Mythos

2.5/5 stars

I thought I would like this but ended up thinking it was ok. I was originally going to give this a 3 star but decided against it because I didn't really like this book. I'm usually ok with the fast paced of it's done right but this was not the case. I felt like the story ended before it actually got going in a way.

A lot of the “conflicts” were resolved too quickly. So much so that it didn't really give me an enemies to lovers vibe. In this case it was more of a show than tell. I originally believed that the fight was going to be a major part of the story but that is quickly overshadowed by the curse situation. The curse itself was confusing because not a lot was explained. Also, kudos to Elena if I had been cursed, I would have been a lot more bitter towards the person who was the cause.

2/5 stars

I honestly didn't remember it being that bad. When I first read it, I believed their dynamics were okay. Now that I have reread it, my opinion has changed a lot. Hye-Sung is much more annoying and idiotic than I remember. It also doesn't help that Dojin practically assaults Hye-Sung multiple times. I skipped them but was still met with so many moments where I felt secondhand embarrassment. In this case, I prefer reading about the side couples. Even the side couples have weird dynamics as well. It's disappointing considering how cute the art is and the nostalgia I felt for this manga.

Dropping it after this volume because I dislike the male lead. I feel like this falls under the ml saved fl even though the FL is fine by herself.

2.5/5 stars

I feel like it was an okay read but I don't feel any motivation to continue on to read the next volume. I feel like there was too much focus on some tropes. A good example of this is the MC being part of a party that constantly views her as useless & eventually kicks her out. I felt like one chapter was enough. I would have liked to see more about her experiences with her new companion but the author could have been holding that out for future volumes.

I'm unsure if I would ever recommend this.

Dropped it on ch 2.

1.5
Was ok in the beginning but by the last chapter it got iffy with the whole slave thing. I won't be continuing this series.

Enjoyed it more than I originally thought I would.

2.5/5 stars
Ok, so I have mixed feelings on this one. Usually I can come out saying that I would make at least one of the recipes provided. This was not the case for me. While I did learn some new tricks the recipes weren't really meant for me. (Either I already had set recipes for the one they provided, it isn't something my family would eat, I would have to change it so much that it wouldn't even be close to one they provided, etc...) Side note if I had shown/given my family the chile relleno pie they would have permanently banned me from the kitchen.

The format also confuses me in certain areas since it did feel like it was merged too much in certain sections. Otherwise it was pretty standard.

Overall it wasn't the most terrible cookbook I have picked up but it's something I know I won't come back to.

This was more wholesome than I expected.

3/5 stars


Initial Thoughts:
From the beginning, I knew I would have a biased opinion about this book as I love Alice in Wonderland as well as well-written villain origin stories. I thought I would give this a higher rating. I was a bit disappointed in how the plot was handled. The first time I read this, it completely went over my head as I was more focused on the setting and the original characters were integrated. As I reread it, I found fewer and fewer reasons to like the book.

Characters:
Overall, my favorite character was still the Mad Hatter. I really liked how his character was integrated and how creative he was as a character. It was also a nice change from Dinah's usual blatant hatred. Dinah has to be one of my least favorite characters, along with the Chesire Cat. Although I liked Dinah at first, I grew tired of her narration throughout the book. I understand how she feels like an outcast in court due to her father, but that didn't give her the right to be cruel to Vittiore without getting to know her.

As previously stated, she spent the majority of her time in a rage, which made her an unreliable narrator. This can be seen through how she views other characters. For example, we are set up to believe that the villain of this book is Chesire. Yet Dinah shows none of this through her interactions with him. We barely get to know him as a character, much less his motivations. This makes him useless as a villain. In any case, we see the king as more of a villain due to how she views his actions. This also happens with Vittiore. We never get to know her because of how much Dinah hates her. We can get hints as to why she is here and what her motivations are, but that is quickly overshadowed by Dinah's hatred.

To Sum it Up
As much as I originally enjoyed this book, further inspection of the writing style and Dinah's character have ruined it for me. Dinah's anger tends to affect how other characters are written. I still give it a 3-star rating. I would not recommend it to anyone else. I will not be rereading this book, but I will continue reading the next book in the series out of curiosity. From there, I'll decide if it's worth it to read the series. I'm hoping Dinah grows because I really want to enjoy the series and don't want to abandon it.

1.5 ⭐
Not worth the time honestly at least from my pov. I genuinely was hoping for a slow build-up towards power. This was not the case. Most of the people in this story are terrible and one-dimensional. The pacing was also iffy. After getting halfway, I dropped this after finding out there was a harem. Not a fan of this trope because it's badly executed most of the time.

I wouldn't recommend this at all, especially when there are better-executed versions of this manga with all the same tropes.

This is where I drop this series. The first book was ok. This one was boring in comparison. Also there was insinuating the start of a harem.

Still 4 stars forgot how the earlier arcs were more humorous than more recent arcs. Humor is still there in the recent arc but more toned down. Took a while because I'm back in school.

3.2/5 stars

It was a cute, wholesome story about two high school girls from different schools who meet each other and end up helping each other in their problem areas. One wants a boyfriend, the other wants a chance to get into college. It's definitely a slower-paced story and the romance is slow-burn. I loved how their relationship progressed from helping each other to realizing their feelings. The ending is a bit rushed. I wish we could have a bit more of an explanation as to the time skip. Although I loved the main story, the side stories were rather awful. 

Original rating: 4 ⭐
New Rating: 3 ⭐

My rating did drop one star. When I was younger it was more interesting for me. Now I was thoroughly annoyed by the MC. His gift was the lamest. Yes he can see monsters but still does little to help. I will go on to read the rest of the series but I don't believe I'll try to read this book again any time soon.

2.5/5 stars

It's not made for me ¯_(ツ)_/¯ . I'm sure there are tons of people who read this book and have a completely different opinion on what I have to say. Check their reviews, read it, & come to your own conclusions. This a book that I was excited to read only to be disappointed. I was so close to DNFing this many times but l powered through. I was holding onto hope until the last 100 pages and that is when I accepted that this was going to have a low rating.

I am aware that a lot of people hold a lot of love for this book because of its prose and fantasy elements. These two aspects of the book made it feel so much longer than it was. For the first couple of chapters, I was fine with it but after getting halfway through the book I was tired of it. To me, it felt as if this prevented me from actually connecting to the characters which then affected how I viewed the romance aspect of the book. It felt like instant love to me. It felt as if they were interested in each other for the sole reason that they both were magicians. This can also be because there were so many characters that were explored. Some of which we have to go back in time to explore. It all ends up being too much to keep track of because in the end some of them aren't relevant at all later on in the book. Although I will say that some of these side characters were the reason I continued reading this book. (Some were more interesting than others.)

There is also a lot of exaggeration in how the book is marketed/described by other readers. There was no fierce competition or a duel. They are raised separately and told little about when the competition will happen and what it will consist of. This was rather frustrating especially when they kept hinting that it would be brutal only for it to turn out to be rather mundane. They literally build circus attractions. Sometimes it's not even competing because they help each other out when building them. In the end there are no high stakes in the book.

I would recommend this too people love overly detailed writing with very little plot. I can't say that I hate this book or regret reading it I just wish that I had grown to connect with the book.

3/5 stars

This book was definitely not for me, I guess. I would say that you have to be in a very specific mood in order to read this book. I saw other reviews mention that you would have to be a “bit more idealistic and optimistic about romantic outcomes”. I think this is very true because the person who recommended this book is very idealistic when it comes to romance.

Overall, it was not a bad book. It was in a very different format than what I would typically read. Some sections were more like vignettes, while others read like poetry. I still felt like at times it did get grating, especially since a lot of sections seem to be the same story just with a different flair to it.

4/5 stars

This is a rather quick read. It's great if you want to use it to read aloud, especially with younger children. It keeps them interested in what's going on in the story and eager to know what's next.

In terms of science fiction, this is a good book for someone who is still unfamiliar with the genre. The worldbuilding does a good job of not being too distracting from the plot. It doesn't overwhelm the reader with unnecessary information.

In terms of characters, we do get a good range of them. Although the majority of them tend to be robots, they all have different personalities and range in emotions.

Overall, it was interesting and I would continue reading the series even without using it as a reading material for tutoring.

4/5 stars

This is one of my favorite series and it never bores me no matter how many times I read it. I remember how amazed I was as I read, as I had never encountered this type of writing style. I loved how Lemony Snicket warned the readers on each book's cover that the Baudelaire's lives are unpleasant-there is no happy beginning, no happy end, and very few happy things occur throughout the series. I already knew what to expect, but the ways the characters are set up and the events that unfold in each book never failed to captivate me.

Spoilers:
In terms of the first book, we start on a beach where the three siblings are playing. We get a very good description of what to expect from each sibling. From how inventive Violet was to how aggressive Sunny could be, the book goes on to prove this throughout the book with the actions they take in certain situations. After this, we get to meet the series' main villain, Count Olaf. He immediately had them do difficult chores. Even though they tell Poe, he proves himself useless and fails to admit that Count Olaf is evil. I remember resonating with these scenes because they proved how adults tend to ignore them.

As we continue to read, we realize that he is carrying out a plan in which he will marry Violet and threaten her with having Sunny captive to force her to sign. I loved how she managed to figure out a way to ruin his plan while not making it obvious. She used her non-dominant hand to sign, making it invalid. This caused Count Olaf and his associates to flee. Although Justice Strauss (one of the relatively better adults in this book) offers to take them in once again, Poe steps in (this man annoyed me throughout the series). The story ends with them saying goodbye and being taken to another guardian.

1.4/5

This was a complete miss for me. If I didn't have the audiobook for background noise, I would not have finished this book. I would have likely just skimmed through the recipes provided and called it a day. 

Sadie was a terrible main character. If you do it well, having a terrible MC works; in this case, with the vibe of the story, it did not at all. Especially since it seemed as if the author was trying to justify their actions. She is incredibly immature for being 28 years old. It seems that in her mind, everything she does is correct, from using truth serum on people without their consent to kidnapping.

The relationships between the characters change too quickly. First they're mad at each other and then they make up and are the closest again. This is seen in all the relationships Sadie has throughout the book.  I did not care for the romance. Had it been 2–5 years, I would have given them the benefit of the doubt for them to still be in love but 10 years is too much of a stretch. At that point, it's like meeting a completely different person. So this felt like insta-love. I thought that everyone in this book should be alone for a very long time and consider receiving help. 

It covers far too many dark issues for a book promoted as a cozy read. It should have really simply focused on having 2-3 plots and developed them. That would have been better instead of jumping into the next plot point before you even finish the first one. This led to a bunch of plot holes that never got resolved. 

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. This is not a cozy read at all. You can skip this one and find another book that executes this concept. 

1/5 stars

I despise this book. I had zero problems with it before because we read it casually in school. Then they decided to make it part of the curriculum, making it mandatory. I believe people need to be reminded that this does not work for everyone. Still, they decided to make it mandatory for teachers to read this to us and make us do assignments related to the habits mentioned in this book. This was given to us along with a planner. As a person who wasn't aware they had ADHD at the time, this made it almost impossible for me to pass the class. Most of the habits were useless, and after some research, some of them have been debunked. I wouldn't recommend this book if you need help being effective.

Never again too much information that doesn't work.

3.4/5 stars

I felt that the story was okay. I understand the nuance added with the whole guilt felt for the people they have to kill as an obligation. There was that whole situation going on while I was getting to know all the characters. As you're getting to know them, you're constantly distracted by the ongoing events. Therefore, you don't really get to start liking or disliking them. As far as romance goes, it's love at first sight. Due to this, it was not really my type of book, but I would recommend it if you like a quick read or like romance at first sight. I personally would have liked it if they had developed the characters more and had taken their time getting to know each other.

2.5/5 stars

I made a mistake of reading this book before any of the other books in the series. Not sure how much it affected my reading experience but I'm not sure if I am motivated enough to pick it up the other books.

This was an okay book at the start. I thought that it was nice to include more current matters and how it affected families. That soon got gating as it was consistently getting mentioned. This book has an unusual format in which the dates are given. I'm not good at remembering dates so I have to kept checking what date I was currently at and try to piece together the timeline. This may just be a me thing because the person who recommended this book liked it due to he format.

The ending was ok but it wasn't enough for me to give it three stars.there parts I loved but for the majority of the book I felt bored or felt thatbi could've skipoed it.

1.5/5 stars

This was 100% not for me. The first essay was ok but by the middle of the boom I was ready to be done. I skimmed through the note of the book. I got through it knowing I would likely never pick it up again.

I wouldn't recommend picking up this book unless you're able to connect with the author's story.

I'm either going to love it or hate it with a burning passion. Hopefully I get of the waitlist before the end of October.