sshelbyreadss's reviews
476 reviews

I had a great time! It was a little slow to start ….like the click, click, click of going up a rollercoaster. But once we crested that hill it was so fun! 

What can I say, I am an absolute sucker for games/trials, and this one hit the perfect mix of The Hunger Games and The Goblet of Fire. 

I was having a good time until my spidey senses started tingling and I looked up the author…and found out she is a white woman writing  Black main characters. Being white and writing stories that center the Black experience seems appropriative and kind of gross. After learning this, I felt uncomfortable and I can’t support this by reading further. 

Support BIPOC authors and their works! Not white people profiting off BIPOC stories. 

Matthew Desmond pulls no punches in showing the USA’s ass regarding its perpetuation of poverty. 

Everyone should read this book. 

This slow burn romance was excruciating. Especially with it being single POV. Dual POV would have made the pace more tolerable. 

The phrases “big guy” and the “leg of my glasses” were used way too frequently. Between this and the narrator’s style it was challenging to listen to. Her voice was pleasant, but it almost sounded like each sentence had been recorded separately and then edited together. It did not flow well. 

Lastly, I was disappointed that the fat phobic ideas and comments were not addressed. And then Vanessa went on to drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks after she started running? That is both unrealistic and unhealthy. Very disappointing to see in a new(ish) romance! 

I am not up for a trilogy right now and I can’t decide what to read. Help me. 

Okay, so...I didn't hate this book as much as I thought I was going to. I had BIG beef with the last book. Mostly because it's hard to cope with the fact that the witch of prophecy who is supposedly SUPER DUPER powerful can't access or control her powers. And in this book, she's not much better. HOWEVER, the end of the book redeemed this by providing the reason why her powers were bound, thank God. But, my god, was it painfully slow getting there. 

I agree with another reviewer that much of this book should have been cut out and thrown into a novella. I won't lie, I am generally living for the romantic subplot...but this book focused far too long on the side characters coupling up and spent too much time away from the central storyline. 

I also agree with other reviewers on Lukas as a character, he was

dead long before he was gone.

I recently watched a TikTok on the use of love triangles in YA books about how it is used to represent two different paths the main character can take, and I felt it was a miss for this book. Instead of allowing Elloren to make a choice between two different paths, in several cases in this book the choice is made FOR her.

Yvan died so I'll be with Lukas for safety. I'll be with Lukas because of this sense of duty that is linked to my corrupt religion. Wait, Lukas died and he told me to be with Yvan for safety. So I'll share his dragon kiss.

Like in the hunger games, I understand not being able to give in to your desires because of trauma, but here we have the (allegedly) most powerful mage ever binding herself to men for protection. gross. 

Regardless of my criticism, I still had a nice time and I like Julia Whelan's voice. I have hopes for the next book now that certain developments in the plot have happened. Please, Laurie Forest, for the love of god, let the

love triangle stay dead!

Lush, dark, lovely, and magical! Bring Me Your Midnight is a tale of duty versus desire and what it means when the foundation you stand on starts to shake. 

I had a great time with this story. I loved Tana and Wolfe and how they truly were enemies in their opposing beliefs and how they came to understand each other and create something new. 

I think that the thing that the witches' power was tied to was pretty weak and opened up a lot of questions for me. Like if it just took that item to create magic, wouldn't it stand to reason that anyone who possessed it would be capable of magic? Why keep the item at all if the new order was created to protect the coven and keep the mainlanders satisfied? They could have just stopped practicing magic if their safety was so important to them? Why debase your people by performing parlor tricks for humans? 

I thought the chapter from Wolfe's perspective was such a treat and would have appreciated more of his perspective, but I think the single POV was essential to the plot, so I understand why only one POV was used. 

Despite my criticism of the magic system's foundations, I still had an incredibly lovely time and finished this in just a few sittings. 

*This review is also posted on Edelweiss. Thank you Sourcebooks for the advanced copy!

How am I supposed to go on after this?