Karolina

Their earlier conversations were pretty moronic tbh.

This is a good birth control advertisement 😅

Trauma galore. It gives The Babadook vibes.

Apparently I'm one of the few that actually bought this book and didn't receive it as an ARC 😅

I liked the prose but this feels so much like just a step into another book.

Cassius and Muninn's relationship was a bit rushed at the end. It felt like they hated each other for like 80% of the book and then zas! They want each other.

I did appreciate the representation.

Atmosphere builds up slowly but nicely.

I could relate to the feminine ambivalence of fearing motherhood but also fearing not being a mother.

"The horror of giving birth can't be captured" YES!

Nice

Ancient methods of keeping women out of power still being employed today, what a shock 😒

I wanna raise my voice even more now.

On the positive: ▪️ It blends fantasy and Gothic elements very well. The castle is its own entity. ▪️ It also questions tradition and rituals.

On the negative: ▪️ Too fkn dense. It takes some time to get the pace of it. ▪️ It felt like it would never end. It drags.

Just two sisters bonding 🥰

Will was the best part of this. Across the country and still pining over a married man you haven't seen in two years? 🚩🚩

This is way too similar to Catching Fireflies.

It was sweeter than I anticipated. The lobotomy threat had me sweating.

This is so fucking good. Heart wrenching and lovely and devastating. Rafael Nicolás writes so, so beautifully. I live for the all the commentary on the hypocrisy of religion, the holes in the biblical tales and the expanded points of view. How can all creatures not be evil if evil is where we come from?

Some quotes I highlighted: "Wickedness is something so natural in humans that if it comes from the devil it comes from the part of the devil that is god."

"But if an angel could die, let him suffocate to death kissing a man."

"Maybe no man was good enough for a woman."

Damon's changed of heart toward Roman could've been better explained. It was so sudden for no reason it gave me whiplash.

The Fated mates trope's either hit or miss, isn't it? I think this one was okay. Just an easy sweet read.

Mixed feelings here. It was short but it was exhausting. I did enjoy the prose and the romance.

This book wrecked me. It has me made reflect so much on life, our purpose, the meaning of it all...

Although Stoner remains hopeful even when every hope is crushed (and I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE) and that's worthy in itself I just can't stop reflecting on my own life. Gosh it is that deep. This is one of those books that make you FEEL.

Death of a Salesman vibes overall.

The criticism of the Bible (and religion) using the same words in the book was awesome. I like the satire and humor in this. Very thought provoking.

Predictable but short and sweet

I really enjoyed this one. The author made an awesome job portraying an unhinged, funny, weird and traumatized woman. I loved that Greta was in her 40s, dealing with shit the only way she knew. I'm gonna read the author's other books after this one.

I love the arrange marriage trope and this one was pretty sweet.

I don't know about this. If Celine hadn't died then Franklin would've stayed with her and no change would have happened whatsoever. It felt like he wouldn't have chosen Leland if she was still around.

I get why people either loathe or love this one but I dug it. I guess I'm the target audience for this.

I really liked how the creatures are vipers (I initially thought they were vampires) and how curious Alina is.

Nice quick rundown on American politics in the 50s. Many of the same prejudices that against JFK are the same today.

This was fun. So many things happening.

Loving the lore

It's really interesting how grief is the central part of these stories and yet the author manages to keep us entertained with humor and love stories.

Doyle is a saint btw.

Never been more in agreement with Larkin than when he said: "It's healthy to humble straight men now and then".