readerlatte's reviews
236 reviews

I am crushed and won't be adding this to my dates read.

I am a total die hard fan of Buffy. I grew up watching the show and was so excited to read this. But I am sad to say that the snark to this one was just to much and it just didn't feel like the other stories about Buffy and that world.

"After all, it's just a flower. And I'm only a girl."

This has got to be one of the hardest reviews that I have ever written. This story was a blend of The Hunger Games, Crucible, and The Handmaids's Tale. I really wasn't sure what I was going to be reading in this one. I knew it was some kind of dystopian story where girls had no say in anything. But other than that I knew nothing. What I found was this beautiful story about a girl who was so much stronger than she thought she was.

The cover does not do this book the justice that this book needs. This has got to be the 5th or 6th cover that I just didn't care for this month. Anyway don't let the cover turn you away as this is a must read title!! The story opens with the girls getting ready to see if they are going to get a veil and get married. Then its off to a ceremony called the Grace Year where they are lead out of town to an island where they have to survive for a year alone. I really liked where the author decided to start this journey as it allowed the reader to fall for Tierney early on. We also received some much needed information about this world. Without it feeling like info dumping.

The writing in this one was very straight forward and easy to follow. The only issue I had with the descriptions were when the girls got to the encampment. I would really like to see what this place looked like. Because, with the author's descriptions it was very confusing to me. But that was it. The rest of the pacing and writing was wonderful. One other thing to note is that this book doesn't have chapters. It's split up by section of the seasons that the girls are going through, then returning home.

The characters in this one were spectacular! I loved Tierney, she was so strong and didn't take anyones crap! She grew so much over the course of the story and learned so much about herself. I don't really want to call this book a coming of age title because its more a finding yourself and changing your world title. But these girls in the Grace Year learned so much about themselves.

The storyline/plot was dark and scary and so so beautiful! It will make you have all the feels you can have in this one from shock, love, sadness, and just utterly falling in love with the world that Liggett has created. I can say without a doubt that this book killed me. It ripped out my heart only to shove it back in to rip it back out. When you goto read this one make sure to have tissues on hand. Because, when you get to that twist of an ending you will be crying.

Overall, this was one story and journey I will not be forgetting about soon. I would love to see a follow up to this one continuing the story. As I would love to see how this world changed after a few years.


This book in six words: Never fear to change your world!
Favorite Quotes:

Please note these are from an ARC.

"Because in this moment, oh how I long to be full of dangerous magic."

"How do you say goodbye to your childhood?"

"That's how they think of us....we're nothing more than in season mates for breeding."

"After all, it's just a flower. And I'm only a girl."

"And I wonder if this is the magic taking over. Is this how it starts-the slip of the tongue? A loss of respect? Was this how I become a monster the men whisper of?"

"But I won't be a broken bird. Not anymore."

"They can call it magic. I can call it madness. But one thing is certain. There is no grace here."

"I told you, I have no magic." "Once again, I reach for the gauzy fabric." "You're wrong." he says, folding my outstretched fingers back into my sweaty palm." "You have more than you know."

"We may be without powers, but we are not powerless."

Sadly, this weeks Take Control of my TBR pick just didn't work out. I thought it was closer to middle grade vs. young adult and well although it did sound kind of on the sillier side I wished that it would have kept that. It felt like it couldn't decide on if it wanted to be silly or serious.

I had this book as an eARC and I ended up giving it two stars and DNFing it. Then I found it at the library and decided to give it another try. And I am so glad I did because this book was amazing! I do have to say that the cutting thing that is in this book was one of the things that turned me off of it the first time I tried it. But now that I have read it all the way through I understand why it was there. So although it should be listed as a trigger please know that there is a good reason why it's there.

This story is for the reader who loves mystery and witchy magical things. Overcoming Evil as well as those who want a story about family and first love. This book has it all. It was a very fast read and I read it in 3 and a half hours. And I couldn't put it down. The author did a wonderful job with the flow and giving us little bits and pieces of the story as it unfolded. The POVs of Heather, Primrose, and Prudence was ingenious and it made the story more interesting. The setting of Scotland was beyond magical and I do hope one day to visit. And no that's not just because I'm addicted to all thing Outlander..........

The Library of Lost Things sounded like your normal contemporary novel. But once I really started reading it I found that it was so much more. This is one of those titles that is full of the feels and it hits you right in the heart. The story opened with us learning a little about Darcy and her situation with her mom. The author did a great job creating this world of hoarding as well as the character of Darcy and her mom. So may YA titles make the parents there but not and although this one did that sort of, Darcy's mom was there in some respect.

Darcy was such a great character and I have to say that she was way stronger and nicer than I would have been, with her mom's hoarding. I think I most likely would have given up on my mom ages before that and moved in with my grams or something. I am not a clean freak but I do like things being put away. And this goat tunnel system was just insane. I almost wished this would have had pictures or artwork throughout the story just so you could picture it even more.

Side characters in this one were amazing!! Marisol was my spirit animal for anything dealing with clothes and I really need a book about her!!! I want to know what happens in her life past this title!! Then there is Asher, towards the end of the title he reminded me of a Middle Ages woman who was tired of dating and just wanted to settle down. I thought it was so funny that I thought of him this way. But that is just how he made me feel. I loved his character as well and his issues and he was just so grounded.

The writing in this title was phenomenal!! It flowed so well and it just drew you into the story in the best possible way. You just can't put it down because you're just so invested in what is going to happen next. This book is just full of love for authors and books and the only issue I had with it was that hate for ebooks. This debate has been going on forever and I know it won't stop but print books and ebooks are both amazing.

Overall, I would recommend this one to anyone who loves books and bookish things. As well as those who want a story about a girl just trying to not be invisible anymore.

This story was one I will not soon forget!! I loved the fresh idea of the Favors and how the world was like the Wild West. I really thought this one reminded me of the 90's movie Bad Girls and I would love to see this one on the big screen. The only issue I had with this title was that on the cover you have this gorgeous POC on the cover of the title. However, in the story it is never mentioned what color skin or nationality (other than them being Dust something. IE. they had no shadows). Although this didn't take away from the story at large I just felt like it was missing in passing at least as a descriptive on what these characters looked like.

The story opened with us learning a little about this world that these girls have grown up in. I think the author did a great job with giving us this information without it feeling like an info dump. We also learn more as the story unfolds and I think it worked to weave a wonderful tale. The pacing worked out well and the writing was simple but beautiful. The mythology in this the story worked to create a wonderful world that felt like an old western, dystopian, fantasy novel and go figure it worked out as one of the best titles that I have read this year.

The characters in this one were all well formed and each had their own personality. With how this one ended I am excited to see where the next story takes us. Will we get to see everyone returning or will we get pulled in one direction over another. Although there are five characters in this one we really only get a few POVs and then the overall story. Were are never really just in one other than the start. But for the most part we get Aster's POV after the story gets going and it worked well. I never thought that it was overwhelming and well you guys know I love POVs when they are done well!

Overall, this story was beautifully written with a creepy scary world and amazing strong women as characters. The fight for freedom has never been tougher.


Go Into This One Knowing: Prostitution, Slaves, Branding, Human Trafficking, Drug Use

When I started this one I wasn't sure if it was going to be a historical or contemporary or what I was really getting into. I grabbed this one as a title to read for Year of Epic Reads Read a Book with a Dress on the Cover. But, I am so glad that I did! This was a gorgeous story about a girl that just wanted to design clothing for people to fall in love with. And it really reminded me of how the world of fashion might have been happening until the world of the runway happened.

The story opened much like the Selection did and that worked out really well. This one kind of reminded me of the Selection series just a tad with how things unfolded. Although it one girl trying to win a spot as an apprentice instead of one girl trying to win a crown. I really loved how all the elements of this historical contemporary came together.

Emmy was such a fabulous characters and I loved her so much!! I would love to have a few novellas about the girls back stories leading up to each one being chosen for the Fashion House! I fell in love with all the characters and would have loved to find out who won the competition as well as where everyone ended up.

Although this is a stand alone (as far as I know) I think it could become a series pretty easily. We don't get any kind of wrap up at the end. Which was my only issue with this one. I would have liked an epilogue where we found out down the road where everyone was at.

The writing was pretty easy to follow and its a very fast read. When I started it I just kept reading and then all of a sudden I was past 150 pages in no time. I would love to learn more about this world Emmy is in. We don't really get to learn much of the larger world around her. Such as mermaids are mentioned but we never learn if its a joke or do they really exist in this world. I would love a follow up title where Emmy and Sophia goes on some kind of world tour with their creations. And maybe they get to design for the mermaid queen if these beings are really alive in this world!

I am so devastated right now!! I wanted to love this book so much and this is a signed copy to ME!! And I hate it. There I said it I did not care about the characters and jump in timelines and POVs just irritated the everliving crap out of me. This story about two queens set 1000 years apart was one that I thought was going to be perfect. But the jump between the two characters alternated each chapter so I was never given the chance to fall for anyone. Add into that the enormous amount of cast, political people, and all the other kingdoms and this just ended up being confusing on top of boring.

I say that if you ever feel like you need a float chart for a story then this book might not be for you.