Candice

Meh. I really wanted to love this. The general plot, interesting. But the writing felt half done. There were multiple paragraphs or even baby to back sentences saying the exact same thing like editing was still trying to decide which one they liked better.

The romance was very insta love. And the second “I love you” is said - so now we have sex?

It was just a part big let down after absolutely loving For She is Wrath.

The writing of this novel is definitely not Sanderson. So don’t go in expecting it. The magic system and world building however is very much Sanderson. If you’re not a big music nerd this one might not be super enjoyable because there are a lot of references to musical composition, artists and songs.

Overall the plot of the book was interesting. There are shadow world that go down from modern day where each level down represents an older time period all the way down to ancient times. The lower levels are mad because a lot of their history is lost or represented so they want to wage war to rewrite history using, you guessed it, music.

There were many times where the story seemed to drag but had good bursts of action to keep it engaging. Overall it was fine but not exceptional for me.

This is such a cozy, fast paced adventure. Cy, a VALET, is charged with basically my helping Greyson, the son of his inventor (and founder of Ai+) get his life on track. But when they learn that the company is going to be sold by Grayson’s younger sister, the current CEO, things take a turn. Cy and Grayson find themselves on the run from all kinds of characters and someone find themselves in all kinds of trouble.

This book is a caper, a sci-fi romp, a heartfelt story about friends and family, and a refreshingly unique story.

This book is absolutely adorable. Magical vet school. Rival students fighting to be top of their class. And a snarky feline familiar. What’s not to love.

The premise for this book is a breathe of fresh air. It’s magic but not the typical fae/romantasy that’s so prevalent right now. Harrisford’s POV chapters were my favorite. You really got to understand him, him motivations and see his growth. Gwen’s chapters I enjoyed a bit less. She was very “I hate him. He’s so handsome it’s not fair. I hate him” what felt like every 5 pages. It’s just got repetitive and she never really had the same character growth as him.

I’ll definitely be looking forward to the next installment of this series.

I will start by saying I love Shea Ernshaw’s writing. So right out of the gate I know I’m going to at a minimum really enjoy the book.

For this one specifically it starts out as a time bending fantasy - a girl loving on the coast sees a fabled floating island and decides to check it out. She meeting a man. When he ushers her back to her boat to go home after mere hours, turns out on land she’d been gone days. Fast forward, that time greatly shaped her life and when the opportunity to go back to the island (to make sure it wasn’t all a dream) presents itself, Ellie takes it. But now she’s in her 30s. An adult. And the man - he’s the same. Hasn’t really aged at all in all the years Ellie has spent growing up, getting a career, and a fiancee.

Ellie’s return to the island is the bulk of the book. Then we hit like the last 1/4 and time as continued to move forward and unbeknownst to Ellie and Clay, it’s now a post apocalyptic world. So the last of the novel really dives into the post apocalyptic landscape and how they will choose to end their lives together.

Yes there’s romance but not so much that I’d call it a romance forward book. It’s more focused on Ellie’s growth and the feelings she goes through while trying to determine what the “right” path for her life is.