Serenity

Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this audiobook, but I was disappointed when I finished it. Overall, it's a fun story, but I thought the first was better.

This sequel is told from Mendenbar's POV, the King of the Enchanted Forest. It had an interesting beginning, but it became boring halfway through. The first book had the same issue, but the main difference is that the ending arc of the first book was more exciting than this one.

In this book, Kazul is missing, and she is a favorite character of mine. She only appears at the end briefly, and worst of all, her original voice actress from the first book was replaced by a smoother, silkier voice that I didn't enjoy. Kazul's narrator was better in the last book.

Anyways, although there are many characters, I think that Mendenbar and Cimorene would have been better off having a companion much earlier in the story. I enjoy their personalities, but having a third companion would have spiced things up a bit. Cimorene had her friend in the last book. I wish she would have returned for this adventure too, or perhaps a tiny, spunky dragon for comic relief. It was a missed opportunity.

I did enjoy the wedding at the end, but I'm surprised that Cimorene accepted the proposal for marriage. I thought she would insist on a courtship first, but I guess life with the dragons wasn't exciting anymore.

Overall, unfortunately, the story seemed to drag. There were many colorful characters, but none left a lasting impression and were forgettable. Such a shame because I do like the King of the Enchanted Forest.

DNF. It pains me that I couldn't finish this audiobook because I had high hopes of liking it. I got to chapter 10 before deciding it wasn't for me for many reasons:

1. No escapism. So, when I read a story, there are certain things I don't want to read about. Racism is one of them, and it came up a handful of times and soured my mood. This obviously didn't bother most people, but I'm not most people.

2. Characters were uninteresting - EXCEPT IAN AND KEN. The only reason I didn't stop reading earlier was for these darling men. I LOVED this old married couple. Ian made me laugh so much, and Ken obviously adores him. I would happily read a story all about them.

However, Mika was.... Bleh, Jamie was annoying with his hot and cold personality, and Lucie was a forgettable Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. And worse, I didn't connect with the 3 girls at all! They weren't charming, nor endearing, just... there I guess. The youngest cursing was not funny to me either. Mika says that hearing a child curse is hilarious, but only if they do it ONCE. When it happens often, it's no longer funny.

That being said, I LOVED the kids in The House in the Cerulean Sea. Maybe I shouldn't compare these two books, but I can't help but do so. Every time Terracota tried to be “evil”, I kept thinking how Lucy pulled off the act much better.

3. Uninteresting Plot. The whole point of Mika tutoring the three girls on magic is to prepare them for a visit from a guy coming to grab some documents from the house. With a title like, “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches” I just expected... something MORE interesting than what we got. The “villain” is basically a racist white man who can call the cops on them and blab that the girls are witches. Really?? That's the best you can do? If I knew that going in I wouldn't have started this story. You can take the girls somewhere else for goodness sake! There are so many other options than trying to teach them how to control their magic in two weeks by hiring Mika.

So yeah, for all these reasons, I'm stopping here. Despite Ian and Ken, I'm just not interested in reading how Mika and Jamie fall in love. She's boring, and he's offensive at times. And the girls aren't cute. Sorry folks! I was very disappointed, but I would encourage others to give it a try as I seem to be in the minority of disappointed readers.

I enjoyed this book more than the first one. I never grew bored, enraptured by the mysterious assassin who has been killing Tsunami's sisters. The book is angsty since there is lots of family drama going on, and you really sympathize with Tsunami and her inner turmoil regarding how others perceive her as she figures out what she wants for her future. Fun read.

The audiobook was FANTASTIC and only about 5ish hours long. Highly recommend it as there are multiple colorful narrators that truly bring life to the characters. That being said, all the names will probably be misspelled.

This story did not go as I expected it to; it was much better!! I would say that it had a very strong beginning, somewhat slower middle, but a fast paced and exciting ending. Our main character is a princess named Cimorene. She doesn't want to be a conventional princess and marry a prince, so she runs away to be a dragon's princess. Specifically, Kazul's princess.

Kazul is a super cool dragon. She completely sounds and acts like a dragon, but she is also very witty, intelligent, and cunning. She treats Cimorene well and fairly. I adored their relationship. I wouldn't call them friends, but they were friendly to each other, and there was loyalty and a bond between them both. Their personalities were perfect for each other.

Along the way, Cimorene also meets another princess named Aleanora. They had a nice friendship. I liked how all of the princesses got to see each other despite being captured by dragons. I expected Cimorene to end up finding a prince and falling in love, but instead, she helps the other girls find princes, which was great! I totally wasn't expecting it, and I actually really like that she stayed by Kazul's side when Kazul became king of the dragons. She isn't ready to settle down yet, and that's OK. She should enjoy her freedom while she can.

Overall, I would call this a lighthearted and charming fantasy story. It's silly and cute, but not childish. It's always lovely to read a story about dragons without the “the dragons are dying out“ or “this is the last dragon alive” tropes. I would recommend it to others, and I would listen to it again in the future.

There are lots of positive and negative things to say about this book. After much commotion about this series I finally got around to reading the first book. I adore the main character, Katniss. She is a very strong-willed, skilled, and intelligent young lady who is an excellent role model for girls. The story itself is interesting since it takes place in the future where society seems to have reverted back to its Gladiator days but with children. The Hunger Games itself started off intense, but then the ending of the book left me disappointed since I wanted so much more. If you like romance, you'll like the ending. If you're like me who wanted something more bittersweet, you may be disappointed too.

This book is so interesting! I learned so much about the complexity of human behavior and why we act certain ways during a disaster. This book is a must to read because it teaches you so much about how to survive when the unthinkable happens. It offers personal stories from a wide variety of disasters, like fires, hurricanes, tsunami's, shootings, crowd-crushing, driving, etc. I feel more prepared to handle a disaster now.

This book is extremely frustrating for the majority, but the ending made it all worthwhile.

First, the most frustrating aspect of Fireheart in these books is the fact that he is always on someone's bad side. Always. Both with his platonic and romantic relationships, which is funny, considering that he becomes leader of the clan.

He is always at odds with someone. Why the authors always want to put this unnecessary drama in the story is beyond me. I understand that Fireheart is young and inexperienced, but they did my favorite boy dirty this book.


Then came the ending. Bluestar has been suffering from paranoia for a long time, since Tigerstar and his betrayal. She never recovered until the end of this book. Her death was beautiful, in the sense that she completely redeemed herself and died the leader she was born to be. I like that the writers gave her closure With her kids too (Stonefur and Mistyfoot).

The ending made everything worthwhile. I just hope that next book Fireheart doesn't have to suffer all this incessant drama, but Bramblepaw's anger at Fireheart for his distrust is warranted and will likely come up next book many times.

Good book. I like the plot of the story (young dragons needing to fulfill a prophesy to end the war). Clay is a gentle giant with a kind heart and a big appetite. He's also courageous and would do anything for his family. The middle of the book was boring for me (after they're captured it just drags for me), but it picks up again at the end. Overall, great intro for the series.

TW: Grooming, toxic relationship, infidelity, minor/adult relationship, emotional abuse (NOT between the Main Characters)

I wish I had known the above before going into this book because it completely shocked me when it was revealed. It affected me so much that I actually took a break from the book to process my thoughts. None of the reviews I read warned me, and I wish they had. As a result, I want to write a spoiler-ridden review for those who need that warning. Please do NOT read this review if you want to avoid spoilers.

I would say that the book has a strong start, average middle, and fast-paced ending full of drama with a hallmark-worthy ending. The story stars Rhett Eaton, a professional bull rider, and his agent's daughter, Summer Hamilton. It's written in first-person, present-tense, and it switches between Rhett's and Summer's POV.

Rhett Eaton is known to the world to be a playboy, but in reality, he's a very sensitive man that hates it when people tell him what to do. Summer is perceived to be a no-nonsense, confident person like her father, but in reality, she's a woman who is a serious people pleaser who needs therapy after being groomed by her cardiologist and emotionally abused by her Stepmother and half-sister.

Let me spoil those TWs right now. When Summer was a teenager, she had a serious heart heart condition. She saw a cardiologist (Rob) who saved her life. This doctor groomed her when she was a minor and then had sex with her when she turned 18. That's how Summer defends the relationship. She insists that "nothing illegal happened" between her and Rob until she was legal. She refuses to expose him and ruin his career since she feels she "owes" him for saving her life. It's MESSED UP! Rob then married Summer's sister, but he keeps on calling and texting Summer to emotionally manipulate her and control her from afar (i.e. infidelity). It's sick. This issue is somewhat glossed over until Rhett confronts Rob and breaks his nose (I LOVED THAT SCENE!)

I felt deceived about Summer's character when stumbling upon the above revelations. In the first chapters of the story, she's portrayed as this confident girl-boss who takes no crap from any man. That image shattered when I found out she was groomed and is still being manipulated by her toxic doctor. She seriously needs therapy (she doesn't get it in the book unfortunately). Despite this, I'm glad to see that she ends up with Rhett and severs ties with Rob after all this info comes to light thanks to Rhett.

Trigger warnings finished, let's talk about the main couple. Warning: Rhett thinks about sex A LOT. Seriously, sometimes it was too much. Before they were even a couple, Rhett was fantasizing about Summer's lips around his- AHEM. I understand having perverted thoughts, but that imagination of his was sometimes too wild, or the constant erections he got around her. Not gonna lie, it was off-putting. I also thought he was childish the first half of the book. He's very self-centered, and he doesn't really care about other people's feelings as much as he should. However, he's redeemed in my eyes when he confronts Rob and punches him in the face for disrespecting Summer. I gotta give Rhett credit, he defends the woman he loves, which scored serious points in my book. True, he let slip Summer's secret in front of the family, which wasn't cool, but at the same time, it also released her from Rob's clutches and set her free (something she never realizes in the story). He does have some character development by the end of the story.

There are like three sex scenes in the book, and they're GREAT. Rhett is definitely smooth. It's the best smut I've read in a novel so far.

In terms of their romance, I think it develops... okay. It's kind of clunky midway. I don't like that Rhett calls her Princess all the time (Summer's Dad used to call her that). However, the romance gets it's hallmark ending that was super sweet and heartwarming. Despite Summer's fear for Rhett riding the bull, she chose to go support him and his dream, and in return, he chooses her. That's all I'll say there <3

This was my first cowboy/romance book, and I enjoyed the ride despite being triggered. I'm glad Summer and Rhett got their happy ending. Rhett's family is also wholesome with a southern country charm, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I seriously need a heartwarming cowboy love story without the triggers please!

I was very disappointed by this volume because it felt so rushed and uninteresting. Yes, you read that correctly. This highly anticipated volume featuring their WEDDING was boring to me ;.;

Adachi and Kurosawa get married, but I feel like it lacked emotional depth due to it being rushed. Adachi and Kurosawa have kept almost everyone in the dark about their relationship. In this volume they're basically coming out to everyone and then they have the wedding.

I wish the author spent more time fleshing out these side characters, and even our main pair, because all these relationships felt very superficial. A major problem this author has for me is the fact that she sometimes writes things and makes them uninteresting.

The wedding, for example, should not only be interesting, but the highlight! I wish we had seen a moment where they exchange vows, or maybe a moment with Kurosawa's mother being apologetic about her homophobic behavior and officially accepting their marriage. Perhaps Tsuge could have given a best man speech, or we could have seen the couple dancing, etc. There were so many missed opportunities!!

The one part that wasn't superficial was when Adachi and Kurosawa spoke about their names. Other than that, everything felt very flat to me. It's disappointing that I couldn't really connect emotionally with anyone.

On the plus side, the scenes with Tsuge and Minato were better. They are the only side characters I can connect to. The rest of the side characters though, not so much.

With this author and series, it seems like each volume is a hit or miss on an emotional level. Maybe it's just me, but sometimes, a volume is a snoozefest. This one is kind of snoozy, which is crazy since they finally got married! Such a shame!

I'm a massive GOW fan so I really enjoyed reading this book. The beginning was a bit slow but it picks up. The story jumps around between different perspectives and characters, but everything revolves around Marcus' incarceration in the Slab. If you've read the other books, like me, you may be expecting to FINALLY read the story from Marcus' perspective- but you won't. Travis writes from everyone's perspective EXCEPT his. However, out of all the books, Marcus opens up the most in this story and you do see and understand his personality better once he's in the Slab. My favorite sections were when he was in the Slab for those reasons. Without mentioning spoilers, you will discover why and how he was incarcerated, you get a bit of insight into his and Anya's relationship, you see Dom's devotion as his brother, and you see just what kind of effect Marcus has to those around him. You also find out how he got his scar. What I don't like is that the ending leaves a couple of things open or unanswered. A slight spoiler, for example, is in reference to GOW 1 when Dom releases Marcus from the Slab. Remember those bodies hanging from the ceiling? It's never mentioned in the story. I was really looking forward to learning why “you don't want to know” as Marcus said to Dom. Other than that though, I highly encourage GOW fans to read this if you love the video game and want to know more about the GOW universe.

This book was not what I expected. If you think it's going to be like the Disney version, you're in for a big surprise. This story is very different. Some of it I liked, and most of it I didn't.

In a nutshell, I would say that I prefer Disney's Peter Pan over the novel. The story had a strong start. It felt very magical, but it lost that magic towards the end and I lost interest. The last chapter is especially sad since it's based in the future and some characters are dead, and worse, Peter forgets them.

Pro:
- Tiger Lily is a badass! She carries a hatchet with her and even Captain Hook fears her

Cons:
- Some parts are confusing and hard to follow. For example, “Mrs. Darling's Kiss” is a phrase I don't understand and is never explained in the book.
- Peter Pan: book!Pan is VERY different from Disney!Pan. He's way more childish and ruthless. He nearly kills all the pirates and then forgets them. He's extremely forgetful. At the end of the book, he even forget who Tinker Bell was after she died. He didn't even remember who Captain Hook was. He also has this thing about believing “make belief play.” For example, if you pretend to give him an apple to eat, he will actually believe that he ate an apple. All of the other children knew that they were playing pretend, but not Peter. It made the other children feel uncomfortable, but everyone was too scared to tell Peter that it was fake.
- Ending: I preferred the Disney movie ending to the book ending. Hook's plan to kill Peter is way too complicated in the book. I just felt it was needlessly complicated and it dragged too long.

At the end of the story, JM Barry (the author) makes it a point to repeat multiple times that the only children who can fly are those who are “gay and innocent and heartless“, meaning that they were “happy, innocent, and heartless”. I interpret this as meaning that Peter Pan is a character who is very carefree, young, and heartless in the sense that he lacks the social and emotional maturity to the point where he is hurtful to others and very self-centered. That basically sums up Peter Pan's character in this book.

In the Disney movie, he is immature, but he's not heartless. He's also far more charismatic in the Disney movie than in the novel. In the book, the lost boys simultaneously fear and respect him, and then they decide to leave him and stay with Wendy's parents. Whereas in the movie, they stayed with Peter out of loyalty and respect.

TW: Sexual content and death (only background characters)

I'm so happy to give this book 5 stars!!! I don't give it to just any book either. I finished this book with a huge smile on my face, and I spent the majority of the story smiling and laughing too.

Cinammon (Cin) is our star gal. The book is written from her perspective in the present tense. She is a spice trader living on her family's farm. She has a fun personality; she's sassy at times and funny too. She envisions living a quiet life in her village after an adventure unfortunately takes her younger sister away from her. Thus, she has no plans of adventuring.... until a demon tries to kill her. Lucky for her, Fallon is actually a good guy under an enchantment from an evil witch that he's trying to kill, and now Cin has to go along with him.

From the beginning, it's obvious that Fallon falls for her, and he falls for Cin HARD. He's so sexy and romantic. Seriously, he's the closest character that I've ever considered to have a CRUSH on. Would I call him my Fictional Book Crush? Totally! The way he smoothly tries to seduce Cin is so romantic. He communicates his feelings to Cin bluntly and doesn't force her to accept him either, although Cin does become frantic at first when she hears that he loves her and wants to marry her. What I love about Fallon is that he's not just attracted to her physically like all of these other romance books out here focusing on lust- it's more than that. It's LOVE at first sight. He wants to MARRY her and make her his WIFE. To mark her and make her HIS. I'm so tired of romance stories with guys or gals that just want sex with no strings attached. No offense if you do- you do you! And I'll do Fallon ;)

The world building is great too. In this world, demons are considered to be dangerous monsters. In some places they're considered to be pets and slaves. The word "demon" also incorporates all sorts of creatures: werewolves, naga, orcs, dragons, centaurs, etc. I learned that as the story progressed. Cin has to go out into the world with Fallon to locate the "Goddess" Myva's chalices to release the captured demons from her spell. They come across diverse, great people in their adventure who join them on their quest. My favorite would have to be Felix, a werewolf, and Ambrose, a naga-like demon.

I would consider this story to be fast-paced, but it lingers in all the right spots. The final chapter is also just *chef's kiss* perfection! There is a moment where Fallon is so overprotective that he reminded me of Edward Cullen *yuck* where he wants to confine Cin on an island so he doesn't lose her. Instead of freaking out and fighting, Cin calmly suggests a compromise where she asks Fallon to make a protection charm for her, and his immediate response is: "I'm a fucking idiot!" CRISIS AVERTED! Cin doesn't get scared. They speak and come to a resolution together. They're such a cute couple, especially when Fallon calls her "my wife" and she thinks of him as "my dragon". I really love their relationship. It progresses beautifully.

The ONE gripe I do have is that the author uses the C-word too much. I actually don't like to see it AT ALL (my brain fritzes when I read it). I can handle one use, but it was more than that. Is it normal to use that word now? It wasn't when I was young.

Regardless, I'm super excited to read the next book <3

Overall, I liked this book. It is what I would call a cozy mystery, as it's not very suspenseful and it's somewhat predictable.

The story is about Lady Amy, a young woman from a wealthy family who lives in their house in Bath. She is secretly a murder mystery writer who finds herself involved in a real murder mystery. After finding out that her fiance was involved in the illegal opium trade, she decides to use this information to finally end their engagement. She never wanted to marry Mr. Harris. It was her father's idea as he was afraid of her becoming a "spinster". Mr. Harris doesn't take the news well. He goes to her home a few days later (probably to try to change her mind) when he is found murdered in her library.

The police suspect that Lady Amy is the killer at first, so she decides to do her own investigation. Sir William, a gentleman member of her book club, was unfortunate enough to come upon the murder scene as he was there to lend her one of his books, so he's roped into helping her. They have somewhat of a friendship at first, but throughout the novel, they catch feelings for each other.

Honestly, I was more interested in Amy and William's blossoming romance more than the investigation. As it's the Victorian era, everything is very subtle and low-key for the time period. Sir Williams is a gentleman, friendly, and a rock for her to lean on. I totally have a crush on the guy.

Lady Amy herself is a feminists who wishes she didn't have to hide that she wrote such a well-received murder mystery book. She pushes to do things "men can do", such as dressing as a man at night while they were investigating someone's home. However, Sir Williams firmly gave her a hard NO when she insisted on carrying a gun and dressing up to try to sneak into the gentleman's club to do some spying.

I like that the author shows how naive Amy can be. She clearly lacks knowledge on sex, shown in one particular scene, and she's surprised to learn that people of her social status can get hooked on opium (she thought only the poor took drugs). She firmly believes that because she writes mystery novels that she is now perfectly qualified to solve the mystery despite everyone telling her how dangerous it is. She literally calls herself a professional despite having ZERO experience. She finally acknowledges the danger when a gun is literally pointed at her in the end of the story.

My one major gripe is that the murderer doesn't make sense. I briefly suspected the person but changed my mind because, physically speaking, I don't think this person is capable of STABBING someone to death from the FRONT. Especially with such a large knife. But oh well.

So yes, I liked the story. I heard the audiobook, and the narrator did a fine job bringing Amy to life. I'm eager to read the next story as this one ends with Amy and Williams unofficially courting.