Nhi

It was a slow start with conflicting world building. Why were there electric cars and electricity but no sort of communication, such as phones? There was so much focus on what was already seen in the synopsis. It didn't feel like there was anything new. Nothing picked up in the first 100 pages. I don't feel like it would have been enjoyable if I pushed through.

How to Survive a Horror Story is an action-packed thriller-mystery novel that starts off slow, but quickly picks up the pace once the characters begin to die. The premise is Clue-esque—seven authors enter a manor and they must solve puzzles in order to leave. Except the puzzles pertain to their past, monstrous actions that they don't care to admit.

This novel is a lesson in trust. One of the rules of surviving a horror story, as listed by the characters who are all horror authors, is trust no one. This notion is cemented further by each character's perspective. They are all unreliable, the stories that they tell to each other wildly different from the truth. Mortimer Queen tells a version of the truth, however even that isn't something that can be trusted.

All of the characters are monsters in their own right, even Melanie. Mortimer, despite the troubles he has experienced at the hands of other characters, is a cheater who has hidden his affair right under his wife's nose. Liotta, sick with pancreatic cancer, gets a caretaker, Crystal Flowers, who is a budding author and Mortimer's mistress. It is difficult to tell for sure if the affair was as open and seen as perfectly acceptable to Liotta, since it is mostly from Crystal's perspective, but nonetheless, it still marks Mortimer as a monster like those who wronged him.

I loved that Melanie, who got to reap the benefits, does not escape the fact that she is as much of a monster as the others. She lets Buck die. There's some evidence that she bludgeoned Crystal on the head with a candlelabra. She has so much potential in her as a writer. Who is to say that she doesn't have the same potential as a killer as well? Overall, this was a great novel. Even if I did fault it for being a slow start, I think it was necessary to flesh out the characters, get a feel for what is going on. 7 POVs is difficult to manage but Mallory Arnold did it! I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

5 stars.

I sincerely hope that another is coming. The ending seems to have left an opening for a sequel. I dearly want to see more of Sarmodel and Sebastian and Livia. The trio have wormed their way into my heart. This book was chaotic and fun and gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed how grumpy and loving Sebastian is, coupled with the sparky and just altogether fun Sarmodel. As heartbreaking as it is to read the ending, I do understand that it is the fate of immortals, especially one that has loved a mortal being. I can't wait to read more of this author (and hopefully this series).

Honestly, I would have loved it if this book was longer. I get the need to end in a cliffhanger to move forward onto the next book in the series, possibly the last book, but it all ends up shortening the barely developing relationship between Callisto and Perseus. I really wish I could have seen them in a happier, better spot, but alas, I will have to read the next book to even be sure if there will be mention of them

I shouldn't have tried to finish this book at work because all I want to do is just cry and read over the last 50 pages over and over.

I love flawed, angry women

My younger self is flourishing. Milori and Clarion are everything!

Had a good time!

4.5 (rounded up)

this book ruined me.

All I have to say is that the audiobook makes this work.

stars above, I want a love like theirs.

I feel like I can't rate this graphic novel without pouring my everything into it. I read it on a span of a day and a half, I devoured all the chapters. I couldn't look away.

Around 3.5 stars. Not every story hit the mark, but I greatly enjoyed Pythia, The Hare and the Hound, 1000 Ships, and the Department of Ontography.

I read this in a span of a few hours! This was such an enjoyable tale to read. The horror aspect combined with humor, family, and love tied everything together so well. I can't wait for the next one to come out!

Not all of the stories hit its mark, but enough stories did to land this book a 4.5 stars. I have always loved twisted fairy tale retellings and this really quenched my thirst. I feel like my favorites are Bluebeard and Peter Pan, which ended up being so fun and gripping to read!

I took a long time finishing this book, but I am so glad that I did. It is just as good as the first book. I was a little leery about Neve as a character because we didn't get to see her as much in the first book, but I ended up loving her just as much as Red. Both are so so loveable and so human. Solomir and Eammon are just as wonderful. The characters are so wonderfully built and the plot was so engaging. I'm so happy to be out of my slump!

Wow. I am so tired that I can't write a proper review, but this book had everything—fae, magic, technology, action, adventure, LGBTQ+ and neo pronoun and nonbinary representation, and so much more! I was enjoying this book so much that I placed a hold on the next book before I even finished. I can't wait to see what follows our heroes!

I think I'm going to round this book up to a 4.5 stars.

It was really compelling, drawing me in from the very beginning. The mystery was fun to read and I was trying to solve it alongside the characters. (For once, I was able to find the culprit before the characters, which was really nice!). I loved the interplay between the emails and how it played into the story. I loved this idea of a story within a story and this was very well done. I felt like it needed some more oomph in order to be a full 5 star read, but overall, I had a good time reading this book!

I don't even know what to say. As I write this review, I am still tearing up.

Carrie is, to say the least, a force. She is flawed, as all of Reid's characters are, but she is unapologetic and I love that. She gets branded as cold and a bitch and someone that no one wants to be around, but behind that rough exterior, she is like everyone else–not wanting to be alone. Carrie has a soft side that just takes a bit of prying and patience to come out, but it's there.

I came into this not knowing what to expect. I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's books. Every book I have read from her have been 5-star reads so far. Tennis is not a sport that I follow or even have remote interest in, but TJR has stolen away any semblance that I can ever be normal about anything. I was on the edge of my seat, wondering what will happen next, whether her next hit will be her last. It was so gripping and fun and the pace propelled me through the book in a matter of days. I haven't read a book in a while, haven't finished anything in longer, and now, impossibly, I have.

This book is my comeback into reading. I can't say that there is a better book for bringing me back. Whatever TJR writes next, I will be getting in line to read it.

5 stars.

I didn't expect myself to get so emotional at the end, but the last 30 or so pages had me sobbing. I feel like I'm at a place in my life where I feel as similarly, where I'm looking for a home and I have found one, but it's not feasible yet to have. There has never been two characters I have related to so much before. I absolutely adore Poppy and Alex and I wish the best for them. This story made me laugh and cry and gave me so much hope for the future. This is a book I wish I could read again for the first time. I know I will have a copy of this book when I build a library of my own.

I didn't expect to like this book so much. There's family over, I have a lot of school work on my plate—there's no way I could have knocked out this book in one day. Except I did.

The twist was predictable, but honestly, the whole concept regarding maps and cartography was so refreshing and new that I couldn't care less. I loved the characters and their struggles. I'm too tired to say much else. I just had a good time reading this book!

I wish I could read this slower and longer, but this is a Lucky-day loan from the library. I will wait for the audiobook and in the meantime, I will be miserable.

Maybe, this book speaks a lot more to me because I'm Vietnamese. The emotions throughout was visceral and raw. I found myself loving the poems where there was no punctuation and it was not always easy to parse out where one sentence ended and the other began. There was an urgency in those poems, a desperation, an ache. The grief and pain and the idea of weaving it into writing was so so lovely.

I feel like I have not yet grasped all of the collection in its entirety. I feel like I would need to read it more than once, more than twice, to understand. I can't wait for that chance.

4.25 stars, technically.

I did find this book to be very engaging and I did have a lot of fun reading it. The world-building was a bit shaky in some areas. I couldn't fully grasp everything, but the image I did have was still pretty cool. A city run by aether and not electricity, bikes being popular, and an overal steampunk-esque feel. The characters were interesting, though I found Miles to be my favorite. Tristan is very sweet, though mysterious, and despite their insta-love, I thought it was cute. Grace... is a character I couldn't really like, even if I understand what she is aiming for. I can't say I could have predicted where the mystery was heading but that made it all the more interesting.

Overall, I had a good time. I'm not sure I'll be reading the sequel just quite yet because it is about Grace, but I am intrigued.

This book is honestly so fun! I loved it as much as the first one, maybe even more. Of course, it's not quite realistic and Finlay does have all of these men fawning over her, but she has had so much on her plate lately that she deserves to be mooned over. I'm not sure who to root for still, but it sure as hell isn't Steven. I can't wait for the next book!!