Hanna

I must say I quite enjoy McFadden's books. And this one was no exception. 
The book didn't quite keep me on the edge of my seat but it did have me wanting to continue even more that I had time to. For a while I thought it really was as simple as I first thought, that she really gave us the answer from the start. And maybe someone who's smarter than me (which doesn't need much) it was an easy thing to figure out. But even though I had my very own suspect from the start, I was still surprised in the end. I did not see that coming.
Although it was very good and I truly enjoyed this, I would have hoped more of that “sitting on the edge of my seat” factor. 

There are only two kinds of men: ones who betray you sooner and ones who betray you later.

 “Bryce smiled sweetly at Cormac. “I get that you want to play Broody Prince, but don't ever fucking interrupt me again.”

I pretty much expected to love this book. But no, this landed in the okay category. I mean, this did not need to be 800 pages long, right? I cannot be the only one thinking that.
The majority of that 800+ pages gets very repetitive and I nearly lost all my interest to pick this book up anymore. It started strong! New archangels and triarii members, some surprising ones you definitely were not waiting to be working together with. And then all that is pushed in the back burner while everyone keeps on doing detective work in the same pattern, just different things to investigate.

I still very much love the characters. Hunt and Ruhn the most. Add Baxian to that list too! So Dear Sarah, please stop making me fall in love with your characters if you're only going to hurt me. I apparently haven't still learned anything from reading her books, do not get attached to anyone.
Kidding, I love the emotional rollercoasters that her books have. You never know if you can fully trust to anyone, or if anyone is even going to survive.

And from there we get to the book's surprise factories, where they good? Ruhn is working as a contact person to the Ophion rebels. He has a way to contact their informant, Agent Daybright. She is veiled in fire through the whole book, until the last chapters. But I guessed it immediately, I just knew it! No surprises there. I just hoped it would have ended with a different note, you know.
The whole book seemed to be full of secrets getting revealed, secrets that shouldn't have been secrets, considering whom kept them from whom. That got a little too much. There comes a point when you are just reading whilst your mind goes “oh, see. This shall reveal to be another one of certain someone's kept secrets.” the point of all the detective work pretty much vanishes right there. Everything is just one big secret!

The ending. WHO ENDS THEIR BOOK LIKE THAT?! LIKE, NO SARAH. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE! I would have appeared into the other Queens world to get help but that is not the point. You just can not drop a bomb like that and then be like “oh well. See you all in two years!”. Like what?! You think you can leave me with a huge cliffhanger and make me wait for two years?! Darn it.

All in all I do the characters. I do love the relationships they all have. The book was good but just too long. And I do not want to read anyone driving their cock anywhere in a while, or balls tightening, okay? I like smut in my books but this is just something else. 

“What would you say if I tortured you?" asked the bandit leader conversationally.
Halla blinked at him. "Err, 'Ow,' probably. 'Stop, Stop, Stop,' something like that?" *What a bizarre question. What does he expect me to say?*”

I think Swordheart falls under the cozy fantasy genre. I had never heard of that before booktok and I think this book is exactly it. I also think it is not for me. I'm more of the faster and rougher content, you know? 

I liked Halla's character very much. Though she didn't necessarily struck me as a someone whom is middle aged, more like someone in their early twenties at max. But I couldn't help to stop thinking that she reminded me a lot of my adhd son. He is exactly like Halla with his questions, non-stop questions that just keep on coming. 
Zale is one of my faves as well. Really loved their character! They definitely fit together well with Halla, I can see BFFs forming right there.
Sarkis, ehh. 

The romance is just a no for me. How does a 30 something old respectful widow and a 500 or something old man whom appears from a magic sword, just immediately fall in love with no questions asked? Well, that's a lie since Halla asks all kinds of questions, but you get the point.
I get that Halla is very inexperienced in everything about love and all that but still. The constant blushing and secretly touching each other like it happened by accident. That sounds more like a teenage crush to me.
So no. The romance was not for me. I do really like to have romance in my fantasy books but I want it to be more than just instant love at first glance. It needs to develop, you know.

All in all it was a little bit too long and repetitive for my taste. The constant marching back and forth in the world was too long. And not needed in my opinion. The ending is kind of a cliffhanger, I guess. But not so much that I would be intrigued to go on.
What I am still wondering though, is how their lives continued in the end? I'd like to say so much more but I do not want to give away any spoilers.

“Why is video evidence never enough to convict white people of killing us, but suspicion alone is enough to gun us down and lock us up?”

I had a major deja vu while reading this book. I don't know what triggered that exactly, but during the last half of the book, I felt like I've seen/read all this before. So much so that I knew how it would end. That was weird, very weird.

I don't think I've ever put a book on hold as quick as I put this one. I did that immediately when I saw they were going to order it when it's published. I was excited, to say the least. But it was kind of a let down. 

I really didn't think this book would turn out to be a book about Tinsley. Yes, she is the main suspect. I get that. But I still hoped for it to be something else rather than just pretty much all about Tinsley trying to save her behind. Duchess's POVs where really short and there were very few of them. You mostly read the book from Tinsley's POV.

I would have hoped to get more into everyones lives. Especially into the relationship between Duchess and his dad. But we barely scratched the surface. All the other characters and the relationships were left shallow as well.
Even with Tinsley. She has a relationship with the boy, whose name I cannot remember, but that was pretty much that. Her mom is a monster. Yet we don't really dive into her character either.

All in all it was a nice book. I would have hoped for more of the promised mystery but that was a little shortlived aspect for this book. It's not a bad book by any means, and the topic is very important. But I like my mysteries to be exactly that, a mystery. Now the culprit was discovered very early on in the book which left the end flat.

It is an interesting book. I'm still not sure if I have quite wrapped my brain around what happened or how. I also wasn't familiar with the Borden murders so I did some digging on that part too, which maybe makes me question myself even more.

It sure is a mystery though! At least for me, it still kind of is. What to believe? Nothing? 

It definitely had parts when I couldn't put it down but then there were times when I had the urge to skim read past the pages. 
I'm not sure what I think about the characters. They are well written, sure. Because I can't make up my mind about them! 

All in all it is a good YA mystery to read. I don't think I'd label this as a horror though. Yes, it involves murder but that doesn't make it horror, right? Well, anyway. I think this will forever remain as a mystery to me, I'm not smart enough to figure it out.

 You can't. You have to really be kind to yourself and look out for yourself because the world can be cold and cruel. Don't feel bad, ever, about putting yourself first. Promise!

This book. This book.. Wow! I finished reading yesterday and I have been trying to gather my thoughts around before sitting down to write this. I'm not a good reviewer normally anyway, but with scattered brain, even worse. But I tried to sort through my thoughts and organize them, so we'll see what this becomes in the end. (spoiler: I'm pretty sure it'll be a mess, like always)

I see so much myself in Charlie. I, too, have a shitty relationship with my mom, if any even. She has always only seen my little siblings, I've been, and still am apparently, the biggest mistake and disappointment. So I kind of liked seeing a character go through that. I mean, obviously no one ever deserves being treated that way! But you know, see that maybe not everyone has their life all perfect.
Anyway, Charlie has it hard on all fronts. She definitely deserves a crown, okay! Because she is going through some shite in her home that no one ever should be going through, but on top of that, it is not easy for her in her social life either. But SHE. WALKS. THROUGH. IT. Like the freaking Queen she is. I agree that she could have handled some things a little differently, but at the same time I understand. She has been putting up with a lot, and when the bubble bursts, there's no stopping it.
I very much liked all the other characters as well. Brian especially. Though, being an adult this feels kind of wrong saying this. Anyway, I think we all should learn something from Brian, okay. He sees Charlie as an amazing person. Exactly, he sees her as a person! He doesn't see just a fat brown girl. He sees an amazing person.
All the character are well written. They all have different personalities, different hardships in their life. I'm saying that I went through all kinds of feelings with them.
Cal can burn in hell. That's all I'm saying. And the mom too.

And from mom we get to move on to the plot. I really liked that. It moved on in a rather nice speed. There are so many lessons in there for each of us to think. None of us is perfect, literally no one is.
But I still hate the mom quite bad. That is something I haven't gotten past. Every single time she made an appearance, she never once had anything nice to say! And every single time I felt like ripping the book apart. You can not treat your daughter like that! What the heck is wrong with you?! Yes, you both lost someone. Charlie a dad, you a husband. But that still doesn't give you the right to deal with that by bullying your own freaking daughter! Like what?!
During yet another argument where she has again been bullying her daughter about everything, mostly about her being fat, again. She ends it by saying: I'm sorry I care about you, Charlie. Sooo sorry! And let me tell you, I haven't been that much in rage in a long time. That is not a genuine apology. And you too shouldn't even be in that situation! If you are not fine with your own body, you have no right to take it on your daughter! Gosh.
They did have some kind of a conversation, to make it all better. Talk it over and all that. But I still don't really think that the mom really realizes what she did wrong. I don't the she grew to be any better.

But Brian's moms were amazing!

All in all, now that I have gotten all that rant out of me. This is an amazing book about a young lady growing up. It was a little hard to read at some points because it took me back to my childhood, which was pretty much as shitty with my mom and being fully bullied at school. But I think that on some levels that made the book just that much better. Being so true, you know. 

 “But don't fall in love with me, Zila. I'll just break your heart.""That does seem consistent with your romantic modus operandi." She pauses a moment before adding, "You are also too tall for me."I blink at that. "Wait... you like girls?"Zila shrugs, scanning the crowd. "Not tall ones.”

First of all: this book starts with a sort of summary of the first book! And boy did I really appreciate it, also needed it. It's been a while since I read the first book and it had started to melt together with that Sanderson book so I very much appreciate that summary.

The characters, oh man. I had forgotten how much the loss hurt in the previous one and how precious all these Legionnaires are. They all have their own quirks and everything. They are so different, yet so similar. I love them all very much.
Some of them make very dumb decisions, keep very stupid secrets. Causing unnecessary fights. It hurt my little fragile heart. But thus is life! I still got this motherly need to go and give them an earful.

Their adventure continues to save the whole universe. But it gets a lot harder and more dangerous, being hunted by everyone else at the same time. It sure is a wild ride for them. Maybe I am growing out of YA but some times it all felt a little too much. Too much was constantly happening, none of it good. Yet they somehow managed to make it out of everything alive. Overwhelming might be the right word for it.
But the plot is still good. It was kind of “on the edge of my seat” type of ride. We get some new enemies, whom aren't so “new” after all! A lot of character development, which is a big plus. Though they all are thrown into grown up shoes so they do have to grow up rather quickly. Yes, I know none of them are little kids! But still they have big shoes to fill.

There is still a lot of things that needs to be unraveled. And not any little things, mind me. There is one big HOW, still nagging in the back of my head and I'm a little irritated that the subject wasn't much thought about. Understandably they were under some more critical matters but they all thought about it at some point! I need answers so I guess I will have to get my hands onto the last book then?

All in all I really enjoyed this book. It sure was a wild ride. It is on the faster side with pace, but it fits perfectly! 500 pages gets read in no time. 

 Schools closed, countless businesses locked their doors as people were urged to limit contact with others. The sale of surgical masks, gloves, over-the-counter and prescription flu remedies, bleach and disinfectants soared.

Sound familiar to anyone? To be honest, I nearly DNFd this book just because I'm so full of the big C. I was like “nope, I am not going to read a book that was published three year prior the big C, yet still very much takes me back to the starting dates”. But really, this plaque is far more deadly than what we have. Far more. And I continued to read. Nora Roberts is after all the first author I ever seriously read anything from ever.

The book is kind of written in multiple POVs that sometimes get confused by one another. By that I mean the way those change. You might be in the middle of a chapter, reading person ones POV, when suddenly the next paragraph is from person two's POV. That threw me off a little because it made me go back for more than one time, just to check when and what happened now.
To keep on going with the multiple POVs, those pretty much seem somewhat pointless to me. Yes, as the synopsis says, their paths cross etc so there is some point at the start, but in the end, they all are forgotten. I don't think they really would have needed that much page time in their own point of views.

That brings me to characters. So many amazing characters are introduced here and brought together. You'd think that this is the posse who will take over the world, however that's possible during a deadly plaque, I don't know. You pick favorites and really try to get into those different persons, just to not hear about them anymore. I really don't know what is the point in all of this. I mean yes, I do, but at the same time I really don't think all of it was necessary.
The main character, I think that's what she is, became kind of whatever to me. At the end of the book she was just words written on a paper. Not much connection there at all, really not much of anything to take a hold of with her.

The story itself is nice. I think it could have been better. I'm trying to get a hold of my words here and find the right ones. Because I did really like this book, I finished it. I do want to continue with this series also, I need to know what comes out of this Chosen One. Are they going to be like every single Chosen One? Or will this turn out differently?
Back to the story. I don't much care about The Chose One trope and with Year One it's no different. I kinda laughed when I read that, sorry. It was expected though. The whole book is very predictable. That might be the biggest reason for it to get to the meh-category. There just isn't much to look forward to. Everything just happens and it's done with. Like “oh, my neighbor just fell from a tree. Well, I better move on with my life” you know?

All in all I liked this one and am curious enough to continue with this series. It is just a little hasty book. Like a snowplow just going forward until it's done for the days work. I'm hoping for more character and story building for the next book. A little bit more depth to the characters. And I really hope to see some of them again! I mean I did spent half a book with a lot of people. 

 Sometimes things must break before they can be made whole again, so that they can be forged into something stronger.

This book has a stunning cover, the naked cover is also stunning! And the story is as stunning as the cover. I also think I am way too tired to write this review but at the same time I'm thinking whatever, I am always tired anyway. So bear with me if this is a bizarre ramble of all things flying left and right.

Let's start with the characters. They were well written, all of them. So well that that they managed to deceive me. Yet I'm still not sure if they were “good” (I'm using that word now because my ramshackle brain can't come up with a better one) enough for me to truly care about them. That's a lie. If they made me cry, that means I do care, right?
Clementine irritates me a lot. But she also reminds me a lot about myself and my daughters so that might be the reason. She is very determined to get her revenge, maybe even too much. Although she does grow a lot!
Phelan, Imonie, mommy and daddy. Love them very much. They also do some stupid decisions but don't we all? Phelan drew my attention since the first time he makes an appearance and he continues to hold on to that until the last word of the book, even after that. I kind of don't want to say anything else because I'm afraid I might write down spoilers.

I love all the different relationships blooming throughout the story. But those do seem to be left very vague. Well, the focus in this book isn't the relationships after all. That doesn't mean I wouldn't wanted to have a little bit more of (searching for the word that just decided to become nonexistent in my mind) growth and development! I feel like those had so much potential.
Some of the characters' storylines fell a little flat too, unfortunately. Like they made an appearance and then were very rarely heard from until the end of the book. Suddenly they were brought up as important characters and yet they stayed very much in the background.

The plot in itself was good. I liked the pacing of it very much. Even though I am more of a fast pace lover, but this one was very nice! It didn't linger too long anywhere, which really helped keep the interest up. It is also somewhat intense. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Although I have to say that there are certain problems that arise after something happening, that seems to be a really important matter to keep in mind. Mirrors. (I don't think this really spoils anything.) Those were kind of forgotten completely at some points and then suddenly they were around again.

All in all I had a great time with this book! It was nicely paced, intense enough and emotional. I will admit I shed some tears for unexpected characters even! And you really don't want to put the book down and leave all the characters in a pickle. 

Fear and bravery are often one and the same. It either makes you a warrior or a coward. The only difference is the person it resides inside.

My only regret at this moment is the fact that I only bought this first book back in the day. Not wanting to buy the next one at the same time because if I didn't like this, I wouldn't need it. And now I am in agony because this book ends in such and annoying CLIFFHANGER!

I tend to put every highly hyped book in the back burner to wait. All the hype usually just gets me to a point where I have unrealistic expectations and it always ends up in a disappointment. I waited with From Blood and Ash and I think it was totally worth it. Yes, this is still a very recommended book around booktok but I think the hype has calmed down significantly.

The characters kind of remind me of Armentrout's other characters. And I love them! Whilst reading, I have made only one note. That's all I could do to tear myself away from it. And that note only has characters names with different emojis next to them. And let me tell you, the Duke's and Lord Mazeen's emoji lists aren't that nice and short.
Hawke only needs one emoji, which I can't put here since it looks way different on my laptop, lol. But boy could I be a damsel in distress too! I would like to go barge into people's room just in hopes to meet Hawke. He is an ass very much too. But I love him with all my heart and he does have his resons.
POPPY! Poppy needs nothing else but a crown because she is the queen. She's kept like a house pet. You can go out when someone takes you. But boy if you go anywhere with other people or dare to speak with them.. And still she has such spirits! She is sassy, spicy, loving, caring. She deserves the world.
Vikter, love him very much. We might not see eye to eye with everything but I still love him so very much.
Lord Mazeen and Duke. I don't think I've hated characters this much in a long time. Like so much I wanted to physically hurt them or at least kick something. Even talking about them makes my blood boil.

Even though I managed to spoil myself, before I started reading, about one character, I still loved the book. The plot is pretty predictable from the start, at least regarding who is who and what is their agenda. I still loved this book. I still kept doubting myself and my ability to ‘predict' what happens in the book.  And boy did I find myself hoping that some things would not happen!
From Blood and Ash had some twists and turns that I wasn't necessary waiting to happen. Something, sure, but not that. The reader is thrown through every emotion basically. It is a rollercoaster of stuff happening. One second you're reading smut perhaps, and next you're crying like a baby. For example about the emotions.

I cried. I cried at work because I had to use my breaks to continue reading, and I cried. When there's no one else who reads books, it is very hard to try and explain why you cry for a book character. But this book managed to make me cry. I don't think I can never forgive what Armentrout did to some of them,
But I also went through butterflies in my stomach, joy, warmth, anger, frustration, everything. This book definitely absorbed me into it completely.

All in all this was a rollercoaster of emotions. This was a rollercoaster of events. So much happened yet it still wasn't overwhelming. So many characters but it is easy to stay on track with who is who and where they came from. I waited a day before writing this review, thinking my mind would have calmed down, but I think it still hasn't gotten over this book and it is just a mess that keeps on thinking 100 different things about the book at the same time. But I need the next book. I hate when books end with cliffhangers like that!

 Zig when the world expects you to zag

I am a big fan of a good murder mystery book. I'm that lady who watches true crime tv shows to fall asleep. Am I crazy? I might be. But I also think everyone needs to be a little crazy to survive in this crazy world we live in.

Along Came a Spider is a first book I've read from James Patterson. I kind of want to continue with this series, just to see how or if it evolves. But that's for another day to decide.

I like to read all kinds of murder mysteries, as I said at the start. The darker, the better. But this book lacked some of that. I feel like it was too unpredictable and not very much of a mystery. Maybe not even dark enough, if this makes any sense at all.
I like to be kept on the edge of my seat, nervously biting my fingernails. But this book did not deliver on that aspect. I'd say this one works for someone who wants to read a mystery thriller but doesn't like to be spooked, you know.

I didn't really care about the characters that much. They kind of just existed to keep the book going. But I do like to see some diversity in a book that was written in the 90s.

I would have love to have more intensity in this book, to have it a little bit more on the spookier side. No, that sounds like I want to get a good halloween scare. I would have loved to have more of a mystery in this book. Gary Soneji is a mysterious man for sure but he does get very predictable as the story goes on.

All in all it was a good book to read and just out of curiosity I might keep on going with Alex Cross. But I would have hoped for more mystery, more edge of the seat kind of stuff. But it is a good start for someone who wants to get into this genre of books but doesn't like it too graphic or tense. 

 Love is a choice. It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced.

As a very first thing I would like to establish the fact that I did not know anything about Nancy Wake before reading this book. I will say that it is a huge hole in my knowledge about history and I will go on and study about her as much as I can because this is a woman with capital W.

I never really know how to review historical fiction. It is about someone's life in the end. And it always feels like I am kind of judging how someone lead their life back in the days. YES, I am very well aware that this is historical fiction but there is always the seed of truth there, you know.

Anyway, back to the actual book at hand here. I really liked this one! Not much of a surprise since I did like Lawhon's other historical fiction as well. But what made me lower the rating with half a star was the way this book is written. I am really not a fan of a book that keeps on jumping back and forth in time. I just can't keep up with the dates and times in these cases and sometimes it causes a confusion. It was no different with this one. I could not keep up with the constant change of timelines. Especially when you throw in Nancy's different aliases. So you're trying to keep track of the months and years and also about the personalities.
As the story went on, it did become a little easier when you have actually got to know all the different personalities. So it was a lot easier to know when and where you were. But I will not lie, I did sometimes have to go back and check where and who we were at the time.

But I did like the writing otherwise. And the book in general. I loved all the characters (well duh, those all are real people, well most of them) as well and this does get very emotional at times! With this book it did get even more emotional, knowing that these horrors really were their reality for a long time. These things really happened.
All the back and forth jumping does keep you on your toes though. You never know how one storyline continues before you have finished reading the other one.

I feel like this whole review is one back and forth mindless jumping. I'm tired and it is hard to keep a hold on my thoughts.

But all in all I really enjoyed this book! The characters and story itself is well written and it does hit you in the feels. It is horrible, sad but also sometimes quite happy and funny. As is life, right? 

 When people see tears, they stop listening to your hands or your words or anything else you have to say. And it doesn't matter if the tears are angry or sad, frightened or frustrated. All they see is a girl crying.

My review side of my brains are so rusty that I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here now. I have not written a review since last April or something. This might be all over the place but if you're reading this for some reason, bear with me!

In all honesty, I grabbed Gallant from our library just because of the cover. I had no idea what I was getting into, I was just drawn to the beautiful cover. I've read some of her books before, so I had a vague idea of what it was going to be like.

I'd like to say that Gallant is a book about found family. Olivia is in an orphanage, kind of, when she receives a letter from a family member, asking her to come home. How she has been looked for and hoped to come back. But at the same time, her mother has written into her journal something that she should take into consideration.
Family is not always easy and neither is the road for Olivia either. She is in for a crazy ride which she did not expect to be facing once going back home. Or is it home?

I do like the characters in this book. It is especially nice to read a fantasy book with a brave main character whom is disabled. You don't get many books with characters with disabilities, you know. And especially the fact that she cannot speak. Yet she still has to make her way in a world where very few are able to understand her signing.
Yet, I still was hoping for a little bit more from the characters. For me all the character building seemed a bit shallow. I'd say this is a book that is more plot driven.
There is still some character growth happening throughout the story. Especially Matthew. He really grows into something completely different. Though sadly his development is a little short lived.

The story in itself is okay. A family with powers to see ghosts, ghouls, whatever you want to call them. And with a task to keep something out of this world in it's place. I would have liked some more information about all of this. You know, where, who, why, what? I've got a lot of questions about everything but very little answers.
But it is a medium paced book with some twists and turns that are somewhat foreseeable since the beginning. Gallant definitely has it's moments when you just can't put the book down. You got to read forward to see how it ends. But it does also has the moments when I was just wanting to put the book down and leave it there.

All in all I am glad I did end up finishing the book. It is a nice quick read for someone who graves for a little bit of fantasy but doesn't want to read a book with 700 pages. 

“A little indecent, don't you think?”“Shush,” he said. “It's nearly midnight.”I wanted to love this book so much! The beautiful cover and synopsis made me get my hands on this as soon as I could. But I guess I should have had my concerns since I didn't really love The Night Circus nor Caraval (pls don't hate me).

The book definitely had it's moments from time to time! There were good parts that at the end of the book which made me stay up half the night and ending up with a migraine at work the next day. But that's pretty much all of it.
The hotel is one magnificent thing, for sure. And the whole world building in this book. I mean, you kind of have to be good at that if the hotel stays only for 24 hours in one place and then teleports, or whatever, to somewhere else. I really liked that and the whole idea of a magical hotel with it's quirks.

But the characters. Jani reminds me of my 5 year old daughter who thinks the whole world circles around her and everyone will do exactly what she wants and exactly when she wants. Never once did she stop to think of any consequences of her actions. Never once did she think that maybe someone said no to her with a very good reason behind that. Maybe it is common for teens at 17, I only have any idea with kids under age of 10.
Zosa was not much of a character after the beginning. Bel, well. Can't really say much about him. He just kind of exists in the story. 
Alastair on the other hand did have a surprising back story but his storyline went kind of fast and bland too.

There is some romance in this book but for me it didn't deliver at all. Which kind of goes with the whole story. The beginning is good, with the girls living pretty much from hand to mouth and dreaming of a better life. Making sure they get employed at the magnificent hotel. But from there this whole inseparable loving sisters part gets left behind. Yes, there are moments of that, but not as much as you would think to be.
And it all seems to roll on the same circle over and over again until the end of the book where another good part arrives. The middle part is pretty much about Jani jumping into stupid things without thinking.

All in all this book has a great atmosphere for sure. Though the story fells very bland. If it had all been written the same as the start and the end, I think it would have been very different kind of a book.

Rhys lifted his head. “This is a bad idea.”Cassian winked. “That should be written on the Night Court crest.” I've really enjoyed this series a lot, throughout the years. So thus, Court of Silver Flames was a highly anticipated read for me. Why I waited this long even though I preordered the book? Because it received so much hype even before it was out. And whenever a book receives that much hype, it gets my hopes ridiculously high and I usually don't join that hype train. So I have waited for it to tone down.
Other reason being that I have never liked Nesta. So to read a book with over 700 pages just about a character you've disliked from the beginning, doesn't really make you want to read the book any more.

But I've finally read the book. But I do not like Nesta still. Please don't come after me. I think the issue with me and her is the fact that she is way too much like me. While I read this book, her behavior made me mad. Obviously she has a very good reason for all of that and I don't blame her. But for me it was only that I realized how freaking selfish I've been myself. How irritating my own behavior is. Because I am just like Nesta. 
I guess it's not a real reason to not like a character but I don't like myself either, lol.
But to give her some appreciation, she does come a long way! Slowly but surely, she does some enormous amount of work and grows. She becomes something completely different. I liked to see that.

As for the length of the book, I feel it was way too long. At first, you get the impression they are under a certain time limit to do whatever is needed before things happen. You think it is vital and urgent to get from point A to point B. Yet for the next hundred or something pages are not really about the urgent thing. But about Nesta and Cassian having sex here and there, not having sex but wanting to do that but not wanting to do that. I do not think it was necessary to have that much sex in this book. 
Yes, I did indeed enjoy the smut in previous books. But it was not this overwhelming as in this book. Meaning, there weren't hundreds of pages of them just having sex. I think Nesta's story could have been told the same with lesser sex. I don't think that really brought that much into it. The book could have been a little bit shorter, you know. I do not have a problem reading smut, I do quite enjoy reading that, okay? But it gets old rather quickly when every other page is smut.

All in all I would have hoped a little bit more of the urgent matters in hand. The looming war seemed to be kind of just a little side note compared to everything else. It wasn't as intense as it has been before. 
I did really enjoy seeing her grow, seeing their family get closer. It sure was a ride, that one. But I did find myself feeling a grave for something more in the end.

 It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living. Easy to wish we'd developed other other talents, said yes to different offers. Easy to wish we'd worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga. On some levels this book was not fit for my anxious self but I still am glad I read it, finally!
Nora Seed went through so many lives at the library. At some point, it started to get a little boring. I got a little bit afraid that it would just keep on going and the ending would be bad. But it doesn't. Fortunately there is a point in the book where you are just told in one sentence what kind of life she led that time. And then you think that now is time for the life. 
It is full of different lives, that's for sure! But none of them doesn't really suit her. There was one life though, that I really kept rooting for. Hoping that would be the one she chose. But did she?

The Midnight Library makes you reflect on all your own regrets. What if you had done this and that differently? Makes you think. At least made me think.
The ending was not so satisfactory for me. From the beginning I had a thought of how it would end and that's how it did end. Don't get me wrong! I am very happy for her! But I hoped for something more. Some insight on how things go from there, what decisions will se make?

It's the second book in this trilogy but I have to say I liked the first one more. 
A gathering of shadows is a medium paced book. I'd like to say that pretty much 2/3 of the book is rather slow moving. Not much really happens and it was hard to keep focus on the book. But the end of it did pick up pace and threw some twists and turns.
And don't even get me started on that cliffhanger ending! All the time I kept hoping it wouldn't end like that. But here we are, in a need of the third book because we can't leave them hanging like that!

Yet again Joona Linna is needed to solve another horrible crime. He has an exceptional mind that seems to figure out the murderers' minds quicker than anyone else.
This time he is faced by a “Rabbit Hunter” who is hunting ten little rabbits. It all starts with the foreign minister's brutal murder. But what makes it even confusing, is the fact that who ever murdered him, left a witness alive. Why and who?

I didn't know that I was in a mood for another Joona Linna book until I picked up this book and started it. The mind of the authors is brilliant. They came out with another gripping and gore mystery thriller. You start up your detective brain whilst reading, make up your own suspects, build a case and when Joona Linna is about to reveal who it is, you're there screaming the name and... you're completely and utterly wrong. Again it took me nearly the whole book before I realized how wrong I was. And honestly, I never suspected the one who actually is behind all the murders.

In my opinion the books in this series are extremely grim. And so is this one. Everything is pretty specifically detailed and as always, it made me very anxious about my own surroundings after dark. But that is how I work every time I read a thriller or watch something scary.
Though I think that is what makes these so good. They feel very true and it feels like I'm part of the whole story whilst reading. I'm totally absorbed in the book, not noticing what happens in real life. That's what I exactly want from a book!

Joona Linna again was exceptional. I don't think it would even be possible for me to not like him. All the others were very well written as well!
But I would have hoped to see a little more of Saga. I mean it is said in the synopsis that she and Joona are the only ones who can solve this case. Yet she fell a lot on the background. A little too much for my liking. Her POVs all together were a little hasty and short.
There was also another new lady introduced who worked with them. And well, pointless in my opinion. I don't think I've cringed that much in a long time while reading about a character that I did when she made some certain decisions and wasn't heard from after in a long long while.

I do not like cliffhanger endings! And that is exactly how this book ended. Fortunately I do have the next book already on my shelves so I can continue on ASAP.
But I also would have loved to see how it all ended with some other characters as well. Actually I think it would have been rather important in this case. Maybe that all will be revealed in the next book as well?

All in all this was yet again one amazing book from Kepler. I will most definitely continue with this series as soon as possible because I need to see where this all goes from where it ended here!

You don't need anyone's permission to be you, Yads.

Coco is my favorite Disney movie of all time and for me that's what came into my mind immediately when I started Cemetery Boys. This had a lot of same in it that Coco does, but as a YA version. And I really liked this book very much! 
I had a wide smile most of the time on my face and suddenly it would change into honest anger. This book hits close to home anyway. My baby brother passed away a year ago and I would give anything to see him again. And my other baby brother came out as a trans and boy let me tell you have I been there for her just like Maritza for Yadriel! 

I love the relationship between Maritza and Yadriel. They are cousins but first and foremost they are best friends. I love them as individual characters as well.
Yadriel will be from now on one of my most precious characters ever. He reminds me of my brother so much that I can't even. He is battling for so many things at a same time at a young age, things he shouldn't have to battle for even. He is exhausted to do that, yet he still puts on a brave face and keeps on going as himself, hoping that one day everyone would accept him.
Julian, oh boy! I really didn't like him at first. I didn't like the fact that he is a bad boy and would probably be bad influence for Yadriel, without the voice of reason from Maritza. Then I started to like him, then I was mad at him and lastly I was screaming in a chorus with Yads.
It pains me to read what some of the characters are going through. They'd deserve so much better! But very well written, all of them!

As for the plot, it was okay? I mean there were more times when I just wanted to keep reading and couldn't put the book down. But I still have some bigger issues with couple things. But I do really love how this is about Latinx culture, I really enjoyed reading about the life of the brujx. 
As I said before, I love the relationship between Maritza and Yadriel. But I also really liked how other relationships were built during the story. 
It is kind of medium paced, could have had some more speed at some points. Though the way meeting Yadriel's mum during Dia de Muertos was hyped up through the whole book pretty much, that's where I would have really wanted to see a little slower pace. Actually, for the whole ending of the book. It was like sped up to x3 just to get it finished, compared to the other part of the book.
I also didn't really like how all of a sudden a certain character was able to affect certain other character. Since pretty much 2/3 of the book it was not possible if the other one wasn't comfortable to do some things but all of a sudden they are all in for doing anything. Yes, I understand the concept for when it happened, but I still think it would really not have happened. Not even under those circumstances. 
And the other thing that really didn't sit right with me, was the way how Yads's dad came to accept him as he is. Your child and his friend has been telling you for well over a year now. The correct name, pronouns all of it. Correcting you every time. Your son has been very hurt whenever you've said otherwise. You refuse to let him become a brujo because you don't think he is really a boy?! And when he goes and does just that, then you are all over him telling him how sorry you are that you didn't realize that blablabla. That's what you needed to see him as he is??

All in all I really loved the culture, reading about such close families for a change. I loved most of the characters very much. It was a read I didn't get a feeling to not pick it up, completely otherwise. I do have my problems with it but it is still a solid 4 star book that will probably stay with me for a long long time.

Dream Country is most definitely something different to read inside the fantasy genre! It is all about these three sibling Gods, all with their own realms (?), no, more like own areas? Well they are divided by the Gates and they all reign their own domains. They are the Gods of Sleep, Dream and Nightmare. Mother being the Night.
But their mother dies which sticks a huge wedge in between the siblings. Will they be able to recover from that or will the world end?

I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this book! But this wasn't exactly what I was expecting from it. Sibling rivalry is brought up many times and I really expected there to be such rivalry. Though it ends up being more of ignorance towards each others rather than rivalry. And from that ignorance it escalates straight into “I'm going to kill you”, pretty much. They've been living their own lives for many years (can't really remember the exact amount), two of them seeing quickly once a year, other times all of them minding their own business. That can hardly be called rivalry?

The plot was way too slow for my liking. It was dragging along way too long at some parts and to be honest, I did skip read quite along. But I just couldn't keep my attention at the book when it started to take too long for anything to happen. Though there are some quick paced parts that were really good!
I really loved how all the realms where so different from one another. Every sibling have their own followers living in their realms, all of them being different from each others as well. That was really nice to read. Though I would have loved to have a little more time at Zion than what we get out of this book. It gets kind of brushed under the map.

The characters were well made but still not that memorable for me. If I'd have to choose one, I'd take Torres. I really felt bad for him. All he wanted was to be noticed by the others, for them to notice that he is more than the God of Nightmare. Fanta, don't really care about. Theo was pretty much most heard of during this book, yet he was kind of whatever for me too.
There are also many different Minor gods and goddesses in the story which was really fun! They all have their own abilities, areas, to do. For example there is a goddess of Chaos. And those were really fascinating addition for the book. Then there are all kinds of different creatures, animals and kind of people too. So much information packed into 300+ pages that there is a lot to keep up with.

All in all it was a nice little read but it was just too slow paced and dragging for my liking. But I really like the fact of how different this is. How much world building it has and imagination. Amazing.
When I think about this book, first thing that pops in my mind is how one of the characters kept kissing their teeth. And I'm just here trying to figure out how you kiss your own teeth?

Ginger was an understatement, Morrigan thought, trying to hide her astonishment as the hat came off. Ginger of the Year or King Ginger or Big Gingery President of the Ginger Foundation for the Incurably Ginger would have been more accurate. His mane of bright copper waves could probably have won awards.

I don't really read middle grade books, don't really know why though. Maybe because these never pop up in any recommendations since I mostly read YA/A books? But I am so going to continue with this series and start spreading my reading to middle grade books as well, if they all are going to be like Nevermoor!

Nevermoor was most definitely full of pretty much everything. Morrigan went through a horrible childhood back at the Crow manor, still managing to stay sane and friendly! But she is saved by this ginger man, supposedly to make her life better. But does that truly get better or possibly even worse?
Such a rollercoaster this book, in a good way! I had so many laughs, so many awes as well as some angry and sad feelings as well. I mean this girl! I wish I would have been that way when I was her age. She is such an amazing person. 

I really liked all the characters, I would have loved to get into them a little bit more than what I did, but they all were very well made anyway. I mean, THERE IS A GIANT TALKING CAT!! Kind of Alice in Wonderland vibes there but better. I want that cat, nevermind my allergies. I mean that cat could have been the only character besides Morrigan in the book and I would have been happy about it. 
Jupiter was a little like weather vane for me. I get it that that's how he is supposed to be for a reason but I still couldn't help but wanting to shake him a little bit! Hawthorne though is my all time favorite okay!? He reminds me so much of my own kids, little troublemakers whom can surprise everyone and be very wise and concentrated if wanted to.

The plot was good and nicely medium paced. Nothing dragged on for too long. Though I did have some times when I was just “whaaaaaaat?” But when I actually use my brain and think about it, it all makes sense. But it is easy to get confused if you're not paying enough attention.
I like it how it keeps surprising. In good ways and bad ways! You know how usually you can be 100% sure that a character will for sure have a happy ending? Well, you cannot be that with Morrigan's fate at all. Am I even sure after finishing the book? I have absolutely no idea.

All in all this book was such a needed and surprisingly awesome change after YA/A fantasy books. Even though Nevermoor keeps you on your toes pretty much all the time, it is not as heavy as older fantasy is. It is also super heartwarming and funny at times.

The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.

The Gilded Ones is one very hyped books, and it deserves all the hype it gets! I'm the one who usually does not like hyped books, ends up being the unpopular opinion of all time. And thus, I tend to try and not read them. But I am so glad I cave in and picked up The Gilded Ones!

I really liked the characters. White Hands probably being my favorite. The cast is diverse which I like. And there are a lot of characters popping up. And honestly, sometimes I wasn't sure who was who. But that didn't bother me too much. 
I enjoyed very much seeing Deka grow so much! Her life is anything but easy and I'd give her all the right to keep whining and pouting and anything. But no. She grows up so much that it almost feels like she has literally grown to an adult by the end of the book.
I do hope there is going to be more depth to the other characters as well. Britta and Belcalis for example pop up quite often throughout the book, yet there is not much, if any, development nor growth for them. I guess Keita can fall into that as well. 
And then there is one event in the book when a character appears and you're supposed to know who that is, but I completely forgot they had existed.

As for the plot and everything else, awesome. There are twists and turns all the way to the end, which I love so much in books! I like to be taken by surprise. So I really did enjoy everything that was well hidden from the start till the end, and everything between.
All the violence, bullying and harassing does get rather overwhelming at some point. Though I do understand that there are many people who have to live with that every day! But there was a point when I felt super anxious for Deka and everyone else. No one should need to go through that, ever.

Last but not least I have to mention that little romance that suddenly popped up. At the start, when there were hints of a possible romance, I thought “please no romance, it doesn't feel right at the moment”. Which it didn't. There just are some books that doesn't need romance, you know?
And when it later happened, I face palmed, literally. The romance just jumped behind a tree yelling “SURPRISE! BET YOU DIDN'T SEE ME COMING!”. And no, I didn't. If it was necessary for the story, I would have hoped to actually see where it came from, why it happened. Not just get it slapped into my face in the appearance of a kiss and instant love.

All in all, even though I do have my problems with the said romance and lack of depth for the other characters, it is not enough for me to take a star off. I do think this is a full 5 star read for me! I loved all the twists and turns so much. And the fact that this book is super actionpacked and fast paced, which is exactly what I love in books.

 The most important thing you can do in this world, the most necessary thing, is to survive it. You can't do anything for anyone else if you don't take care of yourself first.

You know how I know a book is good, like 5 stars good? Because it makes me feel all the possible feelings, it makes me think, it makes me face all things good and bad. And that's what Legendborn did.

Legendborn is a fantasy retelling, yet it discusses about racism, grief, trauma, death. All important things to discuss and learn. It makes you think about life. It also made me go back to my own grief, back to those exact raw feelings Bree has.

Some of you know that I hate love triangles. And I still hate to know that one might be in the making here. Why does it always have to be between people you grow to love?! Because even though I hate it being in the making, I kind of like it at the same time? Does that make any sense at all?

The characters. I liked them all, love the three main characters. But I have to say that Selwyn Kane stole my heart. He is my favorite, don't you dare to hurt him.
I was left to hope to see more of Alice too. She was strongly present at the start but then kind of vanished in the background. But I hope she is more present in the next book!
Bree is an amazing strong MC! She's 16 and she even acts her age. She is not one that is said to be 16 but acts like 50 year old who has carried the world all their life. And I love that.

The story in itself truly captures me in it. I had a hard time putting the book down to get some sleep before work. Fortunately I also had an ebook so I could read during my breaks at work. It is full of action, suspense even. You cannot be certain that every character you've grown to love, survives. I love it.
I got so sucked into the story, in Bree's head, that I felt it all. I was happy when she was, horrified when she was, completely succumbed into fury when she was. I was ready to get in there and take her side. But she can do that for herself.

All in all Legendborn is amazing. You have to think, grieve, feel it all. You can never be sure it is safe for your characters to be doing whatever they are doing. And even though I managed to spoil myself in the interwebs about Bree, I still wasn't sure if what I had read was true or just someone trolling around. Because nothing is revealed immediately, not even back-to-back. You have to keep on reading in order to know everything, yet you still are left craving for the next book to read right after finishing Legendborn. 

She understood that if you had thought of seeing the world from such a great distance, and seen people from such a great distance, and seen their movements planned out as if you were outside time, you would do almost anything to have it; and more than that she understood that once you had dreamed of something like walking on the moon you could not leave it alone; and she knew then (and forever after) that she would not have been able to give it up for anything, either.

The Secret Detectives is a historical fiction about three little children solving a horrible crime. Isobel, Lettie and Sam are all from different families. All different all together. But they are all brought together after one horrible night. And from there on they will have to try and work together in order to solve the crime, before it's too late!

I loved the three main character. They all had different types of families, if they even had one. They all were brought up differently, they all had very different opinions (not sure if this is the right word) about ethnicities, ways of life, what children should and should not do, pretty much about everything!
But! What made these three little children work together in the best way possible, as a tight group, was the fact that they spoke about everything. If one was accidentally speaking in a way that was hurtful to the other one, they spoke about it! They educated each other to speak differently, how you can ask if you don't know something but are curious. You know? Does this make any sense?

The plot itself was great. The fact that this book is aimed for children, it was still intriguing enough for me as an adult to keep going. It is easy enough to stay on track but not too easy to figure out the ending before the book even got really started.

I liked the fact that it was set in a mail ship! I haven't read books that were set in mail ships before. There for I guess I should say that the ship building was made well. I got enough visualization to figure out the main parts were everything was going on, were everyone mainly spent their time. But there were some parts of the ship that I would have liked to know more. Even though those weren't the main focus, they were still mentioned quite a lot.

All in all this book was great! Though I know I said it was easy to read, I can see some parts that could be confusing to children at age 10-13 or whatever the children age range is. It is still intriguing and keeps your interest in it. And I could say that every character mentioned in the book is involved in the story from the beginning.
The ending was quite hasty to my liking but this being a book for children, I can see why there wasn't necessarily more depth to everything in the end.
My favorite thing in this book was definitely the fact that three completely different children could work though their differences and opinions and see each other as an individual person, as a human being who deserves just as much as themselves do. The fact that they were able to become such a tight group, not minding about nonsense, basically. I only wish we adults could do that too.