bernardette's reviews
32 reviews

While the concept seemed fairly interesting, the execution was rough. I really did not enjoy the writing style - it felt unrefined and way too casual for a fantasy novel. (It would’ve been fine if it was a contemporary novel).. It broke my immersion countless of times. I did enjoy the dragons but I can’t say the same for the characters of this book. Will only continue reading this series out of boredom & for my love for shit talking bad books. 

It was a little hard for me to stay captured in the story at the start, but the book does pick up in the middle! Overall, the story felt a little anticlimactic to me but I really did enjoy the beautifully written prose. I also wish we had gotten more of Nicole’s perspective instead of her insufferable husband all the time!

Revisited this childhood favourite of mine after so many years. Rereading this book as an adult made me see so many moments in a whole new perspective, which I really cherished. Though it can feel very moralistic at times with its lessons and virtues, it definitely still stands strong as a heartwarming, wintertime comfort read for me! 

a solid sequel and end to this duology. we got more shepherd king lore, which I enjoyed reading. him seeing parallels of present day and his past made my heart wrench. I do love Elspeth and his relationship a lot, I almost got emotional when the book was coming to an end. the sequel also focused a lot on Ione and Elm. to that, I had no complaints. loved reading about them and seeing their character and relationship progress. some of their scenes had me giggling, it was embarrassing 😭 overall, a solid cozy fantasy read! 

the first half of the book was incredibly hard for me to get through because of how corny everything was. can they stop growling please!!! for a super old headmaster who is literally as old as the universe, he speaks like a  40 year old man trying to be wattpad sexy. I can’t 😭😭 the latter half felt like a fever dream with the pacing and the way everything just kept happening?? by the end of the book, I didn’t know what I even read. I was in a daze wtf but it was entertaining so 2 stars instead of 1! also the witchy system has potential? though that wasn’t really explored too much. 

a solid cozy fantasy read. it was reminiscent of YA fantasy which made it a comforting read for me. I really enjoyed Elspeth and the Nightmare’s dynamic. the Nightmare’s dialogue and interactions with Elspeth were definitely one of my favourite aspects of the book. the build up of the romance was delicious! though I didn’t feel much connection to the couple, I definitely relished in their interactions (yearning🙏). the reveals throughout weren’t very surprising but the story was still very intriguing nonetheless. I also do hope to see more of the side characters in the second book! 

albeit a little confusing at first (definitely doubted my intelligence with how much I had to reread passages to get an idea of what’s happening), once I got into the flow of the book, it was a page turner. adored the letters which pulled at my heart strings so many times. the portrayal of love and yearning was beautiful. I found myself a little disconnected towards the end of the book for some reason but I enjoyed the ending. this would make for a lovely film!! 

beautiful, lyrical prose. this book almost read like a song with its poetic writing. while that usually is not my thing, I came to really appreciate it. such a raw, emotional, heart wrenching reading experience. I finished this book with an overwhelm of so many feelings. so, so good!!

It is so haunting how relevant and significant the themes of this book are presently. there were so many times when I had to put the book down for a breather. despite its themes, Babel was written so, so beautifully. its characters had such depth and life. this book evoked such emotion in me during my reading experience and it’s safe to say that this story will linger around me wherever I go in my day-to-day. loved it 😭