Eryca Liskovec

I read about 50% and skimmed until the end. I would have classified this as a DNF but I put in too much time not to count this, and I figure my other DNFs this year add up to a whole book.

I love Sue Lynn Tan’s writing style and vibe, and the book itself is gorgeous. I almost still want to display it on my shelf despite how much I actually disliked it. The FMC is good at everything except being a good person, and you’re constantly made to feel bad for disliking her bc she had a truly hard life from living in poverty and being abused by her step aunt. Despite her origins of poverty, thievery, and fake fortune telling, she manages to steal her way into a ball, have two powerful men instantly obsessed with her, including the Prince, talk her way into being a favored guest in the palace, and win an unwinnable tournament against the best general in the kingdom. She is angry all the time, which again, I can’t judge her for based on her life circumstances, except it’s not a righteous anger, for when the prince threatens to wipe out an entire family line bc they plotted against him for his cruel taxes and policies (things that also affected her in the beginning of the book), she doesn’t seem to care or empathize about that. I wanted to like this so badly, but I truly just don’t want to read about any of these characters anymore.

This book certainly wasn't perfect, but I found it enjoyable and will definitely be continuing the quartet. I think there could have been more time put into delving into the MMC's character and history rather than constantly telling us how beautiful he is and how perfect his face is - but, I also think this was an effort to show how Ravenna, the FMC, sees the world as a sculptress. Of course she's going to be drawn to angles and contours and symmetry, and so we're going to read about it. I would have liked to see a bit more of the slow burn, but to me, the romance didn't feel totally unearned either. He was your typical red flag of a dude who showed just enough, and chose her just enough, to convince you there was a green flag in there somewhere. And she was a quiet, but strong individual who was the only one who ever honestly challenged him. I didn't see the main twist coming, but I did catch the last twist right before it happened.

This was super cute, had some twists, political commentary, and was all around a fun adventure. I think it could probably have been a little shorter, but I very much enjoyed it!

I feel like this book caught a lot of strays with because it followed two timelines, but honestly, I thought it was well done. I think the writing was strong, the themes well explored, the pacing was slow but deliberate, and it had the grittiness of reality. If anything, I think what was missing for me was heart. Adrienne Young is one of my favorite authors, and Fable is one of my favorite all-time characters. But Luca and Maris never reached off the page and gripped my heart the way Fable, or even Eelyn (Sky in the Deep), did. I could put them down, and come back to them without feeling a tug to continue.

While I find myself rooting for them to end up together, I also find Luca infuriating because looking back on the book, I feel like 90% of his current timeline is filled with his regrets without him doing anything to change his circumstances. He is in a constant state of stress for Maris' well-being, to the point where he and those closest to him admit that he can't be completely loyal to the rebellion because he will always choose her. And yet, whenever he is given the opportunity to actually choose her, he refuses to AND makes his refusal in such a way that it removes her choice in the matter as well. And then he has the gall to say that he's sending her away with the only parts of his soul that are worthwhile. Honestly, typing that out made me even a little more mad about it. I get that this may read as self-sacrificial and angsty, but really, it's just a dude who refuses to make a stand for what he actually wants, and in the process is actively hurting both parties involved because he refuses to fully commit to either side.

I'm not sure I'll read the second book, but I'll certainly stalk reviews and spoilers when it comes out and make my final decision then.

I liked the concept enough to finish it, which is something, but I felt like the execution was lacking. It was a lot of telling instead of showing, the viewpoint jumped around a lot and without warning. I'm not sure if formatting didn't come through properly since it is a Kindle version, but scenes would change without breaks. It also felt like the author enjoyed using long words just because they could. I'm also not sure why the MMC was described as the pinnacle of an attractive gentleman while also being described as constantly looking asleep on his feet. Like...his eyelids were constantly described as half closed, his gaze was sleepy, and he was described as at least three times as somnambulant, which means it looks like he was sleepwalking/sluggish. I'm all for a character hiding their wit under a calm exterior, but please stop telling me that this guy basically walks around with his eyes closed. That's just not it.

I truly enjoyed this book and will be continuing this series! Trina was a likeable FMC who was not a badass by nature, but always rose to the challenge anyway. I did feel like she took a little too long to accept some of the things happening in the book, but overall, she was real and someone easy to root for. The book had a couple of back and forth chapters between Newton in his time and present day, which were well done and compelling. The plot was interesting and developed a story that was both fantastical and just believable enough.

I don't know if I read it weird, but I did feel like there were a couple of revelations that happened twice. Like I had to go back and read again because I thought we had already discovered this, and yet it was being presented as a new theory. I'd be curious if anyone else finds this - I haven't seen other reviews mention it?

Honestly, I was engrossed in this book in some parts, and totally skimming through other parts just ready to be done.

The magic system has a lot of potential, and I loved the animal spirits (someone in their review said it was kind of like real-life pokemon, and I like that description). I liked the FMC for the most part. The MMC was...something. I didn't hate him, but he is toxic.

The ending isn't really a cliffhanger, just abrupt. I am honestly mostly bothered that the beginning premise of this book was that the Taking Trees were consuming the land of her people (and the people themselves if they were on said land), and the only way to stop this was to go into the forest on the Great Hunt. and that was the whole point of even having Champions and finding the spirits and all of that...and she accomplishes her goal, and that's never even mentioned again? She was literally only there to save her sister, not her entire family, community, humans, the whole world anymore? Did she even save the humans/world? Admittedly, I was skimming at the end, so if I missed it, my bad - please correct me if I'm wrong!

This was such a fun book! I loved Clarissa as a FMC, and seeing firsthand how she approaches the world, and how she categorizes life through the lens of the archeologist she is. I don't know a whole lot about this time period, especially in the setting of Egypt, but everything flowed really well, and the author did a great job creating compelling characters, mystery, intrigue, and romance.

It's been a long time since I've laughed out loud or quoted random sentences to my hubby because I just needed to share them. Looking forward to continuing this series!

DNF around 54%. I think this is more of a me problem than a book problem - I think my time with this series is just done. While this is one of my go-to genres, and I've stayed the course with this series until now, I've just lost complete interest in the characters. These books, this one being no exception, can go for many pages without dialogue, and instead it's just a wall of narrative text that I've lost the will to read. While I can't say that other books don't have this quality, I can say that I've rarely noticed/been bothered by it outside of these books.

If you've been reading the series, this should be a very familiar read for you, and I hope that it brings you what you're looking for!

ARC Review:

I could not put down the first book, Bound By Wishes, and this book was much the same! It was an excellent and satisfying conclusion to this duology. The beginning was dark, bleak, and heartbreaking, but, honestly, it had to be based on how the first book ended. Caleena was forced to find her strength in her pursuit of truth and justice, and Ranen was forced to fight the shadows that owned him and the weight of his upbringing. And for what felt like a long time, Ranen seemed to be losing his fight.

And yet, Caleena was his moon and guiding star, and he made the hard choices, and truly grew into the partner she needed and deserved. Caleena herself was one of my favorite FMCs - still struggling sometimes, but finding her power and her voice and never compromising who she is. The only character I really had an issue with was Malik, her best friend, who at times seemed to be the friend he was supposed to be, and at other times, he seemed to be a toxic friend, blaming her for things out of her control and threatening to leave without actually doing anything, which did nothing but leave Caleena consumed with guilt.

There's a lot more I could say, but I'll end with this: There were some twists I definitely wasn't expecting, and it turned into an incredibly beautiful ending to an amazing story. I look forward to revisiting Caleena and Ranen :)

I honestly wanted to love this book, and I think a lot of the concepts and creativity with the magic system/supernatural beings have so much potential. The first 60% of this book flew by, and then I started to get hung up.

The author has some beautiful descriptions and imagery, but also has some places where the writing is stilted and can jar you right out of the scene. The author would also be very repetitive about certain things - to the point of blatant over explaining - but some of the more important details and plot lines were left unaddressed and foggy.

It also read as a weird mash up of YA and adult - like it had one foot in both worlds and couldn't choose which way to go, and just ended up feeling a little awkward.

Overall? I probably won't pick up the rest of this trilogy, but I'd love to read what she writes a couple of years from now as she grows as an author. The talent and imagination are 100% there!

I adored this book - it was honestly a slow start, I didn't immediately connect with Quincy, but I'm so glad I stuck with it. This book has the most heart that I've read in a while and Brower did an incredible job creating a beautiful, sometimes raw, and thoroughly real journey for these characters. They made my heart hurt, and they made my heart smile so hard.

I'm circling back to review this because I cannot say how much I adore this series! I picked it up because I needed something light between some heavier books, and I have been completely sidelined and devoted to reading these journals instead, and I wish Emma was a real life part of my friend group. She is ridiculous, spunky perfection.

The town, the characters, everything is slightly absurd but in all the best ways - truly. It reminds me of the TV show Psych, in which everyone was ridiculous, but completely lovable and it all freaking worked because everyone embraced it.

I could sit here gushing over this all day, but seriously, this has been my favorite reading experience this year and it makes my heart happy.

I wanted to like this book so badly, and I think there is a lot to like - the characters are fun (if a little one dimensional), the concept is something I was excited about, and starting each chapter with letters to Lady Agony was cute.

I could not get into the writing of this book, however. There were long portions of the book when it seemed like all of the sentences were the same length, which took away from the flow of reading. The author also doesn't seem to trust her own writing, or doesn't trust the reader to decipher it. For example, there was a scene when the two lead characters were calling on a lady and wished to speak to her maid. She brings the maid into the room:

“Deeply appreciated,” said Simon. “We'll ring if we need further assistance.”

Amelia was glad for his comment. His statement indicated that they planned on talking to Lena alone.

We all understood that from his comment, including the character who then left the room so they could talk to Lena alone. Having this over explained is truly, maybe irrationally, irritating to me. If this really, really needed to be communicated, phrasing it something like "Amelia was thankful for his approach so that they could speak to Lena alone," would show insight into the characters without patronizing the reader.

I don't know if the book just needs a better edit, or if the author just needs to believe in her own writing, but I ended up only reading about 50% of the book before calling it. Again, there was a lot of potential here, and I hope for the best as this series moves forward.

I picked this book entirely on a whim. I am so glad that I did, and I cannot recommend it enough.

This book broke my heart in every way. It is beautifully written, with timelines threading together from before, during, and after WWII. Alix is a character to immediately fall in love with, and as her secrets and the splinters in her soul are slowly revealed throughout the story, her indomitable spirit is on full display. This is a book about war and the casualties of every kind that come with it, but it is also a book about taking on the status quo, women's rights and empowerment, the reality of justice in an imperfect world, and the people who are brave enough to love through it all.

I laughed, I cried, and I think this book will haunt me for a while. Natasha Lester - thank you so much for creating this story that I didn't know would impact me on such a deep level. And I hope that everyone who reads this book finds just a little bit of Alix St. Pierre within themselves.