first book in this series is one of my favourite YA ever and genuinely underrated, imo. But the more the series went on the more it just... lost sightfirst book in this series is one of my favourite YA ever and genuinely underrated, imo. But the more the series went on the more it just... lost sight of what made it so good.
This book is. WAY too bloated. you could easily lose 200-300 ages and keep the gist of the story intact. I did think the actual ending and the way the series wrapped up was well done. But this book is just not well written, which is sad, when the first is so tightly written and so clever.
If it was not for the fact I love the characters, this would be a 2 star book. Which is such a shame for this series...more
Unsure how to rate this. It's a sprawling, detailed crime novel where the large characters weave in and out of the story, creating a sort of fragmenteUnsure how to rate this. It's a sprawling, detailed crime novel where the large characters weave in and out of the story, creating a sort of fragmented mosaic of the crime. Some parts were more entertaining than others. Glad I finished it, enjoyed it overall, not sure if I will read the second one. ...more
“If the universe were static, I could stand anywhere in this world and I swear my line of sight would end on you. I swear I'd find you in the dark.”
Crier's War was definitely one of my favourite books of 2019, and I enjoyed it just as much when I reread it. It took me way too long to get to this sequel (life happens etc) but when I finally did get to it, I enjoyed it immensely.
Iron Heart maintains exactly what was great about Crier's War; characters who have interesting character development as individuals and as a couple, slow-burn romance full of yearning and tenderness and fun political fantasy elements + worldbuilding. Plot and world-wise, it's not overly complex - but it's fun, and it has a little historical mystery at it's core which is one of my favourite fantasy tropes.
I found this to be pretty action packed with good pacing for the first two thirds. I really liked the use of dual POV to build suspense and create intrigue. Dual POV was utilised skillfully to create drama and mystery, ending each POV with a cliffhanger that forced you to keep going. I think both POVs were interesting, though I tended to prefer Crier's just a tad.
The use of a dual POV also allowed for an excellent build-up toward the climactic reunion scene. The core of this series really is the relationship between Crier and Ayla, and this climax understood that.
UNFORTUNATELY, this is where we run into my issues. I thought the third act was a mess. It was anti-climactic and poorly paced, feeling like too little time was left to manage too much, which led to unsatisfying reveals and conclusions to plot threads. Major discoveries were made in ways that seemed to be extremely easy and cheap, which made some of the build-up seem pointless and disappointing. The conclusion seemed way too simple and too easy, and considering this is a 400 page book I think it left too little too late. It should have been longer, or certain discovering should have been made earlier.
That said, overall I did still really enjoy my time with this book, and this series. Crier and Ayla's story was concluded well, and I thought their romance was so well done. It's definitely one of my favourite slowburn f/f stories to date. I would love to see Varela write more in this world, I think it has potential and I would definitely read something with more deep, complex worldbuilding because I would find that so intriguing....more
reread feb 2021: HELLOO time passes but my love for this series does not FADE. I love them so much. I really loved rereading this, I picked up on so mreread feb 2021: HELLOO time passes but my love for this series does not FADE. I love them so much. I really loved rereading this, I picked up on so many things I missed the first time around.
I need more book series like the foxhole court but specifically for found family vibes that go THAT HARD, character growth, actual slow-burn romance that develops over three books, characters doing their best in the face of incredible odds and most importantly, wack descriptions of sporting games and a nonsensical plot...more
Romances can be a bit hit or miss for me but I really liked this one !! Aside from a few moments in the sex scenes that made me cringe (view spoiler)[Romances can be a bit hit or miss for me but I really liked this one !! Aside from a few moments in the sex scenes that made me cringe (view spoiler)[(do yall find the word c*nt sexy I do not LMFAO) (hide spoiler)] this was excellent! I loved Chloe Brown as a character, and her relationship with her sisters was so much fun. The main romance worked well and although some of the final scenes irked me, the lead up weighed it out for me to round it to a solid four stars.
Definitely looking forward to Take a Hint, Dani Brown. Talia Hibbert has such an electric way of writing characters and dialogue that I cannot get enough of. ...more
“When you fight, you should fight with your whole heart.”
I don't tend to love Cassandra Clare's short story collections as much as her full books.
“When you fight, you should fight with your whole heart.”
I don't tend to love Cassandra Clare's short story collections as much as her full books. Something about them just doesn't hit the same. But I think of all the short story collections she has put out, this one is by far the best. I found myself quite sucked into a few of these stories, maybe just because they follow Jem and I love him. But especially the ones toward the end, I really loved. I wish there had been one with Emma and Jem but I guess we cannot have it all. But I really did like how these followed Jem over the years and added so much about Kit and the lost Herondale storyline.
I've basically been reading this over weeks and weeks cos I just read one when I was in the mood so I don't have things to say about every single story (especially the earlier ones) but I do think of all the collections this is the one I would advise not skipping...more
“A thousand leagues and a thousand sands. For you, a thousand times I would defy the sun.”
OH this book disappointed me so badly, in the end, I bar
“A thousand leagues and a thousand sands. For you, a thousand times I would defy the sun.”
OH this book disappointed me so badly, in the end, I barely want to spend any time reviewing it.
The only thing I have to say I enjoyed was the atmosphere, the setting, and the different creatures in the world. The rest was a slog to get through, boring characters, a boring plot in which nothing happens. All they do is talk around the desert, randomly get attacked by things for a chapter, then walk around some more.
By the last 100 pages, we start getting some reveals but I was so detached and uncaring about this book by then they didn't even land.
I also hated how often it had to spoon-feed character thoughts. It would literally describe the emotion then be like "he was __emotion__" I KNOW i figured it out. It is a writing style I always notice and always bothers me.
I don't know, I was expecting so much from this book because the cover is beautiful and I remember hearing the plot on twitter and thinking it would be right up my alley but I just do not care about a single aspect of this book, sadly. ...more
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