ladylovestead's reviews
359 reviews

2/27/25: this book is good for when you need a fun vampire adventure you don't have to think too much about. 

2/24: I think Julia Buckley wrote this book intending for it to be the last book in the series and it reads like a grand finale. There was lots of action at the end with a satisfying wrap up. 

2/23: goodness this was bleak. I need to think about it more before I finalize my review and rating.

later that day....lol

I settling on 4 stars for this. Overall, this is a hard hitting, despairing, bleak, heart breaking story. I think it could have been 5 stars if she had peeled back a bit on the number of social issues tackled in this story. There was so much trauma, it was almost too much. It ended on a hopeful note, but overall I left this book feeling bruised and beat up. I don't know if that was the intent? I'm ultimately still pretty torn about how I feel about this book. I loved it and I hated it. 

2/23: 3.5 stars. Certain parts of this dragged for me but on the whole it was a fun and engaging read. Good set up for the LOTR trilogy. 

2/17: There was so much going on in this story it made my head spin the best way. Lots of cozy coffee talk. Visits from my favorite characters and fun developments with the main characters.

In this one too, since Clare is interacting with many people from South America, Columbia specifically, we get to learn about some of the sociopolitical issues of those places. 

2/15: I loved this so much. Wintery, slavic middle grades are one of my favorite sub-genres and this did not disappoint. The characters were precious and learned important life lessons. The plot was exciting and the pacing well done. I already want to re-read it. 

Well, poop. This is the first time I haven't loved a book by Kate Alice Marshall. Every author has a dud and this was a dud for me. There were things I liked, namely: the wintery setting, and the prose. The plot felt like nothing special. It was a standard "rich people have secrets" story. 

This was honest and hard hitting. Well crafted and an important story and voice.

2/11: 3.5 Rose's writing is gorgeous and thoughtful and quotable. The plot was just ok. The characters were well developed.

2/4/25: Good body horror. Loved the feminist themes and discussions about how those you least expect can be harboring intense hatred for groups of people.