Brianna P

LOTS OF SPOILERS, I SUPPOSE!!!

Okay I know I'm probably one of a very select few who enjoyed this novella, but hear me out. I interpreted this book in probably a darker kind of manner than most people did.

Leina asks Angelo a lot of questions, but most of them remind me of questions that people ask who are still trying to find a will or reason to continue to go on.

Another thing I grabbed from this was that the garden isn't a real place that we can see in our current state or form, more like a “heaven” of some sort. Which may be why we never actually see the garden and why at the end her mother is calling her home. This also makes me think the garden is like a “heaven”:

“And if I don't come back?”

“I'll understand.” Angelo touched his heart. “I'll pray it's because you found whatever you are looking for.”

__

I say a “heaven” because I'm interpreting that Leina mother committed suicide: “..My mother told me of a garden... she followed it to her grave.”

Which, in turn, would make the book become a curse because it's leading Leina down the same path but from a different kind of pain: “I think you are drawn to the familiar,” Angelo smiled. “As people, we all are. We go to what feels the same. Even if that feeling is pain.”

And lastly I'm assuming that Leina hasn't left her own home in reality. I believe this journey is more of a mental and emotional one than an actual trip to Brazil. I also don't believe Angelo is a real person but more of a spiritual guide that Leina has conjured up as a that last voice to keep her from following the same path as her mother: suicide.

Again I could completely be interpreting this in an absolute wrong way than Tomi Adeyemi intended, but as I've been dealing with my own mental health this is how I interpreted this story and in turn it made me enjoy it very much.

I loved this book. In it we continue to learn more and more about the Moroi, Strigoi and Dhampirs. I like how Richelle Mead weaves in what happened in the last book, which definitely helped being that I read the first book last year and had forgotten some of the details that were important to this book. I think the Moroi using offensive magic is pretty cool. It seemed like the way things should have always been and a much better way to help protect the Moroi from extinction. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

These 25 tales were interesting, especially since there were a lot of stories about women and girls I hadn't heard about. I feel ashamed to have not heard about some of them. I like that it doesn't delve too deep into their lives, just the key points, which leads you to wanting to learn more about them. The illustrations in this book are so beautiful.

OMG!!! This was so much more than I expected. Like I just expected a mother and a daughter going on a road trip and it being all happy with a few twists, but nothing too severe. When I tell you this had so many unexpected twists and I loved them. It's been so long since I've read a book where I couldn't even guess what was gonna happen next. Really glad I was able to get my hands on the ARC thanks to netgalley.

I loved this book more than I thought I would. I found it interesting how Neville was surviving in a world all alone with vampires coming at night. I liked how the book began, but I didn't like the ending too well. I have seen the movie that is based off this book and I must say that I liked the movie way better because I feel like it has a better ending.

It was interesting how Neville figured out what was going on with the vampires even though he was really no doctor like in the movies.

I almost gave this 5 stars but Eva's story just wasn't as interesting to me as Claire's. I found myself reading Eva's chapters a little slower than Claire's. Overall the story was interesting, I guess I was just more intrigued by the woman trying to disappear from her rich, powerful and abusive husband than I was the woman running from a life of drug dealing. I get that both didn't have the biggest hand in the cards dealt to them but I feel Eva had more of a choice to say no than Claire. Either way neither deserved the life the had to live prior to switching of flights.

I liked this book. Anastasia Steele clearly has some issues of her own. I mean I don't think I could've started my sex life off on such rough terms. But hey she liked it. It's very obvious that Christian Grey is messed up. I mean he likes to have all this kinky sex stuff, but doesn't want to be touched. He just has serious issues. I don't even know how Anastasia dealt with it, but I guess she would since Grey is her first. Some parts of this story confused me because I just don't see why Ana didn't run for the hills. But then I had to remind myself that Ana is not me, and I am not Ana. For some reason the end made me cry. I guess I'm a little emotional today, but I just couldn't stop crying once she realized how bad he was hurting her and how fucked up he was. I guess I just felt bad for her. I probably would have gave this book 5 stars if it didn't end with her crawling into bed hugging a balloon. I just couldn't deal. I mean I know the balloon had a significance to her, but who hugs balloons when they're sad. I think maybe Grey could have bought Ana a stuffed airplane, you know something soft and cuddly, and I probably would have respected this ending more. But I was just like grow up Ana and stop hugging balloons.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. You have a freelance hitman, Calum, that accepts a job for an organization. He usually doesn't like to do work for an organization because he doesn't like to be tied to them. When Calum accepts the job to kill Lewis Winter, everybody involved in the slightest way life changes. I love how the characters in this novel were involved with the aftermath of Lewis Winter's death. Some of the characters I felt really bad for, while others I just thought they kind of brought it on themselves.

If you like gritty noir, I would definitely recommend this book to you. It is an easy, enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy.

I absolutely loved this retelling of Cinderella. It was so creative and intriguing. I actually felt worse for Cinder than I do for the original Cinderella. Maybe it's just the context of Cinder's life. I mean even though she learns something exciting about herself, it's not a completely happy ending because she still has to escape her current predicament. I look forward to Meyer's retelling of the other fairy tales.