tianabooks's reviews
174 reviews

“You look best when you’re you.” 🩷

What are the odds that I get to read two books which gave me all the 5-star feels back to back?
This book has been on my radar for such a long time and I finally get to say I’ve read it! And… that everyone was absolutely right when they told me I’d enjoy it <3 🥹

I don’t get to read many YA contemporaries anymore, mainly because I don’t want to risk judging them for being what they set out to be. However, this one truly made me so happy and it gave me lots of giggling moments 🩷
Liz and Wes were incorrigible — truly in denial; in fact, if denial had a picture attached to it, that would probably be of Liz.

Two next door ‘enemies’ who couldn’t stop messing with each other… um methinks true love??? 🤭
And Wes.. what can I say that would do Wes justice? Every “don’t cry Liz” had my heart, his jokes, the way he treated everyone around him 🤍

“You haven’t messed up my hair in a really long time.”
“And it’s been killing me.”

Loved the rom-com references throughout the book and at the beginning of each chapter. I’m a rom-com lover and binger. Even when I’m saying I’m not in a rom-com mood, you put one on and I’m hooked. So, this book was extra enjoyable for this reason 🩷
And don't get me started on the soundtrack part, music DOES make everything better Liz was SO right about that! 

Truly such a delight to read and experience 🥹🩷 I will of course be reading the little stories and novellas - slightly scared about the second book ngl 😭

“It is your choice. Know that I will follow you to the end of the earth.”

The yearning in this. True, unwavering yearning.
You know when you’re reading a book and you’re so consumed by the story, you cease to think of anything else? I wanted to keep reading even when I couldn’t. This story and its characters - especially the two main characters with their palpable grief and strong devotion to each other - became so dear.
You can feel the grief, the pain, the doom-ness of it all.

The writing is beautiful. A fantasy story that brings together many elements of folklore and mythology. Threads, Fates, Prophecies, Opposing sides, and century-old wars. Magic — so much raw, unforgiving magic. All come into play in this world.

“Always mortal. Always doomed. And yet you will not cease.”

A diverse set of characters each playing an important part. I loved reading about the creatures of this world in addition to our main characters. I enjoyed the secondary characters just as much!

The ending is bittersweet and it promises a strong sequel. I’ve never been happier to know that a second book is out than I am right now 😭

“I am yours and I will happily burn in the fires of your rage. You need only command me.”

I know this book can get a bit slow at different moments, especially in the middle. But please keep going if you decide to read it! It’s so worth it 🤍🍂. 

“No matter where we are, I’m always home when I am with you.”

I have found a new fantasy series to obsess over! When I started reading this, I wasn’t expecting this to go by so fast and for me to be immersed in the world of the book almost instantly. The reason why I couldn’t finish this sooner was because I was travelling and let me tell you… all I wanted was to crawl back into the book. 😩 can you imagine my frustration when I was 85% done and THINGS were happening and it was tense as heck and I had to put the book down?! Almost screamed 😭

I really enjoyed the characters and the world. It truly did feel like the Peaky Blinders met the Grishaverse and decided to produce this love child. ♡ However, this also had its own magic system and lore. I found the magic system and the world structure fascinating, especially the way the origins of magic were explained. The reason for the rating, to be fair, lies in the initial exposition to this system. I was confused at first and it was more of a ‘figure it out as you go’ kind of approach… which was for the most part manageable. However, I was extremely confused at first, almost like I had missed a prequel about all this  😅.

Milla and Nico gave all the tension and chemistry 🤍. You could tell they REALLY tried to dislike each other despite their attraction — delivered sworn rivals. I’m slightly embarrassed that there were moments in this that had me giggling… like don’t let anyone ever see me like that 🫠. Marriage of convenience served too — every “my wife” or “husband” further contributed to the giggling ♡ 🤭.

I didn’t appreciate that little semi-cliffhanger though!? In fact during that last 10% I was TENSE. The developments?? I kinda figured out one of the revelations but the way it happened was still so good. We somehow got more than what I was expecting 🤌. 

Of course I’m reading the sequel! 🙂‍↔️

was entertaining and all but then fell a bit flat 

I finished it in under 24 hours so that has to mean something, right?? 🥲

Honestly I spent most of this book getting frustrated with Sydney’s, our FMC, complete lack of ANY preservation skills. The red flags were coming her way flashing and screaming and she was ignoring them completely. Oh no I wonder what I should do if someone is stalking me?? Maybe if I ignore the situation, it’ll magically go away?!?! 😒

On another note, I’ve read like 4-5 other Freida books and I’m not going to lie, this particular twist got me. I’m usually able to guess parts of the story or at least one of the twists. And I’m always trying to think of the most absurd thing that might happen. But this one was actually a good one 😅  the epilogue thought felt a bit underwhelming for a Freida epilogue so there’s that. To this day I think The Inmate has probably her best epilogue. 

Will I read another Freida Mcfadden book? Yes. Her books are so addicting and fast to read. 🙃

I just couldn’t vibe with the writing  and the inconsistencies tbh 🙃 

Now granted I didn’t pick this up for the significant plot, let’s be honest. I was going through my Kindle Unlimited  books and it seemed short and dark/Halloween-y. Why not, right? 
The characters were so inconsistent along with some setting/plot details that the whole thing was all over the place. It’s basically just a smutty book and the writing during those scenes was detailed and seemed to get better throughout the novella. The dialogue in between though.. 😬 

I don’t want to be mean so I’m just going to say the writing wasn’t for me personally but it’s a quick little novella if you’re looking for something towards your reading goal! 🍂

I’m slightly upset because I wanted this to deliver the best cosy vibes ever but it was kinda.. flat? 🥲

I really enjoyed the small town atmosphere and the supporting characters. In fact, I did get a big urge to move to a small town and open a coffee shop — now if I could open a coffee shop/book shop combined in one, that would be even better! 🍂
Back to the book though, I think I liked the secondary characters more than the MMC. He was clearly dealing with a lot but the way the miscommunication trope came into play, ruined a lot of the good development for me. 
The mystery reveal was a bit underwhelming and it felt like we brushed it aside and moved along. 

I will be reading the second book mainly because I do like the two characters it’s about! 🤍

But this one wasn’t my favourite :/ 
It’s more of a 2.5-3 but I’ll leave it at 3 for now. 

I’m like…obsessed with this series 

why did I wait soooo long to read this??? To be honest I haven’t touched a YA book in ages but this one was so worth it! 🤍