chaptersofmads's reviews
826 reviews

“The magic she believed in was of a different sort. The sort that cheered a pall of melancholy, that fed a hungry belly, that warmed a cold heart. She believed in kindness, in compassion, and in sharing what fortune she had---with those who needed it.”

Once again, Elizabeth Lim proves she is incapable of writing a bad book and I love her for that.

I was incredibly hesitant to pick this particular story up due to a lifelong distaste of the movie, but Elizabeth Lim wrote it and that fact was enough to make my decision.
To my relief (and probably the disappointment of others), this book has very little to do with Pinocchio/the events of the movie itself.

This book is about the Blue Fairy, her past and what led her to grant Geppetto's wish. It's really about sisterhood, family, compassion, and the complicated morality behind our choices (with any of the actual Pinocchio story happening in the last 20-ish% or so.)

So, I would recommend this but with the caveat that this is not Pinocchio's story. If you go in expecting/wanting that, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you want a sweet family story with magic and the vibe of Pinocchio captured rather well, I would definitely suggest giving it a try.

Overall, I'm honestly surprised at how much I liked it. I can't see myself ever rereading it or thinking of it much in the future, but it was a good time and I'm glad I read it. 

After checking some reviews, I've determined that there isn't a single reason for me to keep reading this, except to feel even more justified in my hatred of it. 

“She now understood that the world wasn’t kind to young women, especially when they behaved in ways men didn’t like, and spoke truths that men weren’t ready to hear.”

People have been recommending this to me for years and they were all right. It's a complete failure on my part that it took me 5 entire years to actually pick this book up, but I'm so glad I finally gave it a chance.

This was a masterclass in how to create a great YA fantasy standalone. Somehow, finding a perfectly steady pace, this book weaves together humor and magic with a host of grim, sometimes almost creepy subject matter and balances them perfectly. It has lovable, vivid characters, an incredibly fun book-based magic system, and some of my favorite pieces of writing I've read all year.

I would recommend this to almost anyone, but particularly fans of the Infernal Devices series. They aren't incredibly similar, but if you loved one, I feel you would really enjoy the other.

Overall, I had such a good time with this. Everyone that recommended it was correct and I love them for it. 

“He knew that she was the only one he wanted to find in the darkness. The only one he wanted to hold the shape of his soul, even with his thorns and dreams and wounds.”

Another beautiful book from Rebecca Ross, proving that I need to read everything she's ever written.

As with the first book, A Fire Endless transported me to Cadence from the first page. I read quite a bit (admittedly, not as much lately lol) and it's incredibly rare to find books I feel are this immersive and magical, with characters that stay with me long after I've read the last page. Both books of the Elements of Cadence duology accomplish this flawlessly.

With that being said, I did enjoy this one slightly less than A River Enchanted. Mostly due to an increase in predictability & melodrama, particularly in scenes that were meant to be solving a political dilemma. These moments often felt like the fantasy equivalent of "and then everyone clapped." Which may not make sense to anyone other than myself, but the comparison remains.

Don't get me wrong! I still adored this book. I love the poetically romantic way it was written, the focus on the spirits, and the journeys the characters went on. Truthfully, my complaints are only noticeable when contrasted with how perfect book 1 was. I just wanted to explain why this didn't quite reach a 5 star rating.

Overall? This has cemented its place as one of my all-time favorite series/duologies. These are the kinds of books you leave feeling forever changed, willing everyone in your life to read it so they can partake in the story you love so dearly.

If you've made it this far into my exhausted rambling and are still wondering: yes, I highly recommend this duology. It's atmospheric, magical, romantic, and a bunch of other beautiful words I could probably think of if I wasn't so tired right now.

Just read it. It's fantastic. 

Wholesome and beautifully illustrated. 

There are still some (mostly personal) things I don't connect with in this series, but I still enjoyed my time reading it. I also loved the casual rep (especially sign language!) and the message of this installment. 

Overall, very cute and made me hungry lol. 

"You're only a monster if you choose to be."

Maintaining most of what I liked about the first book and improving on some aspects I didn't, Celestial Monsters was a pretty good sequel.

I still think this duology kind of reads like a children's show where they're allowed to swear, complete with incredibly cheesy dialogue and melodramatic emotions. Legitmately, so many scenes felt like something lifted from children's media (up until the point where someone said "fuck"). While this vibe doesn't work for me personally, I do actually think it's a selling point of the series. Giving nostalgia along with aging up the characters experiencing the events.

All in all, this duology is a fun time. Not without its flaws, but I'm still happy I read it. I do recommend it to readers that are looking for a fast-paced, entertaining series with fascinating mythology and characters that grapple with the morality of how their world is set up.

Overall, I had a nice time with this and I'd like to read more from Aiden Thomas in the future.

This was the kind of book I should have read in one sitting.

Alas, I have lacked all motivation to read lately and therefore, did not.

I keep finding cozy books that succeed in the cozy, atmospheric vibes but seem to fall short in all other departments and this was one of them. Most of this book wasn't bad; a bit derivative, Hallmark-y, rife with every surviving petty HS drama available, but the vibes and family relationships could have made up for it.

If I had read this in one sitting, I think I might not have noticed the shortcomings of the book as much as I did - because I would have consumed it the same way I would have a quick Hallmark movie.

Unfortunately, as the book kept going on, the flaws just became really unavoidable. Already, the characterization was similar to playing MySims on the Wii, even with the types of tasks given to Emma as she prepared events. (I understand this might be niche, but imagine Violet ((from MySims)) was an eccentric author and you basically have the vibes) The plot was... a mess. The mystery was laughably absurd and the reveal was not only stupid, but also the most misogynistic way to go about anything.

(I want to clarify: I know a lot of people go into cozy books looking for vibes only and I'm not lessening that. For me though, I think a book should be able to have cozy vibes and a coherent plot, as well as not pitting nearly every female character against each other over extremely petty shit. <3)

Overall, while I didn't hate this, I do kind of feel like it was a waste of my time. 

An inspirational, heartfelt read for fans of and strangers to Gilmore Girls alike.


(Not rating this as I don't rate non-fiction.) 

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I tried really, really hard to get into this but I just can't do it anymore. This was an extremely anticipated read for me, from the moment I heard the synopsis. It's a really intriguing premise with a fantastic cover.

And I want to be clear: this was not bad.

However, I was struggling with everything from the characters to the plot direction. It was one of those experiences where I didn't even realize I wasn't enjoying it, until I noticed that picking it up felt like a dreaded chore. My delayed realization is partially because I really do like the concept and I also liked the author's writing style.

I think Alexis Henderson is really talented and wrote the book exactly as it was meant to be written.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep me engaged. Despite being an adult novel, the characters read very young and the budding romance (teacher x student, though they're both adults) was... not for me. This, along with the extremely slow pacing and a few other personal critiques, made reading this a difficult task.

I ended up realizing that I could stop reading and would never again wonder where the story was going - a sign that I should probably dnf.

With that being said, I think that's highly personal. I'll repeat: this is not a bad book. I think it's a good book with a super interesting idea, even if I didn't connect with the execution. If this sounds interesting, I do recommend picking it up.

I wish this had worked for me but I'm still incredibly grateful for the chance to read it. 

“Anyone  can be capable of something impossible— as a witch, she must believe that.”

You know the part of The Princess Diaries films where "only Paolo can take this and this and give you: ✨a princess✨"? Okay, so imagine that but the "this" and "this" are witches and sapphics and the end result is a very poorly crafted Bridgerton fanfic.

Impressive, I know.

I love books about witches. They usually get slightly higher ratings from me, simply because I love reading about nature witches and the overall atmosphere. To some degree, this book did deliver on atmosphere (at least for the beginning of the novel). My favorite parts had to do with the honeybees and the nature spirits.

Adding witches to a sapphic plot about a woman that has sworn off love because the only love she's aware of feels like sacrificing her autonomy? Does that not sound fantastic? It almost sounds like a flawless premise for a book.

But alas... this was not the case.

The book itself is structurally and technically a mess. The plot is an incredibly basic one, with scenes that were used in nearly every fantasy book of the 2010s. The plot-twists are painfully predictable if you've ever consumed any media. And the stakes are never talked about with the appropriate severity.

I want to be clear: I don't mind when a book is predictable and messy, so long as it's enjoyable. If I care about the characters enough, I don't mind if the plot-twists feel like they were lifted directly from the pages of "Tropes: A Beginner's Handguide" by Plagiarism Phil. I'll just be happy to be there.
Unfortunately though, this was one of those books where the characters were insufferable.

Practically everything was insufferable. The exposition is handled terribly (the first 35% percent of this book kind of feels like being forced to watch a instructional cutscene for a game you've been playing for thirty years). The pacing is somehow rushed and too slow at once (i.e. the book takes place over about a year and a half, but the characters act like it takes place over a decade.) The characters are childish and irritating. The dialogue is atrocious. The writing style is both melodramatic and stilted.

I think there's a reason for all of this and I think Bridgerton is to blame.

This reads like AI generated sapphic Bridgerton fanfiction. With over-the-top dialogue lacking the actor's human emotions to somehow level it out and bring the silliness back down to earth. And even Bridgerton takes itself far more seriously than this book ever did. I mean, the fmc literally growls "She's mine!" about her love interest at her old suitor, in the middle of a ballroom, causing lightning to strike in the distance.

This kind of leads to my final point: I don't think most people write grumpy x sunshine well. Or! Perhaps, I just don't like grumpy x sunshine, which may very well be the case.

However, more often than not, it feels like either one character is an abusive asshole and the other is just a nice person or! One feels like an angry asshole and the other feels like an inconsiderate, toxically optimistic asshole. Which could work, if it didn't feel like we suddenly switch from them hating each other (and just being generally unnecessarily rude) to dramatic expressions of love.

This was no exception. The two characters barely speak to each for the first 45% of the book and then when they do talk, one of the characters is incredibly rude. This kind of gets explained, but the switch from belittling and obnoxious to lovingly devoted felt insincere.

I don't know, I tend to love softer love interests so maybe that's why I didn't connect with this, but alas.

I'm afraid if I don't stop myself now I will continue to complain (particularly about a death scene involving someone's gore being trapped in their suspenders like a spider web? or the cartoonish villain dialogue) and that isn't my intention. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I'm devastated that I didn't love it.

There are good aspects to this book (the bees) and I do think people should pick it up if it sounds interesting to them, because some of my issues truly are personal. If you love witchy books and don't mind it when they're a bit messy, I encourage you to give this a try. You might love it.

Unfortunately, though, I did not.