Alizée

Not Gonna Lie... I was not expecting to enjoy this book this much!
This is a clever mix of science, environmental message, traditional way of life and personal anecdotes. It made me want to go on one of these camping trips with Robin Wall Kimmerer and see nature through her eyes - and I think she gets us there with her poetic story telling.

This book is not saying that we got it all wrong and are fully against nature. On the contrary, it is putting us human back in our eco system, reminding us that we should live in harmony with the plants and other beings surrounding us. That we should be more humble in front of them and learn from them.

As a young mum, this definitely made me want to teach my kids to be more grateful to the earth, more aware of the costs of our materialistic life and introduce a gift economy in our home - I know need to pass this wisdom to my husband to get him onboard.

If you're looking at way to improve your lifestyle, if you are wondering how to better connect with nature - I highly recommend this book.

I finally picked up Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and... okay, I get the hype now. It's such a charming blend of cozy fantasy and quiet adventure, wrapped in a very academic, slightly detached narrative voice that somehow works perfectly for the story.

Emily Wilde is a scholar through and through—her encyclopedia is her life's work, her main motivation, and honestly her entire personality. She travels to a remote northern island to study the Hidden Ones, expecting just another field expedition, but of course things don't go quite as planned.

What I loved most was the scholarly angle. Emily's passion for her research, the way she approaches faeries almost like case studies, and how much more comfortable she is with folklore than with people—it all felt so unique. At the same time, it made me wish the book went even deeper. We get glimpses of so many different types of fae and their stories, but often through secondhand tales rather than direct interaction. I would absolutely read a full version of her encyclopedia or even a collection of in-world folklore—there's clearly so much more to explore.

That said, when the story does lean into action, it really shines. The moments where Emily directly encounters the Folk—whether she's helping them or trying to survive them—were some of my favorites. Still, I found myself wanting more explanation in certain places, especially when it comes to symbolism. The book emphasizes how important symbols are in faerie lore, but doesn't always follow through on that (I'm still wondering about those ravens...).

As for the characters, I was surprised to find myself warming up to Wendell more than Emily. I didn't like him at first, but he really grew on me—there's more depth to him than expected, and I loved how attentive and unpredictable he can be. Emily, on the other hand, is fascinating but a bit frustrating. She insists she only cares about her work, yet her actions constantly contradict that. She can come across as cold—even cruel at times—but then shows unexpected moments of kindness and guilt. That contradiction made her feel complex, but also slightly inconsistent in a way that didn't fully land for me.

The main reason this wasn't a full 5-star read, though, is the emotional distance and the ending. Emily's personality naturally limits the emotional depth, which I didn't mind at first, but I did end up missing that stronger emotional pull. And the ending felt... abrupt. There's so much build-up to this important academic conference, and then we're cut off right before it happens. I assume it'll be explored in the next book, but it was a bit frustrating to not get that payoff here.

I'm definitely curious about the sequel and where the story goes next, but at the same time, this book could have stood perfectly well on its own with just a bit more closure. As it is, I'm interested—but not quite compelled to jump into book two immediately.

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I went into it expecting epic battles, heroic moments, and perhaps a certain romanticism around vampires (I should admit I never read the back cover). Instead, I found a story about struggle, survival, and love.

The narrative structure surprised me the most. The entire book is essentially Gabriel telling his life story to Jean-François, who records it for us. At first, I was worried that this story-within-a-story format would quickly grow tiring, but Jay Kristoff's writing is so smooth and immersive that I remained deeply engaged—though the pacing occasionally slowed in places.

Gabriel is the last of the Silversaints, a vampire hunter now imprisoned by the very creatures he once fought. Execution awaits him, yet he is asked to recount how humanity lost its last hope. There is something almost cruel about forcing him to relive and document his failures, and I found myself questioning why this record is necessary—perhaps only so that we, the readers, can witness the story.

Jean-François, his jailer and our narrator, interrupts the tale from time to time to ask for clarification. In theory, he serves as a bridge between Gabriel and the reader, but in practice I sometimes found him frustrating. He asks questions on our behalf, yet oddly avoids the one I most wanted answered: who is Gabriel's mysterious nightly visitor? When that revelation finally comes, it arrives only when the story is ready for it, which makes Jean-François feel less like a meaningful character and more like a narrative device.

The worldbuilding was another highlight. The secret order of the Silversaints, the vampire armies, and a world where the sun never fully rises create a dark and compelling atmosphere. That said, I occasionally wished we could see more of how this eternal night affects ordinary people rather than simply hearing about it through Gabriel's recollections.

Gabriel often says, “Better a bastard than a fool.” And while he certainly is a bastard, I found him to be deeply thoughtful and surprisingly philosophical. It has been a long time since I annotated a book this much—Kristoff fills the story with reflections and sharp lines of wisdom that felt almost like dark little fortune cookies scattered throughout the narrative.

The ending also leaves us with a clear cliffhanger. We still don't learn how Gabriel ultimately lost humanity's salvation, and Jean-François hints that there is much more to the story yet to be told. It certainly makes me curious to pick up Empire of the Damned. But at the same time, I can't help wondering: will the next book remain another tale told by the fire, or will it finally become a story we live alongside Gabriel?

I have to come clean and say that I've read My Lucky Charm first, which is book 2 of this series and... I preferred Eloise's love story.

But still, this is was a strong read. It has one of my favourite romance's trop and it was perfectly executed: the Fake Dating !! This is what we want! Contract, mutual benefits and slowly falling in love.

I really loved discovering Poppy and her culinary world. She has a dream and she go for it even if the odds were against her - and that's bravery. Dallas is totally right when he told her she is sooo brave.

It was also nice to discover Dallas and how he struggled to reconcile his turbulent past with who he now wants to become. I wished we would have seen more hockey to be honest but it is what it is.

One miss for me is how we don't develop more the ASL. I loved how it has been integrated in the storyline, how we are always told that Poppy's family is constantly signing when her dad is around, turning on the captions and how we don't discuss that they have to do it. It made ASL nothing extraordinary. However I would have loved to see our love interests show an... interest in it. Family is such a big thing for the Hart's sisters, one would have thought that their partners would try to learn it.

A cute little story but a couple of red flags that could have been addressed!
At least Holly made me realised how grumpy I have been towards my husband lately and how he was taking it like a champ! She was sooo much in her head and sooo much spiralling, it got frustrating a bit.
I liked the settings, it would have been nice to see a bit more of the highlands.

A fast read and a cute romance