corabookworm's reviews
194 reviews

This book was really good! I liked the easy-to-follow writing style and the information was super interesting. I also liked the inclusion and analysis of all the art pieces, though to maximize that experience it would probably be better to read a print copy rather than a digital one. The organization was a little frustrating to me, because it didn’t move chronologically or focus on one queen at a time, rather it jumped down random rabbit holes. I also didn’t like the inclusion of Phillip II at the end, because it felt like it went into way more depth about his accomplishments than those of the queens, which was the whole point of the book! And the authors reasoning was basically “he was a bigger ruler I had to talk about him!” But otherwise I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to read while watching the TV show Reign, even though I’m now bugged by the historical inaccuracies lol

Amanda Lovelace has created another book of beautiful and inspiring poetry that looks back on her life and the lessons she's learned. I loved it!

Moving this book closer to 5 stars because it's exactly what it's supposed to be: a YA fantasy debut, with a couple flaws but vivid characters, adorable banter, and an exciting plot packed full of tension and battles and magic. Loved re-reading it in preparation for the new book.

Review to come?!

I was super excited for this book (cannibalism? women?!) but I didnt like all the graphic sex talk (ew!) so this book just isn’t for me. The authors writing style and the story concept definitely had potential though!

A wonderful short story with a fun mystery and a great look back at AGGGTM's lovable cast of characters. I really liked the slow twisting together of clues and trying to solve the mystery along with Pip. It also did a good job of showing her get into mystery-solving, even if it didn't give her REAL motivation for the Andie Bell case like I thought it would. It was very Pip. The only negative point for me was that they kept switching between their real names and their fake character names and it confused me lol.

Also Pip's answer was so good and true. Though I kind of knew it was too complicated for a murder mystery game. I liked it wayyyy better.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

To the Bone was a tense historical fiction story about a girl name Ellis, newly settled in an American colony. As the weather grows cold and the food runs low and people begin to turn against each other, the book twists into the horror genre.

First things first, I was worried stepping into this book that it would glorify colonialism and all that (which is icky). But I was pleasantly surprised! I can't really speak to if the representation was FLAWLESS, but it seems like the author made a genuine attempt at tackling the issue while keeping it historically accurate. The character often thinks/talks about how they are stealing land and shouldn't be there, and the Author's Note at the end of the book goes more into the language used and the history behind it all.

Second, I am not sure I would call this book YA. It starts off alright, but gets a bit disturbing towards the end, and tackles some more adult subjects. (See TWs below.) It may be better for older teens or the "New Adult" audience.

Third: my actual review! I really liked this book! It was short, fast-paced, and the perfect amounts of dark and twisted. I did swing between loving and hating the writing style--it was very unique and prose-like, which I adore. But it annoyed me when the same things were described or thought over and over again (Jane, wickedness, hair pulling, etc.), which was definitely part of the "style" of this book and an intentional quirk of the main character. The repetition just made these elements lose their punch or intrigue or whatever you call it. Other than that, I really enjoyed To the Bone! It would be perfect for anyone looking for a historical fiction that swings more towards horror.

I only gave this book such a low rating because I think it was written for people smarter than I am. It was genuinely interesting, with good commentary on politics, society, gender, power, humanity, etc. etc.. But I was completely lost for the first half of it. All the politics and worldbuilding were super hard to follow, especially with the complex writing style. And at points it felt like it just wandered down weird tangents and storylines that didn't really matter. But the last half of the book went by much faster, and I liked it a lot. The action picked up and everything twisted back together into a more concrete plot. The Left Hand of Darkness is half-story, half-field journal from a guy in an alien world. It was a challenging read, but if you're willing to dedicate time and energy to consuming it, an intriguing one.

I liked when they became friends at the end! It was so cute! And then he died! What the heck!! I was very sad.

Beginning was very iffy for me because the main character annoyed me and the romance moved to fast and all the dialogue seemed kinda cheesy and fake, but once the actual plot set in it was pretty good. Definitely not amazing but an entertaining YA thriller.