toastyghosty13's reviews
156 reviews

This was recommended by a friend. I found the concept to be super interesting. I ended up liking this book a lot more than I thought I would, since I thought it was going to be a lot of plotless romance and smut. It was the opposite, and I actually wish there was more romance. This was a unique story that had interesting characters and dynamics. The lore behind the agathos and daemons is cool and I like that there is a lot of time spent figuring that out and exploring it further. I like how it also shows Grace, the main character, and how much she grows once she meets Riot. I will definitely finish out this series.

I thought this book was so interesting because it goes over the life of the father of taxonomy UNTIL 75% OF THE WAY THROUGH IT IS REVEALED HE WAS A HUGE RACIST. Idk, I can't really bring myself to care about what he has done for the taxonomy world, and I think all of his work being lost to natural disasters 3 times is karma for being a racist lol. 

Also, I did not care for how the author went into information about herself and her past relationships. I read this book because I was interested in reading about taxonomy stuff, not to listen about how you met the love of your life and then promptly threw it all away after 7 years for a hook up. The dude you cheated on probably wouldn't have even cared that much if you communicated to him that you wanted to explore your sexuality with a woman.

This review put it perfectly into words: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3539789603

This was a fun prequel to the Gallagher Girls series that gives context on how Cammie meets Liz and Bex. It introduces other characters too and helps to also give more details on the school they are attending. This book was cute and I love all of the supplemental material that the GG series is getting.

Loved reading this book again, the last time being when I was in middle school. I love Ally Carters concepts and ability to make a unique story that has fun characters. It makes me wish I got to be a super cool teenage art thief. 

I remembered the book being a lot different when I first read it, but that's not to say that it was lacking in any way. It was fun reading about Kat and her friends being a modern day robin hood, stealing back priceless artifacts and returning them to their rightful owners.  I wish there were more than 3 books in this series, since the adventures they get up to are akin to Oceans 11.

This was a fun book to read. There is a special place in my heart for the Septimus Heap universe, and it is so fun to read about them again as adults and side characters to a new cast. Tod is a very fun main character and I like seeing how she mirrors young Septimus with her approaches to problem solving and caring about her friends. 

This was very nostalgic, despite it being the first time I have read it. I love the new setting of the desert and am curious where the story will lead to next in Book 3.

don’t have the time or gumption rn. plan to give it another shot at a later date 

didn’t have time 

This book was a lot of affirmations and reflection on the rules of art and creativity. I own a physical copy of this but then it was recommended to listen to the audiobook, so I listened to the book while walking my dog. Part of me regrets listening because I feel like I did not fully absorb what this book talked about, and if you asked me to remember one of the affirmations I would not be able to tell you from memory. However, I think listening to it was also the right move because I remember my feelings in the moment while listening to it and it was calming and joyful. 

If I owned the audiobook to this I would easily play it in the background while doing anything for my day to day tasks, even work. The author reads for the audiobook and he has a very soothing voice. I also found out he started a record company and is to attribute to the start and success of popular groups like the Beastie Boys. You can tell from the book that the author used his own experiences to write about the rules behind creativity and art, but abstracted enough away so that it can be applicable to your own perspective without any information on the author's experience. I am not sure that that makes much sense, but I feel like it will if you give it a listen. 

This is a strange book in that I would listen to it how I listen to lofi hiphop while doing work or when I need to be productive. There are not many things outside of music that I feel that way towards. Listening to this book was extremely soothing, and I will probably look into getting my own copy of the audiobook to keep.

This was another romantasy book that has vampires and chosen one prophecy vibes. I don't even know if Oraya is actually a chosen one, but she definitely gives off that energy regardless. 

I did like how this was a similar ish base concept to the book From Blood and Ash, where there is a main leading lady and a mysterious leading man comes into her life, where they forge a bond that stands against all other odds. I did find this book more engaging because they were in a hunger games esque competition, and thus it was far more interesting than FBAA imo. 

I found the lore of the different vampire types to be confusing (probably because I was listening to the audio book and usually eyeball to read). My friend recommended this to me and told me that understanding the different types of vampires is not as important for this book, and that the next book will go into it further. 

I plan on reading the next book and hope that it does not take a similarly boring turn as the FBAA universe does, because I could not get myself to finish it after the 3rd book.

This book has a very unique magic system and a loveable main character. I found it to be a really engaging story, but the magic system was a bit harder to follow (I mainly blame this on the fact that I was listening to an audiobook). Once I understood it further, it was a lot more interesting and hard to put down. 

I do wish there was a bit more action than just

at the beginning and end of the book.

There was a lot of world building, which can sometimes get a bit boring, but it pays off in the end because it is really interesting once it comes together. The characters (the likeable ones, at least) were also super interesting with their own personal backstories of mystery and intrigue. 

I have not read many books about magic that take place in the south (Beautiful Creatures is the only other I can think of) but I really liked that setting for this book and also really liked Bree as the main character. She has her own mysteries to unravel about her past and family (namely her mother who died when she was a child). I have plans to read the rest of the series.