hii! m here! started reading again in 2023/2024 with lotssss of romance, and trying to branch out into fantasy and lit fit more now. some of my favorite books include happy place by emhen, love hypothesis by ali hazelwood, the book thief, a little princess, love & gelato, and tom lake. excited to share our two person bookclub with everyone!
H ✨
hiiii i’m h!! two of my favorite books of all time are happy place by emily henry and iron flame by rebecca yarros. one of my favorite series is maggie stiefvater’s the raven cycle. a big influence on my reading vibes is my formative marauders fanfic obsession. my auto-buy authors are emhen, rebecca yarros, and sally rooney. i get a lot of my books from book of the month, and i need to buy stock in my local barnes and noble. one of my favorite ways to elevate my reading hobby is to journal about each book after im done! those reviews are private because they’re extra honest; but i have other fun things in my journal, like a genre tracker, book tracker, physical tbr library, a tracker for donations, and a chart to track my BOTMs specifically. i’m so excited to share my reads here and hopefully help people have better book club discussions!
M's rating system 🥀
⭐️: i highly disliked this book. it made me feel unwell. i will never read this again. immediately donating it to a little free library if i own it
⭐️⭐️: not written well. when i look back on it i wonder why i bothered to read it entirely in the first place. there are some merits to it though which is why it has two stars. maybe the plot was fun or i could somewhat understand the vibe that was attempting to come across.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: not bad! would i reread it? probably not.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: good! could even be great! would possibly pick up again and reread. it probably made me feel something inside (even if it was negative). writing was good. maybe i just didn't vibe with certain plot points.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: amazing. my life has been forever changed. definitely would reread. and tell other people to read.
H's rating system 🌷
⭐️: i was locked in a boxing ring with this book and lost. i should have dnfed. the reasons why i didn’t dnf are unclear even to myself. usually, had a bone to pick with the prose, the characterization, and the dialogue. my most recent example is rebecca robinson’s the serpent and the wolf.
⭐️⭐️: i had active beef with this book. my reader friends all know i hated it because i wouldn’t shut up about it. again, probably should have dnfed but SOMETHING got me to keep going. sometimes books in this category aren’t explicitly BAD, just not for me. also, sometimes im a victim of their marketing and going in with mismatched expectations. a recent example of this is emma gray’s pictures of you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: generally a pretty solid read! usually an issue with prose, dialogue, OR character construction (but only one, not all). does not inspire me to pick it up during bits of free time throughout the day, and usually doesn’t have any lines i feel inspired to pull for my journal. my most recent example is ava robinson’s definitely better now.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: a read on the upside of good, leaning towards great. sometimes a resembles a five star read, but lacks what i call that five star feeling—the elusive joy of a true five star read. still, a well constructed book that scratched every itch, but perhaps could have done something better. my most recent example is emma knight’s the life cycle of the common octopus
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: generally evoked a strong reaction (made me cry and/or laugh out loud and/or attempt to cause my book physical harm). has quotes within it that i went out of my way to record in my journal, and characters that i think about after finishing. my most recent example is ali hazelwood’s love theoretically.
For March, our book club read Sarah J Maas's House of Earth and Blood, the first book of the Crescent City series! Our Reviews are below:
M says: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ i went into this book with the impression that I would not like it and I am so glad that that turned out not to be the case! after like chapter two onward i was truly enthralled. there was a lot of name dropping for the initial worldbuilding which threw me for a loop but i told myself to keep reading and just go with the flow and then i just kept reading and really enjoyed it. I loved that the characters were very diverse, and I ended up enjoying the urban vibes a lot more than expected because it somehow made the story more relatable to me (a city gal). the romance was well developed for sure and there were only some moments i did not enjoy (ahem toes). also i really enjoyed how it was kind of like reading a mystery where we were trying to figure out how a certain event occurred throughout the book. The book was long, but i never felt like it bothered me or was repetitive. And the ending was well worth reading all the pages before. I would agree with reading this series after acotar and tog in the maasverse.
H says: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️i think this might be my new fave sjm novel??? my sincerest apologies to acomaf?? this was just ENTHRALLING. i enjoyed it so much i bought an electronic copy so i could read it when i wasn’t home. it felt like a lot of the core romance storyline she used in silver flames, minus the ickiness of that book (iykyk). i loved the way hunt talked??? i’m not even sure why but the dialogue style was very good here. in terms of things i didn’t enjoy, certain plot aspects were repetitive and/or inconsistent which a good editor should have caught, and the internal monologues of each character could have used more differentiation in terms of voice. i really loved it though.
Our Feb wrap-ups and reviews of each book we read! Spoiler-free, I believe, but everything will be after the cut! Let us know what you think of these books!
m's february wrap up
(i wish i could have read more alas)
deep end by ali hazelwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
did i eat this book up? yes. i love an ali hazelwood. she writes banter soo well and this book had me gagged and enthralled. howeverrrrrr i had to give it four stars because there were some parts i had to put down because i just couldn't. the academic setting/being in undergrad threw me off for a bit (because i am an undergrad in stem and this feels personal???). and also the bitchy girl drama was not my favorite. but i enjoyed this book! and did not even feel like it was too kinky!
2. verity by colleen hoover ⭐️⭐️
now this book my friend told me i had to read so we could discuss it and she sent me a pdf of it......so i read it. i wish i never read it 😭 because i was so awake after finishing it because like what. the. hell. did i just read. every character was actually insane (even the kids) and after i read the bonus chapters on tiktok i felt that they just got even more insane!!! did not enjoy that!! but i typically don't read thrillers which is probably why i didn't enjoy this. and i will continue to not read thrillers!
3. braiding sweet grass by robin wall kimmerer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
this book was a nice break in life. the stories were so full of love and kindness and care for nature it was really lovely. i've seen a lot of reviews that say the book was too long or too repetitive but i felt that if you considered the book for each story within it then it was not in any way repetitive or boring. each story was different with different lessons to teach. and if you read a story at a time and read it slowly it doesn't feel heavy at all. i think everyone should read a story from this book, as i felt really grounded everytime i opened it and it reminded me why i study and love plants and the environment so much.
h’s february wrap up:
she’s always hungry by eliza clark: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
this was my first short story collection! i’ve really enjoyed both of clark’s novels even though i don’t typically read horror, so i wanted to read this one too. there’s a very broad spectrum of genres included in the stories (contemporary, historical, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, climate fiction). the contemporary and historical stories almost threw me off as i read them in search of their speculative elementa, and some of the more extreme dystopian stories made me too anxious to finish (re: weird immortal prophetic being?? not for me). i really think clark should write some sci-fi! the alien characters shined. i had a hard time identifying the unifying theme of the collection, and felt like it dragged a bit towards the end.
2. heartless by elsie silver: ⭐️⭐️
this was my final cowboy straw. i’ve actually always avoided nanny romances because i was a nanny in college and it was NOT romantic whatsoever. i decided to give this one a try because (at the time of purchase) i thought i had enjoyed flawless, and i have heard GREAT things about cade. but there’s just something (to me) about falling for a woman because she’s performing motherhood. there’s just something. i really felt like cade was a misogynist ???? and that does not hit for me in this day and age. it also felt like perhaps willa had a degradation kink? which is FINE but it’s never addressed on page he just starts degrading her??? i like my kink safe sane and consensual. i will say, i really enjoyed willa in the way you enjoy the stories your friend who’s significantly more out there than you are tells you. this was actually a three star read, but there’s one comment cade makes about willa taking birth control that ruined the book for me, so i deducted a star for that, too.
3. deep end by ali hazelwood: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i read this bad boy in one sitting overnight which is always a good sign. i really adored scarlett, she was so very me coded it wasn’t even funny. lukas hasn’t aged super well in my mind, however—this was originally a 4.5 star, but i retroactively took away the half star because lukas is just kind of bland to me now? i also really didn’t like how he handled the penn problem. like he was absolutely being a “good person” but that’s not what i read an ali hazelwood romance for,
you know? i didn’t have an issue with the penn plotline in general, and as a fellow pushover, i think scarlett’s reactions make complete sense. i just wanted lukas to stand up for her more and not to let his ex ruin his budding relationship ??? maybe ??? is that too much to ask ??? i loved the sex in this one. m took issue with the lab blow job, but i very much did NOT. i will also add however that i was a bit put off by lukas being swedish, solely because i couldn’t conjure what his accent was supposed to sound like in my mind.
4. the life cycle of the common octopus by emma knight: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
i really loved the prose showcased here. barnes and noble advertised this to me as the next sally rooney, and while i don’t think that’s true in terms of actual writing (knight’s prose is much more lyrical and doesn’t make the same cutting observations rooney calls on) i do see it thematically. the love story was nowhere near as strong as rooney’s works, although i definitely see comparisons between the platonic love story here and that of conversations with friends. i really enjoyed this one while reading, but looking back on it, i struggle to call out anything else specific—hence the 3 star rating. the plot wasn’t anything special, but that also (to me) wasn’t the point. i really loved pen.
5. the house of my mother by shari franke: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
memoirs about the insane things ultra religious people will do are my absolute favorites, and this was an excellent example of that. i’d watched a few video essays about shari’s mother back in the day, but reading the story as a whole was a lot more informative. i really think we as a society should not let family bloggers continue exploiting their children, and i absolutely think this book spells out exactly why. the prose was a bit too simple for my tastes, but it fit the story well. i really liked how shari quoted her mothers videos exactly. this also doesn’t dive too deep into the abuse her youngest siblings experienced, if that’s a concern for anyone. overall, i really enjoyed. also, utah’s legislature needs to be overhauled. holy hell.
6. first time caller by b.k. borison: ⭐️⭐️
i did not enjoy this one, but that was partially my fault. when i ordered this from BOTM, it was not clear and obvious to me that it was a cozy romance, which is different from a regular romance novel in that the stakes are infinitely lower. i don’t like cozy books. if i had known that it was cozy going in, i would not have purchased it. alas; i purchased it and made myself finish it. bad call. i enjoyed aiden (he reminded me a little of one mr xaden riorson) but lucie was too happy and sweet and lovable for me? i feel like that sounds horrible, but its true! i like my FMCs with some grit! some mental health issues! there were scenarios in lucie’s life that should have fucked her up and didn’t, and that’s what pissed me off the most. i didn’t even care about this couple enough to read the sex scenes 💔. disappointing.
7. junie by erin crosby eckstine: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
this was incredibly well researched historical fiction. i did a decently large final project for my bachelors on the interrelationship between gender and slavery in the antebellum era, and i really loved how junie taught me new things about the period that wouldn’t have come up in my more narrow searches. this is histfic with a speculative bent, but i really felt like the speculative elements highlighted the cultural elements as well. ECE said in her concluding essay that she wanted to portray enslaved persons as whole people, and i think she did that incredibly well. i was highly anxious for the characters in this read, and there were parts that the pacing felt off to me, but i love learning more than anything else, and this book held so much knowledge.
Our responses to the deep end book club questions we posted earlier this week! Beware: spoilers included. Feel free to share your thoughts with us as well!
1.This book discusses themes of control, how did you view control in the book and how do you view it in your daily life?
m: lowkey like slay scarlett go girl i appreciated this dialogue that was going on here about her desires….usually i feel like booo controlling people let me live my life but in this control is portrayed actually very well to make you feel like it does not come with a negative connotation.
h: i am a scarlett, next question. nah jk, but i really do Get Her. she made sense to me! i really enjoyed the way they discussed control in relation to kink and the guilt scarlett felt over what she needed. real! real
2. How did you like the romance in this compared to ali's other novels?
m: mmm i think i enjoyed the fun college vibes and the sporty aspect! And lukas was a very nice man. The only thing i did not enjoy was the other girl energy and how pen set her ex up with her best friend – that part felt so weird to me and i knew it would come to bite them all in the ass.
h: i loved scarlett, and i loved the sex, but lukas isn’t my favorite ali hazelwood man, which means this cannot be my favorite romance. out of those i’ve read, this comes after bride, love theoretically, and check and mate for me. but! before the love hypothesis, do not fret
3. Do you think the college sports romance vibe was well executed?
m: so so well executed because it felt like ali really knew about diving and swim comps (daresay was she in college athletics?) but it was very well executed. And i enjoyed all the discussions of sports because it was like what if that was me. What if it was really good at a sport…
h: i did not do college the right way, so some of the college experience presented in this novel literally made me so jealous. that probably means it was done well, LOL. it reminded me a lot of student agree vlogs i’ve watched.
4. The book included a lot of side characters, what did you think of their involvement in the plot?
m: one thing i did like about this book compared to ali’s other books was that the side characters felt more real and has very distinct personalities that were not just to propel the plot and actions of the main characters. It was also really interesting because it felt like pen was a third main character. I did not enjoy pen’s enemies though, casting her as a bitch and then having her be bitchy was not very well thought out in my opinion.
h: i really enjoyed how the swimmer side characters were written. m and i had a lot of friends in high school who were swimmers, and that swim team vibe was ACCURATE. i also thought the diving team vibe was well done. girls sports teams be like that.
5. The characters had a lot of past trauma to unpack, was this successful?
m: The cuts to therapy scenes i thought was really interesting and actually quite helpful in helping the story move along. I wish it was discussed more though, because i was thinking that there would be a grand reveal of the therapy’s success at the end which did not happen. But i did like how it was included.
h: i feel like it’s always hard to unpack male trauma when writing from solely the FMC POV. scarlett’s unpacking was mostly well done, i’d say? i enjoyed the little therapy sessions and thought they were very accurate, and i definitely appreciated that sometimes you go and go and go and it takes forever to realize that the answer has been staring you in the face the whole time, and you’ve been looking away. THATS real. i had a lot of mental blocks when i did gymnastics back in the day, and it really do be like that.
6. There’s a big spectrum of opinions on the “level” of kink in this book. Where do you fall—intense BDSM, or light work?
m: This is totally light work. Genuinely.
h: this book reminded me a LOT of the fanfics i love to read, and it was definitely kinkier than anything traditionally published that i’ve ever come across. so, to me, that makes it decently kinky ??? i think there’s been a bit of an erosion of lines surrounding kink in recent years, but i definitely do NOT think any amount of degradation or objectification can ever be vanilla ??? ever ??? but that’s just me i guess. obviously kink can get more intense, but that wouldn’t have served this particular narrative.
7. How did you feel about Hazelwood’s interpretation of the “other woman” plot device?
m: Okay i guess i already discussed this, but I HATED IT. like what was the purpose. I hate scenarios like this because in real life they are actually really hurtful but in books they always portray it as oh- you're in love with him? - i guess thats okay then. Like no. what happened to girl code. Also what happened to strong female leads. Why have a whole storyline about how pen is not actually a bitch she is being blackmailed and bullied and then have her pull a bitchy move. No. it doenst work.
h: i didn’t like it :(. i think the way hazelwood did it served the narrative and made complete sense for scarlett, but lukas’s reaction felt odd to me.
8. Do you like Hazelwood’s pop culture references?
m: I actually did enjoy then. Her pop culture references are always very science-y and related to her STEMinist world which i appreciate.
h: i usually do, but i didn’t enjoy the barbenheimer one for some reason! it felt like it dated the book a bit.
9. Do you enjoy Hazelwood’s sex-heavy novels, or would you rather she returned to her earlier sex/plot balance?
m: Okay i thought the level here was appropriate. And i also liked bride. So i guess.. I do enjoy them.
h: i do!!! more sex sex sex!! i definitely think hazelwood is taking control of her books now and how many sex scenes she’s writing and that is what makes it good.
10. How did you feel about Lukas being Swedish?
m: Haha. in my mind i totally did not envision a swedish guy whilst reading this despite the numerous mentions of his origins. But i enjoy it! Seems different to her other novels at least. Adding some culture.
h: i did NOT like lukas being swedish, LMFAO. i couldn’t really imagine his accent in a way that was sexy and that was a bit of a turn off.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros was our January 2025 book club read. We're a little behind, but we wanted to share our thoughts!
(we are certified yappers, so both reviews are below the cut! there are light plot spoilers throughout, so be aware!)
H's Review:
I’ve written 7 different Onyx Storm reviews in different locales, so I want to keep this one short and sweet. Obligatory disclaimer that I am obsessed with these books. They are my current fixation, and so even when they piss me off, I love them.
Love:
Bestie Violet!! Even though morally gray!Vi lacked a smooth transition from IF!Vi, I really loved her. Violet’s always made so much sense to me, and she continues to do so here.
Xaddy. On my first read, Xaden’s behavior high key freaked me OUT. His happiness felt so OOC that I was worried it was his last glimmer of hope before he did something drastic. On my second read, however, I was able to appreciate just how many INSANE lines he had, and how he was, for lack of a better term, sooooo boyfriend. There’s really no other way to describe it.
Dragons! I actually am NOT the biggest fan of the way the dragons are written (specifically how they talk, and also the casual eugenics ideology that is never addressed or even attempted to be unpacked) but I enjoyed them a lot more in this book.
Questing! Like M, I am THRILLED that the gang was NOT stuck at Basigath, and that Violet didn’t spend the whole book in class. I actually really enjoyed a lot of the quest antics. I know some people felt like the narrative got disjointed here, and while I did find it to be overly fast paced, I feel that every element of the quest had such a clear narrative purpose. I just think this part of the narrative especially would have benefitted from more lingering! Let them linger!
Daddy issues! I HATE papa sorrengail’s name and therefore will be refusing to use it. However, I really hope Rebecca takes advantage of the narrative she’s concocted for Violet here and FINALLY gets brave enough to let my girl feel some feelings!! The bit towards the end of the book wherein Vi decides her father must have thought she was broken was so upsetting, but we could absolutely make it MORE upsetting if we just let Violet THINK about it in book 4!! Especially as she has new responsibilities!!
Riogail! Again, this ties into how batshit crazy Xaden was in this book, but I really loved the connection between Riorgail. There were narrative choices Rebecca made that pissed me off, but I really loved how clearly Xaden prioritized Violet in this book, and how willing he was to be her second.
Loathe:
Halden. I hate that guy. This is a side effect of being so entrenched in the fandom, but I spent the entire first chunk of the book where Halden’s a character on EDGE because of how much I hated that arc.
On a related note, fan service. This is problematic of me, but the thought on loop in my mind as I read Onyx Storm was that fan service is fine when I’m the fan being serviced. At points, I was! But at other points, I wasn’t. I think this book was really bogged down by meta aspects (which is fan service adjacent). This probably only bothers readers who, like me, are abnormally entrenched in the Empyrean fandom, but there were a lot of pseudo fourth wall breaks that pissed me off, such as the ret-conned characterization of Catriona and Dain, the marked one’s second signet theory, plagiarism from fan works, the word RIORGAIL being in text, the amount of fourth wing call backs, and the in-text commentary on how riorgail are perceived by readers. In some aspects, it’s cool to see a finished project and know the fans were involved in the making of it, but it really upsets me at the end of the day to know that the books are SO changed by so many different variables. Rebecca truly does have good instincts, and Red Tower needs to let her use them! It seems like they (Red Tower and Rebecca) get caught up on making sure readers perceive things how Rebecca intended them to be perceived, and that’s ridiculous. Sometimes you’ll be misinterpreted, and that’s fine. Write your story anyway.
Pacing! I think I’m the only girl in the world with this opinion, but I think this book should have been longer. A lot of people call it “tight”, and they may be right, but that’s never my first priority in a narrative. I think this book especially should be allowed to linger on different story beats and have actual fluff! I think it would really benefit from that.
World Building! The world building in Onyx Storm was not a shock to me in terms of quality because I’ve read books one and two repeatedly with a critical eye, and I’ve thought about the world and it’s multitude of plot holes every day for over a year now. What upsets me is that it’s so clear to literally anyone with an ounce of story telling knowledge that a lot of the last minute adds world building wise in Onyx Storm could have been layered SO MUCH BETTER in books one and two if anyone at Red Tower gave a fuck about anything except getting their bag. They did a lot better on the errors-front this time around, but still: be serious about your craft.
Sex! The sex scenes in Onyx Storm were just not remarkable, which was disappointing after Iron Flame. I say this as someone who’s read almost all of Rebecca’s contemporaries, but I think she outdid herself in IF, and that made OS too intimidating.
Manufactured tension! This is tied into my earlier fanservice rant, but I think there are clear beats in Onyx Storm (Professor Riorson, for example) wherein Rebecca felt like she had to manufacture an additional conflict for “tension” between Violet and Xaden, but she didn’t. The literal war they have going on and Xaden’s venin arc are MORE than enough without little extra conflicts sprinkled through. I don’t think she trusts herself as much as she should as a fantasy writer. She COULD do it, but she won’t. A related point to this is the kindle unlimited of it all: I really hate chapter cliff hangers, and Rebecca’s really begun to use them as a crutch to get the kindle girlies turning pages. I understand making money, but it’s really aggravating and can ruin a reading experience.
OVERALL, I gave Onyx Storm 5 stars. On my first read, I literally couldn’t conceive of a rating. It wrung me out like a towel. And then, I kept spontaneously thinking about the ending and bursting into tears. I missed X and V like a lung. I need these books intravenously injected. It’s a whole thing. On my second read, I just had so much damn fun. I loved coming home at night and knowing I was visiting my friends in my book. I just love these books and the main character so much, I get overwhelmed with five-star-feeling.
M's Review:
i give onyx storm four stars. i would agree with H in that in my first (and only) read i was not necessarily enveloped with love into the world as i was with fourth wing or iron flame, and i felt it a lot more difficult to get into the book because i had many thoughts about what was going to happen. but once i had gotten through like the first 10 chapters i started to enjoy it much more. the world building was short, but i feel like short world building was very purposeful and aligns with the plot and the idea that what we know as readers is what violet knows (which can be limited in some topics). the god commentary, while a surprise, i kind of enjoy? i feel like it gives us a lot to theorize about. i will say what i looooooved most about this book was all the side characters. ridoc! and sawyer! and cat! even dain! i enjoyed reading about them and their commentaries. i also loveeeeed violet in this and felt she was really girlbossing it and growing from iron flame into a more confident rider and leader. xaden felt a bit off to me but i feel like i missed out by not re-reading iron flame before diving into onyx storm. if i could go back i would have done a re-read for sure. there were things in the book that i thought why is this happening :D but alas overall i did enjoy it and am excited for where book 4 will take us.
Reading Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm with your book club and don't know what to discuss? We've got you covered! Here's eleven questions to get you started:
Did you like the world building?
What constitutes good/bad world building to you?
How did you feel about the consistency of characterization presented, in terms of flow from the first two books?
How would you describe Xaden and Violet's relationship in this book?
Which signet power do you find the most interesting and how do you think it will contribute to the plot later on?
How do you feel about the role of the gods in this book and later on in the series?
How do you feel about Andarna's role as an Irid?
How would you rank the series so far?
What did you think about the ending?
Rebecca has said she had to cut scenes from this book because the original manuscript was too long. What scenes would you have liked to see?
What did you think would happen in this book that didn't? Do you think any of your predictions will happen later on?
If you don't have a book club to discuss these questions with and still want to talk, we'd love to hear from you! We'll reblog with our own takes later on.
In January, M read 17 books (everyone say thank you throne of glass) and H read 12! We read books like Onyx Storm, The Courting of Bristol Keats, Spark of the Everflame, The Ministry of Time, and Love, Theoretically.
Our Thoughts below the cut: (spoiler free until the very end, and only minor spoilers there!)
H’s reads:
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson: For some reason, the first 100-or so pages of this book felt WEIRD to me. I can't quite put my finger on why, but it was one of those reads where enough is off to make you hyper-vigilant about everything else in the book, and it killed my vibe...until we entered the second act. THEN, it ate and left almost no crumbs. (maybe 2 crumbs?) I really loved Tyghan. I REALLY loved Tyghan's connection to Bristol's lore (iykyk) and I thought the use of dual POV here was an excellent way to differentiate it from the romantasy market at large. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cruel Winter With You by Ali Hazelwood (M also read this, but she didn't want to count it. I am all about that Goodreads challenge): I don't know why, but I spent this entire read picturing Liam Mairi from Fourth Wing as the MMC, which probably added at least a star to my rating. Oops? I know a lot of people thought this man was creepy for his little photography habit, and I think in real life I would also be bothered. However, he is a man written by Ali Hazelwood, soooooooooo. 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flawless by Elsie Silver: When I read this bad boy, it was baby's first cowboy romance! M actually gave this to me for Christmas because I made one too many "we should try a cowboy romance" jokes. While reading, I alternated between intense joy and wondering who Rhett voted for. I think the fact that he was Canadian helped. A little. As I have gone on to read more from this series, however, the things that bothered me about Rhett are only intensified by reading about his brothers (latent misogyny, anyone? a smidge? a hint?). I DID have fun, though, which is what matters in a book like this. I was a big fan of the whipped cream shenanigans. I am also a milk hater, so that didn't bother me too much. 3.75⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hopeless by Elsie Silver: Here's my beef with this one: If you promise me a book about a virgin with a big age gap, I expect a book about a virgin with a big age gap. I feel like Elsie could have committed to the bit a bit more? She gave Bailey a funny mix of sexual promiscuity and innocence, which is FINE, but wasn't what I was expecting. Further, she seemed to shy away from the age gap a bit by making Bailey more "mature". I felt like she could have just....not? If you pick up the fourteen year age gap romance book and get offended by the fourteen year age gap...that's on you. I don't think THAT's the audience Elsie needed to cater to here, but that's just me. 2.75 ⭐️⭐️
Andromeda by Therese Bohman: I contain multitudes! The first half of this novel was really lovely. I really enjoyed the FMC’s (I believe her name is sophie? but we find that out on page 100 or something) voice and description of things. It felt almost Sally Rooney esque, and I am a huge Sally Rooney fan. And then, we got to Gunnar’s POV. I didn’t vibe with Gunnar. I probably should have anticipated this. There are few old men I do vibe with. However, Gunnar killed the novel for me. I got this from BOTM, and they advertised it as exploring themes of modernity. It DOES do this, however, the novels view on modernity and my view on modernity do not mesh. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Favorites by Layne Fargo: This was my other BOTM pick this month! Again, I really liked the first half. It’s a Wuthering Heights retelling and the first half is much more loyal to the original story. The feeling of knowing tragedy is at the door but not being able to break through the pages and warn the characters was awful. I recommend! However, the late second and third acts diverge from the original novel, and in order to do so, fundamentally alter Heath (Heathcliff)’s character. This is all to say, I wish Heath was a worse guy overall. I get WHY he isn’t, though, especially after looking into Fargo’s backlog after finishing. Still, I was really disappointed with the novel’s end. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen: I really put off starting this one because I was intimidated by it. I don’t know WHY I was intimidated, but it was my BOTM pick for December, and then I let it languish on my shelves for weeks. I should NOT have waited!! It was a beautiful story with beautiful prose. I loved the excavations of Chinese history, the elevation of lesser known consequences of the Cultural Revolution, and the examination of the Chinese-American identity. GREAT stuff. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: This was my THIRD read. Originally, I gave fourth wing 4 stars, then 4.5 on my first re read, but this read pushed it back down to 4. The Empyrean series is my current fixation. I had no choice in the matter. My main blog is a fourth wing fanfiction blog. Violet and Xaden are verrrryyy important to me. However, the prose in fourth wing is so incredibly clunky. I get terminal red pen brain when reading. I thought a LOT about V and X’s chemistry while reading this time around (for fic reasons, LOL) and their big moments in the first half of the story arc didn’t eat like usual. The insta-lust wasn’t as bad as I remember it being, but then Violet didn’t really seem like she liked him ?? as much as usual anyway. HOWEVER, the second half of the book is where I USUALLY gripe about their development (re: all the actual relationship building happening off screen, what do they talk about, does xaden have a hobby) and on this read I actually caught a lot more of the minor references that show them falling in love! Casualty of the chaotic prose: it’s hard to catch a lot of the one-line mentions. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros: This book is my baby and I love her. She’s the only girl in the world to me. I heard Lexi on Fantasy Fangirls describe Iron Flame as a transition book, and at first, I didn’t agree with this assessment. However, when I thought about it further, I think that’s why I love it so much. When I first read IF, my life was in a transitory period, and I also felt like my whole world had been turned upside down. A lot of people say X and V are annoying here. I, again, disagree. I raise you this: they’re just like me for real. Both of them and the way they react to things are EXACTLY what I would do. Maybe this is problematic, but I do NOT care. The problems I have with FW do all still exist in this one, but they don’t bother me. I don’t have red pen brain here. 6 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (read twice. in a row. back to back.): This is our book club read, so we’ll have a separate post for her! However, I will say that my first read was NOT great. I care about these books (see reviews 8 and 9, LMAO) and I was wayyyy too invested in certain theories going the way I wanted (re: Halden and Xaden, specifically). I was so anxious that Xaden was going to do something drastic based on the way he was acting that the entire first read was a 12 hour anxiety attack. I originally rated the book 4 stars, and then, I was minding my own business a few hours after finishing. The ending crossed my mind, and I burst into tears. Repeatedly. At length. So then, I made it a 5 star! On my re read, I was experienced a LOT more of that five star feeling, until the last 100 pages or so when I once again succumbed to dread. A lot of the popular critiques of this book aren’t things I “agree” with. I didn’t expect “good” world building after books one and two, for example. The prose is what it is. But! More on that later. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood: Ali’s best work? Dare I say? I ADORED this. Elsie is so me coded it felt like Dr. Hazelwood was in my walls. I LOVED how Jack handled her issues. I really enjoyed the sex. Ali is always so freaking funny. This has me cackling. This has me crying. Incredible. 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
M’s reads:
*spoiler free until the end*
1. Kindred's Curse Saga
- Spark of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Glow of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Heat of the Everflame ⭐️⭐️
honestly was really excited to read this series bc i wanted to listen to ffg deep dives. i liked the first book well enough and i really liked the premise that the main character is a healer. the second book was good too i thought, and i was really propelled through the series because each book ends on a massive cliffhanger and i couldn't stand it. but then by the third book idk it all became too much - too much going on - too many bad decisions made by the fmc.
2. ACOSF ⭐️⭐️⭐️
love love the series but this was probably my least favorite book out of them all. it felt too long and honestly they fucked too much for me girl pls 😭😭😭 loved the sisterhood developed with nesta, gywn, and emerie and also her own sisters. as per my goodreads 3 stars for the plot and 5 for the sisterhood
3. A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️
really wanted to like this one because who doesn't like a book written about a book? but i just couldn't vibe with the fmc and mmc and i couldn't with how it ended.
4. Ready or Not by Cara Bastone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
okay actually kinda throughly enjoyed this one and it was really fun and super sweet. loved the mmc and the overall nyc vibes. every character was quirky and unique and the situation was kinda insane which i lived for. i would read this again for a spark of joy.
5. All of TOG ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
no words. best series i've ever read idk why i didn't read tog sooner i was so missing out. every book was good in its own way. you didn't ask but here is my ranking of books in the series.
heir of fire
kingdom of ash
throne of glass
crown of midnight
empire of storms
assassins blade
tower of dawn
queen of shadows
*i have more comments on this series in the spoilers section*
6. Onyx Storm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
most anticipated read fr. enjoyed it. loved the world building and xaden and violet in this. violet was truly girlbossing it up. ALSO loved ridoc in this he has my whole heart. I feel like we got to love all the side characters a bit more here so that made my soul happy. not sure where to rank it in terms of fourth wing and iron flame. i feel like i should have reread fw and if before this but i was too busy girlbossing it up with tog.
1. The Ministry of Time ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
was really not into it in the beginning probably because i haven't read lit fic in a while, but it def grew on me and the commentaries about being mixed race really hit home for me here 💔. def reccomend this to ur wasian besties because i almost cried.
8. Tethered ⭐️⭐️
this is your sign not to read books you see on tiktok because i was like oooh ahhh vampires i LOVE a vampire. not saying i don't love this vampire, but i couldn't get into it just based on the way the book was written and there's so many more books in the series i just knew i couldn't keep going through it. if you want a trashy wattpad vibe book (sorry if u love this book and i just called is trashy but its trashy in a good 2000s britney spears) kinda way.
**spoilers**
- kindreds curse saga: okay so my main qualm with this whole series is that by the third book the way the fmc acts just became too much and it's as if she's having no self-growth at all. like sorry for throwing tomatoes but she kept making decision after decision that led them running on their asses elsewhere. and it just never ended. ALSO i just couldn't with them fucking in the library after they fought a battle and then getting caught. PLS a library. anyways. also another comment is that i was really wanting to read this series because she was a healer but then turns out she doesn't even want to be a healer so i felt a bit sad about that in my soul.
- TOG: i have so many thoughts on this series my life is geneuinly changed thank you parents for buying me the box set for christmas because i could reread these books forever. what truly amazed me about these books were that characters i kinda disliked or hated (cough cough chaol) i truly came to love and understand by the end of the series which is so hard to do as an author i think. like i went from hatimg chaol in queen of shadows to feeling so sorry for him in tower of dawn. not that its not fucked up what he did to aelin and nehemiah but like you really get to empathize with him and his sitaution. and manon too! i didn't really like reading her parts at first but then i loved her by the end. and also i wasnt sure how to feel about rowan in heir of fire bc i already knew he was endgame but now i also love love rowan so much its like he's the perfect balance for aelin. also cannot express my love for the fmc that is calaena / aelin like she is amazing in every way possible.
