Reviews

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The Hazel Wood – Melissa Albert (ARC Review)

Buddy read with Melanie and Jenn! ♡ It’s time for another unpopular opinion review! This book was literally the single biggest reading disappointment of the year for me. I really wanted to love this story. It was being marketed as a twisted fairytale, and those are my aesthetic for sure – the spookier and darker, the better – but this fell short in so many ways. Please remember that these are just my opinions! You are more than welcome to disagree or tell me your thoughts,...

Mud Vein – Tarryn Fisher

First of all, let me say thank you so much to Melanie for sending me a copy of this beautiful book and putting this author into my life. I am so grateful. ❤ Mud Vein is the story of a bestselling author who awakes on her 33rd birthday to find herself having been abducted and trapped in a secluded house, stocked with food, supplies, and the man who saved her years ago… but there’s no way out, and no explanation. Just snow, and silence....

Robots vs. Fairies (Anthology/ARC Review)

When I first picked up Robots vs. Fairies, I almost expected the stories to be about literal wars between the two, so I was very surprised to find that it was actually a collection of alternating stories from authors who had chosen “team robot” or “team fairy”. It was such a fun and unique idea, but I found that most of the stories were kinda “meh” for me....

Three Sides of a Heart (Anthology/ARC Review)

Three Sides of a Heart is a collection of sixteen short stories about love triangles, of varying natures and sexualities. I honestly wouldn’t have picked this anthology up if it wasn’t for buddy reading it with Melanie, because I’m not typically a big fan of the trope, but some of these stories executed it wonderfully! I will say that this collection is a huge mixed bag of good and bad stories, and many of the tales aren’t what I consider triangles at all, but...

The Creepypasta Collection, Vol 2 (Anthology Review)

I grew up obsessed with the internet, and with that obsession came an absolute adoration for online short stories – particularly creepypasta. I used to spend hours and hours on r/nosleep and creepypasta forums, and I genuinely enjoyed the first Creepypasta Collection volume, so when I saw the second volume, I purchased a copy immediately and started reading it almost as soon as it arrived. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the first volume, but the first thing I realized was that, unlike...

Girl Made of Stars – Ashley Herring Blake (ARC Review)

What else is there to do? What else is there for any girl to do, when everyone but her can forget everything like a random bad dream? After breaking up with her girlfriend/best friend, Mara’s greatest comfort comes from her twin brother, Owen – until her best friend accuses him of rape, and Mara’s entire world is thrown into a whirlwind of confusion, heartbreak, and traumatic memories of her own. Let me say, first of all, that this book is...

Rosemarked – Livia Blackburne

DNF @ 63% I really, really, hate to do this, but I have to put this book down. I’ve been working on it since November 1st (so, just over a month), and I’m only at 63%, despite many other books having come and gone in the last month. I just can’t seem to get attached enough to the story or the characters to finish it. The book alternates perspectives between Zivah, a young healer, and Dineas, a rebel soldier, both...

Her Body and Other Parties – Carmen Maria Machado

I have heard all of the stories about girls like me, and I am unafraid to make more of them. This anthology isn’t so much a collection of stories as it is a collection of experiences. Carmen Maria Machado writes beautifully; her voice is so incredibly unique, and no matter the content of the tale, she transports you right into the scene – for better or for worse. I’ll do my best to give you my thoughts on each story, but at...

Haven – Mary Lindsey

We’ve all heard the Beauty and the Beast story in some format or another, but in Haven, Beauty is the beast. When Rain’s mother passes away, he’s taken in by his aunt in Haven, a small town with a big past and even bigger secrets. He thinks his life’s finally going to get peaceful and quiet for once, until he falls for Freddie, a girl who’s a lot scarier than she seems. “I believe we all hide a beast inside. The only difference is what...