brimelick's reviews
347 reviews

This book most definitely falls victim to the second book in a four-part series syndrome; I was upset the number of times I put it down in disinterest. I LOVED the first one, and after years since the first read of it, the story held up over time. I'm hoping the third one picks back up as I am looking forward to what happens next, I feel as if I could've skipped this book.

Where can I get a King Crab fishing boat captain built like Branden Taggert? Cause HOT DAMN?

This book is a perfect example of a book I don't think I would ever pick up unless it were with a book club. I decided to use months of audiobook hours for Spotify for this, and my one mistake was listening to this on my way to and from work cause you should not be operating heavy machinery when listening to some of these chapters. Piper is the perfect mix of a ditsy rich girl from LA with a good heart. She was irritating to me for most of the beginning until she started to use the opportunity she had in Westport. Everyone needs a sister like Hannah; this duo could end world hunger if they set their mind to it. When Piper offered to walk Abe to the museum every day, I started to like her, then became her biggest fan when she stayed with him when he fell, knowing she would be late to see Branden off, knowing it could be detrimental to their relationship. I want nothing but the best for them and am primarily listening to the next book not only cause I love Hannah and Fox and want to see more lovesick Branden.

It is a fascinating story about Ellen and William Craft, who escape from slavery in the middle of the night in Georgia and make their way to Massachusetts and London. Ellen dresses as a young white man with an illness, and William, as her enslaved manservant, boards a train and, over a few days, slowly passes into free territory. Their story quickly becomes well-known, and they begin to tour the lecture circuit of Frederick Douglass and William "Box" Brown. Living under the ever-changing Fugitive Slave Act and constant fear that a slave catcher is on their heels. This is a story of the perseverance of Ellen and William's never-ending goal to be free and the hope, fear, sadness, and excitement. It is also a story of understanding the volatile system of slavery and the fight to end it, the violence, separation, and devastation of it. For those of you are super into connections; William and Ellen Craft are materially related to the Fossett family that was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson (at Monticello).

This book had me second-guessing everything I like about dark romance. However, I love it when the FMC is just as obsessed as the MMC, even if we must wait until the end to figure that out. My new favorite trope unlocked: the unreliable narrator.

This was insane in all the good ways; I'm not prepared for the next two, but I will read them anyway.

So I read this after Heir of Fire and before Queen of Shadows, and from where I am now, I can say that it was the most gutwrenching way to read it. From getting to see Celaena's dynamic and relationship with Arobynn and the other assassins to seeing her never-ending want to see good in the world and an end to slavery, to see her relationship begin and drastically end with Sam Cortland, this group of novellas gives the reader a glimpse into Celaena's world before the beginning of the series. As a slow reader who annotates books as I read, it was much better reading this before diving into the story after her meeting Rowan and the introduction of Manon. I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

As an archaeology student, I found it rare to find stories of females in the field. All we learned about were people like Flinders Petrie and Lord Carnarvon; never the women were behind the scenes creating curriculum, teaching new students, and even financing the digs, as well as on the front lines leading archeological digs for multiple seasons. Learning about so many new names, Myrtle Broome, Kate Griffith, and Emily Paterson, was fascinating when I only knew about the Maggies and Amelia Edwards. These women were pioneers of their times, breaking the mold of education for women in Europe and the predominantly male field of archaeology. Many of them were placed in the shadows of men like their fathers, brothers, and husbands, and they found their freedom in education and traveling using financing and publishing multitudes of seasons of archaeological digs. They were pioneers in their sexuality as well; for many of these women, traveling on their own was seen to be taboo. So, finding traveling partners like friends or lovers allowed them to be who they were, with no one getting in their way. This book also dives into the history of just how damaging the early years of archaeology were; even though many of these women thought to record things that were going on, there were still several things left unrecorded, not adequately recorded, as well as looted and stolen artifacts. The stories of these women are told through the facts, the diaries, the letters, and the photographs left behind by these women. I would love to see this book as either a required or recommended reading in archaeology programs at my university, where I studied both archaeology and the ancient world, as it opens up new perspectives and people to be explored.

Okay, I rarely enjoy a sequel as much as I enjoyed the first book. Hannah and Fox are a wholesome yet devastatingly dirty follow-up to Brendan and Piper. Fox has been stuck in the shadow of his playboy father and fishing captain best friend, Brenden, and now he finally has time to shine with Hannah. Hannah, who has been nursing a crush on her boss and suave director, Sergei, has also been sitting in the back seat when it comes to being her own leading lady in the movie of her life. We follow a push and pull of flirting between the two and get a few ALMOST spicy scenes that had me gripping the steering wheel of my car while listening to them. When they finally get together, Fox is riddled with guilt for not being good enough, while Hannah just wants him for who he is. Fox makes some decisions that make me want to launch a shoe at his head (a very Feyre and Rhys moment). So, with his dumb decisions that made me angsty, I refuse to give it five stars.

Sierra Simone, you dirty queen, I hate Mark so much I would lick the floor if he asked me to. You gave me everything that I needed my trauma trio to go through so they could have that ONE NIGHT TOGETHER. I'm going to need you to get on with Bitter Burn cause I NEED to know how this will end.

In all realness, this book is so well written in terms of Isolde and Tristan's POV, but good god, I need to know Mark's inner dialogue, especially after the last chapter and the secrets revealed. I need the third book right now, but I shall be Father Tyler's good little lamb and wait cause I know the waiting is the best part!

This was my first ever Christina Lauren book, and I can honestly say I will probably read more of them! This was the perfect use of my least favorite miscommunication trope, but it worked in all the best ways here. I felt Olive in the best ways; I hated Dane like she did, I loved her family like she did, and I was hesitantly attracted to Ethan just as she was. Not many authors can make me feel that. I was genuinely crushed by the third-act break-up, even when I KNEW it was coming. I *almost* cried at the big act reunion, and the epilogue proposal was adorable.

For a book club choice, I was pleasantly engaged and laughed out loud many times. *The only reason why I did not cry was because I was in public.