isabelthearcher's reviews
167 reviews

This book was truly extraordinary.
It’s astonishing to think that as I am writing this book, these monstrosities are happening. I think that this is a book that is highly important to society’s education of what really is going on in North Korea. And more importantly how, even when they have escaped from a living hell we send them back because our economy is ‘too small’. However sending them back to North Korea as a defector is as bad as sentencing them to death.
This book is not a page turner. You want to put it down and try to block out the bad things happening in the world. We all want to live in bliss but we need to stop ignoring all this suffering! We need more books like this and education for the ignorant!
3.5 stars, the writing was shakey at points, but overall the entire message of this novel is amazing. And to think she wrote it all in English!
Extraordinary.

So so interesting and so good! So glad I read this and can open my mind up to these real and true issues that are taking place in our society.

very very interesting.
a very good introduction to foreign policy.
makes you see the world and politics in a different way.

"It is OK, not to be OK"

This was a really refreshing emotional read that I think I needed.
I liked the narration throughout, it felt very chill yet there was also lots of faith and bible verses woven into. It was very short which wasn't too bad, any longer and it would have gotten boring. I loved reading about different people's experiences and I think this book is highly significant for any christian who has gone through major hardships and is questioning their faith and trust in God.

"You are enough.
You belong.
You will discover treasure in those scars."

This book was so enjoyable and such a fast read. It had a few tropes sprinkled throughout, however the plot, characters and writing made it so fun! I could barely put the book down and I think I read it in four sittings.

The story follows Emma Day, a debutant in Regency London who during one season finds out that she’s part of the Lovegrove Legacy - something which has been hidden from her. With her new identity in the supernatural world, threats follow her and her cousins and they have to find a way to stop everything before it ruins their world.

Emma is such a great protagonist, she has the basic ‘girl finds new world’ stereotype, however the new world is also so deeply rooted in her family and the London world that it makes it so lovely to read. Family dynamics are explored and also the different classes from Keepers, Madcaps to Debutants. I love the relationship Emma has with her two cousins; Penelope and Gretchen; they are both so humorous. Emma is also the perfect mix of being aware of situations however also being so overwhelmed with all the new information that she is being exposed to. Information is given at a great pace, during the first 100 pages you are as confused as Emma is however throughout the novel small bits of information are either given to Emma or she finds them out herself. It wasn’t spoon fed and it also wasn’t overloading, which is rare to find in a fantasy world.

There was a character called Daphne and Emma’s cousin called Penelope… so set in Regency Era London I could see a little bit of similarity to the Duke and I by Julia Quinn. However their character arcs were completely different to that book, but it’s just a note.

Cormac like Emma had the male stereotype of ‘I get with so many girls, but you’re different’ trope, but honestly I can’t find a single bloody romance without this idea now. When he did pull out that line I did cringe and curl up my body shuddering with what the author put down. Aside from that his character arc is pretty interesting, we are introduced to him at the start of the book and he is one of the only constants in Emma’s life. The relationship develops well and I thought that Cormac’s backstory was super interesting and pivotal to the interactions between Cormac and Emma.

The plot developed well, enough for there to be substance but also gave space for Emma’s personal investigations into her Family line. Overall I think the book is more middle-grade but enjoyable as is! I would have never picked it up by myself but I found it so fun and heartwarming nonetheless.

Review edit 27/1/2021: After reflection, that scene should not be romanticised. There are no consequences for Daphne and it's just disgusting. Racism, sexism and assualt should not happen in a book with no explanation. It is a slap in the face to any victim and I was wrong for not noticing the importance of calling something like this out. I would recommend watching Jack Edward's video on this, as it was the catalyst for me rethinking my review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ELuZ5z3X0

Original review:
Wow! This was a quick read!
I read the book after watching the series, which actually was a blessing. I knew all the characters and I could happily have the little adjustments to the plot. A highlight was whenever I read Simon saying "Miss Bridgerton" and I could image Regé-Jean Page's voice in the show.

I loved the romance of this book. It was definitely slow burn, but I loved that about it because every interaction was meaningful and heartfelt. The family dynamics were so sweet and the character arcs of Simon and Daphne were so cute. I think what made me really like it was in the series there are lots of sub characters and plots however in this book Quinn really just zooms into Simon and Daphne and their personal thoughts of each other. Something which was done really well in prose format rather than a series.

Review edit 27/1/2021: Moving this up to a 5 stars. Its been 10 days since I read this and my heart cannot move on. I feel surgically attached to these characters, I love this book so so much. Ok vibes :-)

Really enjoyed this book, however it was a mistake on my part to watch the movie before reading the books. The characters were well fleshed out with information slowly given throughout the book.

One criticism I would say is with the exception of two events everything was very convenient. Plot twists were interesting but didn't make a huge difference to the story. There is lots to be explored in this story however I don't understand how there is another two books with the way this one ended. Plus if they take away the three sub characters and just focus on Ruby I will be highly disappointed.

But in conclusion this dystopian novel stands with the Hunger Games, Divergent, the Maze Runner and more. I just hope that the sequels will keep the momentum going.

This book was extraordinary. You can tell that Delia Owens had so much passion for the story. The plot was spectacular, it kept me guessing until I had 20 pages left and tears were streaming down my face. The best bit of the book was definitely the prose, it was stunning. I caught myself skimming over words trying to read for the story, but I had to stop because the writing was too beautiful to not eat up every word.

“Clouds lazed in the folded arms of the hills, then billowed up and drifted away. Some tendrils twisted into tight spirals and traced the warmer ravines, behaving like mist tracking the dank fens of the marsh. The same game of physics playing on a different field of biology.”

Kya is a great protagonist, I found myself feeling really bad for her at the start of the book. Hoping that she would get help or find another family. But as the story progressed I really admired her, I could not have done what she did at her age or even now. She is smart, self-assured, very determined and despite her hiding very fearless. So much in literature the alone, shy girl is one to be pitied but this book flipped that on it’s head. There was one point where someone was telling Kya it was ok to hate the people who were mean / judgmental to her and she replied that they hate me, they dislike me. It was her against the world but she was still so strong.

I adored the setting of the Marsh and the details that Owens and Kya explained. I feel as though I learnt so much, especially because I live in a drained fen area. There was also great bonding between Kya and nature, always such a lovely theme to be explored.

“The marsh beyond lay in its winter cloak of browns and grays. Miles of spent grasses, having dispersed their seeds, bowed their heads to the water in surrender. The wind whipped and tore, rattling the coarse stems in a noisy chorus.”

The dual timeline perspective really elevated the story, in my opinion, and didn’t make it boring at all. Especially in the first 100 pages where you are learning about

Spoiler

Chase’s death

and Kya’s family I was quite confused about how the story would diverge. It made the pace work well, as the descriptions from Kya’s point of view were a shift from the mystery.

Maybe my only critique or improvement could have been the exploration of race and prejudices more. During

Spoiler

Kya's murder trial

and when Kya would venture into town there were instances of Whites and Blacks segregated but it was quickly tossed away and the prejudices against Kya were more important. Obviously she is the main character, I just think that exploring racism in North Carolina in the 60s would have been an interesting theme / comparison to Kya’s situation.

2nd Read: January 2021
4.5 stars
Going into this book, I doubted it would stand by itself and I worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it too much. Sufficient to say, it was great! I forgot so many aspects of this book, honestly due to the movie adaptation and the details it missed. It made me laugh out loud, shout at the book in frustration and also just made me smile and my tummy feel fuzzy.

Lara Jean is such a great protagonist, one in which so many people can relate to for different reasons. I relate to her because I’ve never had any experience with boys, but she is written in such a way that she’s relatable and funny but not smack in the face dumb and annoying. Others relate to her for having all sisters, for being Korean/Asian in a Western culture and for losing a parent.

Since 2018 I have gained a little sister and my goodness Kitty is an icon and reminds me so much of my own sister. Her jokes, one liners and persistence for a dog make me laugh. Also, for Kitty and the rest of the family it is so evident that they all care deeply about each other. Family dynamics tend to lack fluffy YA romances, and I always treasure TATBILB for this reason.

"Margot would say she belongs to herself. Kitty would say she belongs to no one. And I guess I would say I belong to my sisters and my dad, but that won’t always be true. To belong to someone - I didn’t know it, but now that I think about it, it seems like that’s all I’ve ever wanted. To really be somebody’s, and to have them be mine."

Differences between the book / the movie
Having not re-read the book since the movie came out, there are two things that I think the book did better. This section will contain spoilers for both the book/movie.

Spoiler

The Relationship between Lara Jean and Peter
In the book so many things happen to develop them as a couple, which don’t happen in the movie. Particularly the trip to the estate sale and the betrayal Peter feels after Lara doesn’t sit next to him on the bus. On the estate sale trip Peter gives Lara doughnuts, which then come up again later in the book. They discuss losing a parent, one to death and the other to divorce and how it impacts the family. Just these small conversations, make the plot line of Lara Jean and Peter actually falling for each other much more believable. Maybe I just need to watch the movie again, but the romance in the book developed at a better pace than the movie.

[Peter] says “I don’t know if I ever loved Genevieve. How would I even know what that felt like? I’m seventeen, for God’s sake.”
“Seventeen’s not so young. A hundred years ago people got married when they were practically our age.”
“Yeah, that was before electricity and the Internet. A hundred years ago eighteen-year-old guys were out there fighting wars with bayonets and holding a man’s life in their hands! They lived a lot of life by the time they were our age. What do kids our age know about love and life?”
I’ve never heard him talk like this before - like he actually cares about something.

The Friendship between Lara Jean and Josh
In the movie, Josh is such a throwaway character in my opinion. Used as a tool to get Lara Jean and Peter to start dating and then randomly comes back at the very end to shout at Peter. Whereas in the book, there was much more discussion around friendship and how it can be affected by feelings. Josh cared for Lara Jean, there was a lovely scene where she could tell his parents were fighting so she turned on the living room lights to tell him he could come over and crash at her place. They also go to the diner, instead of Peter and Lara Jean going in the movie, and talk about Margot and Lara Jean’s relationship with Peter. It explores the natural theme that teenagers have growing up, when platonic relationships can sometimes lead to more or not and the damages it can have. I really appreciated this bit of the book much more.

1st Read: July-August 2018
5 Stars
I really enjoyed this.

I heard about the hype this movie was getting on Netflix, and I watched the trailer a few billion times and when I saw his book decided to buy and read it.

For a while I had been craving to read some soppy romance, and this was so it. Not just the romance side of things but the embarrassing starting high school... EVERYTHING. Was just so up my alley when it comes to reading.

I'm not sure if I want to read the sequel just yet, but it did leave it on a cliffhanger and maybe the next few would be exciting. However I do know that sometimes the good book of a trilogy is only the first one.

I am extremely hyped for the movie, strange as it sounds highschool-esc movies where the main character is dealing with teenage issues and crushes are my FAVOURITE movies.

This was a very enjoyable read for a long car journey.

Overall rating *3.5 Stars
Average rating of all the novellas.

This was actually such a great read despite what people say about novella bind ups. It jumped between so many generations and characters. It explored different themes in the Shadowhunter world and also fit into all of the series. I do think a large part of my enjoyment in this book was that Jem and Tessa (and Will) are my all time favourite characters in this universe. Furthermore there was less of an emphasis on TMI, which is my least favourite series. I would definitely recommend this for any Shadowhunter fan. It was so good!

I have short reviews for all the novellas, spoilers ahead - more spoilers for the sequels/series however just read at your own expense. I tried not to detail what happens in the story unless I’m actually going crazy.

Spoiler

Cast Long Shadows - 2 Stars
Most of it was just character introductions, the family tree that we will get to know in the Last Hours series. Too much information overload in my opinion. However I adored the Jem and Will parabatai content.

Every Exquisite Thing - 5 Stars
Ahhh this novella was definitely one of my favourites. Anna’s perspective on society was so raw and explorative from a different generation. You can tell that she was a one of a kind Shadowhunter who deeply cared for everyone. And Cecily!!! The best mother ever!!! The way that she and Gabriel were so inclusive of Anna it made me tear up. It really reminded me of the passages of Malec and Alec trying to explain it to his parents. Shadowhunters are almost like a conservative religion and it’s so interesting to see their delayed response to mundane (human world) social issues.

Learn About Loss - 3 Stars
Not a very exciting story, unlike Clare’s normal writing. Jem is one of my favourite Shadowhunters of all time so I did really enjoy the nostalgia he gave me. Plus the continued exploration of the theme of immortality and living through different generations.

A Deeper Love - 2 Stars
Tessa Gray, my favourite character ever. However, that's the only reason it’s 2 stars, the rest of the story was quite dry. There was not much substance and everything said had already been mentioned in one way or another.

The Wicked Ones - 3 Stars
I liked the switch in timelines we experienced through this novella. There wasn’t much of a driving force, but I always found Valentine and the Circle really interesting even when I DNFed the Mortal Instruments. The Stephen, Robert and Céline storyline was pretty dry, the only takeaway was how grumpy Robert Lightwood always is. The information about the Lost Herondale was also developed through this story which I really enjoyed. This collection of novellas in general does a great job of explaining the backstories to many plot points in the Shadowhunter world.

Son of the Dawn - 2 Stars
I can’t remember anything about this novella sorry lol. At the time of reading I put “Eh. A bit boring, I did like how the next story references some of the events that happened 10 years on.”

The Land I Lost - 4 Stars
This story was super long, but I did really enjoy it. The Malec content was so sweet and getting a backstory on their kids was great. I love how they adopted, there’s just so much love in that household man. The aftermath of the Cold Peace was also very interesting and to find out about the Downworlder Alliance in New York was super cool too as I didn’t know that existed! Having not read the last two books in TMI, I had never met Lily Chen and man did I adore her. She has so much charisma and humour and seeing her with Alec makes it even more funnier.

Through Blood, Through Fire - 4 Stars
Adored this one, again it was about Tessa so we can expect it at this point. Great exploration of Tessa’s loves, her backstory, immortality and the experience of Jem coming back to flesh - of which I was very intrigued to find out more about. Hands down the best bit of this novella is how seamlessly it fits into the Dark Artifices storyline. In that particular scene with Julian and Emma, the arrival of Jem and Tessa had felt very convenient. However even if these stories were written later, you wouldn’t know. Everything we knew about the Lost Herondales fit perfectly into this narrative and it was so. so. clever!

The Lost World - 3 Stars
Wow this one gave me a lot of emotions surprisingly. I still feel so on edge about the presence of Livvy in Ty’s life but it was also so satisfying to read. Interesting questions and answers were discussed about the presence of a ghost and how Livvy is tied to her brother. Themes of resting in death and how Livvy feels cheated as she can see her family but no one can see her. Great Magnus Bane content, I appreciated that and also pregnant Tessa content! Yup!

Forever Fallen - 5 Stars
I need the wicked powers right now. Ugh we actually got some content after the cliffhanger of Queen of Air and Darkness. Mad!?!? I don’t want to talk about it, it makes me sick and mad and excited and gives me incomprehensible feelings.
But please can we talk about Jem and Tessa’s baby !!!!!!!!!! I’m gonna scream, Mina !!!!!!!!! Mina !!!!!!!!! Mina !!!!!!!!! Nawwwww I loved it and the way that Jem and Tessa look after Kit like their own!!! Please I love them so much.
AND AT THE END OF THE BOOK THE LAST SENTENCE IS “THIS EVENING THE WHOLE SKY WAS BRONZE, AS THOUGH TO SUMMON WICKED POWERS”
Just thought that was a cool nod to The Wicked Powers :) Nice job Cassy Clare.