feuillycakes's reviews
149 reviews
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
You know those books that you read and enjoy every page and then when you're done you have no thoughts about it beyond a sense of enjoyment? That was this book for me. At least at first. Now that I've had time to think about it I can put my finger on why I was no thoughts head empty, and it's all good reasons I promise.
This book felt really familiar in a lot of ways. I've never read a published work with this combination of tropes, but you know what I have read them in? Fanfiction. I eat this stuff up. I love it. So reading this book felt like any other day, and reading these characters felt like I should've already known them, and it was a weird feeling to be having with a paperback in my hands. It's like this book was made for me really, which makes it very hard to pinpoint what I liked best about it. This book served me up a plate of my favourite desserts and then asked me to pick my favourite and all I can say is even if the time travel (my literal favourite trope ever) had not been part of this book I would still love it for all the wonderful relationships.
This book felt really familiar in a lot of ways. I've never read a published work with this combination of tropes, but you know what I have read them in? Fanfiction. I eat this stuff up. I love it. So reading this book felt like any other day, and reading these characters felt like I should've already known them, and it was a weird feeling to be having with a paperback in my hands. It's like this book was made for me really, which makes it very hard to pinpoint what I liked best about it. This book served me up a plate of my favourite desserts and then asked me to pick my favourite and all I can say is even if the time travel (my literal favourite trope ever) had not been part of this book I would still love it for all the wonderful relationships.
Unsolved Enigmas: Incredible events that have puzzled the greatest minds by Sam Pilger; Leo Moynihan
4.75
Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I'm not really sure how I feel about this book as a conclusion to a series. It's not that I was completely unsatisfied with how it all ended, but I didn't really like some of the ways we got there.
The whole dual POV thing got super convenient there to let Rose suddenly be able to read past thoughts as though she has always been able to when that could've been achieved through just adding in a little tidbit of information since it comes up like once and then is never used again.
I found the whole concept of vampire communes interesting and there were some hilarious moments, but it seemed thrown in there as a way to get the characters from a to b. I kept waiting for it to come into play later and it never did.
The mystery aspect kept me on my toes. The 'who is the secret Dragomir?' mystery that is. I had no idea until they turned up at the door and I liked that because it made sense to not know. For the murder mystery I had an idea of who the killer was for a while that got proved completely wrong, and I'm not so sure even if I read this book through again I'd be able to figure out who it really was. I like to be able to put the pieces together so I wasn't really satisfied with how that turned out or how it really took a backseat to the rest of the story even while being the driving force for the rest of the plot to happen.
I can't complain about Dimitri, he's done nothing wrong, but Rose irritated me. She cheats on Adrian. This isn't a spoiler. She's been emotionally cheating on him this entire time they've been together. I'm mad at her for what she did in this book and I feel bad for Adrian. He honestly deserves so much better.
I kind of want a novella about Rose's parents because I like them a lot. Their relationships with Rose are actually nice to see.
Can I just say this is the Lissa redemption book. She's acting like a person and doing things for herself! She's experiencing more thoughts than just 'boyfriend' 'jealous over a child' and 'boohoo I'm supernaturally sad'. My feelings have actually flipped to where I was more interested in what Lissa was doing than Rose most of the time. Love that. It's what I've been waiting for.
I can't be mad about the ending but I wish something had remained the same as it was. It was such a defining thing for the entire series and I think it would have meant more if it had still been there.
Look, I know what I said about Lissa literally in every other book except this one, but I kind of want to see everything from her perspective instead now. Maybe there's a fanfiction...
The whole dual POV thing got super convenient there to let Rose suddenly be able to read past thoughts as though she has always been able to when that could've been achieved through just adding in a little tidbit of information since it comes up like once and then is never used again.
I found the whole concept of vampire communes interesting and there were some hilarious moments, but it seemed thrown in there as a way to get the characters from a to b. I kept waiting for it to come into play later and it never did.
The mystery aspect kept me on my toes. The 'who is the secret Dragomir?' mystery that is. I had no idea until they turned up at the door and I liked that because it made sense to not know. For the murder mystery I had an idea of who the killer was for a while that got proved completely wrong, and I'm not so sure even if I read this book through again I'd be able to figure out who it really was. I like to be able to put the pieces together so I wasn't really satisfied with how that turned out or how it really took a backseat to the rest of the story even while being the driving force for the rest of the plot to happen.
I can't complain about Dimitri, he's done nothing wrong, but Rose irritated me. She cheats on Adrian. This isn't a spoiler. She's been emotionally cheating on him this entire time they've been together. I'm mad at her for what she did in this book and I feel bad for Adrian. He honestly deserves so much better.
I kind of want a novella about Rose's parents because I like them a lot. Their relationships with Rose are actually nice to see.
Can I just say this is the Lissa redemption book. She's acting like a person and doing things for herself! She's experiencing more thoughts than just 'boyfriend' 'jealous over a child' and 'boohoo I'm supernaturally sad'. My feelings have actually flipped to where I was more interested in what Lissa was doing than Rose most of the time. Love that. It's what I've been waiting for.
I can't be mad about the ending but I wish something had remained the same as it was. It was such a defining thing for the entire series and I think it would have meant more if it had still been there.
Spoiler
I'm of course talking about the bond. I think that it would have been more of a step for Rose to learn to be her own person while still being bonded. I was unhappy that it was gone and no it wasn't because I wanted to see the coronation from Lissa's eyes instead of Rose's because I was annoyed at Rose. Nope. Not that at all.Look, I know what I said about Lissa literally in every other book except this one, but I kind of want to see everything from her perspective instead now. Maybe there's a fanfiction...
Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I was pretty bored for the first half of this book but it picked up about half way. So many things happened it felt like I was bopping about from plot line to plot line without much emotion for a while. There was relationship drama, political drama, a heist, and this whole thing with Dimitri turning into a comic book villain as a Strigoi.
Despite all these many dramas, the most messed up part of the book was Lissa being jealous of a literal 14 year old girl. Like stop, she’s not going to steal your boyfriend, she’s 14. On a similar note, why does Christian blame her for kissing that guy while compelled in the last book? She was being MIND CONTROLLED. It’s stupid and I’m mad about it.
I wasn’t mad about the thing that happens about halfway through though. I loved that. Perfect way to get both hurt and comfort in large doses. Another thing I kinda loved was Rose’s relationship with Abe. There’s a lot that could be done with that after the information the end of the last book gave us.
The heist bored me. It felt too easy and lacked real consequences.
I’m going to be purposefully as vague as possible for the next paragraph but be warned this is VAGUELY SPOILERY.
I feel that despite how far Rose has come concerning her growth as a person, she’s still unbelievably selfish. She is more concerned about her feelings for Dimitri than about the horrible things he’s gone through and his trauma from that. He needs major therapy and she’s like wah wah wah my poor broken heart. Like girl give him space and focus on your actual boyfriend please. She uses all the people around her with little to no thought about how they are being affected by her actions.
Despite all these many dramas, the most messed up part of the book was Lissa being jealous of a literal 14 year old girl. Like stop, she’s not going to steal your boyfriend, she’s 14. On a similar note, why does Christian blame her for kissing that guy while compelled in the last book? She was being MIND CONTROLLED. It’s stupid and I’m mad about it.
I wasn’t mad about the thing that happens about halfway through though. I loved that. Perfect way to get both hurt and comfort in large doses. Another thing I kinda loved was Rose’s relationship with Abe. There’s a lot that could be done with that after the information the end of the last book gave us.
The heist bored me. It felt too easy and lacked real consequences.
I’m going to be purposefully as vague as possible for the next paragraph but be warned this is VAGUELY SPOILERY.
I feel that despite how far Rose has come concerning her growth as a person, she’s still unbelievably selfish. She is more concerned about her feelings for Dimitri than about the horrible things he’s gone through and his trauma from that. He needs major therapy and she’s like wah wah wah my poor broken heart. Like girl give him space and focus on your actual boyfriend please. She uses all the people around her with little to no thought about how they are being affected by her actions.
Lost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is both charming and difficult to read. I think this is the first child in the series I thought was better off going through the door, both for safety and for happiness. At least, I thought that at first. Not everything is as it seems, and despite appearances to the contrary, there is a mystery here.
Please take into account the trigger warning and the beginning of the book. It really does provoke anxiety. Antsy’s story is heartbreaking.
The Land Where the Lost Things Go is an interesting place, and the places Antsy goes from there are fascinating. I loved the little references to the rest of the series and the little glimpse of someone we already know. I’m really excited to see if Antsy shows up again in this series.
Please take into account the trigger warning and the beginning of the book. It really does provoke anxiety. Antsy’s story is heartbreaking.
The Land Where the Lost Things Go is an interesting place, and the places Antsy goes from there are fascinating. I loved the little references to the rest of the series and the little glimpse of someone we already know. I’m really excited to see if Antsy shows up again in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, and Gaslighting
Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I’m having a lot of emotions right now so bear with. That ending had me shrieking and swearing is all I’ll say about that.
Anyway, this book is very much leading into an expanding world I would say. We get a new category of people, find out more about Dhampir life outside the academies, and get a closer look at Strigoi behaviour. At the same time we are still getting looks back into the Academy through Lissa, which at times felt very much like the author wanted to write dual POV but didn’t want to fully commit, which I noticed in previous books but was definitely more obvious here. This gets slightly corrected later on in the book but I don’t see that lasting long.
Most of this book is about Rose and her personal journey, and with this we get to see flashbacks of her time with Dimitri. Those moments were very sweet and actually felt like Rose and Dimitri had been in love and not just lust. We also get to see Rose meeting and interacting with Dimitri’s family, which considering from the very beginning she’s looking for their town shouldn’t come as much surprise. I really enjoyed those moments, especially as Rose’s views on Dhampir communes changed and became more informed. These more peaceful moments makes it all the more jarring later on when Rose gets slammed back into the action as she always does.
For the sake of avoiding spoilers I can’t share my thoughts on certain sections of the book specifically, but I did find it a bit disappointing that the Strigoi are basically all they’ve been said to be. I was hoping for a bit of a commentary about how Strigoi can have feelings too and they aren’t automatically evil if they didn’t choose to kill but that did not happen. To be vague and if you know you know, I knew as it happened that a certain thing was a red herring and felt all the more vindicated when that was confirmed.
As to Lissa, her plot line seemed more obvious as to where it was gonna go. Basically she gets a new friend and is also acting weird and flying off the handle a lot. Hmm I wonder what could be the cause? I didn’t really enjoy her sections until the end of them where things got a bit more fun for me. Really feel bad for her though.
The ending was a lot but in a good way. I think I gave myself a bruise in my excitement at having guessed something directly before it was revealed. I loved the payoff of all the character development too, it was just a bit overshadowed by me screaming into my duvet. I just love a big reveal.
Anyway, this book is very much leading into an expanding world I would say. We get a new category of people, find out more about Dhampir life outside the academies, and get a closer look at Strigoi behaviour. At the same time we are still getting looks back into the Academy through Lissa, which at times felt very much like the author wanted to write dual POV but didn’t want to fully commit, which I noticed in previous books but was definitely more obvious here. This gets slightly corrected later on in the book but I don’t see that lasting long.
Most of this book is about Rose and her personal journey, and with this we get to see flashbacks of her time with Dimitri. Those moments were very sweet and actually felt like Rose and Dimitri had been in love and not just lust. We also get to see Rose meeting and interacting with Dimitri’s family, which considering from the very beginning she’s looking for their town shouldn’t come as much surprise. I really enjoyed those moments, especially as Rose’s views on Dhampir communes changed and became more informed. These more peaceful moments makes it all the more jarring later on when Rose gets slammed back into the action as she always does.
For the sake of avoiding spoilers I can’t share my thoughts on certain sections of the book specifically, but I did find it a bit disappointing that the Strigoi are basically all they’ve been said to be. I was hoping for a bit of a commentary about how Strigoi can have feelings too and they aren’t automatically evil if they didn’t choose to kill but that did not happen. To be vague and if you know you know, I knew as it happened that a certain thing was a red herring and felt all the more vindicated when that was confirmed.
As to Lissa, her plot line seemed more obvious as to where it was gonna go. Basically she gets a new friend and is also acting weird and flying off the handle a lot. Hmm I wonder what could be the cause? I didn’t really enjoy her sections until the end of them where things got a bit more fun for me. Really feel bad for her though.
The ending was a lot but in a good way. I think I gave myself a bruise in my excitement at having guessed something directly before it was revealed. I loved the payoff of all the character development too, it was just a bit overshadowed by me screaming into my duvet. I just love a big reveal.