zoeelizabethk's Reviews (642)

I've read The Ocean at the End of the Lane before, but it's been so long and I remembered almost nothing. This book was creepy and puzzling and mind boggling. Overall I enjoyed it but I'm also not quite sure what to do with the ending. I do think Gaiman really expresses the reality of being a little kid and bringing a little kid's fears to life and the mistakes of parenting and how those affect a kid. 3.5 stars

"We never truly bury the dead. We always carry a part of them with us.”

In Hills of Heather and Bone, a necromancer is hunted for her powers, and Morana and Percy are forced to flee those who would see her dead for being a boneweaver. Will they be able to find a place where they can live in peace?

Hills of Heather and Bone by K.E. Andrews has my entire heart. Have you ever read a book that feels like it was written just for you to touch you profoundly and heal your soul? Hills of Heather and Bone is that for me. 

For me the highlight of this book is the exploration of grief. And not just grief when a loved one dies, but also the grief of chronic illness, of lost hopes and dreams, of the daily struggle to stay present to the good things. I rarely see descriptions of people struggling to grieve like I do, and so seeing Morana (and Percy's) path through grief and struggle really touched me and gave me hope. 

In terms of characterization, I really appreciated reading about a character with arthritis and the way Morana thought about her illness and acted because of it absolutely rang true for me. And having Percy and Morana as an established couple was so lovely. Their love story is slowly revealed throughout the book through flashbacks, and their story is beautiful, sad, and so realistic. Andrews doesn't shy away from showing the low points of marriage and the struggles of doing life together and more books should be doing this. 

I also really liked the worldbuilding and magic system going on here. I found the concept of bloodgifted and the variety of gifts intriguing and I loved the tie in with the Scottish and Celtic folklore and pantheon. The Failinis felt like a real threat and I often found myself infected by Morana's fear of them and nervous for her and Percy. My only complaint is that parts of the worldbuilding were a little underdeveloped and as a result, some of the side characters were lacking a bit in characterization. But for me to be as in love with this world as I am with only 350 pages in a standalone, I'm quite impressed.

While this review makes Hills of Heather and Bone sound very dark, K.E. Andrews balances the dark and the light, despair and hope, struggle and rest so beautifully. Her descriptive, evocative prose and the focus on herbs and nature was a great choice for this story, because those glimmers of beauty and remembrance anchor the story and make the book cozy and hopeful when it could have felt much bleaker. This is a book that holds a special place in my heart and is a book I will be revisiting often.

I will forever love anything to do with James Herriot. The Wonderful World of James Herriot shares some of the best of the stories from the Dales and beyond, interspersed with insight into the life and inspiration of James Wight from his children Jim and Rosie. This was a delight to read, and, even if like me you've read all the Herriot books multiple times, this book is still worth checking out for a glimpse into our favorite vet's life.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I"m not going to lie. I struggled with Engines of Empire. It felt a bit like Ford was trying to put too much into the book and I wished we would slow down a bit to spend more time with the characters. So I'm delighted to say that Engines of Chaos felt like a huge step up. The first half was much more character focused and I was so much more invested in the Hawkspurs and especially Ansell. Despite taking more time to focus on characters the plot kept going and kept me intrigued. The back half of the book felt more plot heavy, but I was so much more invested now that I liked the characters. The the reveals at the end - I'm super curious about what's going on with the magic and how R.S. Ford will wrap this up!

I mostly listened to the audiobook, and really liked our narrators and they told the story well!

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for an advance eARC and an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

Labyrinth's Heart was a great finale to The Rook and Rose trilogy. I'm very sad to be leaving these characters now. So... Labyrinth's Heart...
the good of it
- the character interactions and relationships as always were fabulous. This series seriously has some of my favorite found family! The characters made me feel things!
- the twist was well done and I'm impressed with how the authors made it make sense in context of the previous books and laid clues without giving it away
- everything coming together was very satisfying and as in the last point, speaks to the plotting of the series overall

the ill of it
- the first half was a bit draggy, but once the second half kicked it it didn't let up

and that which is neither:
- the ending was slightly convenient, but also just what I wanted out of it, so your mileage may vary
- some of our favorite side characters were slightly neglected, but I honestly didn't really notice cause I was immersed in the main story.

Overall I highly recommend Rook and Rose and can't wait for more people to read it!

Thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I also listened to the audio narrated by Nikki Massoud, who is fantastic at bringing the characters to life!

It's very hard for me to rate a book like Ain't Burned All the Bright. It's very conceptual and also very visceral and in-the-moment-feelings. It's very dark while also reminding you to breathe. I think at its heart it captures an experience of a very particular moment in time and the feelings, confusions, struggles, and moments of beauty despite all the hard.

Wow, what a beautiful story that tackles hard themes around immigration, belonging, place, womanhood, motherhood, sibling dynamics, and the cost of secrets. I loved all of our characters and Alyan really made me feel their unique struggles and concerns, and I loved the way each of the characters got the ending they needed in the book. I did feel like there was a chunk in the middle where the pace dragged just a little and I wasn't sure where we were going anymore, but Alyan brought it all together for a great ending. Be sure to check out trigger warnings - this was not a light book and ultimately had a bit more sex and secrets and betrayal than I prefer, but I do feel like these things were handled well. Highly recommended for those who love multigenerational sagas, multiple timelines, and immigrant stories.

Surprisingly not super creepy, but a bit unsettling. While I found the plot fairly predictable, I did enjoy the story and atmosphere.

Unfortunately I dnf'd this at 50%. Initially I was really enjoying The First Date Prophecy, but it was such a slow setup and by the time we got fully into the relationship, the characters just weren't doing it for me. Additionally, the male narrator's audio was slightly fuzzy and he narrated at a different pace from the female narrator, so I struggled to connect with Rudy as a character and was left frustrated. I think this book will be more to other people's taste, but unfortunately it wasn't to mine. Good for romance readers who like a slow set up and slow burn of a couple who are "destined" to do great things together.

Thanks to Highbridge Audio and Netgalley for an audioARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed being back in this Nadezra with our cast of characters. I don't think I liked The Liar's Knot quite as much as The Mask of Mirrors, but it was still a fascinating book. I think I will love it even more on reread when I understand the magic better. For me the highlight of this entry was the character relationships and reveals and I'm so excited to see where these great authors are taking this series in The Labyrinth's Heart.