Natália

This was a cute little romance, not espetacular and very cliché, but still a light and fun read. I like how Stephanie Fowers adapted Jane Austen's novels and even the places where they are set into this book and the characters. Some were pretty obvious, but others I only realized when the book revealed. I also liked that some of the characters personalities were mashed, it gave them a more realistic feel.

Jane was a little bit annoying and sometimes had no sense of pride and preservation (unlike many of her beloved characters), but she was funny and loyal. Austen sometimes got on my nerves, he was clueless about the other characters feelings (especially Jane's) and was even a little cold and dismissive. And, although they are not listed as adaptations of characters, I thought that Jane reminded me a lot of Emma, from Emma, with her romantic personality and her matchmaking “skills” as well as the fact that she tried the entire book to do what she thought was right, only to complicate herself and others further. She was less proud and know-it-all than Emma herself, but I got the vibe, especially because of the whole “the romantic & the cynic” couple. Austen was clearly Mr. Knightly for me - all logic and reason, except when it comes to Jane/Emma.

Overall, a nice and quick book. As a Jane Austen adaptation addict, not the best one, but still nice in between heavier and dense books.

FINALLY. This book is so short, but I thought I would never finish it! I just couldn't get into this book at all. Couldn't connect with the characters, couldn't feel the plot...I started this almost 4 months ago and I only managed to finish it now, despite being 180-or so pages long. I almost, almost DNF-ed it, but it was so short I went ahead with it. I really wanted to like this book, but Nick was a self-righteous idiot, Gastby was annoying, Tom was just disgusting and Daisy was just a airy, unconcerned bitch who did what she wanted without caring about the consequences and when it all went to hell, left everything to others to clean up her mess. Ugh, no. Not for me at all.

I have yet to read a Rick Riordan book that I didn't like. I like how he adapts the myths and legends of different mythologies into the modern world and a very entertaining plot and characters. This book is the first in the Kane Chronicles trilogy and tells the story of how Carter and Sadie Kane entered head on into the world of Egyptian gods. Despite not being as funny and amusing as the other Riordan series (Carter and Sadie aren't as sassy and sarcastic - or clueless - as Percy, Magnus and the crew from Heroes of Olympus, but they are clever and they have a lot of other issues to figure out along with all the gods and saving the world stuff so the books have a lot of other more serious issues), they are so so good! Bast and Sadie are my favorite characters, Bast because she is my badass cat goddess and Sadie because her characters growth and british sass is awesome. I like Carter, he's noble and just and righteous, but comparing to others, not my favorite overall. He's a bit thick sometimes and he's blinded by his feelings - I do enjoyed his development during the book and I hope we get more in the next two, but he has a long way to go still to be a more awesome character. Comparing to Sadie, though, he had way less growth.

The only issue I had was the same one I had with Magnus Chase...I don't know much of Egyptian mythology, so whenever the myths were mentioned, I had to stop and look up that especific tale or god. But that was interesting and it made me learn more about Egypt and it's tales. I'll read more on it before I start the next one, though, so I don't have to interrupt my reading so often.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this book. I couldn't get immersed into this new world and it took me a while to click with the story and the characters. But once I did, I was hooked and I finish the entire book in two days or so. I like the alternating POV's, it gives us a better insight into the Republic and how things work, as well as what happens in the outer sectors and it showed us two sides of the same coin - June and Daniel, both prodigys, both young and talented people, but born into different circunstances and we see how that affected their life and their choices and actions. In a way, they are each other if their situations were reversed and I think they end up balancing each other nicely. I want more of their interactions and to see how their relationship will develop in the next book.

This is an action packed book, there's never a dull moment, but it can get quite violent and graphic. I don't have a problem with this, but I think some people would be a little uneasy. There were some unexpected things that happen, but most of the twist I could see coming, even though that didn't diminished the book for me in any way. It just wasn't as surprising as I wanted it to be and in the end I was satisfied but not blown away.

I look forward to the next book, I think it will be even better and more thrilling than this one!

Another amazing Christie book! I liked the idea of uniting Poirot, Mrs. Oliver, Colonel Race and Inspector Battle in one novel, and how well they interacted with each other and complimented each other, with their unique manner of investigating. Of course, the final word was obviously Poirot's, but still, I like that they respected each other as detectives - official ones or not. Also, it was full of twists and misleading, and the culprit was quite unexpected, which is classic Christie. I enjoyed how she balanced 4 detectives and 4 suspects and how each of them as guilty in their own way. I haven't read this one before and I liked it a lot! I would love for Miss Marple to be in it, I'm curious to see how she would interact with Poirot. I hope I can find a novel where they work together some day!

A classic Poirot novel, in the classic Christie style! I was happy with the ending, because I felt really sorry about the Boynton family as a whole and was not entirely sad, like the characters, that Mrs. Boynton was killed. I kind of guessed the ending, because I have the impression I've read this one before (a long while ago, but still), but that didn't dimished my enjoyment of the book. Not THE best Agatha Christie mystery, but a nice one nonethless.

This novella is the story of how Grom and Nalia fell in love, despite being forced to mate because of their position as third-generation firstborn Royals of their respective houses, the tragic accident and the ruse between the kingdoms,. I liked it, despite being in Grom's POV (I'm not sure I like Grom very much). Nalia's is a fun, smart and free-spirited character and she doesn't appreciate the restrictions she'll be under after her marriage, and that's one of the things that furthers the tragedy that happens at the end (although, if you've read the first novel, of Poseidon, you kind of know that not everything is what it seems). At first, they hate each other over some misunderstanding that happened when they were children, but that is quickly settled, especially since they both feel the ‘pull' towards each other. Nalia questions the pull, calling it a mindless attraction, an animal instinct that binds them together even if under normal circunstancies they wouldn't tolerate each other, but apparently both their feelings for each other are real - let's see if that remains true for Nalie after Of Triton.

I think Grom is an idiot. He is kind of controlling over her and wants her to submit to him, which does not go well with her free-spirited personality. I'm betting that, and the reason they fought at the end of the book, is one of the reasons why Nalia did what she did. I think that, once free of the pull, she found out that she was not really that much in love with Grom after all. In the novel, they say the pull goes both ways, but I doubt that. I think it can very well be one-sided. But let's see about that after the second novel. Anyway, a nice novella, that sheds some lights over the events that led to Of Poseidon.

A very original rettelling of Pride and Prejudice. I absolutely adored the movie, it was the right mix of action and romance without losing sight of the original story. But the book was sorely lacking., It was basically the Jane Austen's book word by word, with some zombie stuff and the Bennet sisters killing undeads thrown in the mix. There were some interesting things, like Charlotte's fate, but other than that, it was just meh. Even the romance between Darcy and Elizabeth was dull, I couldn't feel the spark and the giddiness I felt while reading the original novel, or even watching the movie. Very disappointing.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

A nice enough book to pass the time. It has mermaids and some mythology in it, but the plot is very simple, the characters are extremely cliché (Emma, the protagonista, is not only a walking cliché, but she doesn't even get a proper character development through the entire book) and even the big reveal, that ends the book in a cliffhanger, is not a surprise at all. I saw it coming almost from chapter 4 or 5. The Syrena mythology was nicely developed though, and some of the characters backstory, as well as how some events will go on in the next book, got me curious enough to pick up book 2.

I don't know if I like Galen or not. Sometimes he is cute, and honest and just, but other times he's just annoying and controlling. I don't think I like him as a romantic hero. There were times I really wanted Emma to drop him like a venomous snake and leave him in the dust. Others, I just wanted them to kiss already to stop all the whining on both parts and the unecessary drama.

It was a short book, though, so the bad things about it didn't have time to annoy me for real, so I'm giving the series a chance.

This is one of the novelas in the Syrena Legacy trilogy. It's a short ebook telling the story of how Galen met Rachel and how she came to be a vital part of his team on land. While reading “Of Poseidon”, Rachel was one of my favorite characters and I've always wondered about her backstory. This novela satisfied a lot of my curiosity (but not all of it), while being a lot better than the actual novel. Rachel is one of the most engaging characters in the trilogy and I like her relationship with Galen, Rayna and Toraf.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Picking up the Vampire Academy series again, finally! I missed Rose, Lissa, Christian, Adrian and Dimitri (the later a lot less than the first four). In this book, the third in the series, Rose has to deal with the aftermath of what happened at Spokane, as well as some new issues, thanks to her field experience as a guardian, a new threat and the effects of being ‘shadow kissed' and her bond with Lissa. I love Rose's personality, and I loved that Christian and Adrian had a more active role in the books, because I LOVE them both, but I missed Lissa and her friendship with Rose. They drifted apart a lot since book 2, and the fact that Rose starts questioning her position and the role she has to play in Lissa's life as well as the sacrifices she has to make is only worsening it. The anger and the emotions overwhelming her because of her bond with the Dragomir princess isn't helping matters either, so we have a very conflicted Rose in this book.

I actually liked it, it was not as action packed as the last two books, except for the ending, and it dealt more with the characters emotions, but it had a nice plot and it was well developed. I think all of the main characters evolved, especially Lissa and Christian (it was AMAZING seeing my bb Ozera fighting and standing up for himself, YAY); The ending was annoying and idiotic in my opinion (I mean, leaving everything behind, including your best friend and the one you should protect for a guy? One that has turned into a monster or was most likely dead? Yep, you're in love with him, but you're 18, Rose, stop the damn drama!), and the next book will have to deal with it, so I don't know if I'll pick it up right away. But I'm definitely finishing this to start Bloodlines.

This is one of the best books, if not the best book I've read this year, EASILY. I adore Maas writing, her world build is amazing, as well as her characters. They are all complex and layered, and engaging! You can't help but feel something towards them, even if it's absolute despise and hate. This was a rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every second of it. I had to wait till I could calm down and write something coherent to start this review, because after this book I COULDN'T EVEN SIT DOWN, LET ALONE WRITE ANYTHING. Just thinking about this book sends me into overdrive. SO. GOOD.

Feyre was amazing in this book. At first, we see how she's dealing with the aftermath of Under the Mountain and she did to survive and save Prythian, as well as adjusting to her new body and habilities. And then, when she moves over to the Court of Dreams and is finally free to be her badass self again, we see her bloom even more. It's amazing to see the difference from the start of the book to the last page.

And Rhys. Maas totally Tahereh Mafi'ed (ahem, Juliette x Warner). The things he did for his people, his friends! And what he does for Feyre not only Under the Mountain, but after it. He was not only by her side because she is his mate, but he supports her, sees her as his equal in every way, gives her strenght, believes in her and is pround of her strenght and powers. That's a model of a good relationship. Contrasting to that, we see Feyre's relationship with Tamlin, the prototype of na abusive relationship. Seriously, I was so disgusted by Tamlin in this book! By the end, I hated him so much that can't even bother with a redemption arc for him. He can rot and die for all I care. Not only was he abusive and obsessive with Feyre, he was abusive with his best friend. My poor Lucien! The guy found and lost his mate in the span of 5 minutes and Tamlin couldn't care less. Just NO.

The addition of the new characters was also so good! The way the mixed with the old characters! To me, the Court of Dreams was one of the best things about ACOMAF. And the ships, obviously (NESTAxCASSIAN, GUYS!).

I can't believe I have to wait a year for the third novel! I just can't, I need it now! 5 fabulous stars.

Another nice, light and fluffy read by Sophie Kinsella, but not as good as “I've Got Your Number”. I loved Emma, she is funny and charming, and I could relate to her in various situations through the novel. But there was a lot of unresolved things, like what happened with Kerry? Why did she never apologized. And Emma's parents. They realized they were wrong and all, and told her they loved her, but never that they were sorry for everything they put her through and that they were proud of her. And Artemis and the rest of her colleagues at the office. They NEVER, EVER apologized to her for being totally horrible and Artemis never got what she deserved for being a total bitch. The same goes for Jemima. The girl was a total psycho and yet Emma and her bestie, who should be the fierciest of the two, never kicked her out of the apartment or got away from this toxic friendship.

The ending also felt super rushed, the secret Jack kept the entire book was not well explored (it had room to expand the plot a lot more and we could have another 100 pages easily with the fallout of the recital's party) and the way he and Emma finally got together was so...idk, abrupt and meh. One minute everything had went to hell, the next they had worked it all out and were together.

For a quick, light and funny romance, it was ok. I just wished things had been dealt with better.

Overall, I really enjoyed these novellas. Most of them were the perfect complement to The Selection series, and the “Where Are They Now?” was super interesting. I could really see the girls from the books actually turning into those women. The Favorite and Celeste were my favorite novellas, I think it despicted Marlee and Celeste perfectly, giving us an insight of their thoughts during the books - especially Celeste. I felt even more sorry for her, and felt more acutely that her character should have been better explored in The One.

The bonus chapter from The One was a little bit unnecessary, I think, and America seemed a little out of character for me. The book ending was perfect already, I don't think this added anything to it, like a bonus chapter from The Crown would. Since I've read both The Prince and The Guard before, I'll not comment on these two novellas again. The only one I re-read was The Prince, because I adored it the first time.

My big disappointment with this collection was “The Queen”. I loved Queen Amberly and when I heard there was going to be a novella about her and her own Selection, I was so happy! She's so sweet, and graceful, and elegant and wise! And I really thought that, despite his cruelty, King Clarkson really loved her. No wonder she was so adored and America looked up to her during the series. But this vision into her own Selection was a let down. Amberly came across as a silly girl with a crush-turned-obsession to a point where everything Clark did was justified and forgivable, even when he was completely abusive to her. I get that he didn't grow up in a very healthy environment, not with his parents (as it shown in the novella), but that's not excuse for some of his attitudes. Also, she was willing to give up everything to be what he needed, give all her love, even when he gave her nothing in return. We could see as well the first inkling that Clark did not love Amberly as much as we though (and then came The Crown to confirm it) - she was simply convenient: a Five-turned-One, which means the people from lower castes would admire her, beautiful and poised enough that she could become a respectable Queen, subservient and completely devoted. She would never question him or anything he did, only show up and smile, and he actually say this to her when she tells her she won the Selection. It was hard for me to read this novella, even bearing in my mind the author's notes at the beginning - that she never intended for their relationship to come across as abusive or demeaning for Amberly. Well, sorry, but it did and it made me almost leave it unfinished and go on to another novella.

Anyway, glad this is out of the way and the other novellas make up to it. 3/5 stars.

I don't know how I feel about this series ending. I've loved The Selection series since book one. American won my heart with her sassiness and her sarcasm, as well as her fierceness and Eadlyn, despite starting off as a total brat, won me over during The Heir and see her story coming to an end as well, along with her parents, it gives me so many feels. I'm gonna miss this world and this characters a lot! I'm still hoping for some novellas to show us what happened after The Crown, though!

This book was the ending this series deserved! I don't think I would have changed anything, unlike the start of The Heir. I love how Eadlyn matured over the course of these two books, how her view of the world changed, how much she learned and the friendships she made during the time of her Selection. Kile, Hale and Josie just to mention a few. I'm also happy with the choices she made during this book, despite all the pressure surrounding her and threatening to break her. She stood tall and stand for herself and her decisions, showing how well she is fit for the throne. A true Queen!

And I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO SAY HOW HAPPY I AM ABOUT THE GUY SHE END UP WITH! I was rooting for him since last book and I was so worried Kiera Cass would go with the obvious route! But she didn't! She made it work out in the end! I HAVE SO MANY FEELS, HELP! Also, Maxon being a proud papa is so cute! Loved him a lot in this book!

” ‘Listen to your daughter,' Dad said. ‘Very smart girl. Gets it from me.' “ - Maxon just being Maxon.

I read some reviews about this book saying that the ending felt incomplete, like it needed another scene to wrap it up and I have to say I agree! Like I said, I feel like I need a novella (or a couple, like Happily Ever After), to show us what happened after the ending of the book. I need a wedding scene, at least! And a ‘where are they now', if I can. Kiera Cass, I never asked you for anything before, PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN! Other than that, I couldn't be happier with this book. And this series.

” ‘I'm Eadlyn Schreave, and no one in the world is as powerful as me,' I blurted without thought.
He nodded. ‘Damn right you are.' “

I really don't know why, but I'm not digging Richelle Mead's latest books. At first, I really liked this book, it seemed interesting and the characters were amazing...but the plot became a little weak after a while and everything felt just too rushed. One second Ada was on the manor, the next she was on a ship to Adoria and the next she was going somewhere else...I don't know, it felt like the author tried to fit the contents of two books into one, while not giving room to interesting characters to develop properly.

I wanted to know more not only about Ada/Elizabeth and Cedric (and as much as I liked them as the main couple at first, it got tiresome after 2/3 of the book), but Mira and Tamsin as well. There was a lot about those two who went unexplained, like what Tamsin asked Ada at the end of the book, what happened after she was marooned in the storm and the time she was ‘missing', Mira's secret and her entire backstory, and so on.

I've heard that the next two books will be set on the same time frame, but covering Tamsin and Mira's sides of the story, so let's hope we'll get some answers then!

That aside, I enjoyed how this book shed some light on women's rights at the time, how they were objectified and treated like possessions, and how our protagonists rebelled against that in their own ways. The whole trial scene got to me, especially given recent events here in Brazil, involving sexual assault and victim blame. “It dawned on me then that I'd been wrong in thinking my title would give me an edge on this trial. The edge here was in being male. Women were easy to dismiss.” Unfortunately, this still stands true today, and this makes me so sad. It also had a little bit of religious prejudice and racism (Mira suffered a lot of bullying even from her colleagues in the Glittering Court for being Sirminican) thrown in the middle and that was very interesting. Again, still relevant to this day. I hope the next books will follow on this.

As for out characters, I really liked Ada/Elizabeth, she was witty, sarcastic and smart, and she was not afraid of fighting for what she believed and what she wanted. Despite short and rushed, she was able to develop through the book, growing from the proud, prejudiced lady who followed society's rules to emphatic, hard-working and brave. Mira was still my favorite character though. From the beginning, she was not afraid of being who she was, not ashamed of being Sirminican and, despite all of society's impositions, she always wanted to be her own woman, travel, see the world, be brave and a fighter. Also, I NEED TO KNOW HOW SHE KNOWS HOW TO USE A CROSSBOW! I NEED HER BOOK, RIGHT NOW.

Tamsin was a little bit annoying at times, but I came to like character at the end, and she stuck with Ada as a friend, as well as coming to her aid, and fighting against her own fears to help her friends. I'm curious about her backstory and her need to marry well. Maybe then I can understand more of her character through most of this book. I feel she wasn't explored fully as a character. Let's hope her novel will change that.

This was a 3 stars book. I wanted to like it more, but it felt too rushed, especially the ending, and the plot felt a little bit flat at times. I expected more out of this, but still a nice read.

This was WAY too short. Ugh, why all of this short stories are TOO SHORT? I need more Khalid! I mean, 12 pages doesn't even begin to cover my needs!

Ranting aside, I enjoyed this brief view through Khalid's POV. This only asserted how broken he is by the curse, how much he thinks he doesn't deserve to be happy and how much he's willing to sacrifice for his people. He is such a great king, a great leader! It breaks my heart that his own people thinks he is nothing but a murderer and an evil son of a bitch. My bb is suffering so much, MAKE IT STOP! I just want to give him a hug and tell him everything will be ok.

I'll read the other novellas before I finally pick up The Rose and the Dagger (it arrived last friday, WHY? Of all the times, THE WORST! crying). Again, 5/5, because Khalid and the amazing writing by Renee Ahdieh, who makes these characters so real and relatable.

This is one of the most amazing ‘Beauty and the Beast' retelling ever. I love Sarah's writing and how her world building is always outstanding, full of details and they always manage to come to life when we're reading. I always find myself totally immersed in her books to a point where I can completely block out the rest of the world and “A Court of Thorns and Roses” was no different.

I loved Feyre's personality, her no-shit attitude and the fight in her, the will to survive and protect her family, despite all the bad blood between them at the beginning. I think she lost a little bit of that in the last days before Tamlin sent her away, and it kind of unnerved me, the fact that she went without a fight or demanding to know more. But she quickly regained that for the challenge Under the Mountain and suddenly she was the same fierce girl we saw hunting in the forest and trying to figure out the strange new world she was in when she first arrived in the Spring Court.

Let me say, this book had a lot of twists that I could not see coming and that made me very glad. The fact that it took parts of the original Beauty and the Beast tale and spinned it to fit the story was also very clever - the fact that the “beauty', described in the original (or at least in the Disney version) as a passionate reader, couldn't read at all in this book was a nod to the tale without copying every single aspect from it.

And the characters! Something that I always enjoy in Maas' books is the complexity and layers of her characters. Not only the main ones, but the secondaries as well. Nesta, for example. I hated her at first, and thought her ungrateful and enjoying taunting and exploring Feyre. I realized after her motives for that and also the fact that she was the one who loved more fiercely and was actually ensuring the family's survival and who believed in Feyre more than anyone. In the end, I had respect for her and I really want to see what became of her character in the next books. I hope that, as Feyre said, she would become a powerful woman.

Rhysand too surprised me. When I first started out the book, I saw lots of people shipping Rhys x Feyre and I simply couldn't understand why, I mean, the guy was a bastard, and a lackey of the evil fairy queen. Only at the ending I understand his character a little more AND actually want him to show up more. I'm not that far into his character as to ship Rhys x Feyre, BUT I'll admit I see the base for the ship there. Their relationship is interesting, and given what Feyre had to go through Under The Mountain, he is the only one who could relate to that and understand what she's going through, more than Tamlin. I can't wait to see how the weeks in the Night Court will hold for these two. Also, who doesn't love the sarcastic, sexy bad guy? I do hope though that this won't turn into a love triangle, because I absolutely hate them in general. Almost all YA novels nowadays has one of those and it pisses me off. Done right, it's okay, but most of them are done to further a plot or create unnecessary drama.

Tamlin, though. I'm absolutely in love with him. I don't usually like the good guys (oh, wait, there's Chaol...and Dorian...and ok, maybe I like some good guys), but THIS BABY SUFFERED SO MUCH, AND HE WAS SO AWKWARD WHEN FEYRE FIRST ARRIVED AND THEN ALL THE SEXUAL TENSION AND THE FIRE NIGHT, SOMEONE JUST HOLD ME. I have been tricked into liking the good guy in the first book and then hating him completely in the rest of the books of the series (yep, ‘Shatter Me', I'm looking directly to you), but I'm hoping it's not the case with Tamlin, I really like his dynamic with Feyre and after what happened at the end of this novel, they deserve some happiness together.

All in all, I loved it. AND I ALREADY ORDERED A COURT OF MIST AND FURY, BUT I CAN'T READ RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I HAVE MY FINAL PROJECT DUE FRIDAY, HELP.
5/5 stars, easily.

I hate that it took me so long to finally read this book! And now that I'm done, I not only need Crooked Kingdom like YESTERDAY but I have a physical need to read The Grisha trilogy.

I am amazed at Leigh Bardugo's world building and the complexity of her characters. Every one of our six protagonists have a background, a motivation and are multifaceted, and also interesting in different ways. I love how she revealed everyone's backstory slowly, through the book and making parallels with the character's current situation. That made everything even more interesting to read. Also, this was not only action-packed, which keeps the reader glued to the pages, but also full of twists, some very unexpected, others a little bit predictable, but exciting all the same.

Inej, Nina and Jesper were my favorites, by far. I loved their friendship (especially Jesper & Inej and Nina&Inej) and their relationship with the other 3 main characters. Also, the 3 ships in this book JUST GAVE ME LIFE. I can't decide which one is my OTP, because I was equally cheering for them and squealing when they had scenes together.

This was not a light book, however, despite the pockets of comedy (mainly because of Jesper) through it. This world is vicious and dark and broken and there were some violent scenes were I cringed a little, even though I don't have much of a problem with violence or blood. But that didn't diminished this book in my eyes in any way and it doesn't comprimised the story or the flow of the book at all. By all means, a 5 star book.

I missed these books so much! I don't know why it took me so long to finally continue with TMI series. I remembered why I enjoy the Shadowhunter world so much and how well Cassandra Clare writes! She kept me engaged from page 1 again. I did have to go back to the previous 3 books a few times since it has been a while since I read them, to remember some of the events mentioned in this book, but I was able to pick up right where I left of and imerse myself in this world and in these characters as if I haven't been away from this series at all.

Simon was the highlight of this book for me. I didn't cared much about him in the first two books, but he's growing on me and in this one, his character development and his overall arc was awesome. I found myself wanting to get to the Simon chapters! His newfound friendship with both Jordan and even Jace was fun to read about, and I already want more of those 3! Izzy was another favorite of mine, she also developed a lot in this book and I like how she's realizing how much she coming to care about Simon. I want to see their relationship progress in the next books! Also, I like her friendship with Maya!
Speaking of her, I wanted more Maya, not only to further Simon's plot and to introduce Jordan and his background story, but I think she is an interesting character. I also ship JordanxMaya, sue me. I think he was a nice addition to the team, too.

Malec was not as present in this book, but when they were, or there were references to them, I just squealed. BBS ARE ADORABLE, UGH. I even enjoyed the drama, even though I'm not a fan of these kind of plot devices. It was coming, though, with Magnus past having to come up eventually. Also, all the references to TID!

I even liked Jace in this book too! Now that all the Valentine debacle is over, he seems less the arrogant and self-righteous ass he was in the previous book, and his whining about Clary and not being able to be with her because she was his sister was annoying af. Thank God that is done. Again, I like how he is relating with Simon and Jordan.

Clary was extremely annoying. I never liked her much as some of the secondary characters, like Izzy, Alec, Magnus and so on, and in this novel she is at her worst. She is selfish and self-centered. I mean, her mom is getting married, there are people trying to recreate the experiences that created her brother, Shadowhunters are being murdered and her best friend is being attacked by mysterious people, and has also run away from home...but all she seems to care is that Jace might not love her anymore. I don't like JacexClary, at least since book 2. Their lack of communication is annoying and half of the problems the gang faces (and they face in their relationship) could be solved if they simply talked to each other and not tried to decide what's best for the other or avoid confrontation altogether.

Still, I enjoyed this book a lot and liked how the plots all came together in the end. I can't wait to pick up the next books and than Lady Midnight!

I finally gave in to the hype and started this book AND OMG I DON'T KNOW WHY I WAITED SO MUCH TO PICK THIS UP. The writing flowed amazingly and it kept me engaged and interested. I love the chapters with different POV's, it gave depth to the story and added those missing information we needed to better understand what was happening as well as an insight into other character's thoughts and personalities.

The only reason I gave it a 4 stars instead of a full 5 stars was the romance in itself - I expected a lot more adorable moments and at least more than 1 kiss. Idk, I guess I was hoping for Will and Lou to admit their feelings and at least be ‘together' for a while before the end. AND, the last couple of chapters were heartbreaking and so so sad, but it wasn't the tear-fest I was prepared for. The feels were a little bit there and the final scene in Paris was bittersweet, but I was fully expecting to flood my room with tears, which didn't happened. I still loved it, though and the entire relationship between Will and Lou, the way it developed, was just lovely.

I loved Lou and her family. She is so funny and so bright and full of light and she just wants to make this right for everyone. I could relate a lot to her. She became one of my favorite female characters. The dynamic with her family, although I felt that at the beginning they were a mean to her and maybe were putting her down most of the time, but as the book progressed the love they have for each other really shined through. Even Treena, who I found incredibly selfish most of the book (I actually hated her at some parts), in the end showed how much she loves her big sister, despite their differences, and was there for Lou in the most crucial times in her life - the night in the maze and after coming back from the trip and when Lou was supposed to meet the Traynors in Switzerland. I resented Lou's mom in the end, I think she was a little bit harsh with her daugher, but I can understand why she acted that way, given the very controversial topic.

As for the Traynor family, my love for Will is TOO MUCH. My poor bb, I can't imagine how much suffering he was in, but seeing him come out of his shell little by little after Lou arrived was just amazing to see. Regarding the rest of the family, I didn't care that much about them. I could empathize with Camilla a lot, because of what she was going through with her son and her husband at the same time. It can't be easy to watch your own son in that state and then ask you to help him die.

As for the entire ‘assisted suicide' matter, I liked how the book presented not only with society's view of the matter but the quad community and a disabled person's view. As a medical student, I've dealed with spine chord injuries and I know how awful must be to become so dependent of others for even the most basic things, to not have control over your body and your life, and how painful it is. Quads are very prone to infection, respiratory and urinary especially, and the catheter and sometimes inabillity to swallow only adds to that, not to mention the risks of ulcers from being in bed or sitting constantly - which can infect or grow more and more, causing a huge amount of pain. AND the gastric ulcers from all the medication. And the higher the level of the spine injury, the worst it is, the more dependent you are and the lower your life quality. I know there is people who can find a way to cope, a way to be happy despite everything, but it must not be easy to, along with all the medical issues, see able bodied people do all the things you used to and can't anymore, not to mention the sympathetic looks and people whispering behind your back and looking everywhere you go. Just living is a constant reminder of all the things you lost. I can easily understand Will's decision and I absolutely respect that.

All in all, this was an amazing book, and I can't wait to see the movie adaptation! I don't think I'll be reading “After You” though, because I love how things ended in this one and I'd like to imagine Lou moving forward and completing her studies and traveling the world, remembering Wil and just being happy. Picking up the sequel would shatter this picture for me, plus there are certain books that shouldn't have a sequel anyway and I think “Me Before You” is one of those.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

I was really disappointed with this book. I came in hoping for a nice thriller, with a gripping mystery, but found myself instead following three very messed up women and how their life's got tangled up. The plot dragged in several parts, so much that I put it down only to pick it up again after almost three months, and was only engaged again in the end. The mystery in itself was Rachel's missing memory of the night Megan got killed and even that failed to get my attention, given the book often sidetracked to other things. There was almost no character development and I couldn't relate to any of the characters. I did pitied Megan by the end of the book and could understand her motivations and her as character better, but I still disliked her a lot. I absolutely HATED Anna, she was a selfish, self-righteous bitch and I liked to see her get exactly what she did to Rachel come to bite her in the end.

Rachel was the only one I actually sympathized with - the girl was pressured to have a baby and when she failed to conceive, she spiralled into the depression, started to drink and at the time she needed him the most, the sorry excuse for a human being that was her husband not only cheated on her, but kicked her out of the house to marry the mistress AND had a child with said mistress, rubbing it on Rach's face and constantly treating her like shit, not only after, but when they were married as well, putting the blame on her for a lot that was actually his fault and tooking advantage of her drunk state to play with her mind. Then, she lost her job, her old life and was battling an addiction. I liked that Hawkins didn't make her sober overnight, after she became involved the Megan's disappearence, but instead made her struggle and relapse very often, like a true alcoholic or any other addicted would. Rachel as a character felt very real to me and that was one of the only things about this book that I enjoyed. Her ending made me happy.

I didn't see the big reveal coming, but it wasn't a big surprise and I didn't care for it as much as I should given the premise of the book. I'm glad I finally finished this one, so I don't have to worry about it sitting on my shelf.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

The Shadow Queen is a nice, refreshing, action-packed Snow White retelling. I enjoyed it a lot, though I felt the writing was a little bit rushed and the constant action took the much needed space for some character development. I also adored the nods to classic tales like Robin Hood and to the original fairytale it's based on (the rotting apples, Kol's seven friends and protectors acting in the final battle as Lorelai's seven dwarfs, the way Lorelai is able to communicate easily with animals and the flurry of birds rushing into the final battle to help her, like in the Disney movie) and also the DRAGONS! The Draconi made everything twice as interesting for me.

I liked Lorelai and her strenght, how she grow from being fearful and careful to bold and brave and how she didn't let her losses paralyze her but strenghten her and fuel her instead. I do think she was a little too powerful and skilled to a 16-year-old girl with barely any training in magic. I know it's explained in the book why she has way more power than Irina, but the control she has over her magic was unrealistic to me.

I adored Kol, the way he struggled to not be the disappointment he thought he was in the face of his parents and his kingdom and be the king Eldr deserved, while maintaining his integrity and doing what's right always. The way he fought through the pain and rage of Irina's spell, the description of his consumption from his dragon heart really got to me. He was my favorite character in the book. Ok, not favorite, but one of my favorites, because this spot is Sasha's (the most amazing gyrfalcon ever) and Leo's. But let's not talk about Leo, I'm not ready.

SpoilerActually, I think that was one of the worst deaths in the book. I know Lorelai needed something to force her to stop hiding and fuel her enough for her to face Irina, but I think Gabril's would have served just as well and he is a much more disposable character than Leo, whose humor and constant fight and teasing of Lorelai would be a welcome break from all the action. I think he would have an awesome friendship with Kol, and it would give us interesting and fun scenes. Also, I WAS WAITING SO MUCH FOR THE CORONATION SCENE, for him to criticize the fashion and tease Lorelai about her dress and her and Kol! UGH, WHY?

Irina is a terrifying villain. She reminded me a lot Levana from The Lunar Chronicles, because they both believed that they were taking what was rightfully theirs from the beginning, rectifying the wrongs that were done to them, but while Levana actually believed she was doing what was right for her kingdom and that she was helping Luna, and her belief made her blind and drove her to madness and that's where her cruelty comes from, Irina is cruel for the sake of being cruel. She enjoys the evil things she does. She knows the people and the land is suffering, and she.doesn't.give.a.damn. All she cares about is securing her position that she thinks was rightfully hers from the start and that is the only way she can be truly happy.

I like the idea of a series of fairytale retellings featuring diferent kingdoms and the fact that they are standalone novels. I'll be continuing with the series and I hope the characters from this book can make an appearance in the next ones so we can see how they're doing.

This was everything I expected and more! Since I finished Winter, I was dying to get back into The Lunar Chronicles world and this made my day. I absolutely loved the backstories, to get a more profound view of some of the characters and Marissa Meyer's writing is perfect. I was able to get back in this universe like I never left at all. This is a MUST READ for every TLC fan. I'll be reviewing each short story separately and giving their individual ratings.

The Keeper - 5 stars: this is Michelle Benoit story and it focus on her relationship with Scarlet just as the girl came to live with her and it sheds some light on the events that brought Cinder to her basement, including something about her trip to Luna. Her relationship with Scarlet is beautiful and you could feel how much it killed her to hide everything from her granddaughter. She cared a lot for Cinder as well and became protective over her, so in the last novella, when Winter and Kai said that she would be proud of both of them, I believe it too. There was a scene here that will be ‘important' in the last novella as well and brought tears to my eyes.

Glitches - 5 stars: this was covered Cinder's arrival at New Beijing to live with her foster family, I think a little after the events of The Keeper. This novella was sad and it made me angry. I mean, how cruel and petty can you be to mistreat and shame an orphan, lost and confused little girl, cyborg or not? My hate for Li Adri matched my hate for Levana in this story because while Levana's cruelty was not personal, it was a tyrannical kind of cruelty, Adri's was personal. She wanted Cinder to fell unwanted and unloved purposefully, to “teach her place” and make her daughters stand out while stepping on a girl who lost her entire family and a part of herself (at least that's what they were made to believe at the time), who had no memories of her life previously of the accident and was still confused and lost and struggling to adapt to her new life. I think Adri deserved a worse ending in the main series, because she wasn't punished nearly enough for everything she did. I've read this one before digging into Cress, but I remembered it very little and I think I got twice as angry reading it this time around.

The Queen's Army - 3 stars: Zee'v's (Wolf) story, covering his life right after he was chosen to be a part of Queen Levana's experimental army, as well as the rivalry with his brother and his relationship with his family. The novella I liked the least. It was nice and it gave us some background on Wolf, especially given the role his family played in Winter, but it was very meh for me. Again, this is my second time reading it because the story was published previously.

Carswell's Guide to Being Lucky - 5 stars: Carswell Throne is a precious cupcake and he deserves to be protected at all costs! The fact that he thinks he is not a hero and he even dismiss all the things he did to Cress makes me want to cry, BECAUSE HE IS! Cress was right from the start! This story only showed how ultimately good and loyal Thorne is. SHIT ON MY BABY AND I'LL FIGHT YOU. Also, young Thorne with his Rampion model! I cannot,guys.

After Sunshine Passes By - 5 stars: Cress' backstory. MY POOR BB GIRL, she was so precious and innocent! From the start, she always tried to help and protect people, always wanting to make others proud of her and be a hero! It broke my heart to see all her scrambling to impress Sybil Myra, being her sweet self and then being met only with rudeness and cruelty.

The Princess and The Guard - 5 stars: I didn't know that once Winter was so powerful with her gift. This story, despite the title, showed us more about why Winter stopped using her gift and how she decided to defy Levana, earning her scars, than her relationship with Jacin. Yes, it also showed the evolution of their relationship and why Jacin decided to become a guard, but it was less focused on that. I was horrified at the reason the princess decided to stop using her glamour and the scene she gained her scars. Levana and her thaumaturges are evil bastards, just saying.

The Little Android - 4.5 stars: this retelling of The Little Mermaid was so sweet, but so so sad. I shed a few tears at the ending.

The Mechanic - 4 stars: Kai's POV on the scene were he met Cinder for the first time. Oh, how nostalgic it was to read this after finishing the entire series. And when he thinks at the end ‘the mechanic will solve everything' or something along those lines, HOW RIGHT HE WAS AND HE DIDN'T EVEN KNEW. I think I expected a little more from this novella, but I still liked it well enough. It gave me a better understanding of Kai's struggles at the time and his character as a whole.

Something Old, Something New - 5 stars: MY FAVORITE NOVELLA AND THE PERFECT ENDING TO THE PERFECT SERIES, HELP. I was so emotional during the entire story! SpoilerTHORNE DECORATING SCARLET'S ROOM FOR THE WEDDING, OMG. Iko, being Iko and bossing Scarlet around. JACIN MAKING SCARLET'S BOUQUET. SCARLET SCARING THE MEDIA WITH A SHOTGUN AND BEING THE BADASS SHE IS. Winter embroiding the hem of Scarlet's dress with the word Alpha and hugging her saying that her grandmère would be so pround...actually, WinterxScarlett friendship in general. Kai's speech. KAI'S PROPOSAL. CRESS BEING REFERRED AS THORNE'S GIRLFRIEND ON CANON, HOLD ME. Tears. Everywhere. Every word of this was perfect. The only complain I have is WHERE ARE MY CRESWELL SCENES? I got two phrases, if much! Jacinter had an entire novella, KaixCinder had two (because this one was FULL of KaixCinder scenes), WolfxScarlett were already getting married...even IkoxKinney had a tiny scene in the beginning! Now I need a novella with their adventures aboard the Rampion, just because! This doesn't take away from the amazingness of this novella, though.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was an OK book. I enjoyed Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series a lot and the premise of this book attracted me. It was a short, simple book, with a simple plot and a very charismatic main character, but with weak secondary characters and a meek romance (there were some cute parts, but overall Li Wei's character was very much disposable). The ending was a little bit too fantastic and easy for me, so more points lost. I did love the world building, Fei's relationship with her sister and her loyalty to her people and the description of sound. The way Mead wrote about a deaf girl hearing things for the first time was the highlight of this book for me. This novel had the potential to be a lot better, but it simply fell short.