taylorhathcock's reviews
404 reviews

One Last Rainy Day: The Legacy of a Prince by Kate Stewart

3.0

"She is too beautiful. Too smart. But too young. This girl will be your undoing…"

Flock and Exodus were amazing books and we fell in love with Cecelia, Sean and Dom almost immediately. We all know what Exodus did to us and why this book was so important. However, I'm going to say it... and probably be in the minority but this book... It was not it. I had to force myself to read this. I felt like most of the book was creating a plot that had nothing to do with the original story.. to make some elaborate ending that didn't appear in the original trilogy either. I felt like most of this book really made me dislike the boys. A lot of the book wasn't really interesting and a large chunk of it was Dom pushing Cecelia away because he didn't want to damage his relationship with his brother... while actively doing that. 

We get some scenes that in some respects felt disjointed and honestly like parts we wanted to include in the original trilogy and didn't so now they are all in this book. It wasn't until like the last little bit that the book starts to give back off the vibes that we loved in the series. However, it's over much to soon. I just really felt let down by this book. I would say that I think it's possible to benefit more from this if you have just finished Flock. I just didn't feel like this book lived up to the hype. It honestly disappointed me and to some extents made me dislike the characters that I loved before. 

Their Vicious Darling by Nikki St. Crowe

3.0

“Women fascinate me. They are almost always underestimated, which makes them potentially some of the most lethal opponents.”

I think it's safe to say by now that I'm in love with everything about this series. I love the characters, I love the spice, I love the plot and I adore the writing and the twists. The Crocodile finally makes an appearance in this one and what an amazing character he is. I think his background is amazing and yet somehow still so mysterious... creating even more questions about Vane. I loved this one because all of our boys are growing and watching it is fascinating. The schemes in this one are insane everyone wants to work to take down Pan... Tilly let's the Crocodile in on Pan's biggest secret. A secret which proves important to Hook as well. This book was just plan after plan with big reveals. Reveals that were amazing and intense. I honestly don't know how to talk about these books without ruining anything. It's so difficult. Winnie is for sure the star in this book. The cliffhanger in this one was completely unexpected and super intense. I honestly can't wait to see what comes next. 

Six of Sorrow by Amanda Linsmeier

3.0

I didn't hate this one but I didn't fall absolutely in love with it either. I really thought the premise was interesting. We have six best friends who were all born on the same day, they aren't speaking anymore and then one of them goes missing. It's great because they bond again and when the missing girl returns she isn't well. At this point the girls begin to realize something is truly wrong and they try to solve the mystery around what is happening to them. I have to admit that the beginning was a huge drag and really felt YA to me just because we are so wrapped up in the friend drama element. However, once the girls start researching what is happening and stumble on a handful of secrets they aren't supposed to know it gets super interesting. 

 The body horror element is strong in this one as the girls legit start to decay almost. It happens in different ways and it eventually makes sense but it's a bit intense in detail sometimes haha. I have to say that I was hoping for more magic/witchy vibes throughout the book that we didn't necessarily get. It really was minor in my opinion considering the vibe the book gave off. I will say that it is one of those reads I think would be perfect for a cozy fall time read. The book has some major underlying sapphic tones throughout. It's weird I guess to call a horror book a cozy read but I think because it was body horror it just comes across a bit less intense. Overall, it was a decent story with great vibes but not something I think I would necessarily read again. 

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

3.0

I wanted so badly to love this book. I mean a fantasy with a bit of mystery and romance it seemed perfect. The book throws a lot of lore at you in the beginning so it feels a bit tedious. It also was hard at times to enjoy because it really feels more like a YA novel to me just we threw in some adult themes and words. It had moments when I really enjoyed it and then it would have moments where I just wanted to stop reading. I honestly feel like the book is way too long. It's also very much an Agatha Christie vibe I think. The whole book we have Ganymedes who pretty much does everything to be annoying trying to solve the murders taking place. He befriends two of the other characters who also help him and along the way he also develops a romance that kind of just feels thrown in. I don't know I think the book had loads of potential it just wasn't utilized right for me. 

Final Girls by Riley Sager

4.0

This book right here is the perfect thing for those who love slashers. I immediately fell in love with this book. We have Quincy who has survived a horribly gruesome night and ten years later is trying her best to move on. Quincy has done her best to distance herself from the Final Girl label that's been created by the media. She hardly has anything to do with the two other Final Girls... until one of them is gone and the other shows up at her door. I really loved this dynamic because now she is forced to confront the event from her past that she has tried so hard to forget. 

 I also enjoyed that in between we would get moments from that night. Each time it was just another bit that made you question even more what happened. I loved that you really couldn't trust any of these characters. I spent most of the book trying to decide which characters were lying. I really loved the way we got each reveal. It was pretty amazing and it added this level of suspense that I didn't see coming. I have to admit that the ending of this one really did take me by surprise and I loved every second of that. I really think this is the book that fans of Scream would enjoy. It really gives off the same type of vibe and it's honestly hard to put down. 

The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

5.0

“She is a quicksand I will welcome. We will never get out and I don’t want to.”

I didn't think it could possibly get better... I was wrong. I may or may not have stayed up to read this one. I jumped in as soon as I finished the first one because I needed to know what came next. I love that in this one we get more of the dynamic between Winnie and the boys. She knows what she wants and she makes it abundantly clear in this one. I love that Winnie is such a sex positive character. I really adore the fact that with Pan, Bash, Kas and Vane she has such a different dynamic. It works really well in my opinion. I really loved how this one was more focused on the dynamic between her and Vane. I mean who would have thought it was possible for the spice to get spicier but it sure did. It's phenomenal. 

I mean of course all of these things are super important... but we are in Neverland and we get to see some scheming happening in this one. Tilly is working on a plan and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. She tries to get Hook's help... she even bribes her brothers. Hook is sure he can defeat Pan... if he can locate the missing shadow first. It basically becomes a plot of schemes and secrets which boils over in the most delicious way. I really think this one does a great job of moving along the plot and keeping you hooked. I didn't want to put this one down. I had to know if Pan would find his shadow... and most importantly what was going to happen with the other shadow... And much like the first book this one ends on an intense cliffhanger that really made me scream. 

The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

5.0

“Peter Pan was a myth and now he’s real and he’s drinking in the sight of me like I’m a mirage.”

I don't think I enjoy anything more than I do a Peter Pan retelling and I have to say I'm incredibly mad at myself for waiting this long to dive into these amazing books. I love the fact that we've aged up our characters. It always makes these retellings more fun that way. I adore this book, I feel like I inhaled it. Winnie is the perfect character. She feels alone and to an extent she's searching for something more... I mean when you start looking forward to being taken by Peter Pan, who it turns out is the bad guy... The whole book just had this amazing feeling to it. Pan and his three most loyal Lost Boys are a group for sure. A very powerful group of people. I instantly loved how each of them are all so different. I apparently have a thing for the sweet morally gray "villains" and I won't apologize. 

The book has the romance dynamic down of course and the scenes are chef's kiss. I really enjoyed though just how much of an actual broader story exists. Neverland is basically in a power struggle between Pan, Hook and Tilly (the Fae Queen) and watching all the ways this plays out is amazing. It's also really cool because we don't know much about Pan at this point or really any of our major players and I have to say I can't wait to find out more. The book throws so many plot twists that you just know something amazing is coming. I really feel like this one kept me on the edge of my seat at the end... just to end on an intense cliffhanger that made me dive right into the next one. 

Tastes Like Candy 2: Sugarless by Ivy Tholen

3.0

I absolutely adored the first book it was all the things you love about a slasher film in book form. The first part of this book very much fit that same vibe. We have a new girl who is struggling with her place in a friend group, who suddenly starts getting messages from someone mysterious. The girl quickly believes she is chatting with Blythe and begins to plot the best way to get revenge on all her friends. It was cool because this time we got to see the planning side of things and why. We also got the mystery of well who is texting her?? However, part two of the book ruined any enjoyment I got from the first part. We finally get back to Violet, who is living a completely different life than anticipated and who refuses to return home. That is until she gets a call from one of her friends sisters asking for help. Even this could have worked great with the slasher element, but the book goes into some weird element. Suddenly we have someone who is able to hack into like everything and knows what's happening. We get an attempted attack by a fridge. It just didn't make much sense to be honest. The whole ending was strange and I'm not really sure what we were supposed to take away from this one... maybe a third one is planned... 

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

4.0

I really enjoyed this book we have a child that went missing 30 years ago and Ethan who is still haunted by the night his friend disappeared. When Ethan returns to his childhood home things get complicated pretty quickly. Ethan is convinced that he can feel Billy's presence and who else would keep leaving signs that only he and Billy knew the meaning of. Haunted by dreams of that night and the strange occurrences that keep taking place Ethan begins to investigate what really happened the day Billy went missing. I enjoyed this book because we kept getting like this supernatural ghost element. It was really cool. I will admit that at first I was struggling to keep up with all the different theories that were happening in the story. I wanted it to pick one angle and run with it but it makes total sense why it didn't. I enjoyed the shifts between the day Billy went missing and the present because we got little tidbits and details that made almost everyone seem suspicious. It was really cool to watch how everything came together in the end. This was my first Sager book and I immediately started another after finishing it. 

Wordhunter by Stella Sands

3.0

I really wanted to love this book. I thought the idea of exploring crimes focusing on the linguistic elements was a cool take. It was, however, it really wasn't as much of a focus as I would have hoped. I really struggled with the writing style on this one it was hard to stay in the story at times. I really didn't care for most of the characters, some of them didn't even need to exist in the manner they did to tell the story, and others are such extreme versions of themselves that it is hard to truly like them. The cases weren't as much a focus as I was hoping they would be. We spend a lot of time just dealing with Maggie's relationship with her professor. The book includes her wanting to search for her best friend who has been missing for a long time in addition to the bigger crime.

 I have to say the focus on her search for her friend really takes away from the story. It felt like it consumed so much of the larger narrative for no reason. In a way it kind of felt like the whole purpose of this book was to set the stage for another story with these characters. Maggie solving the big case is rushed and not very cohesive and then we get a weird connection that doesn't make sense to her missing friend. The book kind of ends on an open ending with nothing truly resolved. I don't know I think I just really was hoping for something more.