chaptersofmads's reviews
820 reviews

“She walks with grace upon the clouds, and the stars know her by name.”

Within the past year, Rebecca Ross has become one of my favorite authors. I loved the Letters of Enchantment duology and adored the Elements of Cadence duology. After loving both of those so much, I decided to revisit this book - which I had originally dnf'd in 2019.

And my final thoughts are that I probably could have left it dnf'd and my life wouldn't have changed.

This is exactly what I thought it was when I started it a few years ago. Not only is it incredibly predictable and lacking any/all sense of mystery/magic, it also features one of the worst romances I have had the displeasure of encountering lately (which seems dramatic, because I haven't enjoyed most romances lately.)

The man is at least 8 years older than our 17 year old protagonist, which is already pretty funky, but! He has also known her since she was 10 and has been her teacher (referred to as master in this book) since she was 14. It is known that he has favored/loved her for the majority of this time. This is never questioned/condemned and every time I tried to forget their age gap, it was brought up. Again.

(I understand this book was inspired by history, but this was also a YA fantasy that did not need to pull on the historical accuracy of icky power dynamics in relationships.)

Beyond that, most of the book felt incredibly convenient or just simply stupid. I don't understand how any of this actually worked out in their favor, since they were all dumb as rocks. The villains - one dimensional and glorious as they were - were also incredibly stupid, gullible, and walking stereotypes so perhaps that's all the explanation required.

There are a lot of random things I could complain about with this book (such as the fact an evil character is conveniently killed by a dog or that the MC just so happens to find a secret passageway in her new prison/room) but this is already long enough.

I want to be clear: I did not hate this book. There are far worse books and I could still see Rebecca Ross' writing I love so much within the pages, particularly in the atmosphere and world-building. Unfortunately, these aspects were overshadowed by all of the other things I hated.

Overall, while this was a quick and easy read, I would not recommend it and I (most likely) will not be carrying on with the series. 

“It's always the books you don't have that call to you, you know that. Not the ones on your shelf. They can wait.”

A very brief review for what felt like a very long book.

This was... not for me, but I think the author was pretty successful in writing the kind of story that he set out to write. I applaud him for that. As a Doctor Who fan, I feel pretty confident in saying this felt like a very long, confusing, drawn-out episode of Doctor Who. In fact, it kind of felt like multiple Doctor Who episodes put in a blender and served to me in cheese cloth.

I was expected to eat the cheese cloth.

If that doesn't make sense, I'm afraid I can't explain it more.

This is well-written, but I couldn't help but feel incredibly disconnected/bored/apathetic for the majority of my reading time. And then I accidentally (or intentionally, depending on the author's original intent)

felt like I was reading about something a step away from bestiality and that undermined the point of them not being quite as different as they thought. I had been picturing dogs that walked upright and a human girl, which made me a bit uncomfy, personally.

Overall, this was not bad, but I am also relieved to be done with it and ready to read something else. I would recommend it to fans of Strange the Dreamer and Doctor Who. 

Not rating this because of my conflicted feelings on this series as a whole (there are unavoidable problematic elements, particular in BIPOC rep/treatment and the way gender is spoken about ((i.e. repeated instances of "male, female, or creature")), but I will say I think this was exactly what I needed to read right now.

There were a few lines that hit really hard with some things I've been dealing with lately and I'm grateful this also gave me the chance to stop thinking for a bit. 

Before I start the actual review, I'd like to place a warning that this isn't going to be a professional review, nor is it going to be without spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

With that out of the way: this was fucking horrendous.

I didn't go into this expecting it to be spectacular (this pun is the only levity that shall exist in this review; cherish it), but Stephanie Garber's books mean a lot to me (Caraval is the book I credit with getting me back into reading) and I was looking forward to a fun, campy, cash-grab, Christmassy time.

What I got was a TellaLegend low-calorie dark romance kidnapping spectacle, complete with her mentally repeating phrases such as "the possessive touch that shouldn't feel good, but does" as he slips her hand up her skirt whilst she is blindfolded, gagged, and bound and you (the reader) don't know she's aware who her captor is. You aren't even supposed to know who her captor is. For all intents and purposes, you're meant to read it as though she's being assaulted. All for it to wrap up with the happy realization that she'd actually asked to be kidnapped by Legend and that she was "pretty sure" it was him for most of it.

What the actual fuck?

It's at this point of the review that I'd like to clarify: I'm not kink-shaming nor am I insinuating that roleplay is inherently harmful. But there's a very big difference between fiction depicting consenting adults' sexual exploration and a book being sold as a YA Christmas novella romanticizing SA/completely ignoring consent (Tella actually tells Legend ((referred to as 'her captor' in this scene because the reader isn't supposed to know it's been Legend all along)) to stop and he keeps going.)

This isn't about whether or not sex belongs in YA. This is about a novella with a really harmful message being poorly marketed and published for 12-18 year olds.

My indignation aside: this also just really sucked. We get barely any Scarlett (or Julian), most of the book (pre-kidnapping) revolves around the same Tella/Legend crap that ruined the original trilogy, and the plot is just... abhorrently dumb.

Honestly, the only good thing I have to say about it is that the art was very pretty and Christmassy.

Though it may not sound like it, I really was incredibly excited for this. Caraval is a book that meant so much to me when I first read it and I also really enjoyed the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. When this was announced, I was really looking forward to returning to the world with a holiday twist - a sad mistake on my part.

I'd like to think that Stephanie Garber didn't think about the implications of this book, but I find it hard to believe that no one brought up these concerns before it made it to publication.

Overall, I'm just really sad/disappointed that this was the direction they decided to go in. This could have been such a fun, cheery (while still maintaining Stephanie Garber's love of the dark/twisted) time if we'd thought for literally 2.5 seconds about the implications of the story and how it could come off the wrong way.

Also, if Tella and Legend just fell off the face of the earth but that's another point entirely :)

I don't recommend this, unless you really want 0.2 seconds of Scarlett and Julian and some festive Caraval art.

“The magic she believed in was of a different sort. The sort that cheered a pall of melancholy, that fed a hungry belly, that warmed a cold heart. She believed in kindness, in compassion, and in sharing what fortune she had---with those who needed it.”

Once again, Elizabeth Lim proves she is incapable of writing a bad book and I love her for that.

I was incredibly hesitant to pick this particular story up due to a lifelong distaste of the movie, but Elizabeth Lim wrote it and that fact was enough to make my decision.
To my relief (and probably the disappointment of others), this book has very little to do with Pinocchio/the events of the movie itself.

This book is about the Blue Fairy, her past and what led her to grant Geppetto's wish. It's really about sisterhood, family, compassion, and the complicated morality behind our choices (with any of the actual Pinocchio story happening in the last 20-ish% or so.)

So, I would recommend this but with the caveat that this is not Pinocchio's story. If you go in expecting/wanting that, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you want a sweet family story with magic and the vibe of Pinocchio captured rather well, I would definitely suggest giving it a try.

Overall, I'm honestly surprised at how much I liked it. I can't see myself ever rereading it or thinking of it much in the future, but it was a good time and I'm glad I read it. 

After checking some reviews, I've determined that there isn't a single reason for me to keep reading this, except to feel even more justified in my hatred of it. 

“She now understood that the world wasn’t kind to young women, especially when they behaved in ways men didn’t like, and spoke truths that men weren’t ready to hear.”

People have been recommending this to me for years and they were all right. It's a complete failure on my part that it took me 5 entire years to actually pick this book up, but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance.

This was a masterclass in how to create a great YA fantasy standalone. Somehow, finding a perfectly steady pace, this book weaves together humor and magic with a host of grim, sometimes almost creepy subject matter and balances them perfectly. It has lovable, vivid characters, an incredibly fun book-based magic system, and some of my favorite pieces of writing I've read all year.

I would recommend this to almost anyone, but particularly fans of the Infernal Devices series. They aren't incredibly similar, but if you loved one, I feel you would really enjoy the other.

Overall, I had such a good time with this. Everyone that recommended it was correct and I love them for it. 

“He knew that she was the only one he wanted to find in the darkness. The only one he wanted to hold the shape of his soul, even with his thorns and dreams and wounds.”

Another beautiful book from Rebecca Ross, proving that I need to read everything she's ever written.

As with the first book, A Fire Endless transported me to Cadence from the first page. I read quite a bit (admittedly, not as much lately lol) and it's incredibly rare to find books I feel are this immersive and magical, with characters that stay with me long after I've read the last page. Both books of the Elements of Cadence duology accomplish this flawlessly.

With that being said, I did enjoy this one slightly less than A River Enchanted. Mostly due to an increase in predictability & melodrama, particularly in scenes that were meant to be solving a political dilemma. These moments often felt like the fantasy equivalent of "and then everyone clapped." Which may not make sense to anyone other than myself, but the comparison remains.

Don't get me wrong! I still adored this book. I love the poetically romantic way it was written, the focus on the spirits, and the journeys the characters went on. Truthfully, my complaints are only noticeable when contrasted with how perfect book 1 was. I just wanted to explain why this didn't quite reach a 5 star rating.

Overall? This has cemented its place as one of my all-time favorite series/duologies. These are the kinds of books you leave feeling forever changed, willing everyone in your life to read it so they can partake in the story you love so dearly.

If you've made it this far into my exhausted rambling and are still wondering: yes, I highly recommend this duology. It's atmospheric, magical, romantic, and a bunch of other beautiful words I could probably think of if I wasn't so tired right now.

Just read it. It's fantastic. 

Wholesome and beautifully illustrated. 

There are still some (mostly personal) things I don't connect with in this series, but I still enjoyed my time reading it. I also loved the casual rep (especially sign language!) and the message of this installment. 

Overall, very cute and made me hungry lol. 

"You're only a monster if you choose to be."

Maintaining most of what I liked about the first book and improving on some aspects I didn't, Celestial Monsters was a pretty good sequel.

I still think this duology kind of reads like a children's show where they're allowed to swear, complete with incredibly cheesy dialogue and melodramatic emotions. Legitmately, so many scenes felt like something lifted from children's media (up until the point where someone said "fuck"). While this vibe doesn't work for me personally, I do actually think it's a selling point of the series. Giving nostalgia along with aging up the characters experiencing the events.

All in all, this duology is a fun time. Not without its flaws, but I'm still happy I read it. I do recommend it to readers that are looking for a fast-paced, entertaining series with fascinating mythology and characters that grapple with the morality of how their world is set up.

Overall, I had a nice time with this and I'd like to read more from Aiden Thomas in the future.