mayastef's reviews
181 reviews

library loan ended </3

I feel like we got really dramatic about holiday cheer, more so than we needed to. I think the drama entwined in the more political aspects of the storyline misses the mark, the anxiety the characters are experiencing does not feel proportional to the political issues at hand.  Coal is going at 110mph at all times no matter what and it is A Lot. Arguably this isnt an insta love moment but I will be ignoring that argument because it feels like a very dramatic insta love relationship type deal. I really liked this concept but I think the writing style and fine details lacked for me. 

Also maybe a hot take but Hex is a stupid name and pulled me out of the story every once in a while. The other halloween siblings have very halloween names that aren't as cringe so I know the author has it in them to make good choices!

I also do not care for whatever happened between Kris and Iris at the end. You can slow burn that shit on the backburner the whole book and have it end all unsettled but bad like that. If you want to discuss it in the next book just leave the conflict for the next book.

Why are all of my favorite books about people who want to kill themselves? I don't even know how to begin to describe this book. I think this book offers some sort of comfort/guidance for people in so many different stages of their lives. Just based on the title, it seems like this book would maybe only offer love and relationship advice, but this book has so much more to offer. We get to see a suite of characters dealing with marriage woes, grief, mental health issues, and most importantly the idea of finding who YOU are and what YOU need. 

Essentially, this book is a fantastic reminder that life is incredibly weird and can be incredibly hard, but it will be okay. 

I wanted to like this book because the concept seemed fun and fresh, but sadly, I was only able to finish this book because I felt obliged* as I was so kindly provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am no stranger to a lengthy book but there was no reason for this book to be as long as it is. I found myself editing the book in my head as I was reading. It isn't an irredeemable concept but the book is SO wordy. So much detail for inconsequential things, so many tangents that pull focus away from the main plot of the book. I think the setting was a bit hard to pin down in time and space, it wasn't fully fantasy but wasn't fully contemporary magical realism either.

The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading but the execution was poor enough that reading felt more like a chore.

*Felt obliged by my own moral code not by anything said or done by the author, publisher, or ARC providing platform

If you are looking for spooky/paranormal romance or just books in this category please read the dead romantics or the undertaking of hart and mercy  
This book pissed me off so bad. It is such a cool concept, a casket saleswoman falling in love with an employee of death, but it is a flop. Nora is wildly immature, and I struggle to find redeeming qualities in her, I understand grief does a number on people but this is a work of fiction and the author could've chosen to actually write her as likable. Death being so corporate is such a cool concept and its a shame that concept went to waste on this book. My eyes glossed over for the last chunk of the book bc I had mentally checked out to protect myself from this mediocrity but I had to finish so it wouldn't feel like a complete waste of time reading this book. This book gets points for a cool concept and being a readable and edited book but otherwise. Flop. 

I think every other F1 book i’ve read has been so criminally bad this rating is artificially inflated by my previous poor experiences. Character development was weak for most of the book for characters with such intense backstories. I’m also glad the sports part wasn't super duper high-pressure bc real F1 stresses me out enough.

Grand gesturing at mom's funeral is CRAZY like what the actual fuck.

 Its interesting that a book two can be so successful without the main character main charactering. Shes still in there but still we dont get any fun ravyn and elsbeth yearning and smooching so im really glad we had Elm and Ione. All of the side characters had such depth it was awesome. Just the right amount of stress pressure and tension to want to keep reading not stop bc you get stressed. Having everyone have to eventually face their fears and get through it basically via the power of friendship is so fun. Loved it. I’m afraid i dont have a ton of in depth analysis since its a book 2 and there wasnt world building in the same way. Every dog gets their day type book. 

 I liked the playing trading card aspect of the magic system; i think my Alice in Wonderland Heart always wants to lean heavily into a playing card-based system. It reads like a YA book that should not have been placed in YA re: light sexual content and gore/cruelty, meaning that it has that YA story type feel but less teen cringe/angst. I think there could be a bit more push-and-pull tension between Elspeth and Ravyn. (Those being the names of the two main characters say everything about the vibes of the book) The royalty/families system being tree-based is cool and unique, but I will say the tree names get a bit wild after a while. The voice in Elspeth’s head is very intriguing as a story device and i think makes her character particularly unique. She knows she is special and has been trying to hide it where usually the chosen girl discovers she is special and gets launched into a whole new world with *special status*. 

Such a fun book and such a lovely author! I had a great time reading this book, and my only complaint is that I wish I could've gotten to know the characters and the world better, but there simply wasn't enough space for that in this book.
If I was describing this book like a perfume I would say:
top notes

zombie apocalypse horror

friendship/guilt/ trauma

sapphic YA romance

This is my first book of theirs that I have read and I am looking forward to reading more.