Kalista

3.5 ⭐️ I thought this book was so sweet and so enjoyable to read, it was easy and quick.

The ending was rushed but wasn't awful it was just a little too quick.

The characters are representative and I really appreciated reading it because it's not often I've found romances that dive into exploring relationships with adhd or autism so I thoroughly enjoyed that component.

I generally feel neutral positive about this, wasn't the most exciting but I would definitely recommend it!

This is a beautifully written book that I enjoyed every moment of. It is a gut wrenching in depth story of American slavery and I have read nothing that compares to the way this was written. It was immersive writing that at times was intensely poetic and truly detailed the experience. Would absolutely recommend!!

2.5 ⭐️

This book was really great until the end... which was so unsatisfying and I get it but it was just a big why at the end. I really did enjoy it for a while and it was a very light thriller for the first like 40% of the book but once we figured out the big twist in the middle then it felt like a thriller.

The tech in the book sounded cool but went highly unexplained which I was fine with because I was generally able to figure it out but at first it was slightly distracting to figure out but not terrible. Also the time period this is set in is the future but its not said when which I would have appreciated.

I liked the characters but was in no way attached to them so when twists came it was a meh reaction.

This is probably a great book for some people but not for me, which is unfortunate because the premise sounded like something I'd love

I tried to go in with as few expectations as possible because I have been let down when the internet tells me a book is 5 stars but this was the first book in a bit where it was truly 5 stars for me. I love every second of this book, I gasped repeatedly, giggled while kicking my feet, and had a really great time. I read this in 2 sittings and I was stuck as soon as I connected the dots in the beginning. I would absolutely recommend this to any one who wants a romance with real characters not just the idyllic happy go lucky characters

4.75 ⭐️ Love, love, love!!! This was such a well written book that I stormed through it was an interesting perspective that created beautiful story telling that lead to intense feeling and connection with the book.

The only part I don't LOVE was the ending, I think it was a sweet (in a character fitting way) good ending BUT it simultaneously felt out of place with the rest of the book just because of the more intense descriptors.

Would absolutely recommend!

This was a good book but it just wasn't for me.

The characters were great and the story was fun it just didn't feel like the mystery part was the star of the plot, the focus fell more heavily on the characters relationships primarily Peg and Rose which was sweet but not what I expected going into it.

I would definitely say this is a very light mystery honestly feels like it could be called cozy mystery that's not too intense but it's necessarily lacking too much.

I loved the book and I did enjoy reading it but I wasn't passionate about reading it for a bit. I loved the characters but there was point when I was only feeling neutral towards everyone. The characters were the best part of this book. The plot was good and the romance was sweet but the enemies/rivals to lovers didn't make sense because there was no real conflict they just didn't jive together when they first met. I found myself more invested in the no romance plot than the romance plot and times because it was more exciting and it was a major part of the book until the romance started and then that kind of took over with the main conflict being fixed easily in the end. I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a digestible fun book that has a decent plot but isn't overly complex.

4.75 ⭐️

I loved this book it was beautifully written and I loved watching the stories of all 4 characters. The characters all developed in versions ways throughout the book and I was happy to see how it turned out.

There were definitely points where even though I was so happy with the book it was long but that's to be expected with a standalone fantasy book.

I would absolutely recommend this a million times overs, it was a complex and simultaneously digestible fantasy that has so many beautiful components and twists and secrets.

It was a sweet book and I'm appreciative of the focus on grief but I was so bored for like 90% of the book. I knew a lot of people love it so I wanted to finish it but I was somewhat disappointed because it was not nearly as emotionally intense as I expected... I didn't shed a single tear. I liked seeing the characters connect and grow together but it wasn't a huge selling point for me. The writing was overall good but it was just too dense in some points and the chapters were way too long. I also think that if the book had started earlier in the characters timeline I would've enjoyed it more because I would've been able to feel the devastation myself.

I loved this book!

It has been on my shelf for a while but once I picked it up it was hard to put down. I originally thought the main plot would be focused on the identity of the main character and while that is the main focus there was so much more to that identity development than I expected.

I connected with all the characters and was committed to the plot. It was also the first time in a while that the twists of a book actually were twists, I didn't predict what was going to happen and I didn't really want to in the way I normally do. It also taught me a lot about native culture without taking away from the plot.

Would recommend a million times over!

I like the characters the most out of this book the plot was fine.

The relationship between characters was really the driving force of the book and there were something's that were important to the plot but were just repeated for plots sake like we could forget.

I haven't read the Crimson Cranes series and I think that was okay for me, it did make me want to read the other books!

2.5 ⭐️

I wanted to be surprised but the ending was predictable, I guessed halfway through. The ending was disappointing and the premise was really great but I was let down I don't regret reading it but I wouldn't strongly recommend it, there's better options.

What I did enjoy was hearing about the characters history through some time jumps and some of the scheming did really come together in a way that I was surprised by.

I've heard such good things about this book and I've like Ali Hazelwood's writing before but this was next level for me, I love fantasy and paranormal romance and her writing so what her previous books have lacked for me was made up in this book. I blazed through this and could not put it down, I was attached to the characters the whole time. The only wish I had is that we got more of Lowe's POV but that is not enough to make me upset with the book at all.

This was a well-written book, and I can tell within this book that R.F. Kuang is a highly educated person passionate about what she does. That said, I don't think I will ever reread it. This beautifully written book looks at colonialism and how it affects the characters in this book, and it is an excellent way of telling it with a good mix of fiction and reality. Still, there was almost too much reality for it to be an easy read.

Going into this book, I heard great things, and I am not here to disagree, but this was a dense book not only in plot but also in information overall. The chapters were long, and so many sections felt like info dumps about languages, making it read like a book for a language class rather than just for enjoyment. This made it hard for me to read, and it took me more than double the time a book this length would take because I couldn't enjoy it initially.

With that in mind, some sections were dense but did provide necessary context, but that does not make the book read any faster.

The focus on colonialism and the relationships of the characters are what made me rate this book 4 stars rather than anything less because you see how racism in the English empire manifested for people who were not English and in a unique environment in which they were the most important people for the empire. I enjoyed this aspect of the book, and this is frankly the part of the book that was historical fiction, not the dark academia part, which I know now is not for me.

I didn't know what to expect from this book because I was expecting it to be the 3rd of a 4 book series but I was decently happy with it! It was fast paced and brought me through so many emotions especially at the end but it didn't feel like this should be the end of CC but I now don't see how she could continue it. I am on the fence about the overlap with ACOTAR but I'm glad Bryce didn't completely abandon Nesta in the end.