chaptersofmads's reviews
825 reviews

“Which came first, being treated as unworthy or being unworthy? In the end, it didn't matter. If others believed she was evil, or beautiful, or guilty, they made that true.”

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have a lot to say, but I'm going to attempt to only hit on the most important aspects that formed my rating.

I had initial misgivings about this book, but a reviewer I trusted really loved it and made me excited for it. While I can see what would draw people to this, my reading experience did not have the same outcome. The humor in this book reads like a 2014 tumblr post collection used to shame past generations, something that only exists now for people to be confused on how they ever found that funny. Only, this is the actual humor of the book.

Many things about this novel actually seemed to be better suited to 2014 - which a lot of readers might be really happy with. But even the way feminism was discussed or the meta fandom/fantasy conversations were all so incredibly recycled that it was eye-roll inducing.

(There's also a lot of internet references, such as "You sweet cinnamon roll. Too good, too precious for this world." which is something to note if that kind of thing irritates you.)


Next, this is pitched as a book lover gets sent into her favorite world. That's not entirely the case. The fmc's sister loves the books and introduced the fmc/Rae to them. Rae skimmed the first book and didn't complete the series, but her sister was reading them to her. The books are her favorite stories and she loves the musical (more on that later), but I wouldn't pitch this as a reader gets the chance to live out her favorite book when she never even finished it.

I think the point of this was meant to communicate that there's no right way to consume a story/be a reader, which is completely true. However, in this instance, it feels a bit insincere to say that the book lover gets sent into her favorite book.


This is not beginning on the amount of references to Lady Rahela's monstrously gigantic bosom (and there were a lot) or the scene where they attend a fantasy ball and distract everyone by performing the book's musical equivalent from the real world, complete with the most... interesting lyrics I have ever seen lol.


As for the characters themselves... I didn't connect with any of them. This disappointed me, because I was hoping for the kind of story that humanized the 'evil' characters and made you connect with them - even if they remained evil. There was an attempt for that, but it never felt fully realized.

Rae was a pain to read from. Before the story starts she had been through some terrible things that both jaded her and stunted her maturity, so it makes sense that she reads like a whiny, childish ass for the majority of the book. The problem here is that knowing why she's that way didn't make it any easier to be in her brain.

The romances were very stilted and (to me) felt like nothing more than the fulfillment of tropes, with a romantic scene having one of the worst lines of dialogue I've ever read. Ever.


Here's where my thoughts get conflicted. Everything about this book was clearly purposeful. Even the "anatomically impossible" breasts were supposed to prove a point (namely, curvaceous women are not evil seductresses). However, that point feels undermined when your own story falls into the same patterns as what you're attempting to critique.
There was the discussion of agency and purity/virginity and how a woman's sexual actions shouldn't have any hold on her worth (all good discussions) but it still felt empty.

There's also the fact it really is obvious how much this story means to the author. How much fantasy as a genre means to the author. That's perhaps the thing that is keeping this from being a one star read, is that I felt the amount of heart put into this and how important it was to Brennan.

I'll even say that there was a lot of work put into the world-building of the fantasy novel. It wasn't always coherent and oftentimes meant to be satirical, but I know this must have been a pain to write and even with the confusing moments, I was impressed on how the story was formed.


Overall, this may not have worked out for me but I don't think it's a terrible book. It has a lot of flaws and cringeworthy moments, but it also had a meaning that I'm sure will touch a lot of readers.

I'm grateful for the chance to read it and I hope it finds its perfect audience. 

"In the dreaming twilight, he knew nothing but her."

Easily one of my favorite covers of the year.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the interior.

If I was basing this entirely off of preference, this would be rated much lower. But I went into it without the knowledge that this was meant to be more... light-hearted and quirky (almost to the point of being satirical) and I won't lower the rating just because I had different expectations.

So for what it was trying to be, I don't think this was a bad book. There's a lot of humor and magical birds and hijinks that may appeal to the target audience - one I'm not a part of.

However, even once I removed my expectations and accepted that this wasn't meant for me, I believe this book fell short in quite a few ways. It is repeated a million times how intelligent our two main characters are, but to prove this, every other character is the biggest idiot you've ever seen in your entire life. It wasn't funny how stupid they were, it was irritating.

The closest comparison I can think of is that this read like an adult, steamy version of a middle grade fantasy novel - complete with over the top humor, ridiculous situations, and garishly stupid bad guys.

Overall, I really disliked this but I don't think it was terrible and I do think it (mostly) succeeded at being what it intended to be.
If this sounds interesting to you and you're someone that doesn't mind your books being heavy on the silliness, with hints of the most cardboard feminism you've ever seen in your life - I think you could really enjoy this.

I truly wish I could have enjoyed it more. 

“I teach you to be warriors in the garden, so that you may never be gardeners in a war.”

Alternate title: Children of Irritation and Inconsistency.

Despite my hopes that this would be an improvement on its predecessor, this was quite the opposite. I've never had an experience with a series before where every book of the trilogy seems as though it belongs to a different series. How on earth is this where the story went after Children of Blood and Bone?

Without going into massive spoilers, the civil war is completely disregarded. The trauma/the war crimes are completely shelved, then abandoned since there's suddenly a new antagonist and new conflict. Suddenly we have an entire dynamic shift, with entire other countries descending and we're meant to deal with it in the series finale, which also happens to be the shortest installment.

I know that things are briefly mentioned, but nothing reached a satisfying conclusion. The few discussions about overcoming their differences/shelving the conflict were a cop-out to avoid actually dealing with anything. Then when everything is done, we have no resolution on what's meant to happen in the wake of the events.

Also, entire characters disappeared with no explanation? One of the main characters from the rest of the series is mentioned maybe twice and then just completely forgotten for the rest of the story.

This also fell into my least favorite finale pitfall but to a startling degree. Every five seconds, a character was reminiscing about the rest of the series. About their past. About their losses. About the first time they looked into [Blank's] eyes and, "oh my gosh, look how much everything has changed since the first book."
It's annoying in and of itself, but it always bothers me that authors use this as a replacement for any actual meaningful conclusions/parallels. Instead of trusting that the story makes you feel the high stakes and the changes from book 1, they continually try to force you to feel something.

It got to the point that I felt the memories made up 3/4s of the book and I just wanted the book to be over. Which you shouldn't think during a final book in a series, especially not one this short.

This is usually when I'd try to find something positive to say but I don't have anything. Everything about this book was just a terrible, terrible mess. I really did enjoy the first book and I wish that the rest of the story had kept up the momentum; unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Overall, I'm really sad that I disliked this as much as I did. If you're debating on carrying on with the series, I can't say I'd necessarily recommend it for any reason other than to have completed the series.

I think the first book is still worth a read, but I won't recommend the sequels. 

This one is for the Once Upon a Time girlies.

I have missed YA fairytale retellings so much lately and this delivered. From the wintery atmosphere to the magical chosen one trope (that actually made sense) to the creative ways the fairytale elements were incorporated, Kalynn Bayron has once again proven that she is incapable of delivering an unenjoyable novel.

This book actually excels in its core messages of family (particularly the power of mothers) and desperation born out of love. The moments that focused on family (both related and otherwise) were the strongest parts of the book; and even with the short page count, it was impossible not to feel for the characters.

Eve was... a bit on the trying side, but it's hard to blame her - all things considered. I just wish there had been a bit more character work, particularly with her head-strong/rather unkind nature at times.

While I did enjoy this, I won't pretend that I don't wish there had been a bit more to the story - both in length and content. It's so fast-paced (which serves the fairytale aspect well) that it sometimes left the story feeling a bit... underbaked. I wanted more world-building, more time spent on the relationships (particularly the romance), and more spent on certain plot-points that I found interesting.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to someone that's easily irritated by YA and needs all of their stories to be massive feats of world-building and character work.

But if you loved OUaT, if you're looking for a nostalgic yet creatively-unique YA fairytale retelling with a lot of heart, I completely recommend this.

Kalynn Bayron's books are such lovely, fun times (even amidst the heavy topics) and this was no different. 

"Tell me a dream, little love."

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Completely unsurprising turn of events: Sabaa Tahir has written another fantastic book.

In other news, the sky is blue.

If you're someone that loves YA fantasy but has been feeling disillusioned by how generic so many new books have felt lately, I completely recommend picking this up. The world-building, the magic system, the character motivations; every bit of this novel was incredibly well-done.

Every book that Sabaa Tahir writes is a masterclass on how to make readers feel. She does everything with so much heart, that even the worst characters elicit sympathy from the reader because she shows us all of them - not just the parts that make them easy to categorize as hero vs. villain.

Heir was no different. In fact, the entirety of Heir's plot stems from the complicated decisions we make to survive, to protect those we love, and at what point those sacrifices become unforgivable.

It took me a bit to find my footing in the story, but once I was a few chapters in, I remained invested for the entirety of the novel. From that point forward, there wasn't a single moment where I lost interest or wished we could switch to a different POV - a feat with any multi-pov story.

As for the plot itself, ow :) Sabaa Tahir let your characters experience happiness challenge. (Except actually, I love how her books don't shy away from actual! negative! experiences! and grief unlike a lot of other YA books.)

I can't say much without spoilers but every single time a character from AEITA was mentioned, I reacted like it was my Infinity War. I need to do a reread of that series, because holy cow, I didn't realize how much I missed all of them.
A minor critique here - trying to avoid giving anything away - there was one character from AEITA that showed up and I wish they had been given a bit more agency in this book? If that makes sense.

The only other thing (kind of an addition to that last point) I want to touch on is that I found it difficult to connect with the main characters. I don't know what it was and I can't put it into words exactly, but out of all of Sabaa Tahir's characters (all of whom I adore) I felt the most neutral on these. Don't get me wrong, I still love (most of) them and when they were experiencing intense emotions, I felt for them. But something was missing in comparison to how her characters usually make me feel. (I have a feeling that will get better in the next book.)

I'm grateful for every arc I get approved for, but I'm not exaggerating when I say I actually cried when I received this one. Sabaa Tahir's words have meant so much to me for so long that the opportunity to experience this story before its release meant a lot to me.

Overall, I went into this with high expectations and they were all met. This was spectacular in all of the ways I hoped it would be and I need book 2.

Pick this up in October. You won't regret it. 

“The world starts with a story. So do dynasties and eras and wars. So does love, and so does revenge. Everything starts with a story.”

Possibly my favorite in the series since book 2, but still far too rushed.

The last third of this sped by so ridiculously fast and I understand why. These novellas are incredibly short. But I can't pretend I didn't want to spend more time on what was going on or the realizations happening - even just Chih's own feelings of (view spoiler)

With that being said, I loved how creative and dark this was. The vibes were fantastic and the unfolding mystery genuinely kept my attention (though, that doesn't sound impressive given the page count but I assure you with my attention span lately, it's very impressive.)

All in all, enjoyed this one (especially more than the last one) and I'm happy to be caught up with the series. 

“After all, we build our homes upon the ruins of lost cities and sail our ships over the drowned palaces of forgotten kings.”

100th book (and, subsequently, 100th review) of 2024. 🎉

This was such a fun time? I've been hesitant to pick this up because I've recently realized (despite trying to feel otherwise), pirates aren't really my thing. I went into this kind of worried I wouldn't enjoy it and expecting to just not rate it, since I wouldn't want to negatively review something I knew I was worried I wouldn't like.

Fortunately, and surprisingly, I actually had a great time with this. Amina al-Sirafi was easily one of my favorite characters I've read about all year and I loved following her as she went on this quest. There's also a bit of a found family element I wasn't expecting, which I'm a sucker for (when done correctly.)

Despite the amount of trigger warnings, this is a bit of a silly book. There's a lot of humor and heart as well as some moments that are heroic to the point of eyebrow-raising; which I think is exactly what I needed right now. Even the... funny, odd moments were enjoyable to me - when they could have very easily pulled me out of the book.

I'm so grateful to everyone that recommended the audiobook because this was fantastic through audio and if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend trying it through audiobook.

Also! I really love the Jamal plotline and how it was handled. It was a nice addition to the story.

Overall, I'm glad I took a chance with this because I really had a fun time with it. I look forward to reading more of Amina al-Sirafi's adventures in the future.

“It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. It was only that she liked books more.”

Firstly, let us not talk about how long it took me to read this. The ironic thing is that when I returned the eBook to Libby they told me I had only spent 2 hours reading it.

So, truthfully, it may look like it took me a week to read this short, cozy fantasy but that's because I just wasn't picking it up.

Which leads into the review itself.

Everything about the set up of this story called to me. A librarian with best friend that is a sentient spider plant, using a jam shop to hide illegal magic, the conflicted feelings of returning home, and just the overall vibes delivered in a cozy fantasy setting. I've been a bit stressed lately and this seemed like the perfect remedy.

In some ways, it delivered. Parts of this book were extremely cute and wholesome. I loved Caz, I loved (some) of the islanders, and I really, really wanted to eat jam. The overall message of community and overcoming trust issues, as well as the underlying themes of magic being used to control the people were also a nice addition to the story.

Beyond that, I couldn't bring myself to care about anything? I don't know how to say this in a way that sounds nicer, but this entire book just felt empty. I remember some people speculating that the cover looked AI generated and unfortunately, that's sort of how I felt about the plot as well. I feel unkind saying this as I genuinely believe this was a project of the author's heart; however, the fact remains that this felt lifeless.

Something about the way the emotions developed, the plot conveniences, the conflict, even the dialogue at times felt like it understood the basics of how things developed, but not the nuances of them.

On top of that, for some reason, nearly every cozy fantasy I have read touches on darker topics than most of the high, epic fantasies I read.
Minor spoilers ahead: I touched on these in the TW section but this book includes discussions of child abuse, spousal murder, and the one lesbian character watched her wife be beaten to death by her own family.

I understand that coziness exists alongside painful topics and my rating is not lower because of this. This is more just me musing about something I've noticed.

Also, I mentioned this in an update, but we established a characters pronouns as they/them (it is literally written out basically like, "please don't use it, she, or him - only they/them.") And then a few pages later, the FMC misgenders them. This is not acknowledged and leaves me to think it was an accident or an editing error, but still weird and I don't know how no one else noticed this.

Overall, this was very much okay. I liked parts of it and while I wish I had connected with it more, I do think some of my issues were personal. If you're looking for a very basic cozy fantasy with a more whimsical world (other than all the darkness) than most, I think you might have a good time with this. 

“Sometimes, you cannot survive and still be who you were.”

Bit conflicted on how I feel about this one.

In some ways, I enjoyed it more than the previous installment. I appreciated getting to see the Singing Hills and to witness Chih reckoning the home they once knew with what it has become. The feeling of relief turning to grief is something I think was handled really well here.

In other ways though? This was the weakest installment. It almost felt like entire portions of the story were cut out (which makes sense with the length). I wish that more time would have been given to the conflicted feelings and the focus on grief and the odd space you're left in when someone that hurt you dies and you're forced to carry on without resolution.

I also found the attempts at humor pulled me out of the story. A lot. I saw someone else saying they thought this was hilarious, so maybe it's just personal preference but the humor did not work for me at all.

Overall, I did enjoy this - just not as much as I wanted to. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain easily remains my favorite and I hope that the rest of the series will capture what I loved about that installment.

“Lingering on the pain of their loss did not serve them now. That would only come with vengeance.”

Happy to report that this was (overall) an improvement on book 1.

I liked book 1 but there were also a lot of flaws that kept me from rating it higher. (Also, Riven was a much bigger part of that book and I don't like that man very much😇.)

This maintained some of the aspects that I didn't like from the first installment, but the focus was mostly on the plot points I was personally more interested in and built upon the pre-existing successes of book one.

Keera remains a really interesting, complex character to follow and I genuinely appreciate her as a protagonist. Her struggles always feel very justified and I appreciate that (unlike some other series) we see actual proof of her abilities. I also enjoy the characterization of the fae and elves in this series and the worldbuilding remains something I'm interested in; as well as the focus on colonization, land occupation, culture, and loss of identity.

That being said, there are definitely aspects of the story that I feel like would fall apart if one was to examine them too closely. Not to mention the ways this story feels very familiar (as I mentioned in my review for the previous book), the very possibly developing (completely unnecessary) love triangle

involving brothers, no less

, and just some issues I have with the odds of some of their plans actually working out.

Still! This is a fun time with heavier themes and I appreciated my reading experience. Even with the darker topics, this is an easy read and doesn't feel nearly as long as it actually is.

I'm not looking forward to if there's more developing romance because I legitimately do not care but maybe the next book will change my mind. I doubt it though lol.

Overall, this book cemented the fact that I do recommend this series to anyone looking for something nostalgically familiar but better developed (even with its shortcomings.)