Natália

“Sadie,” Dad said firmly, “please do not refer to the Devourer of Souls as Poochiekins.”

The Serpent's Shadow is the final installment in the Kane Chronicles trilogy and I AM SO MAD IT'S ONLY A TRILOGY! Seriously, this is Rick Riordan's most underrated series, and I don't understand why, because it's SO FREACKING AWESOME! Yes, I had trouble getting into the story at first, back in book one, and I think because at first I took me a while to understand all the mythology surrounding Egypt and this new world - Egyptian mythology is not as known as Greek or Roman, and it's a little confusing at first. But when I got around to it, and the characters became known, how could I not love it? Again, Riordan is a master of diverse, funny and brave characters. And Apophis is one of the most terrifying villains in all of his book series, I think only secondary to Cronus from the first Percy Jackson series. This book is the perfect conclusion to the trilogy and leaves the right hook for a possible continuation and the crossover books with Percy Jackson (which I need to read ASAP because I need to see Sadie interacting with Annabeth!). The pacing here was super fast and I found myself turning the pages so fast and literally devouring this book just like Apophis does to the sun, there's funny moments, dramatic ones and just overall awesomeness. The final battle is everything you could ask for, it kept me at the edge of my seat.

Oh, and Sadie Kane, you guys! LOVE LOVE LOVE HER. She's badass, unafraid, not-here-for-your-shit, smart, the queen of hieroglyph magic, funny as hell and just amazing. I was so happy with her ending! I'm gonna miss these characters and this story so much!

And just to end my review, my favorite moment in the entire trilogy - MY FEELS FOR MY OTP,AHHH (or should I say OT3? I don't really know. It's confusing as hell, but I LOVE IT).

“We speak with one voice,” Walt said. “Especially on this matter. No one hurts Sadie Kane.”

“Better he learns now that if you mess with people, you might get messed with in return.”

I generally like the whole road trip trope and especially the i-hate-you-i-love-you trope, and all the exes drama, so when I read the synopsis of this book, I thought I would enjoy this. And while it was entertaining at parts, it wasn't for me. Lila was kind of bitchy sometimes, her brother was SUPER annoying and I couldn't feel the chemistry between her and Beau. I hate how judgmental he was towards her and her choices, how he didn't assume his part of the blame for their first break up and how horrible all the things he said to her lots of times were, as well as how terrible he acted. And he not once apologized for any of it. Lila apologized a lot, even her douche of a boyfriend apologized. So, no, I couldn't get behind the main couple. Lila was pretty much the only character I kind of liked and even so, there were times when she was annoying as hell. The characters in general felt flat and one-dimensional, and there wasn't much character growth going on. Thankfully, it was a fairly quick read, so it only took me a day to finish and move one.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

The Chase is a novella about Schuyler and Fifer taking place a little bit before ‘The Witch Hunter', the first book in the series - how they met, the beginning of their relationship, how they fell in love and some events that tie to the first novel. They are my favorite couple in the duology and I like their chemistry and dynamics (WAY more than Elizabeth and John) so much and we got to see so little of them during the actual books that I was so happy to have this piece. This helps giving a little more background on both of them, Schuyler especially. Although we learn much about Revenants on the second book, in here we learn how Schuyler became one, how he felt during his years, how he became free of his master and everything leading him to meeting Fifer and becoming entangled in Elizabeth's story. I love his character, his humanity and his development through the books! Also, he's sarcastic and cunning AF, LOVE HIM. Fifer we don't get to see as much, but we have some background on her family, how she became Nicholas' apprentice, and her relationship with John, and we get to understand her a little better through her POV - it switches between hers and Schuyler. Overall, this was a very nice addition to the original duology and a take on a fan favorite couple that added to both of their stories and made me understand them and their actions better going into the main books. It was too short though and I really wanted a better resolution at the end (an extra scene, maybe?).

“A small shift in perspective and everything falls into place”

This was a nice contemporary YA with a little magic touch that could very well be a Disney Channel movie, and I would watch it and enjoy it (and maybe like it a little bit more than I did the book), because it had this teen movie vibe. It was a nice little book to read in-between high fantasy or books that leave you with this big hangover (like I just had with “A Torch Against The Night”), because it's funny and cute. It wasn't fantastic, but it was short and enjoyable, although very predictable. Within the first few chapters, I already knew exactly what would happen and how the book would end. The characters were a little flat and underdeveloped and only the main protagonist had this major character development through the novel, and it was filled of this annoying high-school YA tropes, and I failed to connect with some of the situations - especially the ‘guide to understand men' scene, that really pissed me off, especially after reading a feminist AF book like “Beauty Queens”. That didn't stopped me from enjoying the novel and the story for what it is, and if you're looking for a simple, easy and beachy-like read, this book is definitely the right choice.

“Books, bringing people together.' That would make a good slogan for the library.”

I absolutely adored this book. As much as I'm not a huge fan of contemporary YA or romances in general, every once in a while I have this romantic, I-need-to-read-some-fluff mood and since I've read Fill-In Boyfriend, Kasie West became one of my go-to authors for that. This novel did not disappoint. In the same manner as her previous book, the writing is fluid and light, the romance was cute, the characters are very relatable and realistic, and it even breached some deeper stuff - A+ for her very accurate representation of a person with anxiety disorder and the importance of mental health. The romance in itself was slowly build and the chemistry between the characters, as well as how good they complimented and balanced each other, was just right. And locked in a library? PERFECT TROPE, YES OR YES? There were some things that bothered me, like Autumn's relationship with her friends (the lack of honesty in it, actually), the pressure Jeff's parents put on her, how Jeff always ‘pressured' her to do what he wanted, even before de accident, despite sensing and seeing her discomfort. And how could her friends just FORGET her in the library in the first place. Some of those things felt a bit fake to me, and hardly believable, but I could put it aside and it didn't kept me from enjoying the novel. I had so much fun reading this and I'll definitely look out for more of West's novels.

Four easy stars.

"Come throw your heart into the wavesYour soul is lost, and still it saves"

I expected more out of this book, mainly because I love Kiera's writing and The Selection series. You can see that this was her debut book, because it's not as polished as The Selection and her writing style is there, but still raw. She improved a lot. I found super interesting this idea that The Ocean is this ancient, living being that feeds on humans that drown in the sea, and that her sirens are girls who drowned and she gave them a new life as her ‘daughters'. This mother-daughter relationship with the sirens and the Ocean was intriguing and I think one of the reasons Kiera failed to actually make the Ocean as the villain it was supposed to be - she felt almost human, full of emotions and like a real mother, protective and lovable to her ‘daughter's, although stern and angry sometimes, demonstrating this love in some harsh and sometimes hurtful ways.

This book to me was more a Little Mermaid retelling than a brand new story - the parallels were too evident, but it was more dramatic and way more focused on the romance aspect for my liking. I mean, every few pages or so, the only thing Kahlen, our female protagonist, did was get herself locked in her room, crying or thinking about Aiklin. She was selfish and impulsive (even though this was descrived as being Elizabeth's trait), and hurtful to her sisters, and I was glad when Elizabeth called her out on her bullshit - this made me not connect with her properly or sympathize with her situation. I enjoyed Padma's story and subplot more than I did Kahlen. I also wished we got to see more on Miaka and Elizabeth's background the way we saw of Padma, Ainslin and Kahlen. As for the romance, I couldn't quite feel the chemistry between the couple or feel Ainklin's appeal. That's one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy this book as much. It had it's great things, and I enjoyed most of the read, but I don't think it's a book I want to re-read.

“In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs.”

I can't believe I'm finally done with this book. Seriously, I thought this would never end. Although a short book, it took me the longest to finish, mainly because it was so slow going and the plot failed to move and things never happened in this that I was super close to DNF it. Only my total obsession with finishing book series and books in general, no matter how much I'm hating it, that kept me going (one of the reasons why I was able to finish “The Great Gatsby”, “The 100” and why I will read “Grey” as well). I just couldn't connect or sympathize with any of the characters (they annoyed me to no end - especially Archer, he's just a total idiot), the plot failed to intrigue me or keep me interested and the most interesting characters were not properly developed for me to understand their motives and their actions. I get the whole criticism of the society of that time, the judgmental AF society and everything, but I was so irritated over the characters and the slow pacing that I couldn't fully get into this side of the book as much as I would've liked. Overall, a terrible book for me, and I failed to understand what was so brilliant about it or why so many people love it. Thankfully I'm free to move to other things.

Actual rating: 1.5 stars.

"Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one's is watching them so they can be who they really are."

THIS NOW HAS BECOME ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER. Really, I picked up this book not knowing what to expect, and it took me by surprise. Beauty Queens it's a social critique and it shines a light at important themes like LGBT issues, religious prejudice, racism and especially the way society views women, girl power and feminism in a humorous and sarcastic AF way, through a diverse and very relatable cast of characters. The ‘reality show' structure of the book contributed to the parody-like feel of it and the humor. While these are recurrent themes in Libba's books, they are always a secondary plot or between the lines, but here they are front and center and I love it! And, if that's not enough to convince you to read the awesomeness that is this book, there's more: an evil Corporation, a crazy dictator, hot pirates and beauty products-turned weapons (including a catapult!). I mean, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE IN THIS BOOK GUYS?

Ok, I had no idea this existed until literally now. This little novella is set immediately after the end of Clockwork Princess, when Tessa and Jem meet at Blackfrier's Bridge. OMG HOW PERFECT WAS THIS? I didn't know I needed this story, but I did! I was a Jessa shipper from the very start (I liked Will well enough, but he was never my favorite character in the Infernal Devices trilogy, I had a problem with all that attitude) and the end of Clockwork Princess left me so happy, I was swooning for days and I hoped to get a little more of my ship after Lady Midnight got out, BUT THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER. THIS IS MY SHIPPER HEART'S DREAM COME TRUE. It's romantic, cute, sexy and my feels are all over the place right now. I'M SO HAPPY. Ok, I'll stop. Obviously 5 stars.

“Perhaps scorpions were the only ones who could save each other.”

I really enjoyed this book! I decided to read it after seeing a lot of booktubers commenting on it and the story seemed something that I would like and I was not wrong at all! The world building was interesting, even though I would have liked the author to explore on the rebellion of some of the planets against the empire a little more, and maybe a little bit more on how planet-bound people live. I liked all of those intricate political games, the deceits, the twists and turns, the way that society worked on the inside, it made the book a page turner and kept me on the edge of my seat at all times.

Nemesis was such an interesting character and her struggle with her humanity (because, despite being genetically engineered, she was still human, as much as the Empire told otherwise) versus her Diabolic nature was one of the things that made this book so enthralling to me. The slow but sure unraveling of her emotions - the true love she felt for Sidonia, despite the programming, the friendship with Neveni, the love for Deadly and Tyrus - was so beautiful to watch. And she managed to still be a force to be reckoned with, with the lengths she would go to protect the people she loves. She was my favorite character. And her romance with Tyrus, UGH! Their chemistry is off the charts, from the start. The twists of the story were not predictable and left me heartbroken, but they were clever and I think necessary (except the last one, maybe).

Now, Sidonia. She's not a character that's developed much in the book, but by the end we have a pretty big revelation about her that not only made sense but added to her character and made her more interesting. I wish we could see more of her, maybe a novella from her POV?

Overall, this was such a good book. Interesting, complex characters, amazing world building and a plot that made it impossible to put it down. The ending was satisfying, although it left a bit to the imagination, but it wrapped up everything. An enjoyable read and a solid 5 stars for me.

EDIT: OMG, THIS IS NOW A TRILOGY! I'm curious about what book 2 and 3 will be about. Maybe Sidonia's POV (I NEED THIS)? A continuation of Nemesis story? More on the rebellions and the empire? Another set of characters altogether, but within this same world? I NEED MORE INFORMATION!

"I've seen what you truly are and I've never turned away. I never will. Can he say the same?”

This book was much better than the first installment of this trilogy. It was more fast paced and there were more things happening, the actual plot unfolding and some good character development as well as introduction of the new characters. I absolutely loved Alina in this book - she actually slipped into the role of leader so perfectly, and she's more comfortable with her powers, as well as the Grisha universe. The fact that she went through some serious character development during the part of the book where Mal wasn't present at all is only a testimony as to why I absolutely hate his character. They don't have chemistry at all, and he is actually afraid of her and her powers. Mal loves the Alina that trailed behind him like a lost puppy while he was the hero, the leader, the powerful one. The fact that he resents her and her powers, this new confidence she develops while leader of the Second Army and Sun Summoner, just proves that this is a messed up relationship. Everytime Alina makes a breakthrough with her powers or have any kind of development as a character, is ALWAYS when Mal is away or they are split up somehow.

In this book, we can see how complex and layered the Darkling's character is. I liked the melancholy tones that we see in him here, and how he and Alina ARE indeed two sides of the same coin. They are companions of sorts - both too powerful, both leaders, both lonely. I love their relationship and their battles. They are always so angsty and full of amazing lines hahaha

Now, Nikolai. My absolute favorite character in this entire trilogy. I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE his sass, his bravery and most of all his chemistry with Alina. Yes, I know they will never end up together, but the little moments between them is so sweet and made me squeal ugh.

I'm curious about the religou guy (I can't remember his name, but he is creepy as hell). What is his endgame? And what will he profit with everything? I feel that this last book will be super intense and full of surprises.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

“Because I am a doll, and a servant. Because I am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same.”

Genya is such an interesting character and having an insight into her mind during the first book of the series was so good! I wasn't expecting to feel this sorry for her and to understand her motivations as well as I did after this short story. Her relation with the Darkling was something I was expecting, especially after the end of Shadow & Bone. But the fact that she was really attatched to Alina and felt bad about what she was doing made me hope that maybe she can turn back to her side after all - and hopefully Alina will forgive her somehow. I have a bad feeling about how Genya will end, though. I hope I'm wrong, because I like her a lot.

"We learn from failure, not from success!"

This book was not what I was expecting when I decided to read the classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. I don't know, I guess my mind was full of book retellings and movie adaptations of this novel being full of romance and Dracula as a mortal vampire and all that, that it was kind of disappointed to realize the we pratically never get to see the Count in the original novel. There isn't much to his character, and the book itself is very slow going, although short. I don't know if it's the format it's written (as missives and diary logs) that put it off for me, and the characters weren't properly explored and didn't feel fleshed out or interesting enough to get me to care what happened to them at all.

This is the second classic that disappointed me this year. It's not been a good year for me regarding classic novels of literature.

“Dark things have a way of slipping in through narrow spaces.”

I absolutelly LOVED this little novella. Set into the world created for the Grisha trilogy, it expand some of the myths we see in the main story. This little tale is dark and angry, and it's full of little surprises that left me baffled at the end. It was a tale apart from the main story, but it made the world created by Leigh Bardugo richer and more interesting. 5 stars.

This little folk tale is part of the mythology of the Grisharverse and is mentioned by Alina in the second book of the main series. It's a nice little addition to this world, and it makes you understand the reference in the novel. A nice, clever story, with the right amount of dark, and it reminds those tales with a lesson in the end. It tells the story of a fox, the ugliest and weakest of the lithe, but with a sharp mind that helped him in a number of difficult situations. But one day, he finds his match and he's not ready for that - he's caught by surprise, and his cleverness fails him, because of his clouded judgment. Will he be able to save himself again or it will be his doom?

I enjoyed the read, it's a short story, but super interesting and a nice touch to the main series.

“And there's nothing wrong with being a lizard either. Unless you were born to be a hawk.”

Shadow and Bone is the first book in the Grisha trilogy. Having read Six of Crows first, I went into this book VERY excited, hoping to find the same thing that hooked me right into SoC. I don't know if it was because this was Bardugo's debut and her writing developed over the course of this trilogy, but it wasn't as fantastic as her later work. Yes, all that Grisha background, the story that led to Six of Crows and the book in itself is good, but I had some issues with it. First of all, I struggled with liking Alina. I don't know if it was her constantly whining about Mal, her endless pinning over him or what, but something about how she was written in here made me not like her as much as I should for the female lead of the book. When she was angry and loose and appeared to let go of Mal and her past, stopped feeling sorry for herself and embraced her powers, she flourished and that's when my interest was finally picked again. I really wished she was that way through most of the book, though. The secondary characters were very interesting, especially Zoya and .I want more background on them and the rest of the Grisha being active parts of this story, because they were one of the things that made me enjoy the book.

Also, THE DARKLING. OMG, I LOVE HIS CHARACTER. By far the best in the entire book, he's interesting, his character have depth and I am DYING to understand him and his motivations. I don't think he's a simple villain, he's more complex than this. And his chemistry with Alina is OFF THE CHARTS, I was so giddy with their interactions. They are opposite sides of the same coin and I NEED MORE on book two and so on because their relationship just intrigues me and makes me want more. As for Mal...he can die for all I care, because he's the most boring and self-righteous character in the book. His romance with Alina feels forced at best and they don't even fit that much. The fact that he's judgmental of her powers and what she is (or, in his mind, what she became), just makes me dislike him even more. I refuse to accept that this is the romance we are supposed to root for here - they lack the fire, the chemistry, the passion.

Plotwise, I really liked and it kept me interested through most the book, because I wanted to know more about this world I was being presented - the whole Grisha mythology, the powers, the history. The first half of the book dragged a little, but once the plot moved and the action started, I couldn't keep the book down. I have to say, though, for what I was expecting, I am a little disappointed in this. Still, I liked enough to go on with the series! Hopefully, things will improve in book 2! 3 stars.

“Nothing is more creative... nor destructive... than a brilliant mind with a purpose.”

I don't know if it's because I've read so many of Dan Brown's books before or if this one was just not as good as the others, but everything felt so cliché and predictable to me. I couldn't connect with the characters, especially Sienna (it's the first time in a Dan Brown book that I dislike the female MC), and I couldn't stand Robert Langdon. He got on my last nerve all the time. I could see all the famous plot twists that Dan Brown is know for in his books coming a mile away and the reading was slow going. Not even the mystery and the symbolism in this novel interested me much, which was always something that impressed me a lot in his previous books. I don't know, I felt disappointed after the end. It was an overall forgettable book and I hope that Dan Brown is ready to change his formula, because, at least for me, it's getting tiring and uninteresting.

“The thing about fate is, are you the master of your fate, or are the stars?”

I don't know how I feel about this book. It's been a long time coming, reading this series, but now that I've done it I'm not eager to continue with it right away. It was not a terrible book, but comparing to other paranormal YA books, it was just okay. The writing is overly descriptive and the novel is unnecessarily long - it could have been 100 or so pages shorter and it would still work. The plot moved so slowly and it delved too much on the romance aspect that it left me honestly kind of bored sometimes. And it overused so many of those YA troupes, especially the one I hate the most - the girl that is different from all the others, and even though she's plain and uninteresting (or, in this case, dark and weird), the ‘hot' MC is always head over heels for her and all the pretty and ‘shallow' girls from school are bitches who antagonize her. Also, although the authors wanted to make something different and use a male POV, it backfired - Ethan is a poorly written and it sounds more like a teenage girl than a guy. I think the story would have been better and more interesting from Lena's POV.

I liked Lena, although I thought she sounded too dramatic and angsty, but that's probably because we haven't much insight into her character. Her attitudes are understandable given what's happening in her life, but we don't know that until much latter in the book - and even then, Lena's feelings and emotions are not properly convened for the reader to feel sorry for her. The best characters, though, were Amma and Ridley. I want more on their backstory, especially Amma and Malcom's characters (I feel there are so much more to them we have yet to know about) and I'm so happy that Ridley and Link have a spin-off series all to themselves. I think it will be better than the original series.

The plot is actually interesting, and the new witch mythology - or Casters, as they are called in this universe - and the whole Light x Dark is something I would like to know more about and I hope that, as the series progresses, it will be discussed. Overall, like I said before, it's not a bad book, but it's not wonderful either - it's just ok. 3 stars.

The Healer is a short novella featuring John Raleigh, and it takes place before and during the first book in The Witch Hunter series. It's a insight into John's character, how he dealt with his mother & sister's death, how he came to work with Nicholas and his feelings when Elizabeth first arrived after being rescued by the wizard, including his thoughts on the scene where he and Elizabeth first interact in book 1.

Like I said before, I don't care much or even like John's character. He always felt a little flat for me and I expected more out of his romance with Elizabeth. This little story gave me a better understanding on him, but still not enough for me like him much than I did.

“In all your life, your only choice is the path of needles or the path of pins.”

Wow, I'm struggling to write a review for this book. I'm still speechless after it, and it has been at least a month. This was so GOOD! Rosamund Hodge just entered my list of favorite authors, because after this novel, I want to read everything this woman writes. Seriously. First of all,her writing flows beautifully and her characters seem alive and fleshed out. Second, this is not just a fairytale retelling, it's a dark, twisty Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel reimagined, but with original elements and complex and compelling characters. And last, but not least, LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS COVER.

Rachellle, our MC, quickly became one of my favorite YA protagonists this year. She's smart, driven and imperfect. She doesn't make excuses for what she did, and doesn't feel sorry for herself or try to make anyone pity her. She made a choice, she's sorry for it, but she's trying in anyway she can to atone for the things she did - that's what makes her a hero in the end, despite everything. She cares much more than she lets on and it saves her in the end. I absolutely loved her!

And Armand. UGH, my beautiful ‘saint', he's sarcastic and and witty and he complements Rachelle's character so well! These two together were one of the delights of the books, despite it not being focused on the romance - which was a breath of fresh air comparing to other books of the genre.

The plot is so well thought out and everything is neatly tied up by the end, since it's a standalone novel, despite all the plot twists we can't see coming during the book. I just can't praise this book enough, if I could give it a hundred stars, I would, but since GR only allow 5, than 5 stars it is! And well deserved, me thinks. Seriously, just go read this book.

"Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game - and you háve to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.”

Following my recent disappointment with Attatchments, I just needed a cute little romance to satisfy me...and then I found this precious gem. Seriously, this book is GOOD. It's funny, and cute and has all those cliché tropes that I absolutely love, like height-difference-couples, the-dark-brooding&the-little-sunshine and the central trope, enemies-to-lovers. I'm a sucker for those when I'm in the romance mood (which is not often, so I always try to read as much of them when it happens to clear them of my TBR).

The story revolves around Lucy and Joshua - from the moment they met in the new company they both work as executive's assistants, they hated each other. Lucy is too bright and happy and innocent for Joshua, and he's is too closed up and arrogant. They are always trying to up-do the other one and from day 1 they always play theses games at work, the Hating Game, to annoy each other. But now, a sudden promotion will up the game to a whole new level - the ultimate prize in the Hating Game, since the winner not only gets the job, but will watch the other quit the company altogether. Except that a elevator kiss can change everything for them and suddenly the line between love and hate is even more tenuous than they first thought.

We follow Lucy's POV during the book, so our opinion is a little biased from the start. But man, Lucy is awesome as a MC, and her POV is super funny and relatable and she's adorable. I loved getting to know her as well as Josh. Their chemistry is amazing, and even during the ‘hating' and challenging bits, when they ‘hated' each other you could see the emotional and, why not, kind of romantic tension between them. I laughed out loud several times and was gushing and squealing a lot of others. AND THE HOT SCENES OMG. I think my Kindle was steaming hahaha

The writing style reminded me a lot of Sophie Kinsella's books, with steaming scenes thrown in the for good measure. I think that's why I liked it so much, because I tend to enjoy Kinsella's books a lot. I love these light, funny, cute romance books. I would totally recommend this book. 4 stars.

“So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”

This is my first Rainbow Rowell book...and I'm seriously disappointed. If this is her romances, I don't think I'll want to read her other books. The writing didn't captivated me, or had any of the cute tropes or scenes that I usually like to read in romances - and mind that I'm not a big fan of the genre to begin with. Also, I really don't think this qualifies as a romance, unless you think it's romantic for a guy to read through your personal correspondence and start basically stalking you and have fantasies with you in his head. Because in my mind that's what this was and I didn't find it romantic at all. The ‘romance' in itself felt rushed and the ending was just not believable. I felt myself rolling my eyes a lot and that's never a good thing in a book. It was a slow reading for me because at the beginning I couldn't get into the plot or the main character (Lincoln, basically).

The only things I enjoyed about the book was Beth and Jennifer's friendship and conversations, how we're able to see into their lifes through their email - the email resource as a way to their plotline was very clever and I like different things like these in books, to escape the conventional writing style. Also, the conversations themselves were witty and funny and I like how they were so supportive of each other. I also liked Lincoln's character development, how he overcame his difficulties, how he was finally able to move on and start fresh. It was also refreshing to have a chick-lit and a romance from the guy's POV.

Other than that, there's not much I liked about this. It was so unsatisfying, because I was in the mood for a cute, nice romance, to gush a lot and smile while reading. That's not what I got with this book and it left me wondering if I should read “Fangirl” at all. 3 stars.

“Today is cold. Tomorrow, heat will come. Flowers bloom, then wither. Those we love, we can grow to hate. And life...life can be perfect one minute and in shambles the next.”

This is the second book in the White Rabbit Chronicles series, and we pick up right where the last book left off, with Ali now as part of the zombie hunters crew and happy with her friends, grandmother and boyfriend, Cole. But, the same as with the night of her family's murder that started all this, it only takes one minute for everything to change.

This book was equal parts good and not so much. I really liked the center plot with Ali and Dark Ali, I thought it was really interesting to see Ali fighting not only with zombies and Anima, but with a part of herself. It was a clever way for character development for her, as well as good source of conflict between the group. The girl suffered a lot, though. I mean, you think that after everything she went through in the first book, she couldn't suffer anymore and couldn't loose more....and then you find out you were wrong. She can, and she would. Yes, it made her much stronger, but there were moments when I just wanted to hug her because I felt really sorry for her. I loved how Kat was always supporting her, their friendship is amazing and Kat is by far my favorite character in this entire series. She's hilarious and loyal and badass. I'm glad she and Frosty are okay now, they are cure together and also one of the couples that I think work the best in the series as well.

As for relationships, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Gavin and how he and Ali bonded and ended up as friends. I don't think he was ever in love with Ali at all, but I like them better than ColexAli. And Gavin is way cooler. Speaking of which, what was this “New Moon” vibe between Cole and Ali in this book? How unnecessary was that? What was the point in creating all this drama because of Cole's stupid jealousy? And how unnecessary was Veronica? Yep, very. Ali even got Bella Swan-ed for a while, and there was even a Twilight quote thrown in the book just to cement the whole thing. I was cringing the whole time, and it slowed my reading a bit. I still don't like and connect much with Cole and after this book, I don't like the whole relationship at all. I think Ali is better off alone for now or with someone else.

Reeve's plot was also super interesting, even though I felt sorry for her in the end, a lot. But I knew that she would eventually fall into Zombieland and become part of the gang, even if she's not a slayer. I'm happy that everyone is in the know now, I can't wait for some action with the gang in the next book. AND JUSTIN AND HIS SISTER. I never expected a redemption arc for them, I expected them to be ‘the enemies' for the entire series, or maybe betray Anima at the very end or something. I was suspicious at first because of that, but I kinda liked how they started helping the slayers and the part Justin's sister played after the girls were in Anima's headquarters.

Overall, I liked the book. It had it's downfalls (ahem, all the unnecessary drama between Cole and Ali), but it was just as action packed as the first, if not more, and it gaves more on the zombie lore of the series, as well as prepared us for the final battle against Anima and the zombies. There were major character developments and tons of humor. 3.5 stars.

So, this was basically Cole's POV on the scene where him and Ali first meet at Asher High in “Alice in Zombieland”. It was nice to read from his POV, but nothing fantastic about it. It was pretty much the insta-love feeling we got from Ali's POV in the actual book, with a lot more intensity. Also, it was super short. I expected a little bit more about where Cole went after bailing school, his thoughts about what happened between them and maybe a scene with his father or Mackenzie. So, 2 stars it is.

“I'd rather the world considered me crazy while I go down fighting than spend the rest of my life hiding from the truth.”

Well, color me surprised, I actually enjoyed this book a lot. I don't know if because I needed a break from all the emotions of “The Rose and The Dagger”, but this book came at the right time for me and I found myself having fun while reading it, thanks to Ali's naivety and Kat's hilariousness. As you can guess from the title, this is a kind of retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but with zombies. Not something that would have gotten me, especially because I was not fond of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (even though I absolutely loved the movie, go figure). I was won over by the mythology of the zombies in this world (I still think we're missing stuff, I don't know if that's the purpose and more will be revealed in the next books or if it is indeed lacking), Ali's character growth and the charming secondary characters (EMMA AND KAT, GUYS).

I love how the author explored how inexperienced Ali was for a teenager because of her upbringing, how she was dealing with the realization that her father was right all along, her grief and the new things happening at school and at home, how she adjusted to it all - and how she overcome all that and managed to develop through the novel, and kick some zombie ass while doing it. The only thing that annoyed me was the insta love. I don't know, I couldn't connect with Cole, therefore I couldn't like him enough to enjoy their romance. Also, I think Ali kind of obsessed too much over him to a point where it bothered me and their romance took up a lot of the book that could be used for more background on Anima, for exemple, on the other slayers (like Bronx, who I think will be in the novels a lot, but we don't know what he did to earn the house arrest ankle). We could use some backstory for Justin and Jaclyn as well, but I'm hoping we'll get more on them in the next book. There's also a lot of unexplained stuff regarding Ali's powers and why she's the only one who have all of them, how the diary connects with her family and how a slayer develops their power. These are a few things I'm hoping will be breached in the next books to wrap up the details of this zombie world nicely.

The ending was too fast too and I think it was kind of unnecessary - the events that happened in the last 4-5 chapters could have been easily in the next book, being the main event in it. I think the author had room to explore the situation more. I ended up giving 3.5 stars because of these issues, but I still liked it a lot and am continuing with the series. It's not exactly a light reading because of the violence and some graphic scenes (especially in book 2, that I started already), but it's a fun one and if you like Alice in Wonderland and zombies, you should dig into it, pun intended.