Merili

this would have been 10x more enjoyable if it was longer, none of the problems felt like real problems by the end of the book because they were fixed so fast. I realize it's a novella but it felt SO short

EDIT: I finally got around to finishing this, and I didn't love it. I was so tired of everyone except the female lead Harriet. Wak or whatever the male lead's name is, Sabrina, Sabrina's fiance were all annoying. I just wanted Harriet to leave and go live her own wonderful life because no one else felt worth missing...except maybe Kimmy and her girlfriend (Cloe? I can't remember), they were actually interesting and had healthy boundaries with everyone else. I was also waiting for the big reveal that Harrier and Wen(Wak? Wal?) had already broken up because that was such a juicy and dramatic premise... and then it turns out Sabrina knew the whole time. Nasty move on Sabrina's part. Blegh. idk, I'm a big fan of Emily Henry but this has been my least fave out of her books so far.

WYN - I just looked it up. Harriet's man's name is Wyn


First review: it was a great story but dnf ~50% bc it was too spicy for me lol and i didn't feel like skipping

dnf at 30%, the rude male lead was giving less “enemies to lovers” vibes and more of a “i'm an entitled bully” vibe. idk just not my fave

Absolutely incredible. My only wish is that the stuff with Raksh ended differently

Dnf at 40%. Too slow and flat characters I just couldn't get into.

I skipped ~30% of the middle half, the writing isn't bad i just feel like it can't compare to the level of Cardan and Jude. Wren and Oak are still super fun together BUT the drama kept. going. ON. and ON.
did't love the plot that was driven by two characters continually betraying/distrusting each other.

dnf at like 5%

Cute, good writing

Second time reading this. Love the secret identity trope. Still had a hard time keeping track of all the places and ruler names but overall a great book

some small issues i had -
essiya talks for WAY too long after being stabbed in the chest, that whole conversation with her evil maid lady felt drawn out. like she has a knife in her. why did they talk for 15 minutes before essiya finally fainted/fell out of the window(?)
i already forgot the ML's name but i felt like they needed even slower of a slow burn, the attraction felt sudden

but it's still a great book, i'm verrry excited for the sequel

This was definitely worth the hype, I haven't laughed out loud so much while reading a book in months. Both Draco and Hermione are hilariously characterized. Draco's internal commentary almost made me cry i was laughing so hard.
Obviously due to the rating there were some content parts I 100% skipped for personal choices but overall it's a great read

This is a negative reviewnot intended to hurt anyone's feelings


My curiosity got the better of me and I read the first half (~45ish chapters), then skipped to the last few chapters when it was getting too boring with the flashbacks. I'll be frank - I'm surprised this fic is so popular. It wasn't really my fave, and not because of the dark themes (although I did definitely skip the rape scenes bc that's a personal thing). but Draco wasn't that interesting.
For context, the first third of this book is “present day” after the Order/good guys have basically lost the war to Voldemort. Hermione is sent to Malfoy for the breeding program. Then, the second third of the book is one long flashback of what happened before they lost the war/things went bad because Hermione has suddenly regained her memories of those years. It turns out Draco was actually a “good guy” and helping the Order, he was a tortured conflicted spy, and her and Draco were in love.

Except when I read the flashbacks... Draco still kinda sucks as a person back then. Like he treats Hermione a tiny bit better than some of the Order members but he's still not nice? IDK I was expecting something different since it was supposed to be such a foil to his image in the present, when he Has To Be Bad and Hurt Hermione and Be Abusive because otherwise Voldemort will know something is up. But in the past, he was just as dark and mean? At the very beginning of the flashbacks, years prior, he agrees to be a spy for the Order in exchange for Hermione. Literally. Exact words.
When I read that I was?????? Why??? I didn't see this get explained. Did he want her in a possessive sexual way? Did he just...want a friend? Why Hermione? Why couldn't he just be a good person and be a spy for the Order in exchange for BEATING VOLDEMORT and saving the Wizarding World? It was so weird. Kinda ruined the chemistry and made Draco even more unlikeable.

Finally, the last third of the book is them doing plot stuff in the present to stop the death eaters and free Hermione etc. This was the part I skipped the most since I was pretty bored at this point, so if something incredibly redeeming for the story happened in this third, I missed it.

Overal.... yeah. Not a fave.

edited after reading the summary for the second book. This book was sick except i felt like Nightmare was WAY more interesting than Elspeth's character, and I needed 500% more Elm and 500% less Ravyn

i needed a cliche slightly trashy manhwa for a friday night read and this absolutely fulfilled

Very creepy, very enjoyable. It was light outside when I read this but reading it after dusk would probably make it even creepier

This has taken the spot of my favorite Emily Henry book ever

This book had a great premise, but the narration from a character who does absolutely nothing was not my fave. Sorry Helena. I felt like the little group of protagonists had lame powers/no powers - while the bad guys are definitely bad dudes, why are their powers/magic way stronger and more interesting? the male lead was fine but again, in my opinion, didn't accomplish ANYTHING the whole book. This entire book felt like it should have been a 1-chapter prologue for another story.
however, the male dude's justice powers were cool - speaking to the dead was kinda sick.

Reads like a c-drama and very soap opera like, enjoyed beginning but couldn't stick with the constant changing of the fmc

Dnf at 50%

I needed 50% less stinky ex-fiance and 50% more of the new, kind, cool neighbor dude.

dnf at 50%. i am honestly not sure what to rate this because it reads like a fanfiction and paces like a fanfiction, in the style of skipping over a lot but giving 10000x detail to things like character outfit descriptions and what the male lead's eyes look like. so i would have absolutely loved this book at 15 years old. additionally, for the 50% that I did read, I had a great taylor swift song on and i honestly was enjoying the vibes. i'm caught between two stars and five stars and there is no in between. if i ever have a teenage daughter she can rate this for me

Reread. This series is so addictive. Rasha is frankly terrifying and it's satisfying to see her downfall as the series goes on. Navier is such a lovable female lead.
However i will say that Rasha history of being forced into slavery is definitely not given the focus it deserves/respect it qualifies for in the comic, it makes her choices a lot more understandable. Sovieshu is the biggest villain of the entire series tbh

THIS one. absolutely incredible. the time travel twist, the absolutely fury at James disinheriting Harry, then the plot twist with Lupin. Blown away every time.

Reread this via audiobook this time around and it was not as great as I remember, not a terrible read and i feel like i'd love it more if i was 17. anyways the big plot twist at the end definitely is cool

this book had some funny stories but was overall kinda weird. dnf at 70%.

Beach Read started off very compelling but Gus just wasn't my fave male lead, and it was hard to stay engaged the rest of book