In light of the #metoo movement and the ongoing unravelling of so many sexual abuse cases, this is a very important story.

First I would warn potential readers that this book contains quite severe possible triggers such as rape, sexual assault, and suicide. One of those books where if you’re not in the right head space to read it, DON’T

I thought that this book was very clever- it’s a split time narrative. For half the book we are accompanying Vanessa as a teenager and experiencing her relationship with Strane- her English teacher. For the other half we follow her through her adult life fifteen years on and still being affected by these encounters with her abuser.

It’s a very difficult perspective to read because as outsiders to the situation we can clearly see that Vanessa is being awfully abused over and over. But in her world, and her version, she loved him and wanted their relationship from the very beginning.

It was particularly painful to read in parts because what Vanessa is going through is not so removed from our day to day lives. Sexual assault is such a prevalent issue and, particularly in the media, there is a lot of controversy over women coming forward.

This is a stark reminder of how damaging these experiences can be and how important it is to believe and to support women. Within the acknowledgements, this book is dedicated to all the ‘Vanessas of the world’ and I love that- I do recommend this book as a very relevant novel for the times we’re living in.

Feels like it’s been an age since I read fantasy like this!
My most prevalent issue was that there were so many names/cultures/places in this book that I felt my head was spinning.
I did love Nahri- I thought she was such a fun protagonist, she was sure of herself and incessantly asking questions- something I can relate to.
Dara felt a little flat to me but since there are two more books I’m keeping an open mind to further character development!

Though this book wasn’t right up my street, I did love the way it was written. It wasn’t prose or poetry but the way the story read gave me that feel.

There were quite a few deep aspects to this book to beware of TW for domestic abuse, hospital scenes (organ donation), and death. I felt it was a shame the book was so short because there was so much to cover- a longer novel could’ve gone into more detail.

I loved the relationship between our two protagonists and how they almost immediately struck up a strange bond- sort of friends, sort of not. This has been on my TBR for ages so I’m glad I finally read it!

Rated this one higher than the first in my re-read because the Will/Tessa/Jem love triangle is so close to my heart- even if it causes me so much pain!!!

Also Will’s joy at demonpox is hands down the best moment in the entire series.

Definitely going to need to re read The Dark Artifices after this for more Jem and Tessa content ❤️

Enjoyed the spin on the story of Rumplestiltskin! This story has many POVs but the overarching story follows the plot of three girls. First is Miryem- a Jewish girl who brags to the Fairy King of Winter that she can turn silver into gold and is thus taken by him to his palace to produce gold for him. Second is Irina who becomes Tsarina only to discover her husband the Tsar is possessed by a firey demon who reveals himself at night. Third is Wanda, Miryem's servant who is working to pay off her father's enormous debt. It was very cleverly put together though it would've been easier to read with perhaps the 3 girls' POV rather than 6. There was some romance but as an addition to the plot- it wasn't central to the story.

(CONTAINS MILD RELATIONSHIP SPOILERS) I love a story with an enchanted forest and this book definitely fits that category. This is an enemies to lovers book full of ancient magic that threatens to take over the valley where our protagonist lives. This has many fairy tale elements in it particularly from Beauty and the Beast and what I presume is Russian folklore which is beautifully written. I especially loved Sarkan and Agnieska's tricky relationship and how their magic changed and developed as they did.

It's been so long since I've read a book with a circus in so this was refreshing! I felt that the world this book was set in was so vividly imagined: a flooded world where people are split between land and sea with detailed religions and customs. It had bears, mermaids, floating graveyards and honestly what more could you ask for? There was lots of prejudice between different groups of people in this book and I felt that Logan was able to play on how these tensions affected people's relationships so well. Overall, such a creative story with lgbt rep and fascinating characters.

Perfection. Books about books are just my favourite thing (eg starless sea) so this was exactly my sort of story.
Collins’ world enchanted me immediately- now all I want to do is live in a little isolated house with a kind witch and makes books and drink tea.
The magic of binding memories into books is such a beautiful idea and I loved the exploration of the ethics behind it. Should it be used once in a lifetime? Should it be used weekly to erase minor inconveniences? Can it be used for good to forget tragedies? Can it be used for evil to erase the minds of witnesses? I found all of this absolutely fascinating.
It was also full of deftly fleshed out characters that I could picture perfectly- Emmett and Lucien’s relationship was beautiful and the story’s twists and turns had me continually guessing at how each of the boys would react.
Has an immediate place in my list of favourite 2020 books!

A lovely ending to the trilogy ❤️
I’ve been wanting to read this for ages and then spotted it in the library- fast paced as the previous two were and I still love Jude just as much. She’s just such a chaotic, dramatic character. Whether she’s stabbing people or poisoning herself or faking enchantments etc.
Glad we finally got from enemies to lovers- Jude and Cardan are much more exciting when they’re a scary magical team.
Going to miss this particular universe. Unless Holly Black is intending to write a whole book of Jude and Cardan being their chaotic selves, I’m glad it ended where it did.