Nichole

Not for me. I didn't care about the story or the characters. The ending was also not satisfying. 

I'm typically not the biggest fan of dark academia but this book worked for me. The writing was great and the mystery plot really helped to move the story forward and keep me interested. Viola and Sylas had good chemistry and did not just immediately work together. I appreciated that we got the reluctant allies and it was believable. The start of each chapter was an excerpt from a textbook about the magic system. They got a bit tedious throughout the book but they did provide some insight into the magic system and world. I definitely plan to continue with the series.
 
 Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I did not enjoy this one as much. The relationship seemed forced even knowing they had the connection before she died. 

I decided to read this first before jumping into Twisted Obsession. And now that I'm a few chapters into Twisted Obsession I think it is super useful to read the prequel first. It shows us when Melody and Jacob first meet. I feel like Sara should have just included it in the book after the initial release since the background on the characters is somewhat needed.

I loved their banter. 

This was a solid debut! The writing is lyrical with very short sentences. There are also a lot of similes which in some cases became a bit excessive. The plot was engaging and mysterious. There was also a minor romance subplot which was a nice bonus. Where this book fell short was character development. We only learned the very basic about our two main characters. It was odd how little we knew about them beyond the bare minimum and the entire book focuses on their journey with the library so it was not like a bunch of characters needed to be fleshed out. On top of the Elara and James not being well fleshed out neither was the library. I wanted to learn more about it and how it fits in with the Gods. I did feel like the library itself was not well fleshed out. We didn't learn enough about it and how it worked. I feel like this would have made sense to be included as Elara learned about the library. This will be a good book for anyone who wants a gothic mystery with lyrical writing. Just do not expect any major character focus or development.

Thanks to Book Sirens and the author for the ARC!

Not as good as previous books. 

This felt like a carbon copy of the first book, plot and all just with a slightly more unhinged MMC.

I love the family dynamic in this duology but overall this felt rushed. I was really anticipating this book and feel let down with how everything progressed. I know Jaymin has a novella to bridge this series to Shadow Beasts and then a full length novel planned so there is more to come with these characters but I was left mostly unsatisfied with this story arc. 

I'm conflicted about this one. The writing was good and I didn't mind the characters. However, I found it unnecessary that we started following these characters at age 10 and it took 40% of the book before they were adults. Then the last half of the book was over a super short period of time. The pacing was just off and the focus on temptation while they were minors was odd. 

The multiple timelines did not feel as well done in this book compared to The Lost Apothecary. I also was not as invested in the story.

This one was much better than the first. Diem was still annoying but we got more supporting characters. 

This would have been better without the romance.

This was interesting but felt a bit disjointed at the end.

This was so good! The humor, the characters, the story, the world. It was all so well done. I cannot wait to continue.

I really struggled with this. I didn't really care about the characters even though the story was well written and intriguing. I did not get the chemistry between them at all. Not sure I'm going to continue. 

Most of the book felt like it was done for shock factor more than anything else. Definitely dark so mind the trigger warnings. 

The last 20% or so of this really dragged and I just didn't care. I did like the side characters and wish we got more of them. I'm excited to continue the story and see where everything ends up. 

This was really well done and humanized pregnancy loss. The focus on the grief and stigma associated with it were respectful and well told while weaving the history of abortion access in the US.

I really enjoyed this. It was a fresh take on vampires and werewolves in a “utopian” world. The world was fascinating and I loved seeing Saskia grow and fight against the norm. I'm really looking forward to continuing the series and seeing how everything comes together. 

The beginning of this worried me a bit that we would have major instalust/love but I loved that they decided to stay platonic. We got to see them become friends before it turned to love and I appreciated that. The ending was mostly expected and I'm a bit tired of the same “reveal” being in so many series. I'll definitely be continuing the series though. 

Book 3 is still my favorite so far but this one was better than the first two. The banter between Veronica and Stoker is improving and getting spicier as we go. 

So that was a massive disappointment. One of my most anticipated sequels of the year and it was a major letdown. The first book was such a strong start to the duet and the characters were unique. There was danger mixed with plot and spice. But all of that went out the window in this book. It felt like Jaymin and Tate rushed to write this book and we know it was rushed to get out with the editing issue. I think they should have delayed this and spent more time writing the book this could have been. The plot was nonsensical and felt like it was just a random trope generator with spice every other chapter. Eve was even stupider in this book and constantly put herself in danger for no reason. I also question the skills of the guys when they continued to make risky decisions that always ended up with a fight and someone trying to take out Eve. My other major gripe was the guys. Andrew, Haze, and Conner felt like completely different characters compared to book one. They did a complete 180 in this book with little explanation and it didn't fit with what we knew from book 1. 

This was not for me. I enjoyed the vibrant world and the mythology but it was too cozy for me and not enough character development. 

So I initially gave this book 4 stars when I read it back in November of 2015. But after listening to the audiobook of this I have to amend my rating to 5 BRILLIANT STARS. This book is so unique in its story telling and how they story unfolds. And the audiobook brings this unique docket to life with so many different voices, music, and sound effects. You can really tell a whole lot of work went into making this audiobook.

Rereading this book makes me even more excited for Gemina but now I'm also excited for the audiobook as well.