brimelick's reviews
347 reviews

AH, I did not like this book as much as I thought I was going to. I needed Hayden to grovel like he was a professional in groveling after the ending of the first book. This also held one of my least favorite tropes and that is when the main male character wants to trap the female so badly, he turns to paying off a doctor to botch her birth control shot. Nope, just so many nopes. Being morally gray is one thing but Hayden doesn't fit the actual description of that at all. It's just wrong.

I understand the point of this being a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but I felt that the title was a bit misleading and I didn't love the insta-lust between the two main characters or his disconnect from the Chicago mafia that his family is involved in. I liked the relationship towards the end but it took me a long time to get to that point.

I had been interested in reading this for quite some time and I finally had the chance to when it came up in the book club. What readers need to keep in mind when reading this story is that this was one story out of millions during the Shoah. Lale shares his story as an older man about how he found a woman he declared to himself that he would marry if they survived. It is a romanticized story and it shows some of the devastating details of Shoah as it also glosses over some important details. I am going to be reading the rest of her books but there are other authors I go to first for books on the Shoah.

*2024 Audiobook Listen* Two words; Graphic Audio. Do yourself a favor and listen to the Graphic Audio version of the Audiobook, cause damn. It really makes it so much better.

Okay. So. This book was in one word, amazing. I was so scared to read it after the series being so hyped up. It DID NOT disappoint. The first two hundred pages were a little draggy and I was beginning to think that I was not going to enjoy this book, but after the first few hundred pages, the story picks up and grabs you by the neck and holds a firm grip until the very end of it. Chapters 54 and 55 did it for me, and that is not going to be a surprise to anyone else who has read this before me. Maas is a masterful genius with her worldbuilding, which is paramount to me when it comes to a fantasy world. You are reading this book from Feyre's perspective so you will learn about the world in which she lives as Feyre herself discovers how this new world around her works. She learns the backstories about people and she learns of the past when she asks about it or it becomes important to her situation at any given time. I know of other novels like this that shove explanations of how a world works at random times that do not fit in. Going in blind is one of the best ways to read this story, I knew only bits and pieces but kept a good way away from straight spoilers. When I tell you that I was crying during the entire last 300 pages of this book, I am not lying to you. The characters that Maas creates are so deep and wonderful and she creates a family in which the reader truly believes they are being welcomed into and that was such an amazing feeling. Feyre is truly a representation of the readers themselves that are brought into the magical world as if she had been there the whole time. The humor is spot on, the characters are lovable (and in many cases, rightfully hated), the world of Prythian is equally beautiful as it is terrifying, the romance is incredibly hot, and the plotline is just delightful. Will be acquiring the third book as soon as I can.

Firstly, I want to thank NetGalley for bestowing me one of my most anticipated books of the year as an ARC. I screamed in my car when I got the email. Jean, if you ever read these reviews, your books give me so much joy.

This book is marketed as a romantic comedy, but Jewish, of course! And in this case, it's more jewitch than anything else, which is everything I've ever wanted. We follow Faye Kaplan, a Jewish woman who has made a life for herself in Woodstock, NY, after a horrid breakup with an ex-fiancé and trying to move on with her life separate from an abusive, ill mother and a father who passed away. She has created a pottery shop for herself and is diving head first into her Judaism with the support of her Jewish friends and community. What is critical to the entire story is the consistent anti-Semitic acts that are committed by neo-Nazis that go by the name the Paper Boys; it's a prevalent storyline that hits close to home to what many Jewish communities are dealing with daily. When going to support her community after one such attack, Faye runs over a man on her bike who loses his memory. Over the next few weeks, Faye cares for this man, Greg, who sleeps on her couch and reads all her books (swoon). She sounds like a literal fictional man, and that's the thing: Faye is convinced she's created a Golem. Through a course of highs and lows, attacks against her shop, Greg going undercover to find the neo-Nazis and trying to figure out who Greg is, a beautiful love story is formed. I laughed, teared up, and felt the characters' anger as they were attacked for just trying to survive. This book is about a woman finding herself, embracing her inner witch goddess with the perfect dash of feminine rage, and discovering that they deserve all the happiness and the best kosher salami.

The gripping sequel to the first Thornchapel book, A Lesson in Thorns. We meet all six of our main characters in the first book, and this focuses solely on Auden, St. Sebastian, and Proserpina as they navigate the aftermath of the ending of book one. Auden and St. Sebastian have a dramatic past that they cannot get over, and Propserpina tells them they cannot be together if they are not a trio. We follow a mix of present-day and 8 years ago, where Auden and St. Sebastian went through something that would drive a wedge between anyone. Proserpina is on a pathway to find what happened to her missing mother, and as the mystery of where she is comes to pass, the ending of this book will leave you with your jaw on the floor outside your work office, having no idea how you're going to get on with your day.

Gothic AF, Sierra, you are so right. This book is the perfect mix of lust and hatred between the characters. Even though this book primarily follows Proserpina Markham, the five other main characters were childhood friends who finally reunited as adults. Cue attraction and missed opportunities with sordid pasts between some of them. Oh! And also pagan rituals. LOVE.

For once, I can finally say that I enjoy an excellent multi-POV book if the stories are all equally fascinating. For this book specifically, I enjoyed seeing how the characters think about each other and the plot in their own words. It was fascinating to get into Chaol's head, mainly because you saw how much he would do for Aelin and Dorian. I thought Dorian spent most of this book brooding and being mopey until three-quarters of the way through, and the ending was a banger for him. Manon was a delight; I cannot wait to see more of her and the 13 in the upcoming books. Rowan irked me for the first few chapters he was in, but BOY, does he grow on you. I'm hoping after the second half of the book that the rest of the series keeps at this pace, I'm ready for things to get epic.

It was a childhood favorite that never got old and gets better every time I read it. I'm also a big lover of the movie, and I think they share the critical moments of the story; however, the movie makes up for some parts that I've always wanted from the book. I love knowing this book is going to be 25 years old this year, but it is still weaving its way into people's hearts.

Not many books have hooked me on the first sentence, but this one did, and the story became increasingly interesting as it progressed.

The story follows Addie, a competitive free diver who, on one dive, dies and is brought back 8 minutes later. She can't dive as she heals from this both mentally and physically, and is dragged along to her mother's honeymoon to an island that is only inhabited by the family of the caretaker. The island seems alive, and in a manner of speaking, it is the connection it has with its history and the ghosts of two Victorian girls tied to a boy named Jonah. Addie, with the help of the caretaker's son Billy, focuses on setting them free of the island, but it comes at the cost of losing themselves. It's hard to write this without spoiling much, so I hope everyone reads this book as a quick palette cleanser to other genres. It was a genuinely enjoyable experience!