review Archives - Page 2 of 7

Ten Books I Bought a While Ago but Havent Read

“Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” -That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s theme:

Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read (bonus points if you tell us how long it’s been since you got them!)

City of Fallen Angels (and the rest of the Mortal Instruments series)-July 2021

2. Troubled Blood-Winter 2020

3. My Policeman-A month ago

4. The Crown of Gilded Bones-Spring 2021

5. Now I Rise-January 2021

6. A Darker Shade of Magic-January 2021

7. An Ember in the Ashes-2016

8. Wayfarer-2017

9. Legendborn-a few month ago

10. Vespertine-a few months ago

As always, thanks you for reading,

A Bookie

Heartstopper Volume 2 and Show Review

The Book:

Title: Heartstopper: Volume Two

Author: Alice Oseman

Series: Heartstopper #2

Published July 11th 2019 by Hodder Children’s Books

Genre: Graphic Novels, Romance, LGBTQ+

Pages: 320

“Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie’s gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn’t.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family … and himself.” –Goodreads

My Review:

This was so cute!

The book and the show are so good! I have all positive things to say about both, so the review is going to be a mix of both.

Agh!!! I was reading Volume 2 in the library and I kept squealing. Thankfully I was not in the quiet study section.

Literally, Nick and Charlie are my favorite couple ever! They are so cute and unproblematic.

The illustrations are amazing in the book. I love their interactions and all the little leaves floating around. It is just so cute. That was one of my favorite things about the show, that they had the leaves floating around whenever something good happened.

I feel like the show brought so much more to the characters. I was so impressed by the casting. They found a perfect Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson. The background characters, Tao (what was up with his hair?), Elle, Dary, and Tara were all perfect. They literally look exactly like their characters in the drawings.

We also got more background and got to see the characters interact without Charlie and Nick which was so fun. I really love the Tara and Darcy storyline. It was really interesting to see more of their character and more of their coming out as a couple.

All the tension and cuteness of the comic were in the show. It was so refreshing to have such a well-done book-to-movie adaptation. There were a few things missing and there were a few things added, but it was so amazing.

I binged the whole show in a day and I read Volume 2 within a day. I am obsessed with their story and I want a season 2. I cannot wait to read Volume 3.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 5

Song of Achilles: A Review

The Book:

Title: The Song of Achilles

Author: Madeline Miller

Published August 28th 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, LGBT,

Pages: 369

“Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.”

My Review:

I hate to speak negatively about books a lot of people like, for fear of retaliation. But I did not really get why this book is so popular.

It is very well-written. I am not here to slander Miller’s writing because I think that her writing is amazing.

Books that are this heavily researched usually read like a history textbook. This read like an actual story. Miller used period-accurate wording. She also just wrote really well.

But it was not enough to keep me interested.

I got this book because so many people recommended this book off of TikTok. They said this was one of the saddest books ever. It held them captivated. People were able to read it in one day.

I shed no tears. It took me three months to read. And I honestly was not interested.

The major thing that threw me off from this book was a sex scene between minors. I understand that at the time being 14 was probably of age, but they continually referenced in the book how they were just children, and then I had a very pornographic scene of them having sex. I know, me being mad about spice? How could I? But I don’t want to hear about people under the age of 18 having sex in graphic detail. It is just not my cup of tea.

The next thing that bugged me was just that I was bored. The book covers the span of like 27 years in 369 pages. I just got bored. If you are into huge time jumps or whole years of life being summed up, then that’s great. I just hated how the book read so slow but also was jumping so quickly through their lives.

Again, not my cup of tea.

I thought there was a lot of background knowledge that you needed to have to read this book. Thankfully for people not versed in the Greek culture, there was a lot of information on the back. I knew most of what they referenced in the story, but some things were hard to understand.

I don’t want to say this book was bad. I thought that the writing was good. The ending was also okay. The last 60 pages made up for some of the slowness in the beginning but not much.

In no way do I think that is the writer’s fault; I just don’t think I liked the book.

I do want to give it a decent score though, so I am giving it a 3 star because I do think it was written well.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.0

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Want to Read

This week’s theme:

Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To (Submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse)

Diana Gabaldon- the “Outlander” series
Sabaa Tahir- “Ember in the Ashes”
Deborah Harkness- “A Discovery of Witches”
Holly Black- “The Cruel Prince”
Sasha Alsberg- “Breaking Time”
Holly Jackson- “A Good Girls Guide to Murder”
Tracy Deonn- “Legendborn”
Kiera Cass- the “Selection” series
Nicholas Sparks- romance books
Katie Quinn- “The Diamond Eye”

Link your own post below or tell me who you want to read!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Colleen Hoover’s Newest: Reminders of Him

The Book:

Title: Reminders of Him

Author: Colleen Hoover

Published January 18th, 2022 by Montlake

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

Pages: 327

“After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.

The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.

The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.” –Goodreads

My Review:

Hoover is a genius. This is the best book I have read so far this year.

I have been on a hoover binge these past couple of weeks with reading Verity, Reminders of Him, and Ugly Love. I am also going to be listening to Heart Bones as soon as I get an Audible credit.

Reminders of Him honestly tore me up. It brought me so much pain and then patched me up one layer after the other. It was so beautiful.

I want to say this is one of her best works. The plot was amazing. You begin with this character, Kenna, that you’re not sure if you should hate or love, but you see her kindness and her devotion to getting the only thing she wants, her daughter.

We then get to Ledger, who is a beautiful soul, that just wants to do right by his extended family.

I think the book balanced both sides of this tragic love affair. Hoover held out information that was vital to the story to keep readers on their toes and waiting for the sweet reprieve to know that our gray character was good at heart.

We get to see two characters cope with their forbidden love while also navigating real-world situations.

Hoover’s writing always paints the most beautiful pictures of everyday life. She always makes me believe in love over and over through every word and every embrace.

I think this book has quite a bit for everyone. At the very least it will urge you to drive more responsibly and to hold your loved ones a little closer every day.

Hoover had me in tears by the end of this story. I devoured every page and finished it within a day. I highly recommend it.

If you have read it please comment, let me know what you think.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating 4.8

Review: The Midnight Library

The Book:

Title: The Midnight Library

Author: Matt Haig

Published September 29th 2020 by Viking (first published August 13th 2020)

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary

Pages: 304

“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?

A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How To Stop Time.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.” -Goodreads

The Review:

I always seem to slack on my blog when I go back to college. Sorry about that. But, I never claimed to be perfect. That is where I have been for the past two weeks, so please dont judge me.

Anyways…

The Midnight Library was a good book. I was not super impressed. I think the hype surrounding the book made me think it was going to be more. I still would recommend this book.

I think the biggest downfall was the ending was very predictable from the beginning. I knew what was going to happen in the end around halfway through. It was the only thing that made logical sense.

I thought the plot was unique though. When you are near death you get to try all of your different lives you could have lived. I would love to be able to experience that. The story took me through some beautiful storylines, but ultimately was not as exciting as I would have hoped.

The main character was kind of bland. She did not give a lot to the story. Even her “change/shift” was lackluster. It may have been because the plot was predictable.

While this book failed to excite me, it was still a good read and was a great first book to read this year.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 3.5

Book Review: The Atlas Six

Reading this book will make you feel so smart and so dense at the same time.

The Book:

Title: The Atlas Six

Series: The Atlas #1

Author: Olivie Blake

Published January 31st 2020

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 383

“The Alexandrian Society, caretakers of lost knowledge from the greatest civilizations of antiquity, are the foremost secret society of magical academicians in the world. Those who earn a place among the Alexandrians will secure a life of wealth, power, and prestige beyond their wildest dreams, and each decade, only the six most uniquely talented magicians are selected to be considered for initiation.

Enter the latest round of six: Libby Rhodes and Nico de Varona, unwilling halves of an unfathomable whole, who exert uncanny control over every element of physicality. Reina Mori, a naturalist, who can intuit the language of life itself. Parisa Kamali, a telepath who can traverse the depths of the subconscious, navigating worlds inside the human mind. Callum Nova, an empath easily mistaken for a manipulative illusionist, who can influence the intimate workings of a person’s inner self. Finally, there is Tristan Caine, who can see through illusions to a new structure of reality—an ability so rare that neither he nor his peers can fully grasp its implications.

When the candidates are recruited by the mysterious Atlas Blakely, they are told they will have one year to qualify for initiation, during which time they will be permitted preliminary access to the Society’s archives and judged based on their contributions to various subjects of impossibility: time and space, luck and thought, life and death. Five, they are told, will be initiated. One will be eliminated. The six potential initiates will fight to survive the next year of their lives, and if they can prove themselves to be the best among their rivals, most of them will.

Most of them.” –Goodreads

My Review:

Beginning this book, I knew it would be a life-changing book, at least according to numerous people on TikTok.

They were right.

While I may not have had an epiphany about the world or life in general, this book left a lasting impression. Olivie Blake discusses ideas about space, time, and thought that I have never heard of. This book has shifted my way of thinking about time and space.

After finishing the book, I wanted to check out books about all sorts of philosophical topics just to understand half of what these characters were talking about.

While the topics seem intimidating, Blake breaks them down really well for the sake of the story. Her ability to show the ideas while still keeping the complex jargon made me feel so smart. ( I still did not understand half the principles the characters spoke about, hence the feeling dense mentioned earlier.)

The plot was superb. I got the perfect amount of information throughout the story. The switching of POVs and the time-skips made sense and did not take away from my understanding or my enjoyment.

The book does focus mostly on 6 twenty-year-olds reading books and barely anything happens within the story, but the mental processes that take place in each character are astonishing; any added action would have made the book too much or too confusing.

Everything was revealed slowly, but surely. I could not put this book down. There are so many theories that I had in the beginning. Some I did not get right and some I did.

This book focuses heavily on character development, so if you are not into that sort of book, this might not be the book for you.

The characters were amazing to read about. I think that they all had their complex problems and successes. Reina and Libby were probably my favorites. I feel like they were so relatable and they had the best grasp on reality.

The other characters were perfect too! Honestly, there was no underdeveloped character in this book, other than Atlas, but we don’t see growth from him because he is barely around.

Some of the characters were unlikeable which was so nice. Blake makes all of the characters act like themselves. They all follow their own moral compass. They do what is necessary to survive. This story was so unique in the fact that no one tried to be someone they weren’t. I cannot say much more about the characters. I want you to experience them for yourself.

The vibe of this book is delectable. I read it in the wintertime. It was cold and I have been into the dark academia aesthetic recently. This book serves readers this aesthetic on a silver platter.

I loved this book. It has been a while since I have texted my reading buddies about a book and begged them to read it.

This book was honestly amazing. I could not put it down because I was so engulfed in the book.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4.5

Once Upon a Broken Heart: A Cute Novel with Surprising Adventure

The Book:

Title: Once Upon a Broken Heart

Author: Stephanie Garber

Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart #1

Published September 28th 2021 by Flatiron Books

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Pages: 408

“For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings…until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy….” -Goodreads

My Review:

Once again, Stephanie Garber has one my heart. The Caraval series was beautiful and then this book, in the same universe and my favorite character, was magical.

Garber’s writing is significantly improved in this book. Caraval was a little choppy and less descriptive. This book had amazing descriptions and was less choppy.

The main character in this book was stunning. I want to dye my hair rose gold to match Ms. Evageline Fox. I think we are very similar in character. We try to do the right thing and are hopeless romantics. She believes in fairytales and wants to be the hero. I adore her.

Jacks, oh my Jacks, has been a naughty little boy, but how can you blame the Prince of Hearts. I wished the ending was a bit different for him, but we will see how it plays out in the sequel.

Since this takes place in an empire previously described in the Caraval series, we do not need a lot of world-building upfront which was nice to get the right pacing in the book. When we do have a change of scenery, we get the world-building while still being able to keep up with the story.

This book makes this Caraval universe become three-dimensional. Caraval and the others would have half-explained government systems, landmarks, and just general setting ideas. This book exceeded the last book, explaining the Meridian Empire and the Northern Empire so much more.

This book was honestly magical. My last thing to say is to Stephanie Garber. Please, please, and please finish and publish the next one already. I want more of Jacks!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4

A Two Book Colleen Hoover Review

Here, I review Without Merit and Layla by Colleen Hoover

The Books:

Title: Without Merit

Author: Colleen Hoover

Published October 3rd 2017 by Atria Books

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 385

“The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antique shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.” -Goodreads

Title: Layla

Author: Colleen Hoover

Published December 8th 2020 by Montlake

Genre: Romance, Paranormal

Pages: 301

“When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them. “ -Goodreads

My Reviews

For the first book, I am going to review Without Merit.

I listened to this book on audiobook this past week. I enjoyed the audiobook and the reader.

I thought the book was well done. Certainly, not her best work and it was not her worst.

The premise of the story was good, but I felt like it was a little bland. When I read the synopsis, I thought there would be a grad escape plan that would come to a crashing halt. Forgive me, Colleen Hoover, for assuming this.

When I say ‘bland,’ I don’t necessarily mean boring, because it wasn’t. I just mean that it did not have the OOMPF that most of Hoover’s books had. It did not have that spark. The story still had drama that kept pulling me into the story more and more.

The main character was honestly annoying but in a good way. Her family was even worse, but that was kind of the point.

I think the romance in here was a charming addition to the story. I think it added some suspense and some drama.

All in all, the story was good. Not high on her list but still a good read. I do not know how she comes up with all of the ideas for her books. Everyone I have read has something different in it than the next.

Hoover is a queen.

Star Rating: 3

This next book, however, is my least favorite out of all of her books.

I don’t know if it was the ghost or the fact that it was from a male’s POV.

The paranormal aspect was way out of the left field for a Colleen Hoover book. There was a good bit of suspense. I sometimes felt like I had to hide under my covers, but that was short-lived.

The male lead was horribly dull. Leeds was honestly boring. There was no development in his character. Every time he spoke, I wanted to kick him in the face. That was pretty hard to get past since the entire book is in his POV.

I could not get into this story. I also listened to this book and it was so hard for me to press play. I would listen for moments in the mornings, but it would not pique my interest enough to play it in the car or elsewhere.

I honestly don’t have much to say.

Nothing was necessarily bad with the book. The writing was great. The story was unique and interesting. I just did not vibe with it.

Star Rating: 1

I hoped you enjoyed my two reviews. I am so behind on reviews, I would have the next two months planned out if I did every single review, hence the combination of these two.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

The Thrilling Third Book in The Mortal Insruments

Like the title state, I was thrilled about how well-written this book was!

The Book:

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #3

Published September 1st 2015 by Margaret K. McElderry Books (first published March 24th 2009)

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Pages: 543

“To save her mother’s life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters — never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and her best friend, Simon, has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family’s past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he’s willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City — whatever the cost?” -Goodreads

My Review:

So far, this is the best book in the series.

I was unable to put this book down. I finished it faster than the other two, even thought it is significantly larger.

I have so many things to rave about this book.

Fight and war scenes are done exceptionally. The writing is easy to follow. The motions are fast, but not too fast, where you lose who is fighting who.

The entire middle section of this book is a war in the city, spread out over different POVs. I have seen this in many books, but honestly this book takes the cake. I was never confused. It was perfectly paced. Each POV added something unique to the story, and did not just describe the same scene from multiple angles.

I loved that part of the book. I talked my boyfriend’s ear off about how nice the writing was.

Different scenes in this book were so thought out and so beautifully haunting. (Slight Spoilers) Meeting Ithuriel was so exqusitely beautiful but also had shivers racing up and down my back.

I loved the way I could guess or make predictions about what was going to happen next. I think some may call that predictable, but, for this book, I thought it was perfect.

I could see the formings of ideas and could see where the book was headed, but there were some twists and turns that I had not anticipated or saw through. Some authors are so transparent, but Clare’s was not. (I knew the big twist in the romance beforehand, but if I hadn’t I would have never guessed.)

The story was good. I never felt like it was dry or dragging on. The book excited me a lot.

The romance is still a bit off in this book. Even with how things ended, I do not think that I could ever be in love with someone who I thought was my brother. No thank you!

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4