do you know what it is?” She met his gaze in the steel doors. “The kind you tell yourself.”
4.3/5
--
RTC BECAUSE I CANNOT RIGHT NOW
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4.3/5
--
RTC BECAUSE I CANNOT RIGHT NOW
--
*SPOILERS!!!*
that ending...
I have not felt like this with the ending of a book since Clockwork Princess.
In the conclusion of the series the story actually reminded me about other books and the writing style was not my favorite.
But the characters of Marie Lu's story their feelings, their thoughts, was exceptional. Violetta, I love her so much and she's probably one of my favorite characters. She loved and stayed loyal to her sister even with all her "darkness" and all that. Magiano, I was a bit disappointed because there could have been so much more depth and explanation to his character rather than just the love interest. I feel like the characters and the story itself could have been so much more because the idea is already so good. She just needed a better way of presenting it and writing it.
Marie Lu has a talent in writing endings, I'll say that and is actually the main reason I gave this book 5 stars. I was sobbing a lot when she was saying that she wouldn't ever see Magiano again. AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT FOLKTALE! wow...my heart just literally crushed into a million pieces
The endings of her books never let me down.
that ending...
I have not felt like this with the ending of a book since Clockwork Princess.
In the conclusion of the series the story actually reminded me about other books and the writing style was not my favorite.
But the characters of Marie Lu's story their feelings, their thoughts, was exceptional. Violetta, I love her so much and she's probably one of my favorite characters. She loved and stayed loyal to her sister even with all her "darkness" and all that. Magiano, I was a bit disappointed because there could have been so much more depth and explanation to his character rather than just the love interest. I feel like the characters and the story itself could have been so much more because the idea is already so good. She just needed a better way of presenting it and writing it.
Marie Lu has a talent in writing endings, I'll say that and is actually the main reason I gave this book 5 stars. I was sobbing a lot when she was saying that she wouldn't ever see Magiano again. AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT FOLKTALE! wow...my heart just literally crushed into a million pieces
The endings of her books never let me down.
"Then where were you, is what I wanted to say, all my lonely times, but right next to me, I knew, was where."
This book will make you fall in love even though you know you shouldn't.
It made my heart ache in all the right times and all the right places. I loved all the characters in this story and I like how there was always more to the supporting characters. Although this is a cliche book I loved the writing style and how unique it is. It took a very different take on the cliche love story and even though I practically guessed how everything would turn out to be I still felt everything while reading this book. I felt like I was reading this cliche type of plot for the first time.
Full Review: http://wp.me/p8IxRn-cI
This book will make you fall in love even though you know you shouldn't.
It made my heart ache in all the right times and all the right places. I loved all the characters in this story and I like how there was always more to the supporting characters. Although this is a cliche book I loved the writing style and how unique it is. It took a very different take on the cliche love story and even though I practically guessed how everything would turn out to be I still felt everything while reading this book. I felt like I was reading this cliche type of plot for the first time.
Full Review: http://wp.me/p8IxRn-cI
"Anyone can betray anyone."
I loved this book...a lot. It's the kind of book that you can't put down and can't help finishing.
The only reason i'm giving this book 4 stars is because it reminded me too much of other worlds that I have read before this and felt too similar.
Although, I would definitely recommend reading this and I am certainly going to be reading the rest of the series.
I loved this book...a lot. It's the kind of book that you can't put down and can't help finishing.
The only reason i'm giving this book 4 stars is because it reminded me too much of other worlds that I have read before this and felt too similar.
Although, I would definitely recommend reading this and I am certainly going to be reading the rest of the series.
My heart is aching so bad that I want to cry. I loved this book and I really need to get out of my house just to go buy the next one and go back to reading.
I did not expect that kind of ending for Adelina. I feel so bad and my heart is aching. Still not over Enzo and Dante's death. BUT I LOVE IT!! I. LOVE. IT. <333
I did not expect that kind of ending for Adelina. I feel so bad and my heart is aching. Still not over Enzo and Dante's death. BUT I LOVE IT!! I. LOVE. IT. <333