two stars

Book Review: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary ★★

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“Sometimes it feels easier to just be the way I was before you. Safer. But…look what you’ve been able to do. How brave you’ve been. And that’s how I want to be.”

Ok, so I never really learn my lesson with the hype. I get caught up in it; sue me. I heard about this book and it’s ridiculous premise and I figured I would not like it (I was right). Howeverrrrr, I heard a lot of people loved it and then it was available at my library and I was curious ok?!? I wanted to see if I’d like it (I didn’t). 2.5 stars.

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Book Review: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman ★★

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“Nina had looked around and realized she would never run out of things to read, and that certainty filled her with peace and satisfaction. It didn’t matter what hit the fan; as long as there were unread books in the world, she would be fine.”

This book was a huge disappointment. On paper, it sounded really fun and relatable, something cute and easy to fly through. Unfortunately, though, it was none of those things. Instead, it was cliche, boring, lacking, cringey, and very disappointing. I kind of want to give it 1.5 star now, but my initial gut reaction was 2 stars.

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Book Review: An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard ★★

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“Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.”

So ultimately, I am really disappointed in this book. I requested this one from my library and I have heard a lot of good things about it, so I was really excited when it finally came in and I could get my hands on it. I had heard people call this one “adult Harry Potter” and it was (originally) a stand-alone. All things I was very interested in! However, it just fell very flat for me in the end😕😕

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Book Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson ★★

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“Life is like the oil within a lamp. It can be measured, but the pace at which it burns depends on how the dial is turned day by day, how bright and fierce the flame. And there is no predicting whether the lamp might be knocked to the ground and shatter, when it could have blazed on a great while longer. Such is the unpredictability of life.”

Well if this wasn’t the most BORING dang thing I’ve ever read! Holy crap. It was such a chore to get through. I could not have cared less about the plot, the characters, the world – literally anything in this book. I was tempted to give this 1.5 stars, I swear to god haha. It was really bad 😅.

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Book Review: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan ★★

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“That’s what I want for my kids. I want them to love their family, but to feel a deeper sense of pride in who they are as individuals, not in how much money they have, what their last name is, or how many generations they go back to whatever dynasty. I’m sorry, but I’ve had enough. I’ve had enough of being around all these crazy rich Asians, all these people whose lives revolve around making money, spending money, flaunting money, comparing money, hiding money, controlling others with money, and ruining their lives over money.”

I really went into this with an open mind. I was excited to read it and I wanted something different from what I normally read, a light, fun, contemporary about a culture I am not overly familiar with. I gave it my best effort, but I just didn’t care for it 🤷‍♀️. Glad I only spent a dollar on it!

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Book Review: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova ★★

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“I was filled with angst in college, that I struggled with the question of my future, the meaning of my life – spoiled sheltered rich girl collides with great books and is devastated by her own banality.”

What a disappointment! I read Kostova’s other novel, The Historian, ages ago and I really enjoyed it. I found a beautiful hardcover copy of The Swan Thieves at Goodwill for $3. I was still riding my “art-thriller” high thanks to The Goldfinch. Everything was lined up perfectly for me to LOVE this book!!

But did I? Sadly, no. No I did not.

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Book Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant ★★

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“What you have to understand about the mermaid legend is that it’s universal. No matter where you go, the mermaids got there first. Even inland, if there’s a big enough lake, I guarantee you there’s a local community with a story about women in the water with beautiful voices who lure men to their deaths. Where there’s water, we find mermaids. Maybe it’s time we started asking ourselves exactly why that is.”

😐 Very disappointed in Into the Drowning Deep, unfortunately. I had heard such great things about it, and I was in the mood for something chilling and scary, so I thought it would be the perfect read right now. I really wanted to love it! However, it just didn’t work for me. At all. It was poorly constructed, repetitive, unintelligent, and very dull. It was basically Sharknado with mermaids. Spoilers ahead.

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Book Review: Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter ★★

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“And, I suddenly understand, I do want to be Vassa–or technically I want to make Vassa into somebody worth being. The only way to become that somebody is to live in a real, substantial world: a world that doesn’t follow orders, that’s just as willful and independent as I’m going to be. I can only become a whole girl in a place that offers resistance; a place that makes me fight for what I want.“

Ugh! I’m so sad about this book. I was ready to love it, despite the mixed reviews surrounding it and the incredibly weird plot I had been hearing about. It was a Russian-inspired YA retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful! Of course, I was going to like it! At least, that’s what I thought 😢

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Book Review: The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson ★★

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“My time in camp with Kaden had become awkward several times, or perhaps I was just more self-conscious now.

I had known he cared about me. It was hardly a secret. It was the reason I was still alive, but I hadn’t quite grasped how much he cared. And in spite of myself, I knew in my own way, I cared about him too. Not Kaden the assassin, but the Kaden I had known back in Terravin, the one who had caught my attention the minute he walked through the tavern door. The one who was calm and had mysterious, but kind, eyes.

I remembered dancing with him at the festival, his arms pulling me closer, and the way he struggled with his thoughts, holding them back. He didn’t hold back the night he was drunk. The fireshine had loosened his lips and he laid it all out quite blatantly. Slurred and sloshy but clear. He loved me. This from a barbarian who was sent to kill me.”

Okay, I am sure you guys think I am a huge cynic now who hates love stories or something, yada yada yada, but come on!! This book is marketed as a high fantasy adventure novel complete with badass female characters and assassins, and THIS is the crap we are given?!

The Dude just does not abide.

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Book Review: An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson ★★

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“You would claw your neighbor’s eyes out for a mouthful of dust. Yet dust is all around you. The whole world is made of dust, and always returns to it. There is nothing else.”

I was really excited to read this book! I thought the cover was beautiful and I love stories about faeries/the fae, so I was pretty hyped. And then, I started to hear some great things about the book, including people comparing it to A Court of Thorns and Roses (which, duh, I love).

Unfortunately (!), An Enchantment of Ravens was nowhere near as awesome as I expected. Nothing turned out to be as I expected, really, which resulted in a pretty boring, sappy, and basic story. Ugh! I am so disappointed 😡

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