Andie
Books, Coffee & Passion
The Ravens had a promising premise: a sorority that is a coven of witches; the two main characters are Scarlett Winters, a legacy Raven, and Vivi Deveraux, a freshman that is pledging in it. Scarlett's purpose is clear: she wants to be the sorority's next president following her mother and sister's footsteps. Vivi is excited to be in college and away from her mother. She's not interested in sororities and she's shocked when she gets an invitation to pledge in the very exclusive Kappa.
I was excited about this book. The premise sounded amazing but the execution had its flaws. Apart from Scarlett and Vivi, the other characters weren't very fleshed out. The characters' descriptions were also a little weird. The story is told from Scarlett and Vivi's point of view. Scarlett was my favorite POV, by far. She was a great character and the only one who had significant character growth in this story. I liked her. She had a backbone and a strong personality. Her POV kept me engaged. Even when she wasn't nice, that happened a lot in the beginning, she was still the star of this story.
Vivi was the “Not like other girls” perspective. I didn't care much for her. She was too naive, boring and I didn't enjoy being in her mind. Her relationship with her mom was the only thing interesting about her. Her mom was way more interesting than her. It didn't help that she became infatuated with another character very early on. It came out of nowhere. Literally, after a 2-minute random encounter and a few words exchanged, she was daydreaming about this boy. The boy in question, Mason, was also annoying so maybe they do make sense together.
I appreciated how Jackson, another character related to a girl that used to be a sorority sister, was intertwined in the story. I wish his character had been more developed. Some of the other girls seemed promising characters but the character development wasn't there. I liked Mei, even though we don't get much of her in the story. I think that adding her POV would have been more interesting. The magic system was very uncomplicated. I enjoyed it a lot. The story had its mysteries which kept me intrigued. Especially Scarlett's secret. I guessed the big reveal a little early, so I wasn't surprised in the end, apart from some minor details.
The Ravens was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed the sisterhood and how the girls supported each other. I liked Scarlett and was intrigued by where the story was going. Vivi was the major letdown in it and considering that half the book was her POV, it did lower my enjoyment of the story. All that said, I'm still interested in the second book. I'm hoping that after everything these girls went through, Vivi will be less insufferable in the next book.
Can't believe it took me 5 years to pick this book up. It's been on my GR TBR since 2016...
And now... after finishing it in a day, because I couldn't put it down, I'm kicking myself for not picking it up sooner.
I loved it! Both Aiden and Van are amazing characters and MZ has a very skilled way to making the readers fall in love with her characters. The story flows at a perfect pace (for a slow burn) and the writing is great.
This is the most delicious, entertaining, sweet slow burn romance EVER. I need to read more MZ's books, I've only read Dear Aaron and I really liked it.
This would've worked much, much better as a movie. A 90's slasher movie, to be more specific.
I enjoyed it, I was intrigued, kept thinking the story couldn't be as simpler as it seemed, was scared for the MC and I definitely wanted to figure out what was going on.
The thing is... I struggled a lot with Charlie. So MANY DUMB decisions. It got to a point I couldn't care less about what would happen to her.
I still found it very entertaining and surprising. The ending was not what I was expecting at all, I'll give it that.
This was absolutely fantastic! What an amazing story! I loved it!
The trials weren't exactly complex, but this story is SO much more than that.
I couldn't stopped reading this book, read it in a day (I skipped lunch to keep reading it!).
And then that ending blew me away! AWESOME!
Can't wait to read The Gilded Cage, it just became my #1 most anticipated release of 2021.
Full review to come
I finished reading this 2 days ago and I'm still emotionally raw. Still thinking about this trilogy and I don't think I'll ever forget it.
I freaking loved it. I suffered through this, it's not an easy ride, Brandon Sanderson made me love this characters so much that I cried and cried while reading some of the most emotional scenes EVER.
The Mistborn trilogy is fantastic. There are no words to describe how amazing this ending was. I was shocked through most of this book and I'm in awe with Brandon Sanderson. He's now definitely my favorite fantasy author.
The level of detail in this, the magic system, the world building, the characters, the journey, the emotional conflict, absolutely astonishing.
And now... my heart aches because I've read it and I wish I could read this three amazing books for the first time, again.
When it comes to the rating... this whole trilogy deserves so much more than 5 stars. It was THAT good.
If you like Fantasy stories, I highly recommend it: PLEASE read it.
This was a very weird book. I enjoyed it, loved the science fiction aspect of it and it seemed, at least to me, the topic was very well researched. The concept was definitely unique and I was intrigued by where the story was going.
I think that the fact I thought this was a thriller impacted my enjoyment, it didn't really fit the genre in my opinion. That isn't necessarily bad, but it did impact my enjoyment, while listening to it, considering that I kept expecting something to happen for it to become a thriller. If that makes sense.
Anyway, this story is very well written, has some mystery (not much though) and it kept me interested. The ending... wasn't my favorite. Or maybe I missed the point.
Overall, I liked it for its uniqueness and it's definitely an entertaining book. I just didn't love it.
For such a short book, this was amazing! I loved it!
Murderbot is an amazing character, the world was very intriguing - I wanted more for sure, but for a short book I was amazed by the fact we did get lots of info about the world-, and the plot kept me hooked. Martha Wells is a very talented writer.
I'll definitely keep reading this series.
Books, Coffee & Passion
August was a college student that just moved to New York, she was a loner and she was trying to make it on her own. She got a job and she managed to get a room in an apartment with three other roomates. The story truly begins to unfold when she meets a mysterious, gorgeous girl on the subway and can't stop thinking about her.
August was a very sweet character, really smart – her detective moments were so enjoyable. I liked her relationship, with its ups and downs, with her mom. It felt realistic. Her character growth was wonderful, the way she got more confortable with herself and how she connected with her roommates and Jane was genuinely entertaining.
Jane was very hot, very cool with her punk rock style and very, very interesting. I devoured the glimpses we got of her life, the 70s music, her life as a biracial lesbian in the 70s, etc. I think she was the most interesting character, so I wanted more of Jane at some moments. Considering her location, I get it was hard to have her on page as much as August but, regardless, I definitely wanted more of her.
I loved August and Jane together and I loved the found family aspect in this story too. AMAZING. The secondary characters stole my heart: Myla, Niko and Wes were EVERYTHING! I loved their interactions, loved their friendship, loved their relationships, loved them! I laughed a lot while listening to the audiobook.
Overall, One Last Stop felt unique, creative and refreshing. The scifi element in this book was very well done. However, the pacing was off at times, it felt like the book dragged for a bit especially at the beginning. Fortunately, it got better in the second half of the book and I still enjoyed it a lot. I wish we got a glimpse into the future of August and Jane's relationship, it would've wrap up the story much better.
During the first 10-15% of this book, I was thinking that this would be a SK miss for me, but then I really started to get into the story.
This felt like a 80's Stephen King and I really enjoyed it.
There were some details that made me feel like the story dragged a little, but I definitely recommend this book.
Books, Coffee & Passion
The 5 star reviews are always the hardest to write. When a book grips you, almost stops your heart repeatedly and makes you cry and pray for the characters you love so much, it's hard to put it all into words and do it justice. But here I am, trying to do just that with The Dragon and The Queen.
I've been reviewing this series since The Raven and The Dove, book one, released and even though I loved it from the first page, it's fantastic to see how much this series has grown. The Dragon and The Queen, the third book, is now my favorite book in the series! The character growth in it is perfection! Seeing how much Lyanna, Rafe, Xander and Cassi have evolved into such powerful characters is fascinating. Even Malek!
The action scenes were riveting and I was glued to every page. Honestly, I couldn't read it fast enough because I just wanted to KNOW everything but I also didn't want to reach the last page because then the book would end. The characters deeply emotional connections, their selfless actions, the true love they had for each other really glowed through it all. The pining was breathtaking! The friendships and how these characters bonded, even through their mistakes, were amazing moments too. I couldn't put my Kindle down.
The fact that this is the third book in the series makes it harder to write a review without spoiling it. But I don't want to spoil it, if you like fantasy stories you NEED to read this series. It's so worth it! This world is pretty magical, these characters are flawed and amazing, the plot is impressive and there are a lot of surprising twists and turns with great action scenes. The story flows beautifully and the ending... explosive!
The Dragon and the Queen was a mind blowing roller coaster. I'm crazy in love with this series! The world building, the character development, the magic system, the story telling were amazing and all of these characters stole my heart. Can't wait for the next book, that I already need desperately!
Whoa... this was freaking perfect! I'm in love with the Mistborn series, these characters have my heart and I'm in awe. The emotional journey is amazing... My heart stopped at times and I want to pick up The Hero of Ages asap.
Brandon Sanderson is one of the most talented fantasy writers EVER.
If you love fantasy, you NEED to read this series.