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moonlitreading_'s reviews
403 reviews
A Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
“You and I have faced many things alone,” Jack murmured. “Between the mainland and the isle, the east and the west, we’ve carried our troubles in solitude. As if it were weakness to share one’s burdens with another. But I am with you now. I am yours, and I want you to lay your burdens down on me, Adaira.”
What a perfect conclusion to the Elements of Cadence duology. The whole lore of the island was so beautiful and I love how everything is tied together.
The main characters being separated shows how the people of the West and the spirits of the realm lived. I thought I wasn’t going to like that the main characters are separated while having their own POVs since there’s four of them, but this book made it work. In fact, it just made me want to continue reading because most of them left with cliffhangers. Like the first book, this was packed with suspense, angst, and hope. Despite thele somewhat dark themes of the whole series, I think it’s such a cozy read.
After reading Divine Rivals and this duo, I think I can say that Rebecca Ross is becoming a must read author for me.
What a perfect conclusion to the Elements of Cadence duology. The whole lore of the island was so beautiful and I love how everything is tied together.
The main characters being separated shows how the people of the West and the spirits of the realm lived. I thought I wasn’t going to like that the main characters are separated while having their own POVs since there’s four of them, but this book made it work. In fact, it just made me want to continue reading because most of them left with cliffhangers. Like the first book, this was packed with suspense, angst, and hope. Despite thele somewhat dark themes of the whole series, I think it’s such a cozy read.
After reading Divine Rivals and this duo, I think I can say that Rebecca Ross is becoming a must read author for me.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again.”
Snow is such a trash human being and 500+ pages of him is too much for my liking. The only comfort I have is the knowledge of what happens to him in Mockingjay.
My dislike for Snow aside, this book was okay. It didn’t affect me the way the trilogy did but it is interesting how the Hunger Games were like in the beginning. It shows how the mentoring, the sponsorship, the betting, and all the other stuff I know from the trilogy came to fruition.
I did like a few characters, namely Sejanus and Tigris. Sejanus deserved so much better, what happened to him literally broke my heart
Snow is such a trash human being and 500+ pages of him is too much for my liking. The only comfort I have is the knowledge of what happens to him in Mockingjay.
My dislike for Snow aside, this book was okay. It didn’t affect me the way the trilogy did but it is interesting how the Hunger Games were like in the beginning. It shows how the mentoring, the sponsorship, the betting, and all the other stuff I know from the trilogy came to fruition.
I did like a few characters, namely Sejanus and Tigris. Sejanus deserved so much better, what happened to him literally broke my heart
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Murder, Death, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Addiction
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 3 by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Blinding Darkness by Gege Akutami
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1: Ryomen Sukuna by Gege Akutami
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“One sniper. One gun. One red dot. And one liar.”
Five Survive is a very fast paced mystery/thriller that spans for a few hours. Six friends trapped in the middle of nowhere with an active shooter hiding in the trees sounds like something I would enjoy reading about. Unfortunately, the first half dragged but the second half picked up and tensions skyrocketed. This is the part I enjoyed, the one where the characters start pointing fingers and there is absolute chaos. The plot twists shocked me and that ending left me wanting more!!!!
Five Survive is a very fast paced mystery/thriller that spans for a few hours. Six friends trapped in the middle of nowhere with an active shooter hiding in the trees sounds like something I would enjoy reading about. Unfortunately, the first half dragged but the second half picked up and tensions skyrocketed. This is the part I enjoyed, the one where the characters start pointing fingers and there is absolute chaos. The plot twists shocked me and that ending left me wanting more!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Alcohol, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
deatdeath
“He and his team, this program—they didn’t just want to teach me how to hone my skills. They wanted to use them to catch killers. Serial killers.”
I didn’t think I needed YA Criminal Minds, but I apparently did!!!
The Naturals was a fun and suspenseful book, and it was a great first book to the series. It follows Cassie Hobbs as she becomes the new recruit to the FBI’s Naturals program. She leaves home to move in with the four other teens in the program. They all have different talents, one can read emotions, one is good with numbers and probabilities, one is good at deception, and one (like Cassie) has the gift of profiling.
As someone who just started watching Criminal Minds for the first time this year, I really enjoyed this book. I think even if I hadn’t watched Criminal Minds I would’ve still loved The Naturals. I loved all the characters and their personalities were so different from one another. Plus, it was so much fun seeing them use their talents in their everyday lives and when working on a case. The only thing I didn’t like much about this was the love triangle, but I would say I’m Team Dean so far. I don’t know if my opinion will change once I read the next books.
If you enjoyed Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, then I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one.
“He and his team, this program—they didn’t just want to teach me how to hone my skills. They wanted to use them to catch killers. Serial killers.”
I didn’t think I needed YA Criminal Minds, but I apparently did!!!
The Naturals was a fun and suspenseful book, and it was a great first book to the series. It follows Cassie Hobbs as she becomes the new recruit to the FBI’s Naturals program. She leaves home to move in with the four other teens in the program. They all have different talents, one can read emotions, one is good with numbers and probabilities, one is good at deception, and one (like Cassie) has the gift of profiling.
As someone who just started watching Criminal Minds for the first time this year, I really enjoyed this book. I think even if I hadn’t watched Criminal Minds I would’ve still loved The Naturals. I loved all the characters and their personalities were so different from one another. Plus, it was so much fun seeing them use their talents in their everyday lives and when working on a case. The only thing I didn’t like much about this was the love triangle, but I would say I’m Team Dean so far. I don’t know if my opinion will change once I read the next books.
If you enjoyed Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, then I think you’ll definitely enjoy this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
informative
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“So, was there anything to me, other than being a spy or assassin?”
The one thing I regret about reading Assassin’s Apprentice is that I didn’t start it earlier!!!! This book is slow paced, but Robin Hobb writes so well that I didn’t mind it. This book gives off an autobiographical feel and it’s more character-driven than plot-driven.
Speaking of characters, there were a lot that I liked. Even though everything is told from Fitz’s POV, the other characters still managed to stand out. Apart from Fitz, my favorite character is The Fool. I don’t know, I just feel like I want to be friends with him.
It was interesting to see Fitz’s character developing from when he was six until his mid(?) teens. But it’s crazy to think that everything that happened in this book was before Fitz became an adult. FitzChivalry Farseer you poor traumatized child.
The one thing I regret about reading Assassin’s Apprentice is that I didn’t start it earlier!!!! This book is slow paced, but Robin Hobb writes so well that I didn’t mind it. This book gives off an autobiographical feel and it’s more character-driven than plot-driven.
Speaking of characters, there were a lot that I liked. Even though everything is told from Fitz’s POV, the other characters still managed to stand out. Apart from Fitz, my favorite character is The Fool. I don’t know, I just feel like I want to be friends with him.
It was interesting to see Fitz’s character developing from when he was six until his mid(?) teens. But it’s crazy to think that everything that happened in this book was before Fitz became an adult. FitzChivalry Farseer you poor traumatized child.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Was she so afraid to disappoint her parents and the King, that she was willing to put their happiness before her own?”
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
This is my first Marissa Meyer book and I must say her writing is lovely. Her words kept me hooked from start to finish. I haven’t read Alice in Wonderland so all I know of it is from the 1951 Disney movie. It’s interesting how she played with existing characters and gave them their own history in her story.
Before picking up this book knew that things were not going to go well for Cath because of who the Queen of Hearts is in Alice in Wonderland. That said, it still broke my heart how things came to be. It makes me sad how much of a contrast there is between the Cath from the beginning to the Cath at the end.
The romance between Jest and Cath was so good, I love forbidden lovers. The way Jest really cares about her and puts her well-being first makes me want to bawl my eyes out. Jest can do no wrong in my eyes, he’s perfect.
It’s gonna take a while for me to forget about this book because it made me really sad. Please go read it<3333
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Animal death