meetlyss's reviews
818 reviews

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Wow. Please don’t judge me. I don’t normally read books like this, but it’s been all over TikTok and I was curious. This is probably the weirdest romance book I’ve ever read. I think there’s like a million books in this series, but I won’t be reading them. This is a TikTok book I just can’t get on board with. If you’re curious like me, here’s some advice: just pass on this one.

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm so torn on how I felt about this book. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one (but that may be because there wasn't much NicoLibby interactions...), and though I didn't necessarily dislike it, I didn't love it either. Just like in the first book, there are sooooo many info dumps that made me want to fall asleep. I'm starting to think I should read dark academia via audiobook with all these info dumps and looooooong paragraphs/chapters.

I think what kept me going was the mystery of how Libby would get back to the present, as well as the constantly shifting POVs. I honestly thought about giving it 3 stars until the last fourth of the book where everything picked up drastically and dramatically. If the end hadn't been so exciting, entertaining, and shocking, I'm not sure I could have rated this 4 stars.

I'm veeeeeeeeeery interested to see where this story goes in the third book and how it will end. Especially after that cliffhanger... I'm still a NicoLibby stan, though, #sorrynotsorry.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Although I didn't love this book as much as the sequel, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I did miss the Scholomance setting, and I missed Orion, but there was plenty going on with El and her friends to distract me. There's so much to this world and this story - seriously, I know I say this in every review for these books, but if you aren't a big fan of huge info dumps and long inner monologue, you aren't going to like this series. I'm not sure I'd be able to physically read these books... The audiobooks are lifesavers and I highly recommend them if you think you might have to trudge through the physical books. (I feel this way a lot with fantasy, especially ones with academic settings.) Plus the narrator is fantastic.

Not as good as book 2 but better than book 1, The Golden Enclaves is a wonderful conclusion to the series. I felt like enough of the plot was wrapped up and just a bit left to the imagination that I feel satisfied enough to let go of the story and these characters. A lot happens in this book, so prepare yourself.

The Wicked King by Holly Black

5.0

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Well that was sad :,)

I love that Silvera literally tells you up front who’s going to die and still it shocks me. I have unrealistic hope!!

Though I didn’t love this quite as much as They Both Die at the End, it was still a great read. I enjoyed the expansion of the Death Cast universe and getting a little more backstory into the creator and the whole process. I also loved the side-POVs and guest appearances from characters from TBDATE. 

The dialogue could be a bit cringey, and I wasn’t as emotionally invested in the main characters as I wanted to be, but overall it was a really interesting book that made me sad despite being told how it would be :,)

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I devoured this novel. I was invested in the mystery and adored the main characters. I was so confident I knew who the killer was in the very beginning of the novel and I cannot believe I was wrong! (Not that I’m ever right but I really thought I had it this time.)

This was a good YA mystery—fast-paced, interesting, and full of surprises.

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

“Maybe I feel this way now because I viewed my mom that way for so long. I had her up on a pedestal, and I know how detrimental that pedestal was to my well-being and life. That pedestal kept me stuck, emotionally stunted, living in fear, dependent, in a near constant state of emotional pain and without the tools to even identify that pain let alone deal with it. My mom didn't deserve her pedestal. She was a narcissist. She refused to admit she had any problems, despite how destructive those problems were to our entire family.”

My relationship with my mom was both drastically different and alarmingly similar to Janette’s relationship with her mom. I honestly couldn’t have said the above any better myself. She makes a great point about moms and how we are just supposed to be in awe of them and worship them simply for being a mom, and how that’s such bullshit. Because giving birth doesn’t suddenly make you a good person, doesn’t absolve you from abusing your child. And romanticizing that person when they’re dead isn’t going to erase all the trauma and pain they caused when they were alive.

This was such a difficult book to read and it’s definitely going to stick with me for a long time. Highly recommend, especially the audiobook.

Fangirl, Vol. 2: The Manga by Sam Maggs, Gabi Nam, Rainbow Rowell

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Did they have to end it on that cliffhanger?!?! Obviously I know how the story goes but now I just want to read more... This manga is so cute!!!

Fangirl, Vol. 1: The Manga by Sam Maggs, Gabi Nam, Rainbow Rowell

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think every novel should get a manga or graphic novel adaptation. This was absolutely stunning. I haven't read Fangirl in years - this was a great way to remind myself of the story while enjoying a new aspect of it in the artwork (which is super cute and fits the story so well). I forgot how much I love Levi and the story itself, as well as literally any mention of Simon and Baz. Will this inspire a third re-read of one of my favorite series?.. Probably :)

Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Don't mind me, just sitting in my office at work trying not to cry...

I hate that it took 40-50% of the book for the story to pick up. It was definitely slow-going until then, but finally it became exciting, tense, and interesting. I wasn't prepared for such a sad ending and honestly I don't want it but it is what it is. It was a good ending, despite not being the one I wanted.

Though this wasn't my favorite Schwab series, I'm still sad it was only 2 books! But I am glad I decided to read it because I absolutely needed a new book boyfriend (August) <3