3 stars

Book Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne ★★★

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“Love and hate are visceral. Your stomach twists at the thought of that person. The heart in your chest beats heavy and bright, nearly visible through your flesh and clothes. Your appetite and sleep are shredded. Every interaction spikes your blood with a dangerous kind of adrenaline, and you’re on the brink of fight or flight. Your body is barely under your control. You’re consumed, and it scares you.”

This one was pretty good. Cute, surprisingly touching in certain areas, and funny. Overall, it was solid and I enjoyed it. However, for some reason I just didn’t connect with the romance all that much. I liked the characters well enough and really felt for them during some scenes, but I just never 100% committed to them. Three stars.

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Book Review: Montana 1948 by Larry Watson ★★★

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“That’s not the way it works. You know that. Sins—crimes—are not supposed to go unpunished.”

I’m really glad I finally read this book! You know when a cover just sticks out to you and you can’t seem to help but get drawn to a book, because of it? That was Montana 1948 for me. I saw it so many times at thrift stores and finally picked it up, because I just love that cover! I am very happy I got to it quickly after that and I enjoyed the story. I ended up giving it 3 stars.

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Book Review: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff ★★★

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“My father used to say the art of telling a good story lies in knowing when to stop. Keep talking long enough, you’ll find there’s no such thing as a happy ending.”

Welp. I tried the second book in hopes that it would be amazing and that this series would become a new favorite of mine. Instead, it was a run of the mill middle book, entertaining enough, but kind of boring. A bit of filler. I found this one even less compelling than the first novel, unfortunately 😭. 3 stars.

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Book Review: The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski ★★★

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“I started to turn from the poems, then paused before a page almost entirely white, with only a few bare black words.

Gold-sandaled dawn

Fell like a thief

Upon me

I wondered what kind of night was so precious that when morning came it felt as if you had been robbed, as if what you wanted most had been cut from you like a bloody tithe.

I had never had a night worth stealing.”

My first Goodreads giveaway win!! Heck yeah! I was so super excited for this book when I first heard about it, because the author’s Winner’s Trilogy is one of my all-time favorite YA fantasy series. When I won an ARC of The Midnight Lie, I was ecstatic! I knew I had to read it right away. This one comes out in March.

While I did really enjoy this story, it’s LGBTQ+ romance, and the author’s writing, there were a few things that I felt were just a bit lacking. Overall, a very nice start to a new duology and I gave it 3 stars.

*Some spoilers at the end of the review*

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Book Review: Crown of Feathers by Nicki PauPreto ★★★

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“In Pyra, death was celebrated as much as life. Only through endings could there be beginnings. That was the lesson of the phoenix, and it was the lesson of my life as well.”

Oof this book was slow going. It was actually a 2/2.5 read for me up until the ending brought it to a 3. It was strange really, because it had an interesting concept and the author could write. She clearly put a lot of time, effort, and research into this book. But my god, it was a slog for the first 300 pages.

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Book Review: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab ★★

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“Dangerous. Reckless. Foolish. Mad. The words were beginning to feel more like badges of pride than blows.”

Hello, friends!

I must say, being back in the world of multiple Londons was comforting and fun. These books continue to capture my attention, with their fabulous writing, great worldbuilding, and wonderful characters. That being said, I do feel like this middle installment was plagued with second book syndrome quite a bit. I don’t know, something just felt different this go around and made me enjoy Kell and Lila’s stories a bit less. I’d ultimately give it 2.5 stars for that reason mainly.

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