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My Rating System!
I’ve been posting so consistently this month (on Tuesdays and Fridays), and I didn’t want to lose my momentum. The only problem is that I haven’t actually finished a book since Winterwood, so I’ve decided to finally write up something that has been on my mind for some time. I was looking through my Goodreads 2020 Challenge (I’ll write up more on that closer to the end of the year), and I realized the majority of the books I read, I rated either 4 or 5 stars. There are 5 books (out of 59) that I rated 3 stars. I didn’t rate a single thing below that. This isn’t to…
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One Way or Another
This Post is Spoiler Free! So… I don’t usually like YA Contemporaries. Great way to start out a review, right? You might be asking yourself why I even bother reading them if I don’t usually like them, and I have two answers for that question: 1. I appreciate any piece of writing as an opportunity to learn about the craft, and even if I don’t like the genre, there are bits of it I can incorporate into my own writing. 2. Sometimes I find a book I genuinely like. So far, the list consists solely of We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, and now One Way…
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Damsel
This Post is Spoiler Free! Hey! I just finished my first book of December. What book? Damsel by Elana K. Arnold! Let me start out by saying that this book is apparently marketed as a YA… That is so wrong. This book is incredible, but it is NOT for a YA audience. The themes in it are very adult, the descriptions are very adult, the emotions are very adult. Do I think the odd teen will read this and possibly appreciate it for what it is? Sure. Do I think teens should read this book? No… Early twenties, yes. Teens, no. I didn’t buy Damsel thinking it was a YA…
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Piratica (I and II)
This Post is Spoiler Free! I’m going to be 100% honest with y’all… I forgot to write down my thoughts on Piratica by Tanith Lee before starting (and finishing) Piratica II. Normally, I’ll be fresh from finishing a book as I write my review (which is less an ordered review and more a slew of my thoughts and feelings), so this feels a little weird. Piratica But let’s look at Piratica. I’m going to start by saying that it took me nearly the whole month of November to read, however that was less because of the book and more because I was busy (and even when I wasn’t, my mind…
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And I Darken (Full Trilogy)
This Post is Spoiler Free! And I Darken Oh my goodness. And I Darken by Kiersten White. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I don’t even know how to explain what I’m feeling right now. I don’t even know what I am feeling. This book is amazing! I won’t lie, it was daunting at the beginning, but it was so artfully crafted that whenever I picked it up, I didn’t want to put it down. Seriously. I have no idea how on EARTH Kiersten White managed to put this together, but I’m amazed. She has definitely made it onto my “Favorite Authors” list! Seriously, my mind is a mess right now. At first, I loved…
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The Girl The Sea Gave Back
This Post is Spoiler Free! Alright. Bear with me here. I have mixed feelings about The Girl The Sea Gave Back. There were parts about it that I absolutely loved, but there were also parts that nearly made me put it down, which is a bit rare. I honestly think that if I were the DNFing (Did Not Finish) type, this book would have been one of them. BUT! I hate leaving things unfinished, so I pushed through, and I’m not too upset that I did. I know… I’m going in circles… This is just how the book made me feel, okay? Let’s start with what I liked: the story.…
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Sky in the Deep
This Post is Spoiler Free Fun fact: this is the second time I’ve read Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. Fun fact number two: this is the second time I’m reviewing Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, but the first time I reviewed it, it was less of a review and more of a discussion starter (it included spoilers too), so this doesn’t feel too redundant. Fun fact number three: it’s a pretty good book! I’m no stranger to rereads. I love them, though I’ll only do them with certain books. Sky in the Deep is kinda on the edge of that “certain book” line… or it was…
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The Starless Sea
Have you ever finished a book, stared at the last page for a moment too long, turned to scream into your pillow, then immediately opened the book again, starting from page one? Yeah, that was me with The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. It was another one suggested to me by a friend. Or yelled at me, I guess. The same friend who also suggested (yelled) that I should read Six of Crows. To be honest, I don’t exactly have the words to describe what I’m feeling right now (especially without giving spoilers… which I promise I won’t do), but I’m going to do my best. However good that may…
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Shadow and Bone (Full Trilogy)
If you’ve been following my bookstagram at all, then you know that I have recently found an intense love for Leigh Bardugo and her books. It started with Six of Crows, where I marveled at the way she built the world of the Grishaverse. It continued in Crooked Kingdom, where I cried over characters who weren’t good but weren’t bad—who were young and human and flawed and perfect. I continued my Bardugo journey with the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. And goodness gracious. I read all three books in just over two days. If I’m being honest, the plot of the trilogy wasn’t quite as polished as Six of Crows and…