A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (ACOTAR Book 2)

I am officially in love with this series. I have a lot of new things to tell you guys, both in the book, my relationship with this series, my opinions, and what has actually been going on in my life. The latter of these I plan to cover in the Holiday review post I plan to make in the next few days—don’t freak out if it’s later than that; I think we’ve established “the next few days” is code for “whenever I freaking feel like it.”

Either way, back to the book review. Guys. Guys. That is the only word I have left in my vocabulary apparently. I know that I shouldn’t write reviews right after I’ve finished a book because my emotions are too raw and there’s a possibility they’ll cloud my actual rating of a book. Like, I could have really loved a book initially and given it a relatively high rating, but then I realized that I didn’t actually like it as much as I remembered.

That danger is always present, but I feel the threat of not having a raw enough memory of the book just as acutely, if not more. I would rather give a generous rating to a book that may not be my ultimate favorite than forget how much I fell in love with a book and give a horrendously lousy review because of my crap memory. Besides, I trust my memory enough that I don’t think I would forget if I didn’t like a book and give it a high rating.

That’s my reasoning in case you were wondering how I go about reviewing. Anyway, back to this wonderful book. This book was absolutely amazing, but I feel like reading it was a rollercoaster. The book itself is really long (620-something pages), but the way I went about reading it was a little hair-brained.

I started A Court of Mist and Fury a few days after Christmas, but it was extremely slow going in the beginning. This was because I was getting back into the rhythm of school, i.e. falling back underwater in paperwork. So, I started the book but only made it about 50 pages in before we went on vacation for New Year’s. I knew then that I would have plenty of time to get into ACOMAF, and, sure enough, I immediately began tearing through the book.

However, I had lent my sister ACOTAR a few days before, and, boy, she literally inhales books. I have never met someone who reads faster than her or my other sister, and I began to feel very stressed as the pages between us got smaller and smaller, even as I tried frantically to read more. It was a losing battle, and she managed to finish ACOTAR before I finished ACOMAF. Therefore, on New Year’s Day, I found myself staying up late to finish the book.

Even as I write this, my sister’s sitting next to me already halfway through ACOMAF. I have no idea how we’re going to manage the next three books in the series. Just what I needed: added stress in my book as well as reality. Thanks a bunch, Cleo, love you.

Either way, I absolutely loved this book, despite trying to speed ahead. I am officially Rhysand’s property, and I ship Feysand until my dying days. I’ve also already started A Court of Wings and Ruin, so I’m totally ripping on Tamlin and the rest of those @-holes. I’m also so into the Inner Circle vibes (Cassian, my baby) and I love the whole friend group. I totally also ship Cassian and Nesta (what’s their couple’s name?).

But, the whole vibe of the book is so awesome, and I get warm fuzzy feelings just thinking about Feyre getting her bad beotch energy back on. She absolutely deserves how she’s come so entirely into herself and I love Rhys for helping her do that.

Genre: adult fantasy, romance

Age: 16+

Rating: 10/10

Beach Read by Emily Henry

OK, I wasn’t looking for an emotionally intense book after Where the Crawdads Sing, so I picked out this popular BookTok book that everyone is saying is such a cutesy little rom-com. I haven’t read anything by the author before, but this book as well as her other one, People We Meet On Vacation, which is also on my list, is supposed to be pretty good.

I also wanted some beach vibes to get me excited for summer here, as I’m rarely ready for all the heat around the Holiday Season. But, as soon as I started reading, I knew this one would wreck me. I read this book in a day and a half, and boy, was I crying that night. I have an embarrassing video locked on a device that remains confidential of me crying and holding the poor book.

Can you honestly pick up an enemies-to-lovers, beach-themed book and expect yourself to have a safe emotional detachment from it? NO. It’s like an unwritten rule that enemies-to-lovers books rule your soul while you read them. Combined with that beachy, The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes, and bam, I was a goner.

Beach Read follows our broke, struggling, and mentally unstable protagonist January Andrews as she moves to a small beach in Lack Michigan following the death of her father, which she is still coming to terms with. There, romance writer January finds herself procrastinating her writing so much and in such a confused and unstable place, she eventually strikes up a deal with the devil.

Agustus Everett detests romance and happy endings. As a writer of bleak and “coldly h0rny” fiction, he and January have been enemies and rivals since they attended university together years ago. Gus has also moved to the same small town on the beach, and, coincidentally, finds himself, neighbors, with January.

The two are less than thrilled to find themselves in such proximity, but, they spend more time together and eventually begin to work together and help each other out of their quarter-life crises.

The intimacy and vulnerability of this book were perfect, and I loved the tropes and begrudging sexual tension. My sister prefers enemies-to-lovers in fantasy and high stakes, but I kind of like the contemporary ones like Beach Read.

Genre: romance, fiction

Age: 13/14+

Rating: 10/10

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I. Am. Not. OK. Don’t even try to talk to me. I finished this book in literally two days, and I haven’t been able to think straight since. I am emotionally wrecked! Someone, please call the ambulance, because this is the book that finally broke me.

I know I say this about every book, but this one is really my favorite book. I absolutely loved the storyline and the plot. But, more than that, I fell in love with the girl we follow, the young teenager we learn about, and the woman we inevitably never understand. The protagonist, Kya Clark (pronounce it Key-uh, but it might also be KI-uh), is one of the most beautifully written and created book characters I have ever come across. I don’t think I can reveal a complete summary of the book because YOU NEED TO READ IT, but I definitely want to give credit to this amazing character I love.

Kya lives in North Caroline in the 1960s and 70s. But, she doesn’t live like most of the people in the area; she lives in the marsh. All alone in the wild wetlands along the coast, this young girl has a tough life. From the very beginning, she is resilient and brave, never backing down from each curveball or full-on sledgehammer thrown her way. Throughout her story, she is confronted by hostility, superstition, and cruel gossip from the town close to where she lives. Kya’s called the Marsh Girl by everyone, and her reputation as a wild, illiterate animal keeps her closed off from the town.

Where the Crawdads Sing follows Kya’s brutal and beautiful story alongside a mysterious murder that takes place in the present, i.e. 1969-70. As the story progresses, we learn that not only did Kya know the future-murder victim/town golden boy, Chase Andrews, but they also had a long history.

The murder mystery stays pretty much invisible for the whole book, but the end plot twist was so satisfying. I can’t reveal what it is, but let’s just say that Kya and her secrets will never be shared with the outside world. Estranged and on The Outside her whole life, Kya Clark’s life remains mysterious to the town that has so ostracized her.

I loved Kya’s character so much, and this story touched something inside me I haven’t even met yet. It’s definitely a re-read for me, so I hope you’re interested enough to GO BUY IT NOW!

P.S. If our girl, Dr. T Swizzle likes it enough to write a bangin’ song about it, why are you still even on this page reading? GO. BUY. IT! (Check out Carolina or burn in hell—don’t look at me; I don’t make the rules)

Genre: contemporary/literary fiction

Age: 13+

Rating: 10/10 (#already sold my soul to the author)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab was an incredible book I recently finished. This book is centered around an enigmatic and charming young woman cursed with living forever but being forgotten by all. With such an incredible story spanning 300 years, traveling between the French countryside and the US, Addie LaRue was a page-turner if I’ve ever known one.

Adeline LaRue grew up in Villon-sur-Sarthe, France during the turn of the 17th century. As a woman in that time, the constrictions of her village began to chaff against Addie’s naturally adventurous and wild spirit. In 1714, when Addie finds herself facing the doom of marriage, she desperately turns to the darkness and hastily sells her soul for the promise of freedom to live the life she wants, uncontrolled by others. This deal is twisted beyond recognition as the impulsive words of a young woman who is abruptly faced with an unwanted future. Addie becomes doomed by another fate; that of life without any tethering whatsoever to another, freedom at its most extreme.

This curse wraps around Addie throughout the next centuries, until she meets Henry Strauss, who remembers her. A break in the matrix, a miracle, and a joy to Addie. However, as the two learn more about each other past though, they discover that the malign stealer-of-souls has plotted against them both yet again.

With the clock ticking on Addie and Henry’s time together, Addie has to come up with a way to save the one person who remembers her, who hears her, who knows her. Can she do it? And what will it cost?

Addie LaRue is a poignant, insightful, and wonderful work, full of captivating moments in history, and following a delightfully wild and clever character throughout her struggles against freedom’s darkest face; disremembrance. As someone who is always interested in historical fiction and fantasy, this book was perfect for my taste. I recommend Addie LaRue for any age group, although, of course, there are a number of sections that would not be appropriate for someone younger than the Jade Age Meter (JAM)—roughly 12 or 13.

Of course, though I absolutely loved this book, I would not recommend it to someone not interested in fantasy and fiction. Although it holds a lot of historical value, the story ultimately revolves around gods and immortality, which are, of course, fictional *wink wink.* So, if you are looking for an accurate book focused solely on history, Addie LaRue is not for you (that rhymes!). Nonetheless, this book was fantastic for someone who values scintillating fiction above boring, accurate history. Addie LaRue is 10/10 stars for me!!

Genre: historical fiction, Y/A fiction, romance

Age: 12+

Rating: 10/10 *chef’s kiss/standing ovation*