Maha
Galadriel being constantly annoyed at her conscience and strong moral compass is peak entertainment and I relate to her a lot.
3.5
Started out slow and dragged quite a bit, but it did catch me in the second half and the writing is amazing.
This is a weird one to rate.
The story reminded me a lot of Sharp Objects in the best ways and the whole concept is deliciously creepy BUT
I will die on the hill that not all YA needs a teenage protagonist with high school problems and a crush/love interest.
Horror especially needs to slowly build up an atmosphere of unease and only the beginning and the end really did that for me.
I still flew through it and it did grip me, it just had so much more potential!
A tiny bit repetitive thematically, but with some absolute banger short stories that will stay with me a while.
2.5
i think this book would've been so much more enjoyable if it was shorter. Or a tv show. I loved the characters and the world building but I just not into the long-winded descriptions of combat and the story in general was kind of all over the place.
3.5 stars
Weird and confusing and eerie. I loved the writing and how it puts the reader into the headspace of the main character and kept me guessing what is happening until the end.
The plot itself was pretty bland, to be honest, but the atmosphere made up for it.
I guessed the twist way too early and the first two thirds of the book were boring but it was a fast read and i'll still check out the second book.
I liked the dragons but the book felt more like fanfiction to me, the plot never went anywhere and the characters were lackluster. I was told to read in chronological order but I don't think this book is a good starting point for what seems to be a beloved series.
But I liked the dragons.
This book was powerful and pretty and sad and the ending made me choke up but I would read it all over again. I really am on a streak of great books this year.
Thank God we have college students with no survival instinct or no crime would ever be solved.
The King of unnecessary long and convoluted intros about weird men having philosophical thoughts about the loading and unloading of trains (the rest was really good though).
O.W.L. Readathon - Transfiguration
read a book that includes shapeshifting
I am so disappointed in just about every aspect of this book, I genuinely am at a loss for words.
This is two stars because of Bryce Quinlan, the best part of this book, and Bryce Quinlan only. (And because Crescent City itself was an anazing setting)
Started out really good and horrifyingly relatable, but then lost me completely.
It captures the feeling of depression well but never goes anywhere with it and leaves you with a rushed and flat ending. Really fun and satirical though, I didn't regret reading it!
I loved the way it was written though, I will definitely read more Otessa Moshfegh.
I agree with Grady Hendrix that the scariest things in the world aren't monsters, it's patriarchy and white privilege. But a little less desperate housewives and more vampires would've made this way less a chore to get through.
Imagine living four lives and still having no personality or romantic tension whatsoever.
I haven't read a good romance in what feels like an eternity, I just want to feel something :(
The first half was really boring and the second half really thrilling. I didn't love the ending though, it was weirdly abrupt.
“Once, very long ago, Time fell in love with Fate.”
This book was simultaniously really really weird and also really really good and I still don't really know what to think of it, so I just sort of weighed its parts against one another.
The little short stories that intertwine with the plot? 10/10, 5 stars, loved it.
Most of the main plot, up until about page 200? Really boring, 2 stars, really slow and basically no plot.
Dorian? Love of my life. Zachary Ezra Rawlins? Really boring (not ideal for a main character).
This book might be 3.5 stars for me in the greater scheme of things, but it still takes a special place in my heart because the last part and the short stories were so beautiful that I can't help but love it despite it flaws and Erin Morgenstern still remains one of my favourite authors when it comes to writing style and world crafting (please don't wait 9 years to write the next book I'm begging)
the worst book to read in a reading slump because the world building and the plot are convoluted and confusing as hell - but the ending was amazing and the premise was so creative and cool that I will just ignore the fact it took me almost a month to actually read
I started to read a romance about a mafia gang boss abducting a woman before DNFing it and reading this and I should've just read the romance.
The plot twists oddly reminded me of the way Riverdale is just doing weird unbelievable shit, the last half was just confusing. I mean, I didn't guess the ending, so thats a plus I guess.
