Suzi

This was mind blowing - I knew a tiny bit about this but the sheer amount of information and research it must have taken to produce this book is immense. It was long but it covered a lot of people and a lot of information so was worth it. I did listen to this one on audio (which is read by the author) which was a great choice, it was a hard listen content wise but it was well written, well presented and digestible. I'll definitely be looking at her other books.

This was just so good. Absolutely impossible to stop once started and the twists were great.

This was a great novella, unrelated to but set in the same world as Elantris.

The magic system and the characters were really interesting and I do hope we see more of Shai and Ashravan in the Cosmere.

The issue I had with this was Shai's constant inner monologue, it just grated on me so much and was unnecessary to the story.

I've been reading so much dark, epic fantasy and horror recently that this was such a refreshing change.

Yes it's YA and it definitely read like YA at times, but I still really enjoyed it. The world and story were rich and immersive, although I do wish we'd had a bit more time in the competition at the start.

I love it when I find a good, interesting non-fiction book about something I've never heard about...and this fits perfectly.

As I live in the UK, I hadn't heard about the sub-prime mortgage crises or the awful situation in East New York during these years and how the two were intertwined.

Well written and well narrated, I'll definitely look for more from this author.

This was great! Amazing characters and brilliant horror scenes.

I did have some gripes in that there were some loose ends which weren't tied up so I still had some questions by the end, and I felt like the kids should have been aged up a bit. It felt a bit unbelievable that these kids doing all these things are only 11.

The writing was easy and comfortable, it was paced well so quite a quick read for a 600+ pages horror book.

It took me a little while to get used to the 2 different POVs of Gormflaith and Fodla - very different women (one a queen, one a healer), but both trying to survive in a bleak and brutal world of men, kings and Vikings.

Historical fantasy is definitely one of my favourite sub-genres, and this hit a lot of high points for me - I loved the setting and the politics with all of the clans and kings over Ireland. I enjoyed the characters, although I did get them mixed up at times. The pacing and writing were great, and I especially enjoyed listening to this one on audio, to hear the Irish names pronounced correctly (instead of being butchered in my head!).

I'll be reading book 2 very soon.

Unbearable people being unbearable to each other, then a twist at the end I saw coming a mile off.

Should have DNFd but wanted to see if I was right.

I wasn't quite as connected to this instalment as I was with the previous two but I did really enjoy the direction this has taken after the Scrimmage.

I also like how we see how Paige isn't the shiny infallible chosen one, yes she's in a position of power but she's still young, impulsive and isn't immortal so does actually have to work for their goals.

Definitely one of the strongest instalments in the series.

This follows the progression of Henry VIII from a young and promising Prince, to the brutal, paranoid despot he ended up, all told through the life of Margaret Pole.

I always like that these stories are often told from the point of view of someone outside of the immediate royal family, so we get a sense of the goings on of a household, political maneuvering and drama but also the family life of those in the court.

I've always had a bit of an up and down relationship with King's books - at the core they are great stories, but they're often long, meandering and bloated with unnecessary tangents.

This book did have some of those things, but compared to others it was nearly as bad and I ended up really enjoying it. I even teared up a little at the end!

Definitely my favourite King to date.

5 stars, as usual. The woman cannot write a bad book. I'm so glad to see this is going to be a series too.

Another great instalment in this series, I especially enjoyed the setting in Chinatown and the Chinese mythology sprinkled throughout.

I wasn't sure about this at the start, I was unsure how Maria's story would go, we hadn't met Charlotte and I didn't really connect with Alice's chapters, but there was a shift during one of Maria's chapters and I was completely hooked.

This is dark and atmospheric and I really enjoyed it.

A good intro to the author's world, characters and writing style, all of which I liked. I especially liked the very end which opened up a load of questions about the mysterious assassin in grey and how he fits into the plot.

I thought I knew what Cradle was about...then I read it and realised I didn't know what Cradle was about.

That said, I did enjoy it! It was a bit of a slow start and the world building was a bit lacking, but things definitely picked up in the second half.

I didn't feel particularly connected to Lindon but as the books are quite short, I feel like this will change in the next book.

I really didn't expect the sci-fi elements of this, and at the moment I'm still really unsure where that's going to go and how it will play into the longer plot but I am intrigued.

I loved The Last Mrs Parrish but this was so contrived with so cringy writing and dialogue. It doesn't even seem like its written by the same people.

This has been on my radar for a while and I'm so glad I decided to read it (just ahead of book 3 being released!)

Whilst I love a traditional fantasy setting, I really loved the world that this was set in and the mix of fantasy and industry, such as the pyrestones and stormhulks.

I really enjoyed all of the character POVs and where their storylines took them across the world, the pace was spot on with short, interesting chapters and packed full of action and political maneuvering.

I can't wait to see where this series goes next!

This series just gets better and better with each book. My god.

DNF @ 64% (27hrs audio)

There's a good story in here but I just can't get on with many, many casual threats and mentions of rape and assault. It's been years since I read the first book so I'd clearly forgotten how bad it is, but its so jarring each and every time it comes up, which is a lot. And for this to be written by a woman is even worse.

DNF @ 52%

I think the author was trying to write an adult thriller but it still read very much as YA, from the over explaining of every little detail, to the relationship forming between Alex and Daniel. I'm not against YA but this just felt confused, like it didn't know what it wanted to be. It was also boring and I just don't have it in me to finish.

This was so good, I absolutely flew though this one. Whilst I liked book 2 a little less, this one was definitely on the same level as book 1 for me. Onto the next!

Well that was underwhelming.

Given how much I loved and reread the original trilogy, and how much I enjoyed Haymitch's character, I expected to love this but I was so disappointed.

There's 200 pages of build up in a 372 page book, then a completely dull "games", him pining over "Lenore Dove" and then a super quick ending.

I haven't read Ballad but I am now even less excited to do so. Ugh.

So this was definitely a vibe....unfortunately it was not my vibe.

I can sort of understand why so many people love this, but it's really not my kind of thing. It's long, slow, pretentious and honestly a bit boring, which is the worst thing a book can be.

The first half wasn't that bad, I was intrigued enough in these fairly unlikeable characters, their mysterious classics class and how they would eventually come to kill one of their friends.

Then said big event happened and after that I just did not care one bit. It was repetitive and meandering, there was a lot of telling and not showing. It was tedious.

I'm glad I tried it as it's so beloved but it wasn't one for me.

Another great instalment in this series, albeit not my favourite.

I absolutely loved the first half of this one, however the second half just got a bit too wild - there was so much going on, it just became a bit too much at times.

The epilogue was very intriguing so I'm looking forward to book 5.