I take notes while I read because it helps me when I’m trying to write reviews (because I don’t usually get to them right away…oops). It’s a helpful way for me to organize my thoughts and I also can note my content ratings right after finishing instead of trying to remember after the fact. I found the PERFECT book journal a couple years ago at B&N–the hardcover, spiral, lined Canson size 8×5. And the best part? It was under $10. Fast forward to present me and I can’t find this notebook (or an equivalent) ANYWHERE. If only I had known the company was going to discontinue this notebook when I first bought it! Ah well. After a couple months of hunting, I did finally settle on something from Amazon, but I’m curious–what do you guys use to take notes? I tried my phone for a little bit in the interim, but didn’t LOVE it. Anyway, that’s just a long way for me to say, here are the rest of the reviews from my old notebook that I haven’t gotten around to posting until now.
Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake
Honestly, this series has gone downhill in a hurry for me. I started the series either shortly before or after the third book came out. I devoured the first one and was left on such a cliffhanger that my husband ran out and bought the second one for me so I could keep going (I know, he’s a good guy). I was SUPER invested in the first two, moderately invested in the third one, but this one? Just meh for me. I’m just kind of tired of the story at this point. I don’t really understand the politics or motivations anymore. I’ve gotten to the point where I wouldn’t read the next book if there was one. The beginning was just confusing to me–there are SO many characters. And in the end, I didn’t really care for the Jules/Emilia relationship. It just seemed kind of random and thrown in there? Overall, I wasn’t super impressed. 3/5
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Legendary by Stephanie Garber
I reread Caraval for a book club and then went ahead and finished the series (but it doesn’t look like I took any notes on Finale, so oh well). I found the whole plot of this book to be confusing (and the next book too, tbh). Tella as a character was confusing. The fates were confusing. I really loved Caraval the first time I read it, but I don’t feel like it held up to a reread (especially compared to The Night Circus which TOTALLY DID). I found Scarlett’s plot-line to be distracting and Tella just annoyed the crap out of me. She kept doing things that were CLEARLY a bad idea just to tick someone off. The writing was also just…not good for me. I could tell the author was trying to be lyrical with these lush descriptions, but if I have to read about how Dante smells like ink and darkness one more time, I swear… WHAT DOES DARKNESS EVEN SMELL LIKE. 3/5
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The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
I don’t feel like this book was quite as dynamic a conclusion to this trilogy as I was hoping for, but it was still good. I liked that this book was filled to the brim with strategy and political scheming. I also felt like Jude was more palatable in this book than in the previous two. With that being said, there were a few plot points that I was a little confused by. Pretty early on in the book, Taryn asks Jude to take her place in Faerie for a little bit, but I’m not really sure how she planned to get Jude back out? And then everything that happened with Carden…while I didn’t see it coming, once it happened I felt like the solution was really obvious. Like, REALLY obvious. I thought the overall ending was pretty good, but it seemed like it all happened really fast. I also wish that Grima Mog had gotten more screen time, she was awesome. We’ll see where Black decides to take Faerie next, but I’m hoping we get a book set in the Court of Teeth (fingers crossed). 4/5
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Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
I was so disappointed by this book. I’ve only heard great things about it (and the series in general) but I just couldn’t get on board with the characters. I thought all of the characters had these exaggerated flaws that they kept dwelling on and thinking about, but then they didn’t really do anything to overcome those flaws. I mean, I guess Amari did in the end, but Zelie and Inan did not. Zelie was particularly hard for me. She has NO impulse control. Absolutely none. Her temper is too quick to flare and she never thinks about long run consequences which drove me absolutely CRAZY. I thought the magic system was pretty interesting, but I also feel a little confused by it. Zelie mentions that maji exist in other countries, but the gods that the magic comes from seem pretty Orisha-centric. Do the other countries believe in the same gods? Did Saran take magic away from the whole world or just Orisha? Overall, I’m just pretty confused by how this world is set up. I probably won’t be continuing with the series. 3/5
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What's She Reading? 