starcrossreverie's reviews
22 reviews

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

I love that this book covered so many character POVs. Also love that it's written in 3rd person. I loved all of the chapters and cared about so many characters to the point of almost crying at some moments.

The timeline of events felt a little weird. Part 1 was fine because it was just one event and every POV was in that area but Part 2 is where things felt off. They were happening at the same time but certain scenes felt like it was taking place hours after the previous chapter's events but when the POV switches back to that chapter's event we're met minutes after where we left off.

Other than that the story was great! Perfectly starts off the High Republic with an amazing set of characters. Also loved how short the chapters were in Part 1 and Part 3. Finishing each short chapter felt like a pat on the back lol The short chapters also helped me settle into the story and world in Part 1.

Can't wait to read the rest of the High Republic series!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 stars!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. At the beginning I was close to DNF'ing it because I hated how the writing went into deep descriptions of scenes and memories. Usually I could imagine scenes like a movie in my head, but the detailed descriptions was too much and it was just words on paper. Halfway through the book I started to skim through a few of the descriptions.

The characters, besides Paul and Phoebe, were unlikable but I still enjoyed reading their POVs. I can understand why Norah did the things she did but

wished she hadn't cheated and how she just gets away with it? No remorse from her POVs, only getting upset when one affair partner refused to stop calling her. Even Paul quickly got over it in his POVs.

I wish we had more scenes with Phoebe and learned more about her the same way we did with Paul. It would've been amazing to have some chapters from her POV. It's weird that we didn't since the story's plot pretty much centers around her existence; that long gap where we didn't get another Caroline POV sucked too.

Hated David since chapter 1 to the end of the book.

The Rosemary part was weird and felt randomly thrown in. It didn't really add anything to the story for me besides giving David an excuse to leave and divorce Norah. A scandal over his decision was mentioned and I wish more had been said about it but it never was.

Caroline, her only redeeming quality was giving Phoebe a good life.

She's terrible for waiting so long to tell Norah the truth and for being a part in her suffering.

Overall, a pretty good story. Not something I would want to reread but I'm a little glad I finally got around to reading it. It's been sitting within a box of books in my hall closet for a decade lol

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars!

I love this book a bit better than the first! This one really makes me excited to continue with the rest of the series!

I don't know what it was about this book but the story and timeline of events felt stronger and better? I guess because things were already established and I wasn't so overwhelmed with any new info.

Tyson is my favorite character ❤️❤️ I hope we see more of him in future books. AND THAT ENDING!!

🌟🌟🌟

A pretty fun, short read. Went exactly how I expected it before the reveal came. My heart did break on the last page despite knowing how it'll end 💔 

I DNF this book 64% in, somewhere around Nov 2023, and I tried to read it again today but only got to 66% before fully dropping the series. Nothing happens. It's the same “school life, I'm so different, I'm a monster, no my Bonds aren't monsters, I can't tell them my secrets, I'm falling for them I can't do that, North can't control his monsters so people are justified in being afraid but I'm going to look down on them and think they're pathetic especially the TacTeam even though they're always around to see him lose control I know my bOndeD better cause the nightmare creatures are sweet to me and only me that makes me the expert also how dare people be sheeps and be afraid of the Resistance who cares if those in the community are being killed or kidnapped boohoo sheeps are afraid I'm not scared even though I'm hiding, I'm tired of running but bye I'm running. Stomps feet, stomps feet, I'm not a brat!” over and over again. It's so tiring to read and nothing happens. 66% in and there's only been one attack that is so quickly resolved that it doesn't feel important at all. The bad guys don't feel threatening, and we still know nothing about who they are and what they want. The romance is merely scraps. The angst has too many repeated lines that I'm just done. I really wanted to like this series but I couldn't. I envy the folks who are giving this book 5 stars and are happy with everything that happens in this series.

🌟🌟🌟

At around the 40% mark, reading this became hard. I didn't like the characters. We were shown their negative sides without being given anything that'll connect me to their story. I felt a tiny, tiny connection to Leo and Poppy but not enough to care about what happened to them.

The most annoying thing was how they didn't talk to each other, even in moments where talking would've cleared things up for them and connect the dots sooner.

When the action came and things were revealed, it was ruined by paragraphs of internal dialogue. It put a pause on the action and ruined the tension for me.

Also, this is a nitpick, but their names felt out of place. Ezra, Poppy, Lark, Gemma. Those are names I expect from a fantasy or scify story, not a modern thriller. It'll be like reading a fantasy book and one of the fae is named Johnny.

The ending was okay. Felt a bit rushed just to get to that final chapter. I feel hollow inside. This story had an amazing premise, stuck on a remote island, but the execution throughout the story ruined it for me.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I have never read this series before as a kid. Growing up, I'm pretty sure the only series I read that was popular with my peers were the Hunger Games haha So reading this as an adult was an experience. I've had this series since 2017 but never read it until now. With the show coming out and the hype around it, it pushed me into finally reading the Percy Jackson series.

The book is definitely written for kids, but it didn't feel too childish or ruin my experience. There were many moments that I enjoyed and a lot of scenes that had me excited to continue reading. While a few lines didn't age well (the obsession with fat evil characters, personally), I did like the book very much!

There is something about it, however, that stops me from giving this a 5 stars rating. I really enjoyed this book, but it didn't hit hard. I'm new to reading so I don't know what an ultimate favorite book would feel like to me, but this feeling is definitely not it. There's nothing major wrong with the book, just a simple feeling. I'm honestly disappointed in myself for not getting as attached to it as I've seen others do. I'm hoping that another book in this series might be It for me.

I can't wait to read The Sea of Monsters!

⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ spice level.

I just started getting into retellings of old Disney movies, and I love that these types of books exist. This is the second Disney retelling I'm reading!

The story started off really good and held strong until chapter 45, and then things started happening way too fast. No build up to Keldarion professing his love to Rosalina (only little hints from the other princes' POVs), and it seems the rest of the chapters were rushed to reach the end. The story could've been a wonderful 5 star for me if it wasn't for the last few chapters. It does make me hesitant to start the second book, but I'm also curious to see what happens.

Spice rating also took a hit due to the sex scenes between Dayton and Farron having no preparation time. I really hate it when female authors write gay sex and either have the men shove it inside without stretching their partner or only do minimal stretching. It's supposed to come across as feral and hot, but just reads as the author not doing their research.

Back to the story, my first impression was that I really loved Rosalina's name. It's so beautiful.

I didn't like how Lucas carved his name into her arm. I still think that was cartoonishly evil and it didn't really add to the story. The way he treated Rosalina was enough for me to not like him. The carving just felt unnecessary. Another issue was how quickly Rosalina loses her squirrely personality and she starts to express herself outwardly. I guess it can be chalked up to almost dying and then being imprisoned, but I felt she lost her first personality way too quickly.

I enjoyed the way she meets the princes and her interactions with them. Right from the start I knew this story was centered around Rosalina's horniness and I loved that. It didn't affect the worldbuilding in a bad way. Both smut and plot blended together perfectly (until those last few chapters).

Also love that two of the princes have white and red hair! Those hair colors drive me wild <3

As for the beasts they turn into, I love the extra details added to their wolf forms. I also LOVE that the servants turn into animals instead of furniture. It was so cute!

Overall, it was a pretty good story. Loved the writing style, the characters, and the world. I just wish chapter 45 and after weren't so rushed.

4 out of 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love how fast paced this story is. Easily reached 50% in two days. I couldn't put the book down and got giddy whenever I picked my tablet up to read it. I finished this book in 5 days, second fastest I've ever finished a book! I needed a book to help me get back into reading and this definitely helped.


The reason I'm only giving it a four star is because I don't like how long it took for them to talk about their relationship deepening. I wish Abbie had come clean about her revenge plan early on instead of dragging it out as they got closer, and I wished Damien stopped pushing that conversation further back. It does cause some good tension, but at the same time it's frustrating haha Just a personal peeve of mine.


God my heart stopped when she was telling Cam about coming clean to Damien. I was so excited, because I was absolutely certain he'll be fine with getting revenge on Richard (due to Damien hating him too) and just imagining the two of them having the time of their lives rubbing their relationship in Richard's face. But nope. Richard texted and suddenly Abbie doesn't care if Damien gets hurt. Despite her having acknowledged for so long that what she and Damien had wasn't “fun and casual” anymore. I get it, she's hurting, but she was so close to realizing that she's going to put him on the spot at the Christmas party because Richard is going to be there and she should've known he wasn't going to keep quiet about her being his ex.


At this point in the story where the party is a week away and getting closer, I was just enjoying Abigail's guilt over allowing the smallest things to stop her from coming clean. The night of the party was like a train wreck that I couldn't look away from. I keep turning the pages no matter how annoyed I was at how she still hadn't revealed her secret, and her not realizing that of course Richard was going to cause a scene.


God the revenge would've been so sweet if she had told Damien before the party. I really thought this story was going to head in that direction where the two are being a wonderful petty couple during the party, but I guess that snowing confrontation scene was a good ending too.


The drama of the big blow up at the party was satisfying once I got over my annoyance, and I am so glad Damien punched Richard in the face. Also glad Abbie punched him in the face too.


Overall, the story was pretty good. Everything was fast paced, so the character/relationship development wasn't at the pace I usually like, but this was a very fun read! So glad I picked this book ❤️


Side note:


Oh my god, I'm reading the recommendations in the kindle version and I just keep seeing characters in this story popping up. So many of them have their own books and I love the idea of authors who continue to write for one world they created, where each book/series is a different character from that world. Amazing! I can't wait to one day read their stories ❤️

2/5. I hate how much I couldn't stop reading this book. It reminded me of the soulmate fanfics I used to read on fanfiction(dot)net in middle and high school a decade ago.

The writing is so bad to me.

The amount of times "freaking" was used was ridiculous. You can easily end up in a hospital if you turned how many times it was used into a drinking game.

The story also has that classic misogyny where every female character is an enemy to our precious female main character. Only two women are nice to her, and any other women who are nice are workers under one of her bond's payroll so they don't count.

I'm surprised all the guys weren't written to be lusting after Oli. Her character is a complete mary sue, and it's not even her powers that are the reason for me calling her that. I love overpowered characters! The reason for her mary sue label is that I'm still not over how after ONE week of Gabe training her she's able to expertly see the flaw in someone's fighting stance. And despite dropping out of high school and simply going to the library during her life on the run, she's able to immediately get good scores in a prestigious college with the help of some studying sessions.

At some points the timing was weird? Like the training with Gabe was said to went on for some time, but then Oli outright states they've been training for only a week.

The characters are pretty decent. They're cartoonish, in a half good half bad way. Some of the dialogue made me cringe, and I had to skip a few of them.

And that ending was so lackluster. The action kicks up, and then the story is abruptly over. I honestly thought there was going to be a next chapter but nope. That's just the way the story ended.

Unfortunately, this story has something I love dearly, and that is soulmate stories with some angst, plus ones where the person has multiple hot soulmates. I have a huge weakness for that in fanfics, and this is the first time I'm reading a book centered around that.

Some tiktoks have said that the other books get better, and I hope to god that's true. Please! I need this story to be written better.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books. I want to see North and Nox grovel for the way they treated Oli, and I hope to HIGH FUCK that she doesn't immediately forgive them. I am begging and hoping that their redemption arcs are long and filled with juicy rejections from Oli.