Ria

Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐.

This was good, but also depressing and frustratingly annoying. I was glad to have finished it.

TW: Death of a dog/puppies, death of family members, starvation, robbery, and some violence

I'd thought this was a continuation of the first book, but no. Instead its about land rights and men fighting Indians and I just lost interest. Still good writing, but I liked the first book loads better. 2.5 ⭐

This was a cute ghost hunter story! I really enjoyed this! 4.5 ⭐

Y'all may know that I like going into books blind. All I need is to know which genre, which author, and whether or not AI crap was involved. Otherwise, I will happily go in blind, so I was pleasantly surprised that this had Boudica at the beginning of the novel. Now, granted, I know extremely little about Boudica but the more I'm learning, the more I'm in awe of her power and might. She was before the time of Zena Warrior Princess and made Zena look weak by comparison. Just a bad-ass all around. I therefore get excited when Boudica is featured, though she barely had two chapters, it was still interesting, intense, and I enjoyed it.

That being said, I am not a fan of multiple character povs in fantasy novels. I'm just not. This one alternates between three women, and Herla was my clear favorite. It also has a plot with the far, and trickery and other such things. I wasn't a fan of the fae plotline, but I was invested in Herla's story since she began her character arc in being at Boudica's side and swearing she will one day return.

There's a lot of historical references in here that I just did not get. I'm still new to a lot of history, especially when dealing with other countries than the usa. So most of the references were kinda lost on me.

Overall, this was a story of revenge, power struggles, and who is to rule the land of Britain. It was a good story and well written. The writing was a little flowery at times, but I liked it well enough. A bit slow in the middle, but those who adore action sequences and hefty battles in historical fantasy will definitely enjoy this.

4 ⭐

It was slow and not my taste. 2.5 ⭐

The beginning is my favorite part, but overall this is still one of my childhood favorites. Will is a good character and the battle of good and evil continues to be the theme of the series. This was slightly darker than the first book, though still good for children and adults alike. 4.5 ⭐

A bit slow, here and there, and the ending was a little bit of an author trying a “gotcha!” Moment, but I still enjoyed this quite a bit, though I don't think as much as I did as a child. This ranks right up there with fans of The Black Cauldron and The Chronicles of Narnia, but in a different setting. Less fantasy, more action with historical elements.

Rated. 4.5 stars.

Ireland, selkies and romantic suspense, what's not to love? 5 ⭐

Short, yet good and I always enjoy a good little ghost story. I'm definitely interested in the rest of the series! 4 ⭐

I'm sorry but I was bored.

A mother has a daughter and feels the father abandoned her when it seems just a case of miscommunication and confusion with dates. Not a bad story but I kinda wanted more action than just mild drama. 3 ⭐.

Actual rating 3.5 ⭐ rounded up. This was good writing but slow and a little bit info dumpy. I liked the characters but I liked Lord of the Fading Lands by CL Wilson a LOT better!

Dnf'd. A few good lines, but overall, this was not to my taste. 2.5 ⭐

It starts off strong, but halfway I lose interest. I'll try to come back to this again. Mostly I just think everyone is giving the MC a hard time, and he's just lost his grandfather. There's lovely quotes, lots of bookish references, and a cat. 3.5 ⭐

So many people adore this book, and I'm sad I can't feel the same. This is a “romance” between a 12 year old and a 22 year old. The 12 year old girl is Jewish. The 22 year old is a German Nazi soldier.

There was abuse in this book. I tried to get that this was the history setting, but halfway through, I closed the book and I'm not reading anything else.

Patty, our heroine, is verbally abused, spanked with a belt, bullied, and worse. A hundred pages of favoritism, abuse, and though the writing was good, the sheer amount of racism, sexism, and abuse in this book made me sick to my stomach.

I picked this up because it's a National Book Award Finalist.

This was nothing but garbage.

Huge no thanks.

Rated: 1 ⭐.

An interesting and intense train story of young men forced to war and one man hiding in the train avoiding being snatched being sheltered by a woman. 4 ⭐

This was required reading for me in high school and I still recall it almost word for word. As an adult I'm ninety percent sure she'd led him to the tiger out of jealousy and spite towards the woman he loved. I could be wrong. But that's my guess. 5 ⭐

What the fuck?! And ew! But still utterly captivated and annihilated it in two sittings. Couldn't look away. Gave strong vibes of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca. A slow build sapphic romance. Going in blind is best. 5 ⭐.

Cannibalism and family bonding. What a strange little book and I absolutely despised the mother. The children, however, were absolutely fascinating. 4.5 ⭐

This book continues to make me hate the hierarchy and religion. An informative book, with fascinating photos of witches, medieval times and women. 4.5 ⭐

A very good children's book about the great migration. While the father of Lucy was a bit frustrating as a parent, and Lucy was rather mean towards Prudence, this was beautiful with lovely artwork and a good story. 4 ⭐.

I really wanted to like this but I'm afraid I'm with those who found this appallingly boring. Historically accurate, yet not a whiff of emotional pull. Flat characters, and little action. An important read, to be sure, as all Newberrys are, but this just wasn't for me. 2 ⭐.

This started off strong, then slowly I lost interest around the thirty five percent mark. The writing was still good, but I could not bring myself to care about the characters anymore. I don't know what happened. But it just grew into “meh” for me. 3 ⭐

No idea what the hell this short story was but damn that ending. 4 ⭐

I read this right after My Brother Sam Is Dead, which both books are well written. However, the amount of abuse dealt towards Adam is mind boggling. The parents are infuriating, especially the father, Moses. The subject itself was handled fairly well for a war book, the writing was good, but my god the parents are abusive and awful.

Set during the Lexington battle, this book promises my hands will shake and yeah they did. From the sheer amount of abuse heaped upon Adam. Spankings in the first chapter, and all because he wished the water in the well wouldn't have “evil spirits”. I get that it's the time period, but I'm truly tired of parents spanking children.

There is a brief love interest in the book, but barely. Honestly, the romance wasn't much to write home about.

The battle was interesting, and well written. Fast paced enough to make up for the long winded beginning.

Overall, this wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see why it's required reading. (At least for most schools, I lucked out and this wasn't one of my required books growing up!)

Rated: 2 ⭐