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1984896393
| 9781984896391
| 1984896393
| 4.29
| 1,655,307
| May 02, 2019
| Jan 05, 2021
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really liked it
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4.25 stars “Pip wished she was strong enough, but she learned that she wasn’t invincible; she too could break.”4.25 stars “Pip wished she was strong enough, but she learned that she wasn’t invincible; she too could break.” this was actually very impressive! the premise of this book was super exciting for me. i started loving it at first but i think it all went a bit downhill towards the end. it felt as though the ending didn’t bring as much relief as i expected. i also expected a lot from this book but definitely did not expect the story to be so dark. reading abt the ending made me jaw slack not only bc I didn’t expect it, but because of what the story became. honestly it was a very mediocre ending with how everything played out. however the epilogue did make the book a bit better. “You know, you use humor as a defense mechanism when you’re tense?”❤️ ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 25, 2023
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Mar 30, 2023
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Mar 25, 2023
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Paperback
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1250851203
| 9781250851208
| 1250851203
| 4.16
| 363,610
| Oct 24, 2023
| Oct 24, 2023
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liked it
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3.5 stars “Where are we going?” she asked. jacks is the l 3.5 stars “Where are we going?” she asked. jacks is the leader of the sassy men epidemic and i’m living for it. and him wearing olive green trousers and a plain white shirt half-buttoned with his sleeves rolled up.. that man has style & he’s just perfect ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 23, 2023
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Nov 07, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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Hardcover
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1250268427
| 9781250268426
| 1250268427
| 4.49
| 428,254
| Sep 13, 2022
| Sep 13, 2022
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really liked it
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4.5 stars this series is cute but it’ll will never top caraval !! the angst and build up in this book got me tho omll |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 2023
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Jun 06, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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Hardcover
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1250268397
| 9781250268396
| 1250268397
| 4.06
| 589,859
| Sep 28, 2021
| Sep 28, 2021
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really liked it
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4.5/5.0 stars “All stories are made of both truths and lies. What matters is the way that we believe in them.”4.5/5.0 stars “All stories are made of both truths and lies. What matters is the way that we believe in them.” this felt like a fresh start. i’ve always loved stephanie garber’s writing but it has definitely peaked after caraval. i was expecting so much from this book but overall it fell short for me. my flaws with caraval mainly stemmed from the repetition throughout the story but i didn’t find it to be annoying in this book! considering how hyped up this series is, i’m definitely continuing and preparing myself to get my heart broken by the next book. this book wasnt a bad start to the series so im definitely excited to see how it continues. “He held on to her as if she were a grudge, his body rigid and tense, as if he really didn’t want her there, and yet his arms were tight around her waist as though he had no intention of ever letting her go.” i just loved jacks so much. he was everything in this book. i was screaming every time he appeared in this book. he was always an interesting character from the beginning and i loved hearing more about him rather than the ending that he was given in finale. i do hope that there is more depth to him in the next book. i think we can all agree that jacks’ blue hair was just not it in this book. i’m so glad his blond hair made a comeback. i did wish that it came sooner in the book. the appearance of scarlett and donatella in this book was so nice to see. i’m so glad that we were able to get a glimpse of them and where they are despite the story revolving around different characters. it’s clear that scarlett takes on her role as empress very seriously. tella had this habit of saying her thoughts in this book which makes me glad the story isn’t told in her point of view. i don’t think i’d be able to handle it again. “This was why parts of Jacks’s story had twisted so painfully inside her. It wasn’t because she wanted Jacks. She didn’t want Jacks. She just wanted someone to want her the way Jacks had wanted this girl. And she didn’t want it to be because of a spell or a curse. Evangeline wanted a real love powerful enough to break a spell, which was exactly what Jacks wanted, too.” the tension between them was everything. stephanie really knows how to write it!! i’ve never really liked vampires but jacks has convinced me ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 21, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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Hardcover
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1250231973
| 9781250231970
| 1250231973
| 4.14
| 346,912
| May 07, 2019
| May 07, 2019
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it was amazing
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4.5 stars "Before Legend, Tella had wanted nothing to do with love. She’d believed she was destined to only experience unrequited love. Then she’d f 4.5 stars "Before Legend, Tella had wanted nothing to do with love. She’d believed she was destined to only experience unrequited love. Then she’d fallen in love with him, and it had been like drinking magic—indescribable, all-consuming, and fantastically addictive.” “I choose you, Julian, and I promise I will always choose you, and I will always love you. I will love you with every bone in my body, so that even after my heart stops beating, a part of me will remain to forever love you.” i never expected to like this trilogy as much as i did. i am never getting over these characters and the world stephanie garber has built. this book absolutely delivered! it was a beautiful ending and it felt so painful to get through the book as it continued. i can definitely see how the writing has improved since the first book, caraval. the beginning was so intriguing. the problem i had with legendary was the fact that it was hard to get through the beginning but i liked the start of this one!! it had a bit of suspense added to it and I loved how it jumped right in. this book was everything from the execution to the plot!! it felt as though i wasn’t as bored with this book which i loved. this book made up for what the other books lacked (for the most part) from the mystery to the romance aspect! i think this book definitely helped balance out both of these factors while making it simultaneously interesting the ratio between scarlett and tella chapters were so off. it was unfair how my girl scarlett didn’t get as many chapters as tella and they were so short!! i think that tella’s pov was more tolerable in this book than the others. however the ending did serve scarlett justice & i love her with my entire heart. she deserved so much more in this book after everything she went through. i think that she truly had character development towards the end. the beginning with scarlett was something that i wasn’t a big fan of simply bc of the way she changed and how they treated julian’s love as if it did not have real meaning. spoiler mentioned! in the beginning, every scene with the count i absolutely hated. he felt like an unneeded factor in the story between julian & scarlett. it was so sad to see how scarlett pretended to not love him anymore. i’m all for improvement but this felt like a step backwards for scarlett. i am so glad the count died when he did bc he gave me scarlettjulian back!! one thing i am in disbelief that they held off mentioning previously was the fact that julian wears glasses?!!? i literally fainted the moment i read that bc it made me love him more. more quotes to showcase my love for scarlett & julian <3 “He smelled like dirt and tears and perfection. And she decided then that she was never, ever letting go of him. She wished there was a way to tether her heart to his, so that even when they were apart they would still be attached. There were things in this world to be truly afraid of, but loving Julian was not one of them.” ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 19, 2023
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Mar 25, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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Paperback
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1250192226
| 9781250192226
| 1250192226
| 4.11
| 419,700
| May 29, 2018
| May 29, 2018
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it was ok
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2.5 stars i don’t recommend to anyone that hasn’t read caraval to read my review. “Unfortunately Tella wasn’t the sort of girl people saved—she 2.5 stars i don’t recommend to anyone that hasn’t read caraval to read my review. “Unfortunately Tella wasn’t the sort of girl people saved—she was the one they left behind. But she was also the one they underestimated.” “Don’t feel sorry for me. If my mother had been a kinder or better person, I might have turned out good, and everyone knows how boring it is to be good.” “Every story needs a villain. But the best villains are the ones you secretly like.” unpopular opinion alert! i was so sad to give this book less than 4 stars. however this book felt.. disappointing? it felt as though i couldn’t connect to tella as well as i did with scarlett. i feel like i expected so much more from this book after i loved the first one. i wasn't the biggest fan of tella in this book. however u shouldn’t always trust my judgement bc i went into this book hating tella in the first. though i did hold out hope that i’d like her bc of the amount of ppl who really liked this book. starting off strong wow. stephanie garber really knows how to write them!! i was practically swooning with every scene that jacks was in. he was so well written and everything! something about her writing has just been amazing. i literally loved him practically from the very beginning & it felt as though despite the fact that he was a villain, they was just something abt him that made me love his character instantly. and he was so charming ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 10, 2023
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Mar 15, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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Paperback
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1250141494
| 9781250141491
| 1250141494
| 3.97
| 808,433
| Sep 29, 2016
| Jan 31, 2017
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really liked it
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3.75 stars “She imagined thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: 3.75 stars “She imagined thinking falling for him would be like falling in love with darkness, but now she imagined he was more like a starry night: the constellations were always there, constant, magnificent guides against the ever-present black.” “With Julian it wasn’t about protection—she just wanted to be with him. The boy who saved her in more ways than one.” ❤️ ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 04, 2023
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Mar 10, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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0439023483
| 9780439023481
| 0439023483
| 4.35
| 9,645,121
| Sep 14, 2008
| Oct 14, 2008
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it was amazing
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4.5/5.0 stars “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety,” i mutter.4.5/5.0 stars “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety,” i mutter. confession: i’ve never watched the movies. therefore i have nothing to compare it to besides the last time i read this. i will watch them eventually! i am so glad i got to read this book back in middle school. rereading this book gave me a sense of deja vu while reading some of the scenes. but wow my brain was really muddled while i read this. i definitely need to catch up on reading this series and find out everything before the entire series gets spoiled for me ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 11, 2023
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Apr 19, 2023
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Nov 14, 2022
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Hardcover
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1529344565
| 9781529344561
| 1529344565
| 4.28
| 75,114
| Nov 16, 2021
| Nov 16, 2021
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liked it
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3.5 stars "In this life and the next, for however long our souls remain, mine will always find yours." no one is as disappointed to see this rating 3.5 stars "In this life and the next, for however long our souls remain, mine will always find yours." no one is as disappointed to see this rating as me. i'm starting to question what i liked about the first book so much as to rate it 5 stars. however, i'm not changing it because i read that book over a year ago, and if this isn't a testament to how much my taste has changed since then, then i don't know what is. anyways i'm getting right into it because i have quite a bit to say so buckle up. i never mentioned this, but her writing makes me feel dumb. the talk of politics and the use of complex phrases made me lose interest easily. i think that was why it took me so long to get into this book. the beginning was slow, and with nothing much to grasp or fixate on, it became dull to read (or i became unmotivated, still figuring out which was the problem). i’m not one to really pay attention to politics, so the fact that it’s so prominent in this book never fails to throw me off. icl, it did have me intrigued!! the way chloe does her research to make it historically accurate while adding her own elements is chefs kiss. i love seeing kathleen's shift and change in this book. her transformation to celia and shedding the scarlet label was so beautiful. kathleen is a trans woman in the series who assumed the identity of her other identical sister, which is where kathleen came from. she was known as kathleen in order to save face for her father, and seeing her embrace who she truly was really warmed my heart. marshall and benedikt are the cutest people alive omg. i loved seeing how they progressed (spoiler warning here) even if marshall was "dead" for around half of the book. (end spoilers) i totally expected benedikt to confess to marshall that he loved him as soon as they reunited after seeing he confessed to roma about it, but i was so shocked we had to wait. it was so worth it tho bc i think his confession is my favorite part of the book. i was so surprised to see benedikt and juliette's friendship form but i loved it SO much. seeing benedikt grow to trust her after everything that happened was truly heart warming. and they definitely helped play a part in each other's love story, which makes their friendship all the more meaningful. they're so silly and in love it's sickening. i feel like this book is a criticism of the first book. everyone had complied with the scarlet or white flower way, and they never really shed it until this book. i feel like they were not aware of the effect and what they gave up, especially for juliette, until this book. i think this book was such a drastic shift for every character, and how in their own way everyone rebelled against what they were born into. spoiler alert from this pt on the pacing. it was all over the place. i think that was why i didn't bawl my eyes out at the end. i feel like the most dramatic stuff happened early on, and after that it just dragged. don't get me wrong, it's still interesting, but i felt like i was losing interest. once the end approached i kept thinking there couldn't have been anything more interesting to happen. i was proven wrong, but by then it was all over so quickly. the ending felt a bit abrupt, with the 2nd to last chapter being a cliffhanger, and then fast forwarding 12 months? please. it was like i couldn't get a moment to breathe! not to mention the characters got together so early on and i kept expecting something dramatic so i was building up a huge expectation. it made the ending a little anticlimactic but i’m glad that there was the calm before the storm. i feel like a lot of this book was chloe gong realizing the loopholes she left out and adding them at the end. i REFUSE to believe they would leave rosalind in a dark safe house tied to a chair for 2 days, no matter how much she betrayed them. like miss girl that is STILL your cousin! not to mention with no food or water? that is just another level of cruelty. it gives off the vibe rosalind's only purpose of the story was to provide the plot twist that she was dimitri's lover. i feel like this book went into so much detail about little things and didn't discuss the things i wanted. how did rosalind save kathleen? and on more, i feel like the death of roma and juliette SO could've been avoided! here's my idea: the ground was already covered in gasoline due to benedikt and juliette's stunt, so they could've gotten to the end of the block where their truck was waiting, and say something to provoke dimitri and the monsters to come just close enough that they could be lit on fire and jump into the car while it drives away!! would make a great dramatic scene in a movie. i'll be waiting for my standing ovation after this. (btw, ik this follows the plot of the og romeo and juliet, but cmon they're already alive in the next few books anyway!!) pre-review hmmm.. pre-read review i’ve never been so terrified yet simultaneously excited to start a book series review! . ˚◞♡ ⃗ *ೃ༄ a romajuliette christmas special these violent delights ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 31, 2024
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Apr 04, 2025
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Nov 13, 2022
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Hardcover
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1529344557
| 9781529344554
| 1529344557
| 3.80
| 166,263
| Nov 17, 2020
| Nov 24, 2020
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it was amazing
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“I hate that the blood feud forced my hand, but I did what I had to do and you may think me monstrous for it. The feud keeps taking and hurting and
“I hate that the blood feud forced my hand, but I did what I had to do and you may think me monstrous for it. The feud keeps taking and hurting and killing and still I couldn’t stop loving you even when I thought I hated you.” You chose me four years ago. Would you choose me still? Would you choose this version of me—these sharp edges and hands far bloodier than yours? it’s not very often i can find a book that i consider to be perfect. reading is subjective to everyone, and everyone has their own standards for perfect. we’re always told perfect is an ideal idea that doesn’t exist, but do we ever listen? i am still in disbelief that this was a debut novel bc of how well done it was. i’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about this book but i was still hoping to love it and went in with low expectations just in case. and i’m so happy to say it exceeded my expectations tenfold. chloe gong u are a fucking mastermind!!!! this was the perfect book for me at the perfect time. especially after the mess that was acftl, it was just what i needed. everything was thought through and she rlly knew how to handle everything. there was nothing left hanging i don’t even know where to start with this book. there’s so much i have to say about it. i think it’s clear that chloe gong has done her research before writing & i rlly appreciated that. being able to look up actual places in shanghai rlly helped me visualize the setting better. i’ve heard a lot of mixed things about how ppl felt about the politics but i feel like it made me like the book more bc it shows that love and hope can still exist in such a corrupt world. it also adds on a realistic aspect bc politics are not all sunshine and rainbows. in a world where people are constantly tearing others apart and you are forced to take sides, love can flourish much like it did between roma and juliette. hope was both the thing that held them together and broke them apart all over again. i am utterly obsessed and i cannot wait to see where the story continues. the pacing of this book was amazing. i am so glad that the book picked up on the second half. a majority of the first part talked about politics and i rlly started to understand how their world worked and how it affected the characters by the second half. they tried to flourish and become their own person but in the end they came running back bc they cannot truly be free from their responsibilities. they have to worry about others rather than being selfish and choosing each other. the second half also talked more about their past over time and i became even more obsessed. their partnership showed how they never forgot what it was like to be past lovers and how their trust always remains no matter how they tried to mask it. i loved seeing their progress as they’ve grown and see how much their love still shows. god these characters have my heart and i want to give them all the biggest hugs. the plot was rlly doing its job. i was so intrigued and it was so hard to put the book down bc with every chapter i read i kept wanting to know more. i wish some of the chapters weren’t as long as they were bc it rlly put me off reading it sometimes. nonetheless the story and everything was so intriguing. this book explored so many different possibilities and none of my thoughts even came close to what actually happened. i was so immersed with the plot, especially in the second half. there was one reveal on top of another and i was going crazy!! this book gave me time to process everything that happened while setting up for yet another plot twist and it always got me. in the beginning, i thought that it was too obvious to know cause of the madness was the monster. but it became so much more and i’m still in awe with how everything was executed. even if it meant i had to suffer while reading, i thoroughly enjoyed reading everything that played out. the mystery picked up from the start and it rlly pulled me in. it took me awhile to understand how deep roma and juliette’s bond rlly was but i cannot get enough of them now. those letters in the special edition had me squealing and kicking my feet i need more!! i read romeo & juliet last year for my school and i cannot recall much about it. it was very forgettable but this book was something else. it had everything in it and i just know shakespeare cannot top this book. something that rlly got to me was the representation in this book. there’s lgbtq+ representation and the characters are so likeable. i’m obsessed with marshall and benedikt (even though they aren’t even officially together yet) and the way they care for each other has my heart. i was squealing when we got a scene with marshall and benedikt bc they’re genuinely so cute together. marshall was the fun, lovable guy who was serious when it mattered (basically whenever benedikt made stupid decisions) and i was living for it. benedikt pretty much had more of a voice and he was so outspoken. they’re basically another version of roma and juliette and i loved them so much. tyler has and always will get on my nerves. he basically doesn’t know when he should not stick his nose somewhere and it infuriated me. no one pisses me off as much as him. i hate how he got away with everything and rosalind and kathleen could never bc they didn’t have the surname cai. idk how any of these characters put up with him bc if i saw him.. it would’ve been ON SIGHT!! he was also trying to undermine juliette like get a grip! he has such an ego it’s actually crazy. he’s also one of the dumbest characters i’ve ever met but no one seemed to think that besides juliette. she and i are one of the same person spoilers ahead for the rest of this review! Sometimes it was hard for Kathleen to remember that she was still her own person, not just shards of a mirror, reflecting back a thousand different personalities most fitting for the situation. kathleen has my heart forever and always. a lot of ppl think of her as a peace lover, but when it’s important she is willing to put her thoughts aside and help. she is determined, strong, and has been through so much and my heart feels for her. she is always there for her family and i loved that so much. hearing little snippets of what it was like to come out and seeing how her father reacted made me feel so sad for her. and the fact that she took the real kathleen’s name after she died.. i need to know more. i’m so sad she fought so hard to be called celia and it isn’t stick. she is genuinely one of the sweetest characters (along with roma ofc<3) and learning about her bond with rosalind and juliette and little things about their relationship ahh i loved it. It was because of Dimitri that Roma wasn’t allowed to be soft. It was because of Dimitri that Roma had crafted a cold and brutal face that he hated seeing every time he looked into a mirror. roma is actually the sweetest & cutest person ever to exist i’m crying. he always looked out for juliette and continued to love her even though he tried to mask it as hate. this was truly a well done childhood lovers to rivals and lovers all over again. he always knew juliette, even better than she knew herself. he is an absolute sweetheart and i have a soft spot for him. everyone thinks of both roma and juliette as cruel but roma never lived up to it. he always knew what to say to juliette to make her feel better and his love for her was so pure. he was always having to appease juliette and helping her when she tried to lash out and it was hilarious at times. also he loved her so much he chose to kill an innocent life simply bc he couldn’t bring himself to kill her and knew the consequences. the meaning behind what he did actually had my heart breaking a bit. She could hardly tell the difference between the times when she was fighting and the times when she was barely holding herself together, crumbled pieces staggering forward step-by-step. Maybe those two were one and the same. She had always thought of herself as the heir of the Scarlet Gang, but that wasn’t it at all, was it? She was the heir to her father’s version of the Scarlet Gang. The problem with hatred was that when the initial emotion weakened, the responses still remained. The clenched fists and hot veins, the blurred vision and quickened pulse. And in such remains, Juliette was not in control of what they might develop into. Like yearning. How was she any different from the killers that lurked in this city—the ones that she was trying to stop? i genuinely love juliette so much. the depth that her character brought and her struggles were so real. in order to be liked and earn her place as the heir, she had to become someone she wasn’t. along the way she felt like she was losing herself and becoming a monster. she always had to play the part of one and didn’t consider herself to be one until it came to having to make a choice. she was painted out to be a heartless, cold killer but when it mattered she cared. she always did everything with purpose and intent. ppl feared her bc of the way she presented herself and i respected that so much. the way she decided to finally put down the facade and choose roma just like he did years ago.. actual TEARS streamed down my face when they kissed that second time it was perfect. “You destroy me and then you kiss me. You give me reason to hate you and then you give me reason to love you. Is this a lie or the truth? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me?” She had believed him callous, believed him to have performed the greatest possible betrayal when she had offered him love. Instead, the truth was that he had gone against everything he stood for. He had stained his own hands with the lives of dozens of innocents, placed razor blades in his own heart just to keep Juliette alive and safe, far from the threats of his father. He hadn’t used the information he gleaned from his time with her as a tool of power. He had used it as a tool of weakness. “I mourned for months, years outside the gates of the cemetery. Yet I don’t regret choosing you. No matter how cruel you think yourself, your heart beats for your people. That’s why you shot him. That’s why you took the chance. Not because you are merciless. Because you have hope.” Juliette pulled away, but only to look Roma in the eye, her pulse beating its crescendo. He did not flinch. He met her gaze, steady, unwavering. In that moment, all Juliette could think was: Please, please, please. Please don’t break me again. if u cannot tell already i’m in love with these characters. the way roma & juliette started hanging out when they were children bc roma rolled a marble at juliette will ALWAYS get me. this book was so amazing and so much has happened between them but i can’t get enough. the way they dreamed of taking over the gangs and helping to restore shanghai in their own ways is just so sweet. i can talk for hours and hours about their love and i haven’t even finished this series. i loved the way they hoped bc it extended to much more than their love. it was shown through their actions and how they loved the people close to them. juliette was desperate to stop the madness and save the people. roma cared about his sister the most bc someone close to him happened to fall under the madness. they had to hurt each other in order to save the others life is so sad to think about. “Rosalind carried grudges like it was a contest. She was passionate and headstrong and had nerves of steel, but when you looked past her well-chosen, surface-level pretty words, she could also simmer on feelings long past their relevance. i was rlly sad that rosalind wasn’t that much involved in this book. however i understood her not wanting to take part in helping out with the madness after spotting the dragon & with where her family stood in the group. despite being in the close circle, they would not completely be off the hook and be able to be reckless with their life. the way she suddenly lashed out about juliette made me quite sad bc i understood where she was coming from and i also felt for her. i hope that we find out more about her in the next book & she becomes more involved. there was so much unresolved conflict between rosalind and juliette since the beginning and i felt like it was subtle at first but it was still there. they weren’t exactly close since juliette returned and she slowly started to make less of an appearance in the book. chloe gong really knows how to break ur heart while putting it back together again. i’m not even going to lie she had me when marshall died. i actually had my jaw on the floor and i was screaming. i am so happy that he ended up living and the way she “brought him back to life” was fucking genius!! the way he wanted to tell benedikt he was still alive so he wouldn’t have to worry oh my god. i completely forgot about juliette stealing the vial from louren’s when no one was looking. also another thing: juliette and marshall’s bond? it seems so special so i def want to know more about that. the way they seemed to click just like that?? i genuinely think their friendship is amazing. when the reveal came that zhang gutai was the monster causing the madness i felt like it made sense bc he was always gone. but im so glad he wasn’t the monster for 1 reason: his death was way too quick. it would’ve been anticlimactic. and i think chloe gong knew where she was going bc it kept up pace. i also feel bad that he had to die despite him being a communist bc like juliette said: he was innocent. qi ren being the monster was honestly the plot twist of the century. i feel like i should’ve seen paul being the larkspur coming. if this doesn’t show im too trusting idk what does! i felt bad for him in the beginning bc i thought he actually liked juliette but not anymore. the way he claimed to love juliette and proceeded to do terrible things to her.. yea no ur done. his death was well called for! i have mixed feelings about whether or not he’s a dumb character bc on one hand he hung out with juliette AND BROUGHT HER TO HIS HOUSE but also he hid himself well when they were face to face with the “larkspur”. he also led them on a goose chase that was false. i think even though i have mixed feelings ab paul being a dumb character i have to admit he thought things out well. he came up with a vaccine before the madness even started. even though he didn’t expect qi ren to turn into a monster it was still jaw dropping to read about. qi ren’s death was so sad. the way he just accepted it bc he didn’t ask to be the monster.. speechless. he truly deserved better i feel for him and what he went through. OK BUT ALSO WHY THE FUCK WAS THERE A GIGANTIC BUG?? i feel bad for qi ren bc that bug lived inside him while he was the monster. also imagining him turning into a monster one day bc of a bug cracks me up. at least he’s free from the duties of being an assistant and releasing bugs into the ocean She should have thrown him to the Scarlets, let them deal with him. No, she decided. He is mine to deal with. He is mine to destroy. Did he not realize that cutting off ties between them was the only way they could all walk out alive? He does realize, a little voice whispered. He stays for you. He will not walk away from you. Not a second time. He would rather die. Juliette supposed it was her turn to walk away. The lover and the liar, the liar and the lover. They switched those roles between themselves like it was a game. the fact that the first quote was in the first chapter & she rlly did destroy him in the end.. i’m in disbelief. the foreshadowing in this book was crazy. the way juliette was to blame for roma’s mothers death.. i am absolutely speechless. god i cannot imagine how roma felt during that scene. i felt so bad for both of them bc on one hand juliette had to break roma’s heart so he could live and roma had to learn the love of his life was to blame for his mother’s death. i need to know when the pain ends idk how much more i can take. the fact that the book is most likely going to start with roma hating juliette when this book started with juliette hating roma.. i’m so not ready. i am in disbelief with how chloe gong was able to blur the line between life & death. alisa and roma getting infected with the madness was the last thing i expected. however i loved how it showed that the main characters are not invincible (besides juliette ofc). and the fact that there was an explanation for why juliette wasn’t able to die.. i cannot get over how well everything is thought out. this book has outdone itself so well and i am still amazed. i genuinely felt like i was having so many heart attacks at once reading about all these scenes. i was also panicking istg this book gave me whiplash after every plot twist. that ending was criminal. everything about this book was criminal. i need to know more about that ending IT WAS SO VAGUE?? at the same time i feel like i know what’s coming and im not ready. “in the event of my death, release them all” ALL THE BUGS? i cannot think of any other reasonable explanation. and the way the city went up into chaos again? i’m sorry but reading about how the city went back to normal hours after everything went down with the monster heading back to the water and getting killed had me laughing a bit. overall this is an absolutely jaw dropping and stunning debut novel. i genuinely cannot wait to see what her other books bring. pre-review OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT WAS IN THIS BOOK BC IM LITERALLY OBSESSED!! i need the next book RFN i swear i ate this up |
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Sep 24, 2023
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Nov 18, 2023
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Nov 13, 2022
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0316310409
| 9780316310406
| 0316310409
| 4.34
| 918,450
| Nov 19, 2019
| Nov 19, 2019
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it was amazing
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4.6 stars ”By you, I am forever undone.” i just read the deleted scene from this book and i’m fr 4.6 stars ”By you, I am forever undone.” i just read the deleted scene from this book and i’m freaking out bc i love them so much. anyways THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST FUCKING THINGS I’VE EVER READ!! this series just kept getting better and better with every book it continued. i’m so sad that it was over so quickly bc i fell in love with the idea of faerieland and being able to travel from the mortal world on steeds at any time possible. he’s honestly one of the best written characters i’ve ever read about and it’s amazing how far he’s come along. i loved him in every book but it’s immaculate how he’s gotten so much character development. i love the idea that cardan has curly hair bc i can def see it and it makes me love curly hair even more bc i have it too. cardan is the definition of perfect in every single one of these books. i loved cardan even more in this book with every cruel and romantic thing he’s ever said to jude. i would literally do anything for him if he asked. his character was absolutely everything in this book! I was honestly so shocked to find out his reasoning behind what he did in the wicked king (iykyk) SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON!! i loved how everyone got a happily every after. besides madoc. hated him throughout but i definitely still see that he cared for jude despite himself. i honestly thought that he was a good father from the first book and it just went downhill from there which was disappointing. the bomb and the roach were so cute tho and i loved reading abt the roach confessing his feelings when he thought he was gonna die ...more |
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1
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Feb 20, 2023
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Feb 25, 2023
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Sep 25, 2022
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ebook
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0316310336
| 9780316310338
| 0316310336
| 4.28
| 1,018,274
| Jan 08, 2019
| Jan 08, 2019
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it was amazing
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4.75/5.0 stars “‘Kiss me again,’ he says, drunk and foolish ‘kiss me until i am sick of it,’”4.75/5.0 stars “‘Kiss me again,’ he says, drunk and foolish ‘kiss me until i am sick of it,’” one thing abt me is that i will eat up any scene where they claim they hate each other. this book holds a special place in my heart !! i loved it so much from the plot twists to the romance. it was able to keep me on my toes while at the same time enjoy the storyline. the bond between judecardan within this book was everything. Y’ALL CAN’T TELL ME HE ISN’T A ROMANTIC spoilers from this point on! i am never getting over the ending. i was so sad that after everything they went through, he would exile her. i will not forgive holly black for that ending EVER. it’s criminal to have them have all these bonding moments but then give us that ending. not to mention the fact that jude didn’t tell cardan that she murdered his brother. this book got so good and the ending just went downhill. i hated how we barely got scenes of taryn JUST TO HAVE HER BETRAY JUDE. AND THE GHOST TOO?? the fact that cardan trusted jude makes me sob. and can we talk abt the fact that oriana refused to be a mother figure to jude and taryn but plays the role for oak who she didn’t even give birth to. i am now a madoc & oriana hater forever!! ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the cruel prince - 4.25 stars the lost sisters - 2.5 stars the wicked king - 4.75 stars the queen of nothing - 4.6 stars how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories - 4.25 stars ...more |
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1
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Feb 12, 2023
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Feb 19, 2023
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Sep 25, 2022
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ebook
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0062284835
| 9780062284839
| B07H51TRTL
| 3.34
| 218,832
| Dec 17, 2013
| Dec 17, 2013
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liked it
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3 stars the book was good until the ending. this book gave me the closure i needed after unravel me from adams pov and i liked seeing how much kenji ca 3 stars the book was good until the ending. this book gave me the closure i needed after unravel me from adams pov and i liked seeing how much kenji cared for juliette but the ending.. it just didn’t feel right. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ shatter me - 4.0 stars destroy me (novella) - 3.5 stars unravel me - 4.5 stars fracture me (novella) - 3.0 stars ignite me - 4.5 stars restore me - 4.25 stars shadow me (novella) - 5.0 stars defy me - 4.5 stars reveal me (novella) - 4.0 stars imagine me - 3.75 stars believe me (novella) - 4.5 stars ...more |
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1
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Nov 18, 2022
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Nov 18, 2022
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Sep 19, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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1534440240
| 9781534440241
| 1534440240
| 4.03
| 98,269
| Jul 14, 2020
| Jul 28, 2020
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it was amazing
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4.5 stars ”How do you tell the person you’ve spent four years trying to destroy that you have a crush on them?” this book was on another level of cu 4.5 stars ”How do you tell the person you’ve spent four years trying to destroy that you have a crush on them?” this book was on another level of cute. i actually loved how they talked abt the nostalgia that comes along with leaving high school. it definitely made the book seem more realistic! the drawings and writings at the end of each chapter were also adorable to see and read. I found the story to be absolutely adorable. the writing was also really easy to get through which was another bonus factor. the little things that rowan would say honestly kind of pissed me off. sometimes she’d say things that would unintentionally hurt neil and put distance between them. but she is still a great main character and her character development was rlly good! i will say this book gave me a new view on life and i truly loved this book so much and the characters within it. i love the way neil made rowan feel accepted and was the first person to truly get to know abt her writing. he was such a sweet character and i loved him so much. the nickname artoo is also super cute imo even though i havent watched star wars ...more |
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1
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Jan 15, 2023
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Jan 19, 2023
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Sep 19, 2022
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Hardcover
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0316310271
| 9780316310277
| 0316310271
| 4.01
| 1,641,841
| Jan 02, 2018
| Jan 02, 2018
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really liked it
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4.25 stars ”You really do want me, and you hate it.”4.25 stars ”You really do want me, and you hate it.” i am now a cardan greenbriar enthusiast no questions asked. this book was such a good start the series and i’m so excited to read more. however it was quite slow to get through this book and i found myself getting a bit bored. not to mention this was quite long compared to the other books in the series. i could not bring myself to hate cardan at any time in this book. i literally loved him so much throughout this book it was crazy. anyways i hate locke and taryn with a burning passion. if i were jude i wouldn’t be able to stand living w her! it’s not very girls supporting girls of taryn to exist. ”I get why he chose her. I just wish she had chosen me.” taryn and jude’s relationship was lowkey sad. i felt so bad for her when she realized taryn didn’t choose her and it was like i understood the way she acted. i hated taryn SO much for being such a pushover and choosing a someone else over her own sister. i truly hope that taryn has a better character development within the other books. honestly i feel like their relationship had a lot of miscommunication and it’s also present in taryn’s novella. the way vivi also seemed to favor taryn in the beginning was so sad bc it seemed like no one truly liked jude for her spoilers from this point on! on another note JUDE AND CARDAN!! i loved reading abt them and watching them fight bc jude was such a girl boss & i loved it. i feel like cardans the type of person that is hard to earn over but is fully trusting once you get to know him a bit. it kinda showed with the way he went along w jude’s plan and didn’t think abt betraying her once. honestly i felt bad for him and how he was betrayed by jude twice but the way they’re nervous around one another!! one of my favorite things abt him so far is the way he laughs when he’s nervous bc i honestly love that weakness for some reason i loved jude so much for telling locke she’d hurt him back if he were to ever hurt her. never let another man have control over you!! she is the epitome of what i want to be. the ending was so shocking to read abt and i honestly hated madoc after that BETRAYAL. i truly thought he was a good person at first. i’m so disappointed to ever think that of him. with this book, it was like you had to analyze every little thing bc the clues could be right in front of you and you’d never notice. very entertaining! ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ the cruel prince - 4.25 stars the lost sisters - 2.5 stars the wicked king - 4.75 stars the queen of nothing - 4.6 stars how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories - 4.25 stars ...more |
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1
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Feb 03, 2023
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Feb 12, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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Hardcover
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1984806750
| 9781984806758
| 1984806750
| 3.85
| 1,445,185
| May 11, 2021
| May 11, 2021
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it was amazing
| "You can love someone and still know the future you’d have with them wouldn’t work for you, or for them, or maybe even for both of you." "You can love someone and still know the future you’d have with them wouldn’t work for you, or for them, or maybe even for both of you." this book is my comfort book. everything about it is so beautiful, from the characters to the setting. if you were to ever ask me what my all time favorite book is, i would say this one with no doubt. but if u knew me, you’d already know this. and i’m so glad that hasn’t changed in any way. i have tried writing this review so many times and every single time i’ve been at a loss for words. there’s simply no way to perfectly convey my love for both this book and alexpoppy. i am 100% convinced i sound super cheesy when i’m writing this so i’m warning u rn. I wrote the last one mostly for me. This one’s for you. emily henry really did write this book for me!! in the words of alex and poppy, this book speaks to me (iykyk). i’m sure everyone has one book that they resonate with so deeply, and this book is it for me. it’s always hard for me to express my love for a book. i feel like this book was made just for me, and while this book isn’t for everyone, it’s definitely for me. poppyalex are so flawed and those flaws helped create the person that they are. i wouldn’t change them in any way. “That crush of happiness, that feeling that this is what life’s about: being somewhere beautiful, with someone you love.” i think the past perfectly showcases how deep their friendship went and it was all the more realistic. i loved the way they bonded in the past, from slow dancing in the streets to having late talks into the night. these chapters talking about the summers they shared were so enjoyable bc it made me love them all the more. god i am so in love with this book. they got off on a rough start, but once they got to know each other and see how different they were, i loved how their friendship blossomed. the way they were willing to be open about the others’ interests and give it a try simply because they were intrigued literally means so much to me. they accepted each other and never once tried to change one another. the love they had for each other was just true unconditional love. (yes that is another reference) ‘opposites attract’ is one of my favorite concepts, and this doesn’t just apply to books. the overall idea of being accepted as who you are and learning to love someone even more for their differences is so beautiful. they were two independent people who couldn’t bear to live their lives without one another. it was like they knew they’d be happy as long as they were together. without one another, their world shone a little less bright compared to how they were with each other. living their very best life without a care in the world bc the person they truly loved was there, and it’d be all okay. this is how friends to lovers should be done. the slow progress as they build this deep connection and bond through experiences and memories that they share. the tension between them was just another added factor that i loved. i think that’s why this book resonates so much with me. i don’t want to go into full detail but this book makes me feel understood. reading this book the second time around really opens your eyes. i was able to see the parallels within this book that were reflected in the end which i found to be so adorable. the nickname ‘tiny fighter’ was just so cute and the idea that they knew each other so well was just everything. they are the definition of perfectly flawed characters and i have a soft spot in my heart for them. they really took the idea of home being a person and just ran with it. you can’t tell me they don’t exist because i will simply deny this fact. they exist in my mind which is good enough for me. “I loved being in the city, surrounded by art and food and noise and new people, enough that the school part of it was bearable” slight spoiler warning. poppy. where do i start with her? she’s absolutely amazing. she’s like this ball of energy that had me laughing from the very beginning. she was the definition of lovely (in my completely humble opinion) and she was never afraid to express herself through her eccentric style which i found to be so cute. after going through and putting up with the bullying she suffered in her high school years, i’m so glad she never lost herself. her past was something that she never let define her and it’s clear that she loves her rowdy family despite wanting to “escape” it. however, she was running away from the feeling of being alone rather than the people that she loved. despite her efforts, she was never able to truly run away from it and had to accept that the past was a part of her life to move on. this was character development on both poppy and alex’s part. she had this running fear that she’d never fit in, and that fear was placed onto alex bc of their opposite personalities. i love the idea that he loved her even after seeing all of her. making her feel accepted and loved throughout the years she felt she wasn’t. he’s that person for her. the way she’s unapologetically herself and how alex loves her for it makes my heart warm. i can’t live with myself knowing poppyalex aren’t real. watching poppy fall in love with alex throughout their friendship was honestly so cute. it felt as though i was being taken along on this journey with poppy and i’ve never been so grateful. it’s like being merely a spectator in the world that poppy and alex have created just for themselves. i’ve never wanted to watch anything more in my life. no one and no moment exists other than the one they live in. they only need each other, simply because they see that they are perfect the way they are. i was worried the second time around that i wouldn’t end up liking one pov but it never became a problem. rather, the past made me have a new love for the present bc i understood just how far their bond went. i felt bad bc poppy had this pressure to make this trip seem like the others and how hard it must’ve been for her. the past showed how she felt with alex over all these years they spent but now that she has the chance to fix it, she has this fear that there’s a chance he will slip away again. the present served as a purpose to understand them even further with their thoughts and understandings. the past highlighted their bond, while the present talks about their feelings and the meaning within their little moments that they were still able to maintain despite not talking for 2 years. even if it was awkward, it would never last and they learned to talk it out. communication was the key in the present. “I’ve always felt like once someone sees me deep down, that’s it. There’s something ugly in there, or unlovable, and you’re the only person who’s ever made me feel like I’m okay.” His hand sweeps gently across my face, and I open my eyes, meet his head-on. “There’s nothing scarier than the chance that, once you really have all of me, that changes. But I want all of you, so I’m trying to be brave.” listen to me you guys: alex nilsen. the man who carried poppy down a mountain when she was hurt, waited 12 years for her, held her hand bc she loved holding hands even if he hated it, LEFT HIS PLANE BC SHE WAS SICK, AND GOT A VASECTOMY WHEN SHE HAD A PREGNANCY SCARE UNRELATED TO HIM. the list goes on and on. the love he had for her is absolutely incredible. the little snippets of alex’s pov based on how he communicated with her made me want to give him a hug. he spent his life acting like the big brother, the one who had to hold it all together and make everything feel better because of the pressure of being there for everyone. no matter how much burden was put onto alex, he always worried about poppy and i love him so much for that. i love the idea that he was so reserved and only showed his personality in front of her, who brought out the best in him and made him let his guard down to just be himself. even if he looked out for her at times, it’s clear that he knew he could trust her and just have fun in her presence. she has this energy that is just so bright and contagious and perfect. the love he had for poppy was shown in everything he did for her and the way they cared for each other was just beautiful. the thought and ideas put into these characters made them feel so real on another level. they’re the it couple. i cannot begin to describe how perfect they are together. “Im sorry for being so tall” “You are, you know.” spoilers from this point on another thing was the character development. poppy and alex wouldn’t have been the people that they are right now, without learning from their mistakes with their exes. throughout their friendship, they dated other people and it was never as though they waited around for one another. they play it off as this belief that it would never work out. however, finding out that the reason they hesitated to be together for so long stemmed from their own insecurities made me so sad. they couldn’t deny the love that they had for each other and being with other people helped them realize that they were meant to be. not with anyone else but each other. alex thought through everything and cared about poppy so much while they were friends. it was heartbreaking to realize that he never felt as though he was enough bc he felt she deserved the absolute world and he thought he couldn’t give her that. he was so organized and wanted to settle down with his life, in contrast to poppy, who lives her life in a carefree manner and enjoys it in every way she can try. i love that they seemed to be willing to date other people in the span of their friendship, because it allowed them to realize that they really were meant to be and they just had to take that extra step to truly be together happily. i always get the feeling that emily henry’s books are so much more than the blurb lets up on and in this case, it’s true. the croatia trip wasn’t just a trip, it was clarity for both alex and poppy. it solidified alex’s beliefs bc he felt as though poppy played down the fact that it happened and he had to live with that knowledge for so long. i never expected much to come out of that trip simply because there was already so much depth to the characters and to add even more would just be overwhelming. i feel content with the fact that poppy was able to look at the croatia trip from another perspective after everything that went down with alex. she got to understand him and everything that he did all for her. the third act conflict really hits deep in this book! i could physically feel my heart breaking in half for them. i felt like i understood everything within that moment and i’ve never felt so sad. this book isn’t just about the romance, it’s a journey of self-realization for poppy as she figures out for herself how she felt for alex. i think that this built up the angst very well. it’s clear poppy means something to alex and once i understood the miscommunication, it was like i was being betrayed. i felt like i understood where alex stood so well, and i believe that i recognize poppy. everything from her point of view was so confusing because she never really knew how to express her love for him. it was years of pent up love for alex while it took poppy years to fall in love with alex just to realize it would never truly be able to work. to make up for this, she constantly tried dating people that she felt “fit” with her which is the complete opposite of the dynamic between poppy and alex. poppy was the one who held the belief that they would never be good together and never really understood why until the end of the book. it’s the beauty of this book, realizing you have to get over your fears to truly experience life, and love, the way it should be experienced: to the fullest, with the person who is absolutely worth it. in the end, all that mattered was how they felt about one another, and the fact that they held no judgement, only love for each other in the end. they truly deserved their happy ending after being in each others lives for so long and the pain they went through. it just blew my mind how amazing these characters are and how deeply i can relate to each of them. no one will fill they void like they do. i loved that both these characters grew from their past and learned to love each other the way they did. their character development was absolutely beautiful and i am so glad that they got their happily ever after. i am never getting over this book and the pain that comes with the experience. emily henry, i would like to truly thank you for this. pre-review this book has changed my brain chemistry in the best way possible and i want to hold on to this feeling forever. rtc <3 pre-read review idk a better way to prepare myself for happy place other than to reread one of my comfort books ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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May 03, 2023
Aug 30, 2022
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May 10, 2023
Sep 11, 2022
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Aug 21, 2022
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Paperback
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1538727358
| 9781538727355
| 1538727358
| 4.17
| 645,552
| Jan 25, 2014
| Feb 13, 2018
|
really liked it
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4.3 stars ”She asked me the sign of love and I spelled your name.” this book was so good!! It was unlike anything i’ve ever read. bree and archer’s 4.3 stars ”She asked me the sign of love and I spelled your name.” this book was so good!! It was unlike anything i’ve ever read. bree and archer’s story was beautiful to read about and how it felt like they healed one another. they’re literally so special to me ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 26, 2023
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Mar 04, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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Paperback
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0593426215
| 9780593426210
| 0593426215
| 3.73
| 153,488
| Feb 18, 2021
| Feb 28, 2023
|
liked it
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2.5 stars “Pip found that—most of the time—other people only slowed you down. That was why she despised group projects.” okay so this wasn’t a bad s 2.5 stars “Pip found that—most of the time—other people only slowed you down. That was why she despised group projects.” okay so this wasn’t a bad start to the series. however i wasn’t a big fan of this novella. i thought that pip acted superior compared to her friends at times and it was kinda annoying. another thing was how she criticized everyone in this book, from the character she played to her friends and their roles. also she was lowkey a sore loser towards the end of her game, but i do see that her theory was very well thought out! i loved the side characters within this book. they made the game fun and the funny scenes between some of the characters made the book better for me. i’m not exactly the biggest fan of pip yet, but i do hope that will change once i read the series. not to mention pip missed the point of the game, which was to have fun, and it felt as though she didn’t want to interact with any of them despite being their friend. she was quiet pretty much the entire game but i liked how the banter between her friends remained. i feel like the book played too much into the role of celia and while some ppl might like that, all i read abt was constant criticizing and how pip wouldn't do things her character did or working out the details of celia's life to prove she wasn’t the killer. she got too eager when she played the game and it was to the point where she forgot abt the other ppl and stopped seeing them as her friends. pip gave off introverted vibes which i usually don’t mind in a book, but in a group setting differs when u choose to be isolated. this might be a personal irk thing for me tho there was a bit of mystery mixed into their lives as they played this game, and i did find myself to be intrigued, but not as much to improve my rating. the small suspenseful scenes consisted of pip’s imagination and the horror conveyed definitely influenced the scenes. another thing i found to be childish was how ant continued to pull sal singh into the story of a fictional murder. it was as though he would always be tied to murder, and it was quite sad on his part. and getting to see ravi at the end definitely makes me excited to start the series! ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ kill joy - 2.5 stars a good girl’s guide to murder - 4.25 stars good girl, bad blood - 4.75 stars as good as dead - 4.5 stars ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 16, 2023
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Mar 17, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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Paperback
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4.26
| 733,409
| Apr 30, 2020
| Mar 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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4.75 stars “So here it is: welcome to season 2 of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: The Disappearance of Jamie Reynolds.”4.75 stars “So here it is: welcome to season 2 of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: The Disappearance of Jamie Reynolds.” keep in mind there are some mentions of the spoilers in the comments!! pls proceed with caution <3 this book was a fucking MASTERPIECE!! i definitely liked this one more than the first. i’m going to need to talk to a therapist after this book. i felt so emotionally drained after finishing this book it’s surreal. i was sobbing the entire time at the ending. i became so intrigued with the story that i dare say i might have gotten out of my slump with this book. it was absolutely a wild adventure! i’m not prepared at all to start the third one. ”Ravi knew just what to say, what to pick out, how to push her into thinking clearly. And he jumped with her, hand in hand, into even her wildest conclusions. They just worked like that, teased out the best in each other, knowing when to talk and when to just be there.” confession: i started this book bc i wanted to see ravi again. they are constantly on my mind even after reading the books. they make my heart burst with joy because they were so beautifully written. this book delivered with all the scenes that he was in! the way they describe their interactions and how pip glowed anytime she was with ravi was so heartwarming to read about. i really need a ravi singh in my life. you’re telling me they said i love you in the rain and kissed?? i’m not going to be available for the foreseeable future bc i’ll be too busy crying about them. that being said, the small scenes where he played a bigger role than pip’s boyfriend broke my heart. the way he connected to the case and had hope were so saddening to hear about when the realization of what it means to him hits. it felt as though every presence he made in this book was deliberate and i loved him so much. the way he tried his best to be there for pip and put up with her outbursts while staying with her throughout it was so sweet. i’m never getting over them the only flaw was that the friendships within this book were disappointing. the true colors were revealed within this book and even though i expected ant and lauren to be bitches, i did not expect connor to be so shy and a pushover. he was constantly annoying pip and never listened to her advice and i tried my best to sympathize with him but it became hard to. especially since he became sort of a constant character who helped pip along this journey. not to mention the way he wouldn’t stand up for himself when his friends accused them of lying yet he knew the truth?? he was probably the only downside to reading this book, along with max hastings. the only friendship i liked was pip and cara’s. they stayed good friends throughout the book and understood each other. this book was so funny at times. it felt like the perfect mix of everything combined into one which i loved. it would shift from funny to creepy and keep me on my toes all the same. the small banter was everything with pip and ravi and their small little ways of communicating were both adorable and hilarious at the same time. i hope they never lose their humor and their love. this book never lost my interest and i loved practically everything about this book. “I’m sorry. I feel guilty all the time, so I don’t need you to tell me. I’m the expert on my own mistakes. I understand.” spoilers from this point on! pip went through so much in this book. it felt as though she’d never catch a break because as soon as she felt she understood who she was, something happens that completely changes her and she loses herself again. she deserves so much after everything and i’m still in disbelief after everything that she experienced. the scene between nat da silva and pip and how they cried together and bonded?? i found it to be so emotional and painful after everything that happened and how max hastings never got what he deserved. there’s something about the way holly jackson portrays the emotions of a character that really hits me. the ending was like an emotional roller coaster. it was like one plot twist after another and i started bawling at the ending. i thought that it was genius to build off something that happened in the first book and center around it. i shed so many tears for stanley and what he experienced bc he never wanted to be like his father but suffered the consequences and lost all his friends in the process. it was disappointing how no one realized he was just a kid and regretted his mistakes. i wish he had a better death scene. he was so kind and realizing the person he truly was was so saddening. the fact that they wrote “You were better” on stanley’s grave made me sob uncontrollably. honestly i did NOT expect charlie to be the catfish. the way he knew that pip messaged him through connor’s account? literal chills. it’s hard to sympathize with both stanley and charlie but i understand both sides. it was so sad how stanley accepted his fate and tried protecting pip when she tried to defend stanley. i hope charlie appears in the final book and we get to find out once and for all what will happen. it felt as though jamie only played a small part in everything that went down in this book. stanley turned out to be such a good character trying to live a normal life who was never really able to escape his past mistakes. i hope we find out more about max after everything. i’m so proud of pip for what she did and facing the consequences so he would face the consequences also. the way max smiled at pip and ravi when he spotted them?? it was so confusing but i’m glad ravi put him in his place. i hated him so much in this book for everything he’s made everyone suffer through and he has the audacity to post a photo celebrating after being found not guilty. it disgusts me that he gets to be free but i appreciate the realistic aspect of this. ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ kill joy - 2.5 stars a good girl’s guide to murder - 4.25 stars good girl, bad blood - 4.75 stars as good as dead - 4.5 stars pre-review i’m still sobbing over that ending. rtc if i can ever pull myself together ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 04, 2023
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Apr 10, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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Paperback
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0593379853
| 9780593379851
| 0593379853
| 4.19
| 532,065
| Aug 05, 2021
| Sep 28, 2021
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really liked it
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4.5 stars okay wow. this book took a completely different turn from the others. not necessarily in a good way. however, i still thoroughly enjoyed read 4.5 stars okay wow. this book took a completely different turn from the others. not necessarily in a good way. however, i still thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. i was in a slump as i finished up this book but that did not stop me from liking it. the reason it took me so long to finish was partly bc of the fact that i took breaks from 12-14 and 16-17. still not completely sure about my rating but we’re settling with it for now. the beginning of this book has a very interesting start. it’s a bit morbid, but nonetheless gets straight to the point. it’s clear that pip’s hate for max makes her lash out. and she also “ruined” every single happy moment she had with her friends by thinking about the ending of the second book. i think that this book alluded to quite a few things in the beginning since i went into this book knowing all the spoilers and everything. “You’re Pippa Fricking Fitz-Amobi. My little Sarge. Pippus Maximus, and there’s nothing you can’t do.” pip, my sweet girl. she is the epitome of would’ve, could’ve, should’ve by taylor swift in this book. i gotta say i loved her in the first 2 books. despite her lacking personality, she was still such an enjoyable character, and something that rlly stuck with me throughout this series was the fact that they never lost their true self. with this book, it takes a completely different turn, given she has completely lost herself, and has become this paranoid person who cannot sleep and has so much pressure on her. i can’t say i can necessarily embrace the change. however she is not to blame given the trauma she suffered from the last two. not to mention she felt all alone and as though she wasn’t normal because every case that she was involved in everyone believes that the ppl who commuted it are monsters. however, she felt like she understood them and why they did it, and she had no one to talk to about it bc it’s morally known as “wrong” and no one would get it. He hated confrontation, hated it, and even so, Pip knew he would go to war for her if she ever asked. ravi. the light in pip’s world. oh how i loved them together. the way he was able to stick by her side throughout everything was just so sweet. their relationship was at its peak in this book. he believed her through everything and never once doubted her, even when everyone thought she was crazy for thinking she had a stalker. he was able to reassure her and help her through everything and it was just amazing. despite the ending that they had, the love they had for each other was present in everything they did. that ending had me bawling my eyes out. their interactions had every emotion associated with it, from laughter to sadness and anger. the writing was very repetitive throughout the story as a way to convey pip’s ptsd which i appreciated. i always enjoyed holly jackson’s writing style bc of how simple it was and how easy it is to follow. it was also able to perfectly portray the love pip and ravi had for each other and it was just.. beautiful. i loved it. it also really hones in on the emotions and feelings of pip and how she felt. she felt as though she wasn’t normal because of how “blurred” the lines were in her last investigations. “I wasn’t going to leave you alone in there with him,” Nat said firmly. “Not until I knew you were safe.” after everything that nat and pip have been through, i am so glad that she was able to bond with pip nonetheless and put aside their differences in the first few books. i rlly enjoyed reading abt their friendship and how nat tried her best to look out for her and made sure she was safe. it was also so sweet to see her and jamie get together after everything in the second book. nat deserves all the happiness <3 she’s such a strong character and i just loved her, especially in this one. spoilers from this point on!! i hated the uncertainty of everything in this book. for one, she had to get her friends involved and they were super uneasy while doing their part. they never even got confirmation of what happened and the ending was also open ended. not to mention the only role that her friends played was to help cover up a murder they were unsure about this entire time. i think it kind of frustrated me for them to never get confirmation and inevitably entangle themselves in a murder despite the fact that it was necessary for everything to happen. “How would we get away with this?” he said, the question almost ridiculous enough for a smile. How to get away with murder. in the beginning, pip was attempting to save herself after everything that she has gone through and her life was becoming consumed in trying to save herself. given that her last few cases had a good motive for all the terrible things that each character did, it made pip very conflicted and i understood her. on the second part, everything took a turn and i love how well thought out it was and everything on pip’s part. she tried her best not to involve anyone and it’s clear how much she loves her friends in her life. the difference with the crime that pip committed was the fact that the ppl she got involved (max) deserved everything coming to them (jason). it showed that the justice system rlly was flawed and sometimes you need to take things into your own hands. “This is why it all happened. Everything. Full circle,” she added quietly. The beginning was the end and the end the beginning, and DT was both. i hated jason bell with a passion, especially after reading this book. in the beginning, i found it to be childish how he started a fight with max given that he was a grown ass adult and max was still growing. after i found out that he drowned barney, my hatred for him doubled. he also had this mindset that everyone needed to listen to him and when they didn’t, he felt the need to kill them which i just hated. he’s everything that is wrong in this world, thinking women need to listen to men and believing we should not speak up, which absolutely infuriates me. This feels too big for me, but I think I can do it. Save us. Keep Becca safe. Survive. i didn’t expect andie bell to have a factor in this book but knowing she had to live with a dark secret and keep it from everyone she knew was just so sad. it was obvious that she loved sal and becca dearly and she seemed so sweet in the unsent email she wrote. all she wanted was to try and get away from her murderous father and save her sister along the way. and the way she was “saving” pip was something that i found to be wholesome. the love she had for sal was also so similar to pip and ravi’s love. i think that her character arc really shows that you never know when someone is suffering. “It sucks when someone puts something in your drink and then ruins your life, huh?” i feel like max got what was coming for him after everything that he has done. i understand why pip saw red every single time she spotted him. he deserved everything that happened to him and i am so glad that he was placed in jail, even if drastic measures had to be taken to get him there. when pip had the vision of throwing max in front of a bus and punching him, i was honest to god worried until i realized it was a vision. this book really shows that when the justice system won’t take things seriously, you have to take them in your own hands. “I’m a ticking time bomb, Ravi. I can’t have the people I love near me when it goes off. Especially not you.”...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 06, 2023
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Jun 21, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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4.29
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really liked it
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Mar 30, 2023
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Mar 25, 2023
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4.16
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liked it
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Nov 07, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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4.49
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really liked it
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Jun 06, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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4.06
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really liked it
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Apr 29, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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4.14
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it was amazing
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Mar 25, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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4.11
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it was ok
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Mar 15, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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3.97
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really liked it
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Mar 10, 2023
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Nov 23, 2022
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4.35
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it was amazing
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Apr 19, 2023
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Nov 14, 2022
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4.28
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liked it
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Apr 04, 2025
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Nov 13, 2022
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3.80
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it was amazing
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Nov 18, 2023
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Nov 13, 2022
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4.34
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it was amazing
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Feb 25, 2023
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Sep 25, 2022
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4.28
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it was amazing
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Feb 19, 2023
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Sep 25, 2022
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3.34
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liked it
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Nov 18, 2022
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Sep 19, 2022
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4.03
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it was amazing
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Jan 19, 2023
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Sep 19, 2022
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4.01
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really liked it
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Feb 12, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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3.85
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it was amazing
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May 10, 2023
Sep 11, 2022
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Aug 21, 2022
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4.17
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really liked it
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Mar 04, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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3.73
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liked it
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Mar 17, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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4.26
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it was amazing
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Apr 10, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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4.19
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really liked it
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Jun 21, 2023
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Aug 21, 2022
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