It was like Alice in Wonderland except Alice in Wonderland did it better.

I often find it harder to enjoy the second book in the series as much as the first. The first is where I fell in love with the characters, where I was pulled into the plot, and where I made my judgments. The second usually falls flat compared to it; the second book in most series I find a bit of a task to get through. However, Vengeful broke that pattern for me. I fell just as much in love with this as I had Vicious. The characters lost none of their charms and the new obstacles thrown their way expanded them exactly how I hoped them to be expanded. VE Schwab’s writing is enticing and steady, with beautiful metaphors and thorough character building that made me feel connected to each and every character. It’s rare for me to find a book where a 12-year-old main character (I guess Syd is 18 by the end, but still) is both realistic and incredibly strong and likable. On the same note, I loved seeing the characters change with age. Even with multiple characters being unable to physically age, I could feel the thought that went behind how the 13 years that spanned these two books changed each and every character. This was one of the few books that I felt had nearly mastered the art of multiple main characters and therefore multiple POVs. Schwab has a way with words that I’ve always wished I could possess.

I'm not sure where to begin with my thoughts on this, so I'll just leave you all with the thing I most frequently said while reading: "Wait, huh??"

*3.5 stars
This was a good book. Not a great book, but a good book; a sturdy book with a fun idea, a solid plot, and grounded characters. However, something about this book felt a little too cookie-cutter. There was nothing that stood out as new or exciting. At times it felt like a self-help book disguised as a novel. Life lessons were thrown at the reader left and right, each one given via a low-stakes revelation from the main character. Depression felt a bit like a character quirk and meds felt like a bad guy. It seemed that the author built the story out of the morals he wanted to teach instead of writing a story with moralistic themes. As a result, although the book was full of struggles, it all felt easy and predictable. I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think this is a book I’d ever want to reread.

I have to be honest, I didn’t retain a lot of this book. Me and Virginia Woolf’s writing style just didn’t vibe. The long sentences, lack of plot, and stream of conscious type writing was really hard for me to follow and comprehend. I think this is a book I’ll have to return to and try again later on. Maybe next time I’ll try reading a physical copy instead of using an audiobook for it.

Adorable and better paced than the first one. I love seeing little snapshots of their progressing relationship.

I want to start out by saying I’m not the target audience for this book. I know that. But there are certain books that transcend genre and target audience, making it enjoyable for everyone to read. This book didn’t reach that. I think my main problem was with the characterization. The characters felt 2D and I didn’t find myself connecting with or rooting for anyone (in fact, I kind of hated the main character). The conflicts between characters was frustrating at best, and everything seemed to fall flat. Nothing felt truly resolved by the end. The writing itself was basic and lackluster. There were plenty of times when I found myself skimming, and plenty more times where I was cringing the whole way through a scene.

I have a complicated relationship with the Lord of the Rings books. There are certain things about them that I find absolutely and devastatingly impressive. The world-building is astounding and the writing, though dry and slow, is still beautiful at times. There are certain scenes, certain quotes, certain characters that I love dearly. But Tolkien is a philologist at heart, and I think that’s why parts of the story fall short. While the world is expansive and the languages he built are impressive, the actual story is a little tough, not in plot so much as pacing. It’s almost as if he created such a large world that he didn’t know how to properly contain it in the trilogy. The way he constructed the narrative and so thoroughly explores the events in the book is extensive to a fault — we spend so much time with each plot point that I grow bored waiting for the next. If he had only switched back and forth between the storyline of the remaining fellowship and of Frodo and Sam more often, I think it would have kept my attention more and prevented me from growing bored. The movies did what these books didn’t, and I think Peter Jackson truly perfected what Tolkien had tried to accomplish. But still, despite the sometimes tiresome writing and the issues with pacing, I can’t deny that these books are hugely influential and very good.

*3.5

I started out very excited to read this. I had a highlighter in hand, marking up all my favorite quotes and appreciating Rilke's insight on writing. However, the more I read, the less enthralled I was. By the end, I was skimming. I think part of what bothered me was the one-sided conversations. Because we only got Rilke's letters, I felt like I was missing half of the narrative. I finished feeling glad that I could finally put it away and be done.

This book was a tough one to read. I think that’s pretty obvious, given what it’s about. But that doesn’t mean this book wasn’t also enjoyable. Jennette McCurdy wrote her memoir in a way that was bluntly honest and often times humorous, which made the hard-to-digest things a little easier. I find it difficult to get into nonfiction, especially memoirs, but something about Jennette’s story and her writing kept me as engaged as my fiction reads do. I hate calling someone “brave” because it oftentimes comes across as condescending instead of being a true compliment, but I mean it as the biggest compliment possible when I say that McCurdy was truly brave for writing this. Her honesty astonished me in the best way and I think that all the topics she covers (parental abuse, the child actor industry, eating disorders, etc.) are incredibly important. I get why this book was so sensational upon release. It deserves it.

There were a couple stories I enjoyed here, but I also DNF a lot of them. VE Schwab had the only story I truly cared about. Disappointing overall.

this thing is going to kill me.

I found this book to be incredibly helpful. It was written simply, with easy-to-digest chapters, which is helpful for someone like me, who struggles with really dense texts. The overall message of self-compassion and patience is not something crazy or new, but Davis presented it in a way that felt truer and more applicable than anything else I've read on how to keep up with tasks when life gets hard. I appreciated the author's own awareness of her audience and the efforts she made to acknowledge the potential differences in neurodiversity and functionality of every individual. This book did not preach the perfect ways to do things -- if that's what you're looking for, you'll have to go somewhere else. Instead, it gave tips, offered reassurance, and focused on mindset. It didn't completely change my outlook on life or mess, but it did give me some tricks that I'm planning on implementing and some tips on mindset shifts that I hope I can put to use. For that alone, I really appreciate this book.

** A note: I'm never sure how to rate nonfiction because it's so fundamentally different from rating a book of fiction. My go-to for books that I enjoyed or learned from, but didn't give me some sort of large revelation or truly profound impact I rate 4 stars. Maybe my standard is too high. But whatever, it's my rating system I do what I want ¯_(ツ)_/¯

It's taken me a long time to gather all of my thoughts on this book. I think part of it is that there is so much going on in this book, and part is because this isn't the usual type of book I read. I've always been a fantasy/romance girly, so to read something so Adult™️ and honestly so depressing was a big change of pace for me. I've read one other Gillian Flynn book and I loved it, but it didn't feel nearly as Adult™️ and depressing as this book did. When I finished the book, I only had two thoughts: wow that was well written, and wow that was icky. It took me nearly 10 days to formulate my thoughts beyond that, but here they are:

Gillian Flynn's ability to write such complex, scary, and realistic characters is so so so impressive. I loved Amy, and despite her being a narcissistic psychopath, I found myself rooting for her. Nick, despite being technically the good guy here, I hated. To make me hate the "hero" and love the "villain" is an achievement in and of itself. The pacing was effective in creating suspense and contributed a lot to how we felt about the events and the characters themselves. It dragged at times, but even that had its purpose. The book was very calculated, and everything about the writing style felt purposeful. The word choice, the tone, the perspectives, it was all used to build the characters and their relationships (whether real or fabricated) with each other. The reason this is only a 4 star read and not a 5 star read is mostly because I show more reserve 5 stars for the books that I am in love with and that I would read again (and again). I do not want to read this book again. I hated every character in it.

I plan on having many long discussions with my friends, who have been reading this with me, about this book. show less

Such a cute little book, and so fascinating to see influences from authors like Lewis Carroll in it, while also recognizing how it influenced later authors like CS Lewis and Tolkien. The plot was very simple, and the writing was clearly for children, but I loved it nonetheless. The characters were very well done, and the fantasy elements were so fun.

I liked what Chen had to say, and all the examples and research she used. However, it was a bit dense and I definitely skimmed through a couple of parts. I learned a lot, but I didn't particularly enjoy reading it. So is my constant struggle with non-fiction. *sighs*

This was a cute story. I found this copy at a thrift store and picked it up because, you know, ~vampires~. I've never been super into reading manga, but I found this surprisingly enjoyable. I thought the darker aspects of it were fun, and the vampire lore was intriguing and unique. My only hesitation was the actual love story. The infantilization of Misaki made me a bit uncomfortable. She looks like a child and acts very innocent and, honestly, I have no clue how old she is (or how old she was when she was turned into a vampire). She's in love with Kuroe, who is clearly an adult and is also like 2 feet taller than her. Not that there's anything wrong with a height difference, but idk. I'm just praying she's of age, or that her love for him is not reciprocated by him in more than a platonic/parental way

*3.5 stars

I’ve never felt so divided about a book. There was so much here that I loved, and yet I feel like I didn’t really like this book. The writing was nice, the characters were interesting, the premise was fun, and the plot was fascinating. All of those things should, in theory, make a great book. And not to mention there are ghosts, vampires, and gods, all of which I love. However, something about the pacing made it difficult to invest in the plot, no matter how intriguing it seemed. And while the characters were interesting and their voices were unique, as a reader I felt a little bit removed from the narrative and characters’ lives. I wish I enjoyed this book more. Maybe someday I’ll reread it and I’ll like it better.

I was pleasantly surprised by this! I came into it with very low expectations, expecting another hollow high school drama with annoying characters and an over-usage of slang and pop culture. However, I found myself genuinely invested both in the plot and the main character. It was well written and had a depth to it that I find is often missing with YA novels. The relationships felt real, and the themes (grief, love, intimacy, legacy) were handled very well. Plus, I love characters like Shaila who haunt the narrative.

Didn’t intend to start or finish this poetry collection yet, but as I was flipping through it, I started reading and then couldn’t put it down. It’s rare for me to get pulled into a book of poetry like this because poetry is usually a bit hard for me to trudge through. However, I ate this up so fast. I loved the language, loved the imagery, loved the progression. The dark and sometimes gruesome imagery and topics are exactly what drew me in and had me reading more and more. The author does such a good job putting words to experience. Will definitely read again.

*2.5 stars

I liked this book at the beginning. The writing was better than I expected, and the pining romance was oh so fun. It had a good amount of spice and I found the characters believable. However, as things went on, it got less fun. Things got weird, and I began to lose interest in the relationship. I hate when half of the book is just arguing between the main characters, and that’s exactly what this was. The best parts were when the other brothers were involved.

*3.5

This whole book was like drinking tea and wearing a sweater. It was the exact amount of cozy that I wanted out of a British Christmas book about love and bookshops. I loved the ensemble cast, watching them all get together and find happiness. The plot was very soft, and the characters weren't super deep, but they didn't need to be. It was warm and soft and that's what I need right now. Very reminiscent of Love Actually (the best Christmas movie of all time).

I was disappointed by this poetry collection. I love Halsey and her music, but unfortunately her writing didn’t quite translate from songs to poetry the way I hoped it might. I appreciated the honesty and the topics she covered, but that's about it. The poems felt a bit rough, a bit repetitive. There were a few I loved, but most weren't memorable. I think 14-year-old me would have liked this, but 24-year-old me did not :(

If I had the time, I could write a real academic essay about all the things this whole fic does well. The characterization, the themes, the writing, the pacing. But I don't have the time. So I'll just rate it 5 stars and keep thinking about it forever.

*4.5 stars

This book far exceeded my expectations! I've read other Libba Bray books that I loved, but that was when I was about 13/14, so I wasn't sure if her style would hold up now that I'm 10 years older. Good news: it did! I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this novel. The writing was excellent, the characters were lovable (Theta and Henry are the loml), and the plot was genuinely terrifying at times. It's rare for me to get scared by a book, but Naughty John and his whistling really got me. I loved the religious themes and the exploration of cults, too. I think Bray did a great job developing the setting, making New York City as much of a character as the characters themselves. I can't wait to continue the series.

This volume hit really close to home in a lot of ways. I once again applaud Alice Oseman for creating such a wonderful representation not only of queer people/relationships or diversity, but also of mental illness. I'm very jealous of the kids who get to grow up reading Heartstopper - it's something I wish I had when I was the ages of Charlie and Nick. But I still fully enjoy and feel lucky to be able to read it now and still revel in all the heartwarming gooey-ness of it all.

Also - side note, I have decided that I'm in love with Tori even though I haven't read Solitaire. Every small moment with her in this volume just confirms it. She's the loml.

*3.5 stars

I've been having a difficult time articulating my thoughts on this one. There were parts of it that I absolutely loved -- the commentary on different types of love, the personalities and arcs of all of the characters (especially Roony, loml), the way it handled coming of age. A lot of what it had to say was very comforting, and I felt very seen in many parts of it. However, I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of Oseman's writing style. The dialogue was great, but other parts were a bit too basic and teeny-bopper. It wasn't written poorly, it just... wasn't necessarily for me.

Oh, this book was so gross! The descriptions of Gregor had my stomach turning. I'm not very easily grossed out, but bugs really do it for me. Ew. It was also quite funny though, and I enjoyed the commentary on capitalism. This is my first time reading Kafka and I had a good time with it, despite the whole thing being nasty.

*3.5 stars

The time loop trope will always be enjoyable!!! And no you cannot disagree with me.

This book was the perfect Valentine's Day read. Lynn Painter, did you read my mind??? Because Nick is exactly my type of guy. (or maybe I'm just incredibly basic, but we won't talk about that)