This was... heartbreaking; and yet so human and sweet. Thomas Siddell is a master storyteller. How can so much be said in such few pages? In black-and-white strokes of ink? My heart hurts, and I'm thoughtful and in awe.

I was given a free eARC of Sons of Slaughter in exchange for an honest review. *cracks knuckles* aight, here goes, one Honest Review coming right up.
Sons of Slaughter is a book about love, loss, courage, strength, weakness, and above all - friendship. The relationship between Beck and Dean is just the sweetest, most heart-wrenching thing ever. McBride's take on sensitive subjects such as mental illness, suicide, teenage pregnancy and physical abuse is realistic but compassionate, and my heart was aching constantly while reading through it. The two MCs are credible and three-dimensional, I could never decide on a favorite character. Well-paced, gripping and bittersweet, this is the story of two boys fighting for what they love, fighting to live. The battle is long and hard - but they are wolves of war.
Overall, a solid psychological YA novel that I wholeheartedly recommend to...well, anybody.

I honestly dont know if I'll ever find the words to fully describe how much I loved this book. I actually put off reviewing it for two months after finishing, because I didn't even know what I'd say. That I was fully and completely sucked into the dusty and magical Barcelona described in it? That I read a hundred pages or more every day? I read whenever I could - at school, while eating, before bed, in the bus stop late at night, with only the light from street lamps to help me along. I even read while texting. (My best friend Han can confirm this.)
I was mesmerized.
I've never read a novel so...so splendidly COMPLETE, so massive as this one. I'm scrambling for the right word, and by massive I don't mean 1000 pages. I mean it's got EVERYTHING. It flows easily and masterfully from historical fiction to comedy to political satire to?? Slice of life-y relatable vibes?? To fluffy romance?? To tragically doomed romance???TO HORROR???? After finishing it I felt like I'd read a whole library, not a single book. It's just so..so MUCH. I laughed and cried and gaped and felt everything the characters did. .
The Shadow of the Wind is a love letter to books, to the lives they touch and the people they bring together or tear apart. To the power they hold to do all this. It's beautiful and moving and filled with all the pain and dirt and horror life holds. It's even vulgar sometimes. But I wouldn't get rid of a single word. After all, it's not every day you get to read a whole library in just over 500 pages.

It was alright. Cute and fun and entertaining, that's for sure, which is just what I expected. But rather shallow. I like a book that makes you think. And it's not that i expected a YA contemporary high school romance flick to be just that, but I expected some character growth, y'know? I liked Lara Jean, but I wanted her to grow up a little. She was quite silly and, being her age myself, I couldn't relate to how she..never seemed to think of much beyond Boys And Clothes And My Sisters plus the occasional story about her mom. Like...bruh. also her relationship with her friend Chris was pretty shallow too. Chris only shows up when the plot wants her around. *SIGH*
It was fun, I'll give it that. Distracting, and that's what I wanted when I picked it up. It met my expectations, and that's not exactly saying much. I had a fun time with it though, and flew through it in the space of an afternoon and the next morning.

Absolutely loved the effusive description, charmingly decadent and witty banter - on the whole, this isn't your wholesome classic novel - this is a book that makes you think. You take it as you will, you don't call it Good or Bad...you don't even need to agree. You simply sit back and think.

Awwww... this is so sweet..have I mentioned I absolutely adore C.G. Drews' writing??it's heartfelt and messy and beautiful. And I adore her characters. The De Laineys are such a lovable mess and I am HERE for it. I love each and every one.

I have hereby decided that anything C.G. Drews writes, I will read. When I first picked up A Thousand Perfect Notes, and it touched me in ways no book has ever done before, I figured hey, why not put myself through another bout of emotional trauma! And, even though I couldn't relate to the events in TBWSH like I could for ATPN, it was...it was so good anyway. I cried and sobbed. It was just as raw and poetic and heartfelt - I am in LOVE with Drews' writing style??like it is so, so, so soft and honest and open and WARM, I actually can't convey the full feel of it in words! You just NEED to read something this woman has written, at least ONCE in your life. It draws you right in and doesn't let you go. I read all of TBWSH in one afternoon.
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I loved the characters. I wanted to wrap them up in a blanket and keep them SAFE. It was absolutely heartwrenching and filled with longing and love and warmth and chaos and AAAAAAAAAAAA. AAAAAAAAA i still haven't fully recovered. I don't think anyone ever fully recovers after a C.G. Drews book. How dare you, Drews
? Do you CRAVE our suffering? Do our tears fuel your well of inspiration? here, have mine, and KEEP ON CRANKING OUT THIS STUFF

If you're at all interested in Romanian culture (obscure as it may be, I do know a few people who are) you will LOVE Povestea Lui Harap-alb. It's a long, long fairy tale with plenty of magic, strange creatures, enchanted objects, plots and trickery and friendly hero banter. I read it when I was very little but I'd forgotten all about it, and now, reading it again for school, I laughed aloud reading it and was drawn in and dazzled by it all over again. Creanga's style is so witty, so...friendly, one might even call it, that you feel as if you are sitting with him by an open fire while as he tells you tales of adventure and bravery. I love this thing! (And the Red King's sorceress daughter is awesome.)