Channi

Divine Rivals is a breath of fresh air in the romantasy genre.

I really wasn’t sure how to rate this book. Emily Henry is one of my favorite authors and what works here works really well, but at the same time I had some issues with the story.

Starting with what works well: as usual, Emily Henry is such a good writer. She can have me laughing out loud one moment and holding back tears the next. Alice is a great protagonist— I found her to be so likable and layered. Additionally, there are plenty of surprises that are fun to unravel.

Now, onto the critiques: There are so many moving pieces in Great Big Beautiful Life, and I think the story would’ve benefited from cutting some parts out and focusing in on certain, more integral elements. Some questions are still unanswered by the end of the novel, which is really frustrating. Additionally, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the love story, which was not the main focus of this novel but still big enough to matter.

This is required reading. RF Kuang is such a talented author, and the way she weaves together complex concepts while also creating deep characters is amazing. The first 100 pages are a little slow compared to the rest, but overall Babel is just such a masterpiece.

Ali Hazelwood is a comfort author at this point. Nobody is going to claim the Steminist novellas are high art, but this one was cute and I liked the characters well enough.

As with the first book, the second book in the Finlay Donovan series is a fun, goofy time. 

My first Sally Rooney and it was... fine. I still don't know what Alice saw in Felix, but I appreciated the email sections and the general conversations Rooney was having about modern life and connection and morality. 

This was a good enough read. I would definitely read another novel by Fagan, and I had fun with some parts. However, there were too many perspectives and the ending was really just... okay. 

This was a very cute book but the tonal shifts kind of gave me whiplash and some of the pacing is downright odd. I liked it, but think that the story should've been longer to help the transitions of emotions, stakes, and plot points make more sense.

I am absolutely enthralled with A Song Of Sin and Salvation. I'm actually shocked this is not being talked about more? Becks and James, you'll always be famous to me. 

Heavy tws for religious trauma, abuse sexual assault. But if you are in the place to and you enjoy romances, I highly recommend this novel. 

Ali Hazelwood may not be out here writing high literature, but her full-length novels are perfect for light hearted fun. 

Deep End was hot 😍

This novel was more enjoyable in the second half, but I almost dnf'ed several times. Still, I would probably read more Stephen Graham Jones and I didn't hate it.

Notes On An Execution is enthralling and scathing, but not for the reasons most stories around crime are. This novel focuses mostly on the women impacted by atrocities a man commits. I loved Danya Kukafka's writing style. Overall, this was pretty spectacular. 

This is the silliest vampire romance novel I have ever read, and that's by design. I appreciated all the oddness My Vampire Plus One harbors, from its accountant protagonist to the strange and endearing nocturnal love interest. While this wasn't a work of art by any means, I had a fun time and sometimes, that's good enough.

First Time Caller is pretty well-written and funny, but I was not invested in the romance, which is a problem when you're reading a romcom. I liked Lucy a lot, but Aiden was grating, especially towards the end. Also, there were to many side-plots, which left all of them feeling half-baked. 

Everything about this book is heartbreaking and appalling. It's going to haunt me for awhile now. 

A Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes is such an interesting character study of how a person can spiral into the worst version of themselves. Snow is, even at his best, a terribly selfish and possessive man. Every character in this book shows different sides to humanity, and it does so brilliantly. Katniss was Snow's karma in so many ways. 

The Hunger Games Trilogy was the first book series I'd ever loved deeply. Rereading them for the first time in a decade has been so emotional. I didn't understand the full implications of this third book as a teen, but as an adult Mockingjay hits so much harder. 

Catching Fire is the definition of a perfect sequel. 

Silvia Moreno Garcia's writing is, as usual, stellar. Yet, the slow pace and disproportionate focus on the courting bogged down this ambitious retelling of The Island Of Dr Moreau. I loved the end, but it was such a slow crawl to that ending. 

This is probably my favorite fantasy YA series that I've read so far. 

This series is about to consume my life. Each character is given such detail and is fully flushed out, the plot is enthralling, and I'm always waiting for more. Look for another review tomorrow when I shirk all responsibilities to read book 3 (kidding... kind of). 

The second book in Sutano's series feels like an unnecessary sequel. I had some fun, but also found the charm of the first book had worn off a little bit.

I really enjoyed We Deserve Monuments. The generational pain that it explores is really well-done and Avery is a great protagonist. At times, the writing can be oddly paced and the ending is a little odd.

Talia Hibbert's books are like a drug. This is my favorite of the Brown Sisters series, but I'd read literally anything she released.

Wow! This was so good! Bree is a fantastic protagonist, and the world building is incredible. I'm so excited to read future installments of this series.