definitely a lot of heart in this book but it feels underdeveloped a bit and i didn’t care about the characters enough to be invested. it reads a littdefinitely a lot of heart in this book but it feels underdeveloped a bit and i didn’t care about the characters enough to be invested. it reads a little shallow? and implausible? but it still carried ann liang’s understated writing charm and the pictures she paints so i don’t know. maybe more dedicated fans will like it better. thank you to scholastic press for the arc....more
high concept and the writing is incredibly succinct. i started this on yet another whim and i was pleasantly surprised with the places this story touchigh concept and the writing is incredibly succinct. i started this on yet another whim and i was pleasantly surprised with the places this story touched, gently and without absolution. it took me at least an hour after finishing for the book to settle within me, fester and fetter until it begrudgingly came to light. and i appreciate that, i really do, but i also wish there was just…more. and i guess that is the point? maybe there is something to be said about unreliable narrators and how far an author can take them. and for that, i am glad i read it, all my uncertainty aside. 3/5 stars....more
happy valentine’s day to me!!! i’m weeping tears of joy. stephanie perkins has been one of the authors that created my sanctuary when i was younger; ihappy valentine’s day to me!!! i’m weeping tears of joy. stephanie perkins has been one of the authors that created my sanctuary when i was younger; i remember long days and tiresome nights rereading anna and the french kiss until i felt okay again, whole again. i’ve always loved her books, her writing, the way she paints romance, and how two people together, in her stories, meld together and can lighten each other up and make everything just right. i’ve always loved this about her. this book is then, somehow, more of the same and yet an even more extrapolated story: we get to follow the fmc from the start to the end of one of the most harrowing years of her life. this is more than a romance book� it’s a love letter to reading and to readers, to booksellers and to librarians. it’s a love letter to books. and it’s a love letter to me, who has grown up and matured with this author’s work, from apprehensive young adult to tumultuous and wonderful adult fiction. (and i cannot stop myself from sighing happily: there was no third act fallout!!!! which might seem immaterial, now, but god, when everyone reads this book and experiences firsthand the exquisite torture this book wields—angst upon angst upon angst. i was begging for relief and weeping in my bed reading this) (it is surreal) (very lukelorelai) 4.5/5 stars and thank you so much to saturday books for the arc....more
this one is my fault. i knew i wasn’t a fan of the author’s work but the concept of this book seemed…intriguing and well, i thought the story would grthis one is my fault. i knew i wasn’t a fan of the author’s work but the concept of this book seemed…intriguing and well, i thought the story would grow on me. and it’s interesting, definitely, but ultimately it became a very tiresome read. i couldn’t get into the plot or the characters very much, and i didn’t really care about how the story played out. it’s a little too easy to foresee, the worldbuilding is not strong enough to balance such a rich and complex universe, and the political motivations—while intrinsic to the story, are not delved into enough at all. is this a ya problem? i don’t know. but i feel like there was a lot to expound upon here, and that road just wasn’t taken so this quickly got disappointing and easily forgotten (and i don’t care for the ship at all). thank you to feiwel and friends for the arc. 2/5 stars...more
i really think this is one of the best and most meticulously crafted trilogies i’ve read in a long time and i’m going to be thinking about these booksi really think this is one of the best and most meticulously crafted trilogies i’ve read in a long time and i’m going to be thinking about these books for months to come. thank you to tordotcom for the arc. 5/5...more
i can’t lie i laughed a lot reading this lmfaooo. what a ridiculous book. it’s miles better than heartless hunter, but still carries on the aftertastei can’t lie i laughed a lot reading this lmfaooo. what a ridiculous book. it’s miles better than heartless hunter, but still carries on the aftertaste and honestly i can’t rate this book any higher in good conscience. but i needed a break and it was an amusing read for the meantime. i think people will like this? i mean. i do think it was a “good� finale, maybe the best possible considering…everything, granted that i don’t personally care for it. i liked the ending and how the author resolved the significant divides, even though we don’t really go into it that much. and it’s all a little wishy-washy but i honestly didn’t expect anything more so... 1/5 stars and thank you to wednesday books for the arc....more
don’t think i liked this much, to be honest. not a fan of the writing, it felt stilted; not a fan of the couple, i don’t particularly care about undevedon’t think i liked this much, to be honest. not a fan of the writing, it felt stilted; not a fan of the couple, i don’t particularly care about undeveloped, contrived “communication issues� when it seems like they don’t even like each other much, or are trying to preserve any semblance of a relationship between themselves. i know this comes with evocation and is thus, maybe, trying to borrow some of the development from there, but as a novella in its own right: ...more
ahh i don’t know what to rate this. i don’t even know how to review this. if you know me, you know i love sarah hogle more than anything ever, and so ahh i don’t know what to rate this. i don’t even know how to review this. if you know me, you know i love sarah hogle more than anything ever, and so i was so very excited for this book. and. then i read it. i don’t know what exactly the hiccup was here, because the book seems to employ all the same exact wonderful, magical ingredients most of her books do, the captivating main character, a beautifully written and planned out world, a story concept that’s as familiar as it is fascinating. and the sparks-fly love interest, and i’ll admit it took me a bit to get used to him, was fun in so many ways, edging me closer and closer into adoring him completely. the book between the 70-90% mark is magical, something straight out of wonder and whimsy, something that shot straight to my heart, as a person who loves books and the people who write them so very, very much. but. there’s a problem here, and i think it’s that i could just not buy the narrative. i’m not sure why that’s the case, or what triggered it so repetitively, but something about morgan (his general immaturity?) and the entire romantic dynamic between him and zelda—never quite resonated with me. and i don’t know why! i genuinely cannot figure it out! because there’s no clear cut reason! and it’s sarah hogle! i’ve always loved sarah hogle! so maybe i’m just being silly, who knows. but for whatever reason, i didn’t love this as much as i had expected i would. and that makes me so sad, because again it’s literally sarah hogle?! i’m so excited for the (hopeful?) sequel nonetheless, because luna is easily one of my favorite characters in this trilogy, and i’ve loved her from the start and will continue to do so forevermore.
lol. definitely a disappointment and i’m sure this will find its audience, but also that that audience is staunchly not me. this reads like a weaker vlol. definitely a disappointment and i’m sure this will find its audience, but also that that audience is staunchly not me. this reads like a weaker version of ta6, without, frankly - any of the work; the characters are dull and act kind of stupid most of the time, the plot is weak, the worldbuilding - which is maybe the one of the more important things in fantasy - feels sorely lacking, every curve and turn shoved under a rug and pasted on with a shrug and a smile. for a dark academia book, it didn’t read as one - for a horror story, it didn’t present as such. it picked up considerably around the 85% mark, then falls low again, but for all causes and purposes, it’s too little too late, and i don’t appreciate being strung along in a book that doesn’t feel very thought out, refined or even engaging, well after i’m finished with it. 1.5/5
*thank you to the ace/berkley for the arc. i requested this because i loved the cover and the title so badly, and i think i just expected it to be very different to what it ultimately came to be....more
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