A Darker Shade of Magic - V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab ★★★★ 4.0

This book gets 4 stars! Here's why:

• Kell & Rhy's relationship = <3
• ...four Londons.
• The Danes
• Magic, of course.
• Lila Bard totally grew on me!

I thought this book was SO well-written and such a good story! It was incredibly captivating the whole time (except for the first 80 pages or so). Especially... THE DANES. Holy goodness. They were insane. They reminded me of the Lovers in the Arcana Chronicles. You'd think that would be a bad thing, but I LOVE a good villain. I mean, I hated them. But I loved their roles in the book. I only wish they were more involved in it.

Having four different worlds, all connected, was really cool. I liked that Kell was one of the only two people able to travel between the Londons. Well, you know, with the exception of Lila because of the stone, but that counts as extenuating circumstances. I also liked that the Londons were SO unique. Like, vastly different. WORLDS different, in fact!

Rhy is adorable. He reminds me of Dorian in Throne of Glass. I just love him. And I love that Kell & Rhy were so close. Rhy considered Kell family, even though his parents maybe didn't so much.

Lastly, Lila was a great character. I felt like she was really well-developed, and I'm excited to learn more about her in the next book! It feels like there is so much that was just mentioned, but I need to hear the backstory! I thought I would hate her at first, but I was entirely mistaken. She was strong, funny, and a good friend. She had a few unexpected moments when we saw her emotions a little more than she wanted, I'm sure, but those slips are what made her so real.

Basically, I thought this book was amazing. It took me about a week to read, however, because was is NOT the type of book that I could just set down when I was busy, pick it back up again, etc. I had to be fully involved in reading it. I couldn't take a lot of breaks because there was so much going on. I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars because it seemed kind of slow in the beginning AND I needed more of the Dane twins! They were so EVIL. Victoria Schwab could have done so much more with them! But I respect her decisions, and love her beautiful writing either way. (:

Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

Lola & the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins ★★★★ 4.5

I'm giving this book 4.5 stars! Here's why:

• Lola = an exaggerated version of me
• Cricket
• Lola's parents are hilarious
• Anna and St. Clair are back!
• The outfits.
• Cute, predictable love story (we all like those sometimes)
• CRICKET.

This review is going to be pretty short because 1) it's my first, and 2) I actually don't have much to say about it. BUT, here I go, into more depth!

Now don't get me wrong, I REALLY enjoyed this story. Like, really. I actually think I liked it a bit more than Anna & the French Kiss. It just wasn't the most memorable story ever. But I'm not docking any stars for that. There are plenty of epic fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, etc. books in the YA world. Sometimes we just need a break! My go-to books when I need a break are generally cute, princessy books. But this time I chose Lola.

Lola is great. I love her. I read the first paragraph of the book & was like, OH MY. YES. She is me! A giant, frilly dress & combat boots! Story of my life! So I immediately loved Lola.

I also loved Max. I thought he was so patient and seemed caring enough. But the one thing - the absolute, 100% dealbreaker - was his temper. I don't do well with anger, EVER. So as soon as we saw that side of Max, I was converted. Cricket all the way.

Only Stephanie Perkins could give a character a name like Cricket & make me fall in love with him. Cricket creeped me out at first. I was unimpressed. He seemed awkward & not-so-attractive. Which is not usually what I expect from a love interest. But he was so smart and so sweet and his sense of humor wasn't blatantly obvious, but it won me over in the end. (:

I loved Lola's parents. Nathan and Andy were SO funny and I loved how I was able to picture everything they said and did and that made them even more entertaining! I also loved Lola's friends, particularly Anna & St. Clair. Obviously. I missed them. I was overjoyed to see them again.

Overall, I thought this book was wonderful. It was enjoyable & left me in a good mood. I took off a half star because Lola kind of got whiny and self-centered toward the end, and for some reason that really bothered me. But... she's a human. It's expected. I still love her. And I'm super excited to read Isla & the Happily Ever After!

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins ★★★ 3.5

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. Here's why:

• Back to Paris!
• Return of the couples!
• Cute love story that distracted me from the heartbreak caused by Never Fade...

I don't actually have a lot to say about this book. I suppose that's why it's getting 3.5 stars.

It was my least favorite out of the A&tFK (Anna & the French Kiss) books. And I can tell you exactly why. It was... okay. Just okay. I thought it was cute. It wasn't too dramatic, and that's just what I needed. But it was SO not dramatic that I had trouble trying to see the plot.

Was there one?

What was it even about?

If someone asked me what Isla was about, I'd say, "Uhh... um, well you see, it's a... there's this girl, Isla, and this boy, Josh... and... there's love. And Paris. And, misunderstandings? It's. Uh. Screw it. It's just a cute story about two people falling in love."

There wasn't much of a problem. There wasn't much of a story. But I DID enjoy it. It was sweet and beautiful. It's just that there wasn't much. And again, I'm glad for that. I needed a break from high-action, high-drama, let's-save-the-world books.

I also feel like I don't really know the characters. Still. After finishing the book. Isla seems cool, but... who is she? I think she's pretty introverted, but I don't know much about her likes, dislikes, life outside of home, past, etc. I just don't know her.

Same with Josh. He's definitely cute, thoughtful, funny... And it was better for him because he was in A&tFK, so he at least had some background. We already knew a little about him from Anna's perspective. And we saw Isla once. Just once.

I really enjoyed when they all came back. Anna, St. Clair, Lola, Cricket. That was good. That made me remember all the things I loved about the first two books. But those things just weren't in Isla.

Final thoughts: Cute story, good characters, blah. It was just there. So I read it. And it was forgettable. But still cute and entertaining nonetheless.

The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson

The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson ★★★★★ 5.0

What WHAT! Another 5 star book! Way to go, Mary! Here's why I'm giving it 5 stars:

• Captivating writing
• Three - no, FOUR perspectives!
• Rafe & Kaden, adorable in their own ways
• The world (Terravin!)
• The twist...

If this book is known for anything, it's the twist. I've heard about its existence so many times, but... let me tell you, it is NOT what I was expecting. It confused me beyond all confusion and I loved it. This book. It's a winner.

In The Kiss of Deception, we first meet our main character/princess/heroine, Princess Arabella something something something Jezelia of the House of Morrighan, known as Lia. And it's her wedding day. She's about to marry a Prince of another kingdom - she's never met this guy - to form an alliance. So naturally, she runs.

One of the palace servants, Pauline, goes with her, and they ride off to a little town called Terravin. Terravin is the cutest town ever. It's colorful, right by the ocean, and it's so friendly. They feel right at home and end up working in a tavern, where they meet two mysterious (and attractive) young men who take a sudden deep interest in Lia. Little does she know that one is an assassin hired to kill her and the other is the prince she refused to marry. Both men get to know her and, as always, there is a sort of love triangle going on.

Those are the basics.

Mary Pearson's writing is beautiful. This book was easy to read, but written in such a captivating way. From the first chapter, I couldn't want to finish the book so I could find out what happened next. I was pleasantly shocked, because this was certainly NOT a book I was expecting to love so quickly. I loved it from the very beginning, but in the end, it just gets better.

Throughout the book we get to hear from Lia's perspective, but it is peppered with chapters revealing the perspectives of Rafe, Kaden, and even Pauline. I absolutely loved how it switched between characters and I think it was expertly written.

Final thoughts: You should read this book. Maybe you won't love it. But I did! It was an unexpected treat, and I am SO looking forward to the next book, The Heart of Betrayal, which comes out in July. (:

The Nest - Kenneth Oppel

I'm giving this book ★★★★ 4.5 stars!

This book was VERY unexpectedly wonderful! I know there are lots of extremely mixed reviews about it, and I totally get that. BUT IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. Honestly, one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read.

I'm quite shocked that I liked it that much.

I only started reading it because it's so short.

I guess I should get this out of the way: I'm giving it 4.5 stars as opposed to 5 because it was just a tad underdeveloped for me.

Guys, confession. I've never cried because of a book. Fact. I know I am a heartless monster. But this is the closest I've ever come! Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but to me this book was about accepting imperfections and loving ourselves and others anyway. The main character, Steve, was someone I could totally connect with - even though this is a middle grade book and I am 23. Steve is often worried, anxious, depressed, obsessive-compulsive... and I loved that he seemed so REAL even though the book was bizarre.

Apparently it was exactly my kind of bizarre.

So, if you're not aware, here's the basic storyline:
A boy has a new little brother who has a lot of health problems and he's constantly at the hospital. No one is sure that he will survive. A huge wasp visits Steve in his dreams, telling him that she will make his brother better and that she needs Steve's help. But Steve is pretty sure that it's not just in his head...

I feel like that's basically all I can tell you.

I generally am not into books that teach lessons - again, I know I'm a monster - but this book spoke right to me. It was creative and touching and gorgeous and absolutely unexpected in every way. I think this is just one of those books that you'll either love or hate.

Cress - Marissa Meyer

Cress - Marissa Meyer ★★★★★ 5.0

Woohoo! Cress gets 5 stars! Here's why:

• Cress + Thorne, Cinder + Kai, Scarlet + Wolf !!!
• Kaaaaiiiiiii!
• Iko & her new hot bod
• A glimpse into Levana's eyes
• Cinder's growth
• Luna
• Crazy Princess Winter

I feel like there are SO many more things I could list because I thoroughly enjoyed this book, cover to cover. Which surprised me.

Here's a little more about me: It takes a lot for me to like a book written in third person. I just connect so much easier with first person, naturally. Cinder was a good book. It's the book that made me want to read again.Scarlet was not quite as good, but I still liked it a lot. CRESS. BLEW. MY. MIND. In the third person! I think that Marissa Meyer made a FABULOUS choice in switching perspectives so often. Because it's NOT in first person, but we still see what everyone is thinking, doing, and how all of those thoughts and actions are interconnected. I just loved it.

The couples are adorable. Cinder & Kai are still my favorite, because I absolutely adore both of them. And at the end of the book... Oh my goodness. It was perfect. They are PERFECT. Scarlet & Wolf are my least favorite couple, but I still love them a lot because I have a soft spot for Wolf. And Scarlet is a good character. Maybe I just feel like I don't know them as well as I know the other two couples. Cress and Thorne are extremely cute. Thorne is hilarious and brave and thoughtful... Cress is one lucky fictional gal. But I actually think I love all three of the men equally. They're all SO different, but I appreciate them all the same and I love hearing about them. 

But... poor Wolf.

Iko is also a great character, and always has been. My heart melted a little when Thorne gave her that gift. Iko deserved it this whole time. She's so cute and funny and optimistic. And she's so human!

I liked seeing from Levana's perspective toward the end (or was it even the last chapter? I'm not sure.). I think she is an awesome villain and I'm REALLY excited to read Fairest.

Cinder is an incredible main character. I've loved her this whole time. And I loved her even more in Cress because she grew so much. She's also very accepting of everyone - she was so ready to save Cress!

Finally, Luna. I think Luna is such a cool place. The way Marissa Meyer described it... GORGEOUS. When Scarlet was trying to escape the ship after it landed on Luna, I was completely mesmerized and enchanted by Luna. Additionally, we meet Princess Winter on Luna. I think I'm going to like her A LOT. She's crazy, yes. But she seems so completely good, and beautiful and sweet. The crazy could be a good addition to the series. ;)

Final thoughts: Cinder was great, Scarlet was good, Cress was AMAZING. Love love loved it. 5 stars, absolutely. Can't wait for Fairest & Winter!

The Ruby Circle - Richelle Mead

The Ruby Circle - Richelle Mead ★★★ 3.5

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. Here's why:

• I AM DONE. Yes. Finally.
• Adrian. Always Adrian.
• MAGIC.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book much.

I knew I wouldn't.

I just... after reading 11 books about lots of the same characters & the same world, it gets old. At least for me. So I knew going into it that I just wanted to be done with it. I put off reading it for a bit because I knew I wouldn't be that into it. But I also knew that once I finished it I'd be done with all those MOROI & STRIGOI & DHAMPIRS & ALCHEMISTS & WARRIORS. And the witches.

Because of my bad attitude & VA/BL exhaustion, this isn't going to be much of a review. I am just so freaking happy to be done! I DID IT. I DID IT. I DID IT.

But this review would be totally incomplete if I didn't mention Adrian. So... Adrian. I absolutely love him. I have since we very first met him in the VA series. Personally, I'd choose him over Dimitri in a heartbeat, but to each her own ~

[Also I named my car after him.]

[What? Seriously? Yeah. Truth.]

The magic in this book WAS cool. I actually did like that quite a bit. The human magic AND Adrian's spirit magic. Because it's Adrian. And he's adorable. I think Bloodlines was my favorite book of this series and they progressively got worse for me, but hopefully I'm the only one who thinks that. I thought the first book was really cool, surprisingly. But then, not as cool. And less cool. And even less cool. And maybe part of that was me getting tired of the series. But I'm not 100% sure about that.

Final thoughts: It was a necessary read, and it was a decent conclusion.

It's not you, Richelle, it's me.