Sandra

It was okay.

I think romance is just not my cup of tea at this moment. Book is not bad.

I... don't even want to write a review for this because it could have been so good
The idea is what made me pick this book up from the library. The execution of that idea was... meh/lacking.

I'm going to go cry in the corner now.

I wanted to love this but it just didn't work out. I did almost DNF it at 80% because it just wasn't what I thought it would be.

It is okay

There is a clear copyright violation on the cover since the cover was fed into AI and this author just stamped their name on it.

Stole someone else hard work by feeding it into ai.

Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of this wonderful story.

This fantasy adventure book is a wonderful story to get young readers interested and invested in this genre. Once you finish the Seekers you feel rewarded. The world-building is impeccable. Most times when it comes to young adult fantasy something is always missing but in the Seekers. It does not do that. The fight scenes kept me immersed in the story and made me want more. Plus there is magic!!!! Troy Knowlton, thank you for writing the Seekers and pulling me out of a reading slump. This is a story that a lot of Young-adult fantasy readers will love.

The pace in the book had little to no consistency. There were parts in the book that are fast-paced and then long periods where the scenes just went on and on. Then suddenly pick up. The plot was okay but felt generic. The lack of character growth throughout the book was dishearting for me. It took me forever to finish this book because it was just not my cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

Hmm, not sure how to articulate my thoughts.
I am not even sure If I think this is three stars or lower.
For me, this did not work. I also do not know if I would recommend this book or not. It seemed lackluster. I only enjoyed one story out of the book and it was Shooting Stars (One Bed). For the rest of them, I wanted them to end faster due to several different aspects. Most of the stories (for me) are bland.
I.... I Just... Do not know what else to say...

I did enjoy Poppy War but I do feel that there are some flaws with Rin's character and this could be a “me” issue or the fact that the author is trying to remind the reader that she is a young woman. I say this because there are a few times that I felt that Rin acted rather reactive towards many situations/conflicts that logically doesn't make sense for military personnel (comes from experience).
The writing style is simple but engaging.
Atlan is trash
Overall rating 3.75 but round up to a 4.

Sadly I dnf'ed this book. The book feel short for me. Just not my cup of tea.

Cute, quick, easy. Perfect for a 3-year-old with a short attention span.

I honestly do not know. I don't know if it is because I have grown as a reader, if I am bored with these type of books or something.
To me, it felt like something was missing. Not bad, i guess it was just not my cup of tea.

I have never finished this book. I have attempted to read this book so many times since it was turned into a movie. I always end at the last few chapters due to me being personally bored. I never understood the hype around the book or the movie, but that is just my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt. If you like the book or want to read it. Then do so. Do not let my opinion stop you from reading this book or any book.

I can't keep reading this. It's so long and dry, for what reason? To bore me to death?

I'm not wasting anymore time on this book.

I've always fancied Edgar's depth when it comes to his writing. It can come across simple but have such a deeper meaning if one analyzes his stories.

4.5 ⭐️
6 hours and 30 minutes audiobook
I enjoyed War of the Worlds by H.G Wells. The plot is lovely for the time that it was written in. Granted, I find plot issues but I enjoyed how you have to fill in the some blanks instead of being told everything. Characters are done correctly for this story. Not over or under written.
The narrator Steve Parker did a wonderful job.

What Is this hot mess of a book?? Do people actually enjoy this because if so I never want to hear negative criticism of the romantic genre again. Between the unnecessary use of the r-slur to how horrible this is overall. What to know what a self-absorbed person is like… then read this

The plot idea is intriguing (hateful ghost story) and I enjoyed how all the characters are grey, unlikeable and just shitty people. However, it was utterly boring even though it is well written. This tends to be my overall issue with the books from the 19th century. They tend to drone on and never reach the point. The ending feels unfinished.

Not bad but after being in the military. I see where the present day military's took some ideas and methods from.

*Edit 2024:
I guess not having a star rating on a book means that others send aggressive DMs.

So my overall rating is 1.5/2 stars.

Initial review from 2023:

Let me first start with this:

1) I will not leave a star rating mark on Goodreads. But... If I were to give this book a rating it would be a low rating, but since it is a debut novel/indie published. The highest and lowest rating I will give is 3 stars.

2) I was recommended this book by a mutual friend in the book community because she saw it on TikTok and wanted my thoughts about it. Now, I do have to say that I have a thing about reading TikTok books because 90% of the time they are over-promoted and horrible in some way, shape, or form. Then there is that 10% chance that a TikTok book is a hidden gem.
However, with this book, This was not one of those hidden gems, but... It was not the worst TikTok book I have picked up.

3) If one is easily offended by negative reviews or low ratings then ignore this review. This is not for those people.

Let us finally begin the review.

The Vivian Priestess by Katrina Calandra

Worldbuilding:

sigh

When it comes to books with 350–400 pages, I do expect the said book to have a good amount of quality world-building. In my opinion, the world-building for The Vivian Priestess is lacking immensely. We have three worlds. Three... Yet, all the information we have about these three worlds is surface-level

I do understand that this is a debut book, and a second book is on its way. But... the lack of world-building almost made me DNF this book before 20%.

The pacing of the book/characters:

This is 100% a slow burn. It was so slow that it took me months to finish this book. However, when it came to the pacing of the characters and the relationships between them, it was rushed. This was confusing and almost gave me whiplash.

I also hate to say this, but every character was... forgettable. For me, I need my characters to have depth. And these characters didn't have much of that.
I could not connect to any of the characters on an emotional level. At times, I even found myself skimming an area of pointless monologue or speaking out loud for Ferren to shut up. However, the overall interactions between characters were okay.

As for growth and development, it was almost nonexistent, but I also did not expect this book to have it because, well... TikTok “romance” books. That is why I mentioned something about TikTok books earlier.

Writing:

I don't like criticizing this area because... Well. I stink in the grammar, spelling, and sentence structure areas. However, the writing reminded me of a rough draft before you send it to an editor. However, this is not the worst writing I have seen. The worst writing I have seen comes from a traditionally published book.

Smut:

sigh

Stuff starts to happen sometime around the 62%–70% mark for like 6–10 pages. It was very vanilla and boring. However, this could be a personal issue because I come from a place that reads dark romance.

There is an audience for this book, but I am not that audience.

... I read this for the book of the month for the book club and I actually disliked this book.

It was extremely boring. Like... I it was so boring that I was falling asleep during the reading sprints.

I love this book.
The illustrations are stunning.
The story and message are beautiful but in certain parts, it does feel rushed/forgotten. I wish there was more to this story.
Overall, it is a great story for young children and reminds them to keep trying even if they have failed. Failure is a part of the process of learning.

I was finally able to get around to reading the ARC that I was provided with.
Overview:

We encounter an 18-year-old girl named Dylan that wakes up in an apartment that is unrecognizable to her. She is greeted by other people. However, she has no idea who they are. Dylan can get her hands on a phone to call home. This is when she learns that she has been missing for a few days. On top of that, Dylan has no recollection. Eventually, she is diagnosed with DID.
Throughout the book. She learns more about herself, how to stand up to her abuser, and how to work together with her system.

Be mindful when you read this. This is marketed towards YA but it is on the border between adults and YA. There is some material within this book that is not suitable for everyone. Pieces of Me contains mature content that relates to the following:

Sexual Assult

Self-harm

Substance abuse

Trauma/Mental health

This is the first book by Kate McLaughlin that I have read and I can say that it was enjoyable. Since I am no expert on DID I can not tell you if Dylan's experience is true or not. However, Kate McLaughlin researched this topic (I appreciate seeing all the material she looked at to create this story). She did a great job with how she handed DID within this story. It did not feel rushed, stereotypical, or demonized. However, I do wish there was more about the disorder within the book.

I have recommended this book with caution to several of my friends who have Dissociative identity disorder to see their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and perspectives. This is a fascinating book that is worth reading.

This is a fantastic graphic novel for middle-grade readers. The illustrations are large, clean, and easy to read. This graphic novel has a storyline that can. I will let my kid read this when he is older.

Why is this book as adorable as it is? It is a picture book that has verses that follow the boy around who has lost his teddy bear. The little boy is trying to find that lost bear in the middle of the night. During his quest to find this bear he meets new and unexpected companions. Monsters have been found but they are not those scary monsters that are under the bed. They are monsters that want to help find the teddy bear and understand that no one will have a comfortable sleeping without their teddy bear. So, they help look as well.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of Where Is my Bear?