Wow. This was a unique book! While at first the pacing felt a little slow and the young “woman” not being allowed to be a doctor but secretly learning aspect was a little repetitive, it ended up working well in this story. 

I really liked the mysterious aspect of the boarding school but i feel like the missing girls plot didn’t really move forward enough until the last 7 or so chapters, but it made for a super strong ending. 

I loved the representation of autism and being transgender and felt it was done amazingly. I loved that Silas met Daphne and was able to find love with her. I think their love was more of finding someone alike to themselves and survival but it would grow past that. 

The rabbit in Silas’ chest was a really interesting way to showcase his fears and anxieties, as well as just impulsive or bad thoughts. I liked that he was able to conquer that fear in the end and kill the rabbit. 

The ending shocked me especially with George and Daphne’s father as both were big betrayals to Silas. George put his wife and the Speakers over Silas just as his parents did showing Silas was truly alone until Daphne. And Lord Lukenbill while treating Silas with care that he didn’t previously experience was only doing it for his own benefit thinking it would make Silas want to be his wife that he was trying to replace. The attempted rape sickened me, he deserved what he got. I feel bad for Daphne but she understood why.

 
Mrs. Forrestor reminded me of Serena from Handmaid’s Tale.

I listened to this because i missed the chance at seeing the movie. I thought this would be a cute cozy listen but it was surprisingly more than that. I enjoyed the graphic audio at certain times. This turned out to be darker than i expected especially towards the end but there was alot of death throughout.

I really enjoyed the storyline of learning and friendship for survival. I liked meeting all the animals on the island and the mother plot line with brightbeak the gosling was the cutest thing.. seeing Roz learn to become a mother was precious. 

The ending shocked me of how violent it was, how all the animals all came together to protect Roz was amazing but it was upsetting seeing some of them get hurt in the process. 

Ut was sad that Roz had to sacrifice herself and leave the island to even have a chance of becoming whole and returning at some point.

I would read the sequel, I’m invested now.

This book was addicting! I loved the change of pace from my other books and the dystopian vibes. The audiobook narrators did an amazing job and it was very immersive to have the audiobook while reading. 

The plot was interesting and i liked that it wasn’t the typical “fight to the death” games. 

The world building was good but it felt like it should have been in the beginning rather than towards the end. And it still did not cover much as to the Angels and the was the Gauntlets work. We did not get the Handler’s backstory or how often the Gauntlets happen or how the cameras work. It seemed that with the timeline, the Gauntlets happen within two weeks of each other at least. And how are the cameras silent and invisible to the human eye? 

I would have loved a backstory or further explanation of the Angels org. We get snippets that they are chosen of children and get extensive surgeries to make them part robot but it wasn’t really shown. We don’t know how they are chosen or how specifically they are “enhanced.” Not to mention the implied rape by the Handler.

THESE TWO ARE SO FUCKING ADORABLE!!

This was a perfect palette cleanser to avoid going into a reading slump! Short and sweet but the couple is the cutest ever. I loved both of them. Their chemistry was amazing from the start. 

I hated that they both got so into their heads about their hookup and what it could mean for them because they clearly liked each other and wanted to see each other again. 

I really liked that Lily took the initiative to see Sam again in person, because any other way and i think both would’ve lost their nerve and moved on. 

i loved Sam’s love of maps and how enthusiastically he talked about them. And Lily making her own clothes is obviously amazing but to make Sam clothes WITHOUT measurements is so impressive! 

I would totally love a full length book about them!

I liked this book, it was cute and i was not expecting the heavier parts and ideas explored. The teenage crush the characters had on each other was very cute. I totally related the Gabi’s awkwardness. 

I felt very bad for him with his homophobic parents and their relentless expression of it. His Dad annoyed me so much because he brought into literally every conversation that he was in. Even their reasoning angered me because it seems like the book takes place in modern times so it doesn’t even make sense anymore. 

I wish we saw more about their little business venture because it felt that the homecoming plot took over for no reason when their conjoined business was supposed to be the main plot.

The cover art is gorgeous and the narrators were amazing.

As expected, i loved this book same as the last! The vibes were the same cozy feeling but with more action. While Emily & Wendell’s relationship took a small step back in this book we could still see how much they cared for each other with their actions, their feeling never faltered even with others kept trying to tear them apart. I was so happy when they finally got a moment alone lol. 

I liked all the new characters by the end, Rose came around when he finally stopped being so blatantly mean about Wendell to Emily. He deserved that backwards ear. I love Adrianne and wish to see her again in the next book, she seems one to be very successful in the field. POE! I love that he returned and had a part in the story, tho i do wish we met his bride as she was only mentioned so far. The fox fae are interesting little creatures. I liked seeing all the different fae that they encountered throughout, my favorite part. 

The lost scholars rescuing was a bit anticlimactic and they were not at all grateful for it. They were quite rude about it. I felt the same surprise as Emily to the way they acted. 

Wendell’s realm is the perfect embodiment of enchanted forest. Im super excited to see more of it in the next book. It gives me those same nostalgic vibes as the first book.

10/10 perfect no notes
I loved this book! This was a highly anticipated read for me and it did not disappoint. The writing style is one of my favorites, poetical. 

I was interested the whole way through, the chapters in between depicting their previous lives and moments in death were nice but took some getting used to because i wanted to know what was going to happen in the current lifetime. 

This read as well researched and each lifetime chapter was highly detailed and immersive to their time periods. 

I really liked Evelyn and Arden’s relationship(s) and the curse was really sad as you could tell how much Arden was holding back each time because he was the one who remembered everything. It was pretty predictable who Arden was from the beginning but i did second guess it when the other boy came in.  

The demon serving the Mother was interesting, a prequel or novella exploring this more would be nice since there wasn’t much lore included in the book. 

I do think it would be a cool idea to read this book chronologically, starting from the moment Evelyn was created and then going all the way through to their current life. To see how it would be perceived differently by the end. 

The end was a little anticlimactic and open-end which I’m not too fond of but the happy ending for Evelyn’s sister and the others made up for it

 

I underestimated how YA this would be. The premise was interesting enough that i chose it knowing that it would be a little more juvenile than I usually read  but unfortunately it didn't hold my interest enough for me to look past the writing. The dialogue was clunky. The writing was overly descriptive, like every sentence there was a descriptor. And it was predictable from the start, even just from character names, Terra and Brick. The author tried to make Thorne intimidating but he just came off extremely rude and with a lack of boundaries. I think this book is closer the middle grade because I’m sure i would’ve eaten this up at like 12. And this is all before i finished chapter 2.

I enjoyed this book, it was out of my usual genre for a challenge. I liked the atmosphere of the book’s setting, it was a little ‘garden of eden’ esque especially viewing it from Carlota’s pov. I found the hybrids and the research about them plot way more interesting than the romance and subsequent events. 

I did not like the underlying romance between Carlota and Montgomery, because he knew her since 14 and lived around her for that time. I do not believe he only started having feelings later.

I wish this was more explored along with Carlota’s own mixed blood. As well as the cult aspect of the doctor acting as a prophet to the hybrids. 

The cousins severely annoyed me throughout the book, first only Isidro but Eduardo only got worse as it went on. I hated how he took advantage of Carlota and then threw her away but expected her to just accept a life with him after everything just because she isn’t fully human. Disgusting. Isidro was just insufferable, like thats his only personality trait. Also we does he always want to be with Eduardo everywhere? Like he was expecting to go on the honeymoon, and Eduardo wasn’t fazed by it. Weirdo. 

I loved the complexity of all the characters and how much the story forced you to not take information/things at a black & white level. 

I am glad Daisy and her mother were able to move past both of their trauma from childhood and reform their relationship for the better. 

I would have loved some more world building in terms of the house and its abilities as it does seem to be somewhat sentient and eats the dead and can ‘snack’? on the living but were told it isn’t as independent as it seemed but it was? for a little bit. 

Not all of it was Ivy controlling it but we had near no explanation how it could do what it did.

The descriptions of the maggots were truly disgusting! I actually gagged at one point. 

This was another plot hole that was left unanswered, why was the maggots grown in the goat’s stomach the only thing that worked against the house? And how did the house tell Grace this?

This was a hard to rate as there was a good ending and things tied up but still so many plot holes surrounding the house, which is what the plot is based on.