Karissa

The Illuminae series has come to an end. Everything that Kady, Ezra, Hanna, Nik, Ella, Adian, and countless others have fought for is finally coming to close as they enter their final battle in the war with BeitTech. Will they survive? Will BeiTech pay for the crimes they have committed? Or will it have all been for nothing. In the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”

This installment had considerably less... “action” than Illuminae and Gemina but it still seemed to move quickly, just not quite as fast as the other two. However, I still found myself enjoying it quite a bit. The history between Rhys and Asha and how it affected their interactions with each other was nice. It reminded me a hit of how Kady and Ezra were originally at the beginning of Illuminae in a sense. I also liked that not everything was wholly black and white in this book; in the other two, it kind of was– BeiTech bad, everyone else good. Anyone associated with BeiTech = Satan reincarnate, everyone else...decent at the very least. However in this book you can see that there are shades of humanity still within BeiTech troops even when they are following orders. You can also see how good people, or those deemed as such, can do bad things thinking that they are doing what is right, what is best. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this series and maybe, if my heart can take it, I will reread it.

I have no words right now. I live for Ildiko and Brishen's relationship. This book was very different from Radiance in that in Radiance the conflict was very much external and applied to the couple, whereas Eidolon, while it had external conflict, also had more internal conflict between Brishen and Ildiko. It was still so good though!

Update upon reread: Ya'll this book ATE and left absolutely NO crumbs. It is so freaking good. I was worried that I was hyping it up so much that on reread I'd be disappointed but I had absolutely no reason to be worried because it is phenomenal!

I wanted to sit in my feelings for a few hours after finishing this book to be able to articulate exactly how I feel. This book.... Guys, This. Book. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. I laughed out loud so many times, I squee'd, I almost cried– like this book is so good. Ildiko and Brishen and their relationship is everything. There's a quote towards the end of the book where Ildiko says "This should have never happened, Brishen. We were unimportant, you and I. We weren't supposed to mean anything to anyone." To which Brishen responds, "Woman of day,"..."You mean everything to me." and I just have to say I. AGREE. These two mean everything to me.

The way they go from finding each other repulsive and accepting that of each other regardless. Plus, forming a deep friendship with banter. THE BANTER GUYS. This is a true slowburn of showing how affection and love can develop over time. I just..... UGH GUYS YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. PLEASE. And then come to me so we can gush about it because YOU WILL LOVE IT.

April May is your typical 20-something just trying to get through life as painlessly as possible despite working a job that is about as exciting as Wonder Bread™. She lives with her girlfriend, Maya, in New York City and her life is pretty, well, average. That is, until Carl and his merry band of other-Carls appear in cities all over the world. April May being the millennial child of the internet does what any of us would more than likely do in this day in age: wake up her best friend, Andy, and film a YouTube video “interviewing” Carl. What starts out as a silly 15-minutes of fame moment spirals into something larger than April May could have ever imagined. When the Backstreet Boys spoke of being “Larger than Life,” they had nothing on New York Carl, and April May is suddenly thrown into the limelight, forced center-stage, into the world of secrecy, backstabbing, and horrid PR-agents. And to top it all off, she has to find out what the Carls want as the safety of the world might depend on it.

I will start off saying that I really enjoyed this book. I liked the voice of the characters and the writing style and found it really easy to get into and stay into it. The story is told in a retrospective way as if April May is telling you the story herself of what happened with the Carls and her life, like she was actually in the room talking with you. I think that's why I liked the book so much; she felt real. She made horrid decisions and there were parts of the book where I kind of hated her for the things that she did. However, that is also why I loved her as a character. In real life, we can love someone but hate what they do, or find someone irritating and hate them for one reason but love them for another. She wasn't wholeheartedly black nor white; she was... April May.

I'm looking forward to the second book and I recommend this one for anyone wanting a weird kinda alien sci-fi read. And maybe if I ever meet Hank Green I can ask him the question that has been plaguing me since finishing the book: Why Arby's???

This book wasn't... bad. It was just alright. It definitely had its high points and held my attention, and it had so much potential, but then there were other points where it felt a little... too ehhh.. even for a romance, which are not known for having the best plots or the most developed of characters. There were definitely some issues, but it was an entertaining read.

This book ripped my heart out on more than one occasion and then put it back together. It was one of the few books I read in 2018 that actually had me excited for reading, as I had previously been in a pretty long book drought. You have to read this book. The only other thing I will say is that I would like to name a future pet Jimette.

Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson: four generations later, but the same crazy shenanigans. The two teen aged descendants of Sherlock and James Watson may attend the same Northeastern prep school, but they are by no means as close as their great-great-great grandparents. If it wasn't for the mysterious death of one of their classmates, the two probably wouldn't have had anything to do with each other.

I really appreciated this re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes. The story is original and I love that Charlotte is a strong, independent lead female. I can also appreciate the fact that she is not perfect; yes, she is extremely smart, much like her great-great-great grandfather, Sherlock Holmes, but she is not infallible. She has her emotional moments, has her addictions. She's a fully realized character who isn't wholly good or wholly bad. I also love the fact that romance is a thing that exists in this book but it is not the focus at all.

“Hunched over and silent is no way to face the world.”

Ally is a 6th grade student who cannot read. She has spent her entire school career thinking that she cannot read because she isn't smart enough, that she is just too stupid to learn how to read. So what does she do? She does what every great magician does: distract. She creates disruptions and acts up, does anything to be sent out of class to avoid having to read. Sure, her teachers and principal think that she's a problem child, but she doesn't have to read, so.. success, right? Sure, that is until she gets a new teacher, Mr. Daniels, refuses to play those reindeer games. He decides that any problem they have will be solved in the classroom and through him, and new friends, Ally's self-esteem and self-worth grows tremendously and she learns that being atypical is not synonymous with dumb.

This book is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C. I cried reading this book at least three times. If you have ever felt alone, afraid, stupid, worthless– this book is for you. I can't sing enough praises about this book. Just do yourself a favor and read it.

Laia and Elias live in a Rome-esque kingdom under the control of an emperor. Laia is a Scholar, the lowest rank in the class system. Elias is a Mask, a martial soldier tasked with carrying out the will of the empire. Their worlds cross when Laia disguises herself as a slave to infiltrate the walls of Blackcliff Academy in order to uncover information that could save her brother's life. Elias, on the other hand, is forced to compete in the Trials, four difficult tasks that will try the very essence of his mind, his body, and his soul, to be the next emperor.

This was such an refreshing dystopian novel. The typical elements that readers often see in YA dystopian novels were there: a tyrannical government, a caste system, etcetera. However, Tahir takes these elements and she weaves them in such a way that An Ember in the Ashes doesn't feel like the typical dystopian novel. Skies! It is unique and quirky in its own right and it's near impossible to put down.

We get two character perspectives (Laia and Elias) that alternate throughout the novel (odd chapters are Laia, even chapters are Elias). We are able to fall in love with the two characters separately and then fall deeper once the storylines intersect and the two become greater forces in each others' lives. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.

What I particularly enjoyed in this book, though it's just one of the many, many things I loved, was that the romance was on the side. It was there, of course, but it wasn't really an element that was in your face throughout the novel and it didn't really come into play until towards the end. I think this really allowed for the storyline and for the characters to fully develop (and let's be honest, with all that Laia and Elias were dealing with, they needed a romance like they needed a sword to the neck). It also sets up for a lot of drama and angst for the sequel (and there better be a sequel, because that ending...!)

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
Source: Purchased :: Audio

Summary (Spoiler Free): I find it really hard to summarize this book. It is the conclusion to the Unwind Dystology and much of the book is wrapping up the loose ends from the three previous books. Connor and Risa are determined to get the organ printer into the hands of a company who can mass produce them, all in the hopes of putting an end to unwinding. Cam still works behind the scenes to take down Proactive Citizenry, and Lev is ... well Lev.

My Thoughts: After the rest of this series, this book was kind of.. whomp whomp. I wanted to read it because I'd gotten this far in the series and wanted to know how it ended, but.. I don't know. It just didn't wow me. There were some unnecessary parts, and others were just plain too convenient. The parts that were supposed to get you emotionally, just didn't do it for me and I think that just shows how disconnected I was from the characters by this point in the series. It was an okay read and I'm glad that I know how things end, but I would've definitely changed some things and took out the convenience of the ending.

You know those books you pick up in between your serious reads? The lighthearted palette cleansers you indulge in before jumping back into the main course? That is what Crazy Rich Asians was for me. When selling it to people, I often describe it as “Singaporean Sex in the City.” It's a humorous read that explores the lives of several fictitious million and billionaire families and it's not meant to be taken seriously. Nick and Rachel, two of the main characters, are likable enough and even if you detest Eleanor Young, you still look forward to reading what outrageous thing she's going to do next.

If you've seen the movie and think you know the gist of how the novel goes, you're both right and wrong. There's quite a bit that the movie left out that allows for the novel to still be interesting and readable for those of us that watched the movie without finishing the book first. Shakespeare it is not, but if you want a light, funny read, I definitely suggest picking Crazy Rich Asians up. The only reason I give it a 4-star rating instead of 5 is because at times it felt like there were almost too many family members/characters mentioned that I found myself getting a little confused as to who was related to who and what their purpose for being mentioned was.

Usually with series, I stop reading halfway through the second book and then stop; there's something about the 2nd book curse in series that gets me. That was totally not the case for Lair of Dreams. I didn't love it as much as I loved the first book, but it was still a solid read that I very much enjoyed. If you have not started this series, what are you doing??

I read this book about two-ish years ago and absolutely loved it. I curled up on the couch and could not put it down, finishing it in one day. I laughed, I cried, I ranted and raved that the movie was supposed be getting made and then didn't. This book will awaken all the jumbles of feels inside you that you didn't know were there still.

1.5 rounded up to 2 ⭐

I should have probably DNF'd early on, but I kept reading to see if it would get any better. Spoiler alert, it didn't get better (for me). I hated the talk of virginity as if it was a conquest, no matter how short that section was. I hated the sex scenes, I hated the war plot because it felt so lacked depth and was as shallow as a puddle. Only reason it's getting the 1.5/2 star rating is because I finished it.

I don't know what I was expecting? And I don't entirely know how I feel.... it was okay?? I don't regret reading it but I also don't think it necessarily did anything for me. I feel like I'm going to look back on this one and be like it was a book that I read and that's that. There were some lines I liked but I was looking forward to more poetic lines that resonated within me.

6 stars across the board. I was so afraid that I wouldn't like this book as much as the first one, but I am happy to say that I was so wrong. It took me a while to finish because I didn't want it to end– I wanted to stay with Roman and Iris longer and prolong their story. I just... Ahhhhhhh it was so good man!