sophiesometimesreads's reviews
221 reviews

I devoured this book, and really enjoyed my experience reading it.

I really enjoyed how, in the first part of the book, I was constantly questioning whether the book was supernatural or not, and whether these things were going to be real or a figment of the character's imagination. It really left the story wide open for a long time and made it hard for me to figure out what was going to happen.

I think the pacing of this book was great, there was always something happening and the information we needed was sprinkled through the story such that I was able to piece SOME of it together eventually but I never quite saw the whole reveal. Even when we did get the information I'd guessed revealed, it was more of an "AHA I WAS RIGHT!" moment instead of a "oh yeah that was obvious" moment as the signs were subtle but there, which I really liked about it. All the reveals made sense when looking back at the information given.

Though this seems like a contentious point, I liked that the big reveal of why everything was happening came relatively early on in the book compared to other thrillers, it really allowed for the resolution to be fleshed out. After this point, things got absolutely chaotic and ridiculous but, in my opinion, it was just enough on the realistic side of ridiculous that it was enjoyable and not cringey. From someone who hasn't read horror, it did seem like the book pushed more into the horror realm from a mystery thriller in the second half too.

Avoiding spoilers, I think the ending could've packed a bit more punch and I was hoping something specific would happen based on something said by a character but it didn't end up happening. But in the big scheme of the book, this was only a small detail so didn't take away much from my overall enjoyment.

I liked the role the characters played in this novel and Kiera is my queen. I didn't particularly connect emotionally to all characters but they all played the role they needed to in the story to make me engrossed.

Overall, I'm not sure why this book is rated so low because I had a wonderful time with it and absolutely devoured the book in just over two days. I would recommend this to people who enjoy slightly ridiculous but intense thrillers.

This book is not as powerful and gripping as the original trilogy (from what I remember) but is a really interesting insight into the development of the Hunger Games and Snow's roots.

It's definitely an experience watching Coriolanus as a young kid knowing what he ends up standing for and doing as an adult, and it made me never really feel for him when things happened to him. I did feel for Lucy Gray and Sejanus though, and seeing how their stories were woven in with Coriolanus's was sad and frustrating. I also liked getting the background to the games and how they developed, and the involvement of Snow and his friends and family in making the games what we saw in the original trilogy.

I think the pacing was off at times, which was the major thing that impaced my experience in this book. I think it could've been 100 pages shorter and still pack the same punch. 

Overall, I had a good time with this, though I don't know if anything could live up to the original trilogy (which I might now reread). I would recommend if you like villan origin stories and stories with unlikeable characters.

Still not completely sure as to what I want to rate this, but I think 3 stars (or somewhere in that range) is where it sits for me. I had an enjoyable time reading it but there were a few things that didn't work as well for me.

The first was the dual storyline. I felt as soon as I was getting sucked into the murder mystery story, the letters would come in and bring me out of it, reminding me that the murder mystery story wasn't real in the context of the story. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed both storylines but they felt like two different stories to me. I also would've liked to see the two stories connect a bit more at the end.

The ending also confused me a bit.

It felt like it had wrapped up just for her to see Leo in the elevator and him saying they might need his help, but I didn't really see the benefit of that in context. Also, what did it mean? I read a few analyses online but it seems like I'm not the only one who feels this way.

The murder mystery storyline was interesting, though there were only four main characters with one being the narrator so that left only a few options for who did it. The big reveal didn't absolutely shock me but I hadn't quite pieced it all together, so it was not a horrible conclusion to that storyline. But, like I said before, I wasn't as invested in this part as I could've been knowing that it wasn't a real timeline of events in the context of the story.

I enjoyed the characters, despite them being not the most developed, and I liked getting to know Cain's backstory and how it wove into Hannah's story.

I felt like this book had good moments that sucked you in, but ultimately the two different parts of the story didn't quite work together as well as they could've for me. In saying this, I still enjoyed my time reading this and there was some good exploration into the extent to which real world issues can and should be woven into stories.

I absolutely loved this book - the characters, the writing, the relationships, the depth. I am now officially an Emily Henry stan.

Firstly, these characters felt so real. I felt their feelings and was so connected with them. They were complicated and messy, and their flaws were real. Even when I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about January and Gus. And not only were the characters great individually, they worked really well together and I could really believe in their relationship.

I also really loved the writing style, it was simple yet poetic at times but never tried too hard to be too poetic or flourished. 

The conflict was believable but I appreciated that there were multiple forms of conflict and not one big miscommunication or misunderstanding, and these were resolved relatively quickly and not drawn out.

Overall, an excellent read that I would be happy to reread in the future and I am absolutely excited to read more of Emily Henry's work.

I don't quite know how to summarise my feelings about this book. I'm still trying to figure out if I feel like I liked this about the same as Hidden Bodies or if I liked Hidden Bodies more, and I'm leaning towards the latter. Joe is still as interesting as ever, and it's always wild how Caroline Kepnes manages to make me feel bad for him despite everything he does, but I think the main things, for me, that fell short were the pacing and the stakes.

The pacing felt all over the place. It was quite slow through the majority then picked up for a couple chapters at the end, then dropped then increased again. It made for a weird reading experience where I didn't dislike the book, but I couldn't quite get into the story as much as the first book (and second, to some extent).

The stakes also didn't feel as high as the first two, so the book didn't particularly feel like a fast-paced thriller this time around. I felt like Joe wasn't quite as dark and obsessive, so the stakes of the story and the "romance" weren't as high.

I also can't believe that we actually got through the whole book without him actually killing anyone?!

On top of this, I was so interested in seeing where the story went from the ending of the last novel that I was kind of disappointed that the events immediately following that were only briefly mentioned.

I understand that it would've been a boring story to see him in jail but it felt a bit weak to just be like "oh yeah the Quinns money solves all problems!" and then move on.

This doesn't mean the book was bad or boring, it was still quite an interesting read and definitely a different dynamic between characters to the first two books which was good. The ending also caught me off guard and I didn't see it coming, which was interesting. I feel like the first novel was so good that it was always going to be hard to keep up that sort of pace and intrigue but I will still be reading the fourth novel at some point in the near future because who can resist Joe Goldberg (not many people, it seems).

I read this book in audiobook format and I think my rating and review should be taken with a grain of salt as, after four or five attempts at audiobooks, I think I've concluded that I am not an audiobook person. Half this story went in one ear and immediately out the other, which is not a great thing when it comes to whodunnit mysteries and I think I would've enjoyed it more had I read it in physical form.

Anyway, onto the book itself. The plot was simple but interesting, and the resolution wasn't super shocking but not completely obvious. The dialogue wasn't completely natural and felt a bit clunky at times, though. It was enjoyable enough to read, but definitely had some ups and downs.

The characters felt a little two dimensional but were interesting and kept my interest in the story, though the main character Lana did feel whiny at times and I didn't particularly feel anything for the detective as a love interest.

I would be interested in reading the sequel, and I think I will read it in a different format to see if I follow the story in that a bit more than I did here.

This was such a fun, enjoyable read! A four star overall, with an extra 0.25 stars for the autism rep.

Zoe is literally me and I am Zoe. She was so relatable and we had so many interests in common, it’s like Kay Kerr wrote me into a book. Either that, or I’m just a very predictable person…

The story was interesting but did lag a bit in the middle. Despite this, I was rooting for Zoe and the love interest by the end and had a good time reading it.

This book is also set in my country, and it was fun to see all the places I recognised. It’s not often I find a book set in Australia, to be honest. The language and slang was also so Australian, I loved it!

I would definitely recommend this book as a quick, fun, light read with good autistic representation.

I had a pretty good time reading this overall but I just don't think the book had too much impact on me outside of the autism representation.

The start was cute, then I got about halfway where it was mostly sex and little plot, then the plot returned just for it to be a third act breakup due to miscommunication... 

I liked Stella's character and it was refreshing to see an autistic character and a woman in STEM at the centre of a romance. Michael's character just didn't feel right to me, I couldn't figure out if he was a nice guy or a "nice guy". I think the book was trying to play on the idea of if we are like our parents and how there are multiple sides to people but it felt jarring when he suddenly swapped from being a good dude to (in my opinion, unnecessarily) sexualising women. I just felt that, overall, the characters could've been a little more fleshed out.

The middle of the book didn't do much for me, as I'm not a huge smut fan, but you may enjoy this more if you do like smut and sex scenes. In saying this though, the book was not completely sex scenes as some reviews suggest, the storyline itself does basically revolve around sex, so consider if this is something you're interested in. 

The end also felt a little rushed to me after the conflict, but I guess that's to be expected when the conflict revolves around miscommunication and all it takes is one conversation to resolve it. I'm also not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope so the conflict just frustrated me.

Overall, this wasn't a bad read but I don't think it impacted me too much. There are parts that are done well which I enjoyed and parts that could be done better or just weren't for me. This is definitely one to check out the blurb and see if it's for you, cause it's not going to be for everyone but I would still be interested in reading some of Helen Hoang's other work, even if just for the women in STEM.

What a wild ride of a book. I was intrigued from the start and just wanted to keep reading. I fell into a little reading slump after finishing my last book, but I still managed to read this in six days which shows how moreish it was. I probably would've read it in only a couple days otherwise.

First and foremost, I really enjoyed the writing. It was both atmospheric and simplistic at the same time and the world building was woven nicely through the narrative. In saying this, I would have liked a little more explanation early on as to the roots of society and how the world works. We got enough that I knew the basics, such as the Hunduns being sentient mechanical beings, but I wanted to know a little more about that so I felt like I understood the world a bit more. The battle scenes were very well-written and exciting, and made me feel immersed in the action.

The characters were complex and had so many layers. The development was also quite good, with Zetian never losing her fire, desire for revenge or bloodlust but still evolving and changing her views as certain components of them were challenged. All the characters were morally grey, and though I didn't always agree with the methods or all their actions, I still couldn't help rooting for them. But I think part of the appeal of these characters is the fact that their intentions are good but they may not get there without doing bad things, and the story is self-aware in the fact that the characters know they're not always good people, despite fighting for a good cause, and I liked this aspect.

And that ending. My god. I am still reeling and trying to comprehend what happened. The ending and epilogue were by far the most wild and exciting part of the book, and it really blew my mind and set up the second book amazingly. 

Although I, personally, did really enjoy this, I can see how this book isn't for everyone. It's violent, on-the-nose, political and action-packed, so if this doesn't sound like your thing then this may not be for you. Personally, though, I did enjoy the questions this story posed regarding gender roles in society and the impact of humans on the world, even if some of the violence and death in the battle scenes took me back a bit. I think, though there are a couple things that could've been improved, this is a great debut novel and I'm really excited to read the second novel when it comes out!

I have a lot of thoughts on this book so buckle up for a wild ride. I was told this book was better then the first and I guess they were right in some ways. But was it good? No. And here's why...

1) Writing
The writing was not good. I don't enjoy how it's written conversationally and how there are so many instances in which sentences and thoughts aren't finished. The writing is also very repetitive, and the same phrases are used over and over. This was an issue I also had with the first book and I see that it was not resolved here. SJM loves to explain things as "barking", so much so that it was used twice in two different contexts within five pages... and it's not even a good adjective to use. There's so many other ways to explain sore muscles. This time, she also latched on to the phrases "vulgar gesture" and "loosed a breath", and overused them. Everyone also growled like an animal all the time and there was so much talk of everyone's scent that I felt like I was back in Twilight. Oh, and one more thing, explaining men to look at the women with "predatory intent" was not sexy and very uncomfortable, yet this phrase was used multiple times in the book.

I also really wanted more atmospheric description, but it fell short for me. I think the book could've been way better if it had been written in third person not first as I didn't particularly like Feyre as a character (more on that later) and I felt we lost a lot of the story because we only get her singular perspective. There was a lot of info dumping in big chunks of dialogue as a result of it being in first person, and even when she did swap to dual POV towards the end, Rhysand's voice sounded very similar to Feyre's.

2) Pacing
The pacing was all over the place. The book was definitely better than the first in this respect, though that's not a very high bar to jump over. The plot was moving throughout the whole book and things were happening, but I think the focus was on the wrong events. The last 80 or so pages were the best, just like the last novel, and I think these events should have been much longer and drawn out in this book, but they seemed rushed. The pacing through the middle was slow and I honestly got bored halfway through, such that I had to pick up the audiobook to get me through it. The book could've been a lot shorter with no loss of actual substance, in my opinion.

3) Characters
Firstly, can I just say that literally every single character in this book needs to take anger management classes. And get therapy, I hope they offer that in Prythian too. 

Some people say SJM writes amazing characters but I just can't say I resonated with or cared about most of them at all. Rhysand and his gang were more interesting than those in the Spring Court, but I just didn't feel like we got enough depth to them to really feel for them and understand their perspectives. I also felt like we had a really quick turn around in characters where their personalities just changed, particularly Rhysand and Tamlin. It was explained off as "acting a part" but it felt like a cheap explanation as there was little to no foreshadowing to this in the first book. I also didn't like Feyre as a character. She never listens to anyone then wonders why she gets herself into bad positions. I understand characters can be frustrating, morally grey and unlikeable for the sake of the story, but the writing made me feel like some of her thoughts and actions weren't even justified for the sake of the plot. I also just cannot get past the fact MULTIPLE hundred-year-old men are attracted to a literal teenager who definitely acts her age...

4) Plot
There was so much potential with the plot, and I do really like the premise of the books; however, I just don't feel like the execution was there. It's a mix of the writing and pacing that took away from the plot, which was actually the strongest part of this book. I also didn't care for the romance plot, mostly because I didn't care about the characters, and I think the book would've been better without it, or at least with less focus on it. Or maybe I just don't like the fated mates trope, it is basically instalove for fantasy and I am not a fan of instalove... Additionally, for a book people claim to be super spicy, there was fairly little spice in this book, with only three scenes in two chapters. Not complaint, though, as I'm not a spice lover when it comes to books, it was just surprising.

I could go on and on about this book but hopefully that sums it up enough to justify my rating of this beloved series. Take what you want from this review. Once I came down from the high of the last 15% of the book, I realised that I will, in fact, be DNFing this series and not continuing. It's not worth my time for 100 pages of semi interesting content out of 600+ pages.