"Reach out the car window tryna hold the wind.
You tell me you love her, I give you a grin.
Oh, all I ever wanted was a life in your shape.
So I follow the white lines, follow the white lines.
Keep my eyes on the road as I ache..."
(no real spoilers ahead, but mentions of small parts of the story)
Felt slightly slumpish before reading this so I don't know whether I'll agree with this high of a rating in a while or not, however, I will say this book pulled me out of said slump. I went from reading next to nought to barrelling through this in a couple of days which I'm most certainly pleased about.
The characters:
Elspeth (FMC) I found to be... interesting, I don't find myself having too much of an attachment to her but that's not to say I don't like her. I liked how the author kept the relationship between her and Nightmare very fluid. It was (and still is really) difficult to tell whether the Nightmare truly wanted to help her or himself: sometimes it was as though he was helping himself but others it seemed there was genuine... concern?
Ravyn. I will say I appreciate the author doesn't make Ravyn to be some really emotionally unavailable guy for 90% of this. I get that that is a thing in a lot of fantasies and I've read a lot of books where the MMC/love interest is like this and it just gets old sometimes so I did really appreciate this refreshing attitude.
I'm stuck between whether Elm or Emory is my favourite... probably Elm because he is so funny I actually can't sometimes. Jespyr is an icon as well, go girl, I support your rights and wrongs.
Ione, I love you but wtf girl... get that Maiden card in your possession!!! Why are you just wielding it like that 24/7??? (Unless your under the Scythe the entire time then fair but otherwise...)
In terms of the plot, I found the world-building to be kind of confusing at first, mainly because I didn't feel like it was as well explained as you get more into the book than at the beginning. I don't mean that you have to get into the book to understand (you do, but other than this) I mean that the beginning just doesn't or didn't for me at least seem coherent. HOWEVER, that may just be an error on my part, because by the middle I knew much more about what was going on. I just would've liked a little more clarity at the beginning regarding the magic, Blunder etc. Other than that, I have no real complaints.
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING BY DELIA OWENS BOOK REVIEW
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I must admit, this one had me torn at first. Initially, I was debating whether to dnf, but I just felt like I had to plough on. I'm glad i did.
I was getting lost within the novel, and my attention was being pulled from place to place. It felt like nothing was really happening, everything was taking too long to make sense and I couldn't understand how there was a bigger picture. But, past all this, when I actually acclimatised to the writing style, and allowed myself to understand how the time jumps fit into place (love a good time jump), this became a much more enjoyable read.
Owens has a way of making you sink into the novel without realising so. I felt like I was there with Kya, the protagonist, and the story being centered around her and the few relationships she does have, they are all the more intense to read about. i think that's something I especially liked. The significance of the relationships she has with certain people. Owens clearly articulates feelings of love, fear, and abandonment, sometimes an amalgamation of all three.
A part that broke me slightly was when Kya says:
"And he was my pa" - about Jumpin' to Mabel after he'd died. RIP Jumpin' we love you forever.
I needed this I can't lie. Nora Stephens is very relateable I fear. I identified a lot with her overwhelming moments and I feel like Emily Henry got her emotions down to a T. The way I felt everything she felt at all times was so good.
This review is so bad but it's because I'm not sure what to say other than I really enjoyed this book! I saw someone say this is a sisterhood main plot and a romance subplot, and whilst I can see how that may be an issue for people who wanted to read a romance, I am just not mad about it. If you have a sister, you know what it's like 😭 so seeing their sister dynamic was interesting and watching it all unfold was very entertaining for me.
One thing I would say is I did feel Libby as a character may not have been fleshed out as much? It's not really a critique, more just something I felt, but that's because I really liked observing Nora and Libby's relationship. I also called the ending plot twist thing sooooo
To be fair, I liked Nora and Charlie together, they just seemed to work? So, all in all, a lot of fun!
spoiler ahead...
I SAW THAT ENDING PLOT TWIST COMING FROM A MILE AWAY... I fear it was so obvious but again I'm not upset because we got a HEA.
