thereadhersrecap's reviews
271 reviews

This novel is the first book in 'The Croswald Series", it is a middle-grade fantasy novel that takes place in the magical world of Croswald. The protagonist is a girl named Ivy, who is a simple kitchen-maid living among greater magical beings. Everything changes for Ivy on her sixteenth birthday, Ivy is forced to leave the only home she knows and soon becomes aware that she is of magical blood. Ivy travels to the Halls of Ivy, where she will learn to master her magic and learn a few things about herself and the family she never knew.

Excerpt from the novel: "For the first time in her life, she truly felt like a princess. Yes, Ivy: the same girl who spent her days below the grimy ground that royals walked upon. Rather than mingling scaldrons, Ivy would soon be mingling with royals and soon-t0-be srivenists. Standing in front of that mirror, Ivy felt more alive than ever before. She hadn't smiled like this in a very long time."

This novel is my first read from the author D.E. Night. This book definitely captured my attention from the start! Night did a great job with the imagery surrounding the magical creatures like hairies, and scaldrons. I loved the idea that descendants of royal families were entrusted with a bejeweled crown as a conduit of their power, and each and every stone was a source of a different magical wielding.

Ivy's character was well established, I loved her curiosity and her adventurous nature. I quickly fell in love with her character! The secondary characters (Ivy's friends: Rebecca and Fyn) were slightly less defined. I felt their personalities lacking and I would have liked to understand them better. They sort of had a mysterious air that, in my opinion, didn't appeal to the overall friendship Night was trying to create.

There were a few tropes that were similar to other popular titles such as the rags to riches trope like Cinderella. One aspect that I am critical about is how closely it related to Harry Potter, I LOVED Harry Potter, I think it was one of the best YA fantasy series ever written. This novel was extremely comparable to HP. I don't mind the similarities, but I found some parts to be so similar that I started to picture the scenes from HP rather than the creative world of Croswald. For example, I would picture Ivy walking around Hogwarts rather than the Halls of Ivy.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars.

This book was gifted to me on Netgalley on behalf of the author D.E. Night for my honest review.

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The title of this novel is spot-on! Frances Cha dives head first into society’s obsession with beauty expectations of women and the toll it takes on mental health. I have so many thoughts about this book, it’s hard to wrap it up into one post

“China. Man. And yet in that simplicity, in the breadth of its use, it encapsulates so much. This is what you are. Always will be, to me, to us. Not one of us. This other thing.”

Not gonna lie, I was super confused when I started reading this book. Part of it had to do with the fact that I RARELY EVER read the synopsis. I got this book solely based on other reviews #bookstagramMadeMeDoIt.

But. I loved it.

It’s written as a screenplay, and you’re the protagonist (Willis Wu). A Generic Asian Man, hoping to get the lead role – Kung Fu Guy. Kung Fu Guy is the epitome of success.

This book was so creative, funny, and light. But it also underlined, albeit discreetly, important concepts of stereotyping, marginalization (literally his thoughts were in the margins…), and social exclusion.

Within “The Four Agreements”, Don Miguel Ruiz utilizes modern day awareness to teach the ancient wisdom of the Toltec culture. He reveals the source of the beliefs that rob us of joy and create suffering. He offers a powerful decorum that can rapidly transform our lives, to one of happiness and love.

The Agreements
1️⃣ Be Impeccable With Your Word
2️⃣ Don’t Take Anything Personally
3️⃣ Don’t Make Assumptions
4️⃣ Always Do Your Best

This book is a must read for those looking to overcome their fears and live a wholesome, loving life.

I’m still trying to recover from this book!

SJM does it AGAIN!

In my opinion, although I’ve only read two books, this was the best book of the series by far!

After the first book, I had mixed feelings about Rhys, I thought him arrogant and entitled (not my favorite personality traits in men).

BUT in ACOMAF I fell in love with rhysand! I loved his part in Feyre’s emotional recovery from the aftermath of Under the Mountain. He was so gentle and patient, he also knew when to push her and when to comfort her. The way Rhys was protective without being overbearing melted my heart

This one is a tough one to review.

From pages 1-200ish I did not like it at all, the plot dragged. The main chapter was kind of annoying. Addie’s character was repetitive and annoyingly stubborn.

The last 1/3 of the book was a lot better. Once Henry was introduced the plot became more interesting to me. I could have used more of Luc’s character. I think he was underdeveloped and I would have liked to read more about him.

I enjoyed Henry & Addie’s relationship development. I started to like Addie a little more after she meets Henry.

I liked the ending, it seemed like there would be a sequel…. Would I read it?!? Ehhhh maybe not.

This book was weirdly interesting to me, the main character Nina made A LOT of questionable life decisions and has the worst relationship problems I’ve ever read

I read Daisy Jones on my trip to California and it turned out to be the perfect setting to read this book. It’s written as an interview, and we don’t find out who’s interviewing the characters until the end (its a fun little surprise).

Daisy Jones is wild child living in the late sixties, she’s unmistakably beautiful and knows it. Billy Dunne is the lead singer of the band, The Six. They’re paths cross when Daisy is featured in a song that skyrockets to top charts. A huge theme of the book is the life of partying and drugs that frequently accompanies the rock n’ roll lifestyle. The two must navigate their attraction and addictions in order to keep the band at the top.

This wasn’t my favorite book from TJR, the interview style writing was confusing and weird at first. But once you get familiar with the characters it starts to become fun and entertaining. If you love rock n’ roll you should definitely pick this one up.

A great classic satire questioning capitalism and corporations.

I seen this book a lot online and thought I would really enjoy it. I gave in to the hype!

The beginning, setting the stage was pretty good. I enjoyed reading about Ivy’s upbringing and how she established her different friendships.

The middle was long and drawn out.

The ending was really good. There’s some unexpected twists, and some “wow she really did that” moments that I truly enjoyed.

Overal rating it a 3 just because the middle was exhausting. I would not be surprised if you DNF’d it at some point in the middle.