Taffy :)

It's personally not MY cup of tea because it's honestly kinda depressing.... but I mean so was Kafka's life

In all honesty, Gregor reminds me of Eyore, but Gregor is more naive and doesn't seem to fully realize how much his family/boss took advantage of him and idk. While I love Eyore, I can NOT read a book with him as the main character bc I simply cannot relate to that attitude.

Like I said, Gregor was by no means a happy character... I mean it's implied that his every move was scrutinized at work - others could get away with slacking off and sub-par but not Gregor, he would be fired if he tried to do anything like that. He didn't fit in anywhere, not at work and not with his family. Love life is non-existent bc he's so concerned about paying off his father's debt - basically all he does is work and sleep - and providing a comfortable life for his family. I mean that's not living - he doesn't even like his job. The only decent relationship he seems to have is with his sister and even they're not that close.

The fact that the family immediately just accepted that this human-sized bug was their Gregor still bothers me. cause if I was to wake up one day and my brother has just vanished and in his bed is a human-sized bug, I'm not gonna think 'Oh, that must be my brother. How hideous.' No! I'm gonna try to figure out where the bug came from, why it's so big, where my brother went, etc. But his family doesn't even question it until the very end. And even then it just felt like an excuse so they wouldn't feel guilty.

I LOVE the sister bond so much!! but it's sad what happened to make it that strong...
now there's definitely more going on with the guys than what we see
HOWEVER does it really excuse what they did?! Also, does Seth specifically get better? Or am I going to hate him even more as the series continues?
As of right now, I'm not entirely sure how I feel- about them, the book, everything - but I will keep reading the series. Kinda intrigued as to how this is going to play out, but it's mostly for a friend. But I gotta say that last half was just whack and I don't know if I can take all of this for another -what is it 8-10 books?!
Giving it a 3.7 bc I don't even know how I feel about this book right now

Edit: will NOT be continuing the series in the foreseeable future...

“You know, sometimes it's the smallest waves that knock you off your feet. Tsunamis—everybody knows they're powerful. Tidal waves—big and impressive. But those small waves? They hold a lot of power. They prove what the ocean is capable of, even when no one is paying attention.”


3.5 bc i was uncomfortable w/ this one...

I will say I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting to... It took me a bit to really get into it, but once I got about 60% in i was hooked... honestly not sure how i feel about Madoc - like i think he actually does love his kids and he seems to relate best with jude but well idk

BEWARE! Spoilers ahead

Fav characters (or somewhat liked):
OAK - he deserves to have a great childhood!!! don't know if he'll necessarily be the best king... but he is just precious!!
Bomb/Roach/Ghost - how can anyone not like them. I mean they're just trying to live their best life with as many explosions as possible
Vivi - she ACTUALLY cares about her family cough taryn cough (even if she does get a bit sidetracked...) the scenes with her and Oak were so cuteee
Professor Noggle -he was funny
Oriana - while not the nicest to Jude, idk I couldn't help but like her. She had so much love for Oak and I'm kinda curious what she thought about some of what happened in the book

Cardan & Jude:
he kinda gives misguided Gilbert Blythe vibes... if Gilbert was spoiled and cruel. I'm not excusing ANY of his behavior, however that is the vibe I kinda got by the end of the book. These poor children just need some proper love. and poor Jude needs to feel safe somewhere so she can have some fun... and maybe good therapy sessions...

Despised characters:
Taryn&Locke:
-ugh- the traitorous piece of slime DESERVES Locke. They can off and be horrible together!
but the fact that Locke was all ‘I still like you Jude' ugh HE is the one who chose the slimy traitor so he can NOT try to have both.

3.85
Keep in mind, this was a first read-through. I'll probably reread it later in life and enjoy it more. It took me a while to get through the book - not necessarily bc Frankenstein is super boring (although it did have its moments - giving background info, setting a scene, etc) but you have to be in the right mindset to really enjoy the book.
For anyone not familiar with the Frankenstein story, I'll try not to spoil too much but read at your own discretion

♦ Victor is 100% a narcissist and loves his family and best friend as much as he possibly can.
» That was another thing that threw me off for a bit! Since the families used to arrange marriages and stuff, people - specifically guys - would create these super close bonds - they're basically brothers. So the way that they talk about each other is kind of romantic bc the language at this time was kind of extra. Don't get me wrong it's pretty, but if you're not expecting it, it's weird.
» It's funny how little people have changed tho... After making his creation come to life (and realizing what he had actually done), he decided to just go to bed and hope that his problems would go away... and then only when he absolutely HAD to did he deal with it. I feel like we as a society do this all the time and I'm fairly confident that Mary wrote her characters in certain ways based on other people and what she saw but I could be wrong.

♦ The Creature was a super gentle being! (If a little grotesque and 8 FEET TALL - still cant get over how he just walked out of a college one day - IN THE LITERAL MORNING - and NOBODY noticed anything strange!) He just needed a friend... Like Victor at college.... and Walton...

You don't understand how intricate this book was! It was crazy - layer upon layer upon layer! And it would never stand up in court bc it's literal letters... so it went a little something like this:
sometimes the Creature
Now, I still have a few questions about the book, but my biggest one: What about Earnst??? What happened to him? This poor middle-child kept getting forgotten in the storyline and I'm just- where did he go?

It's funny cause this book has been on my TBR bookshelf for about 12 yrs now.... you know how it goes sometimes. New books are constantly grabbing our attention. All I can say is why? Why didn't I just put it in the freezer? I knew the reputation of the book - just why? That being said, it was really well-written and I would recommend it bc of the writing alone

Sorry for the rambling that will 100% be happening. I am wayyy to giddy and sleep-deprived for this right now - HOWEVER you know when you start reading and you're just immediately immersed and you can NOT put it down? That's exactly what this book does! or at least for me ... i know not everyone has the same tastes or reacts to things the same way. BUT THE PLOT TWISTTTT - I totally fell for it and I couldn't be happier
this book is so good and it's like this perfect combination of Criminal Minds (well maybe NCIS is more accurate but CM was the 1st one I thought of so - hnstly u could probably put any good crime show...) + well actually I cant really think of a good example right now - maybe SoC bc of the dysfunctional characters that somehow work relatively well together??

“Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse... and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum.”

The character dynamics are so good and so funny! I personally think if any other character was narrating this series, it wouldn't be NEARLY as funny.

Probably my favorite character dynamics aside from the trio are:
- Tyson & Rainbow [Tyson is so adorable;e and honestly just like a big innocent kid who like playing with his best friend Rainbow!!

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this book... I definitely enjoyed parts of it, but there were other times where I was a little confused - not by the events but of the reaction of the narrator. Also, I think I personally just can't relate to the fmc, Cassie. And one specific phrase just really bugged me bc of her ‘oh I'm the only person who's suffered and know tragedy' attitude. I totally get it cause I have a pretty good life and even I can get in those funks, but it just got to the point where it was annoying to read...

Now, I did really like the fact that you as the reader FELT the loneliness, distrust, and fear of being the last person but also of encountering other people. I will say, that while I didn't LOVE his writing, he did manage to transport me emotionally into the story- at least until she's ‘rescued'... what I mean is, I usually end up watching a movie when I'm reading (it's not a full emotional connection to the character and the events..?), rather than feeling like I am experiencing it (like being transported as the mc to that time/place). Idk if this makes sense 100%... I might come back and polish up my review later

It's interesting to read books that were labeled “horror” for the time it was written in, but now is really not actually scary.

Now I don't particularly care for the MC cuz he's got quite an unpleasant personality, so i was pretty amused by his thoughtlessness (and rashness) considering he's supposed to be some fancy scientist

the fact that cheese of all things was his downfall!

This is an absolute MASTERPIPECE that will make you feel like you're on a crazy rollercoaster. The drama, THE BETRAYALS, the lies, the fast pace - all of this will HOOK you.




Is it bad I was REALLY REALLY happy when Oliver finally got shot?? I had been WAITINGGGG - so i don't condone violence per say HOWEVER the fact that he killed for her

It was cute and a much-needed break from some of my recent reads. It was a good reminder:
1) You never really know what someone's going through or has gone through
2) Sometimes found family is 100xs better than blood family

I did get a little annoyed with some of the writing, but it was minor enough that I just rounded up to 5

There's really not much i can say that others haven't said. This book has everything - drama (both HS drama & plot-related suspense), tragedy, humor (mostly bc it's all from Harry's pov), budding romances, foreshadowing, lies & subterfuge, and that one character that everyone hates :)
OH and Hermione being an absolute ICON!!

And NO ONE can forget that glorious Malfoy-ferret scene!!!

"Who will look for you when you're the one who disappears?"

✦ the chaos, the panic, the trauma & PTSD, the paranoia, the cute RavixPip moments - I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT. ALL.

"You're my Pip and I'm your Ravi. We're a team."

✦ I don't know how Holly managed to do this, but she made Ravi even MORE perfect!!! 🤭🤭

'Pip would work every day to be the kind of person who deserved Ravi Singh'

✦ I am so glad we got to see more of JamiexNat bc they are absolutely ADORABLE!!! And seeing the bond between Pip and Nat grow even stronger ☺️💛 I can only imagine how good it must have felt for Nat when she got to punch Max 🤭

"You’re my person. My little one. My Sarge. And I’m supposed to protect you." "You do protect me," she said, holding his eyes. "Even when you’re not here." 'He was her life raft, her cornerstone for what good truly meant. Didn’t he know that?'

✦ The fact that this book actually made me cry thoooo. just the heartbreaking scenes and that spiral - it was all written so well

R: "I don't want you to. I don't want you to go"

P: "If it's a choice between me and you, I choose you."

R: But I choose you too"

You know when you've JUST finished a book and you're still riding that emotional high that the book caused? That is exactly what happened! Granted it was also midnight at the end of a VERY long day BUT I will say the author surprised me by how much she captured my attention.... I did start to suspect certain things were gonna happen based on yknow events and stuff, however it's the WAY she did it
Also her imagination is just

✤ “You just finally accepted that sometimes, the biggest sacrifice isn't made by the person who gives up her life. Sometimes, the hardest thing to be is the one who lives.”

I love all of the Naturals sooooooo much and I really wish I could give them hugs cause those poor babies have gone through wayyyy too much

This book was definitely heavier than AGGGTM, but it still managed to pull off an insane twist!

Poor Stanley!! he just wanted to live a happy life and leave his past behind and every time he opens up it's like a slap in the face... and while I can't hate Charlie for hating Jack (as much as i want to), I can hate him for unnecessarily trying to burn Pip ALIVE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! He already had her phone, there were no cops, and she was a little bit preoccupied with Stanley's SIX BULLET WOUNDS. That and the horrible manipulation of poor Jamie :(I will say I think Jamie x Nat are gonna be such a cute couple and really good for each other!!