Ninth House Review

43263680Galaxy (Alex) Stern has had a rough start at life, but she has been given a second chance and has an opportunity to attend Yale and is enveloped into the mysterious world of the nine secret societies that have been thriving there for hundreds of years.

It was a little too info dumpy at the start of the book. For those first hundred or so pages it was really a struggle to get through. It was slower paced and there are just so many dates, code names, characters, rules and regulations as well as all the magical elements woven in as well. It was a lot more rooted into the historical elements of the houses and it kind of bored me.

Alex I didn’t quite connect with for the first half of the book. She was just too mysterious I guess, we didn’t know a lot about her and she had too many secrets. She is a definitely a flawed character and being out of her element and thrust into the Lethe house and trying to live up to the expectations that are heaped upon her forced her out of her comfort zone. As she is learning about everything so are we, there is just a lot of information to wade through in a short amount of time. I did enjoy her development over the course of the story line though. She gains a lot more confidence in herself and really has had to come to terms with her past and everything that happened with Hellie in order to move on with her future.

I liked Darlington and I wish he was around for more of the plot. He was a nice contrast to Alex and even though he exudes that rich, know it all persona he has had to work hard to get to where he is now. Dawes started out as a quite innocuous character, I didn’t really think she would have much of an impact on the plot but she was like the dark horse of the story. She saved Alex’s life multiple times and stood up for her on multiple occasions as well when it came to the Dean.

Like I said the start of the book was a little bit slow and was quite hard to get through. However, once I was settled into the story and the investigation about Tara’s death began the pacing definitely picked up and the action intensified. There were some great twists and turns thrown in and I appreciated how much Leigh Bardugo went in depth with the different houses, I just wish maybe she only would of focused on a couple at a time and expanded upon them as the series continues.

⭐️3/5 stars a very slow build!

Get A Life, Chloe Brown Review

43888874Chloe Brown has been sheltered most of her life and has pushed away a lot of her friends because of the chronic pain she deals with on a daily basis. That is until one day she is involved in a near death experience that prompts her to move out of her house and start to fulfil some of the dreams she has put on hold because of her condition.

I really liked Chloe. She really knows her limits and is just currently trying to still live her life even though she is in pain. I find her not to be the most relatable of characters because of her wealth however, I think she is still quite down to earth and has really tried to step up and live by her own means. There isn’t a lot of positive representation of plus sized characters in literature and I really enjoyed the way that Chloe was portrayed and the language used to describe her. She didn’t really display any insecurities about her size and it wasn’t really a big factor of the story it was just who Chloe was.

Red really charmed me right from the start. From his relationship with his mother and the way he takes care of a lot of the older tenants in the complex, yet he is still kind of a badass with a motorbike. The banter between them was wonderfully entertaining, with the tension at the start slowly morphing into a friendship and then the way they both kind of push away their feelings before finally succumbing… I was a huge fan! He is just so considerate of her and is always asking how she is feeling or preemptively will make things easier for her. He was just such a sweetheart but still had his own issues he has had to deal with and sort out his feelings about his ex before he stepped fully into the relationship with Chloe.

One thing I appreciated about the book was the communication between the characters. If one of them was upset they would express that to each other and kind of work their way through all of their obstacles. Even when they had their fight and weren’t talking to each other Red was still working towards a resolution!

I thought Chloe’s sisters were really distinct and funny. Again they were always making sure Chloe was ok and checking in on her and was very supportive of her and her chosen lifestyle. I’m really interested to hear more about them and I am very excited to pick up the next book when it is released!!

⭐️4/5 This was just wholesome, endearing and highly entertaining.

🔱The Heroes of Olympus Series Reread🔱

12517455I just recently finished the second book in this series The Son of Neptune and I loved it! Granted there were a few instances where things worked out a little too easily for our demi-gods but overall I was highly entertained! I think what I really loved most about this book is that Percy is back. Though I did love how the first book showcased all new characters and then incorporated the older characters I just have always loved Percy and having his voice back as one of the main POVs just felt really nostalgic. This book once again follows Rick Riordan’s tried and true formula for these books, where we establish a goal, a quest is granted and somehow they make it back in time to stop something catastrophic happening. Some of the roman aspects of the camp were a little jarring but along with Percy we are able to find out all about their way of life and how it contrasts quite starkly with Camp Half Blood. This was a really great continuation of the story line and that ending has me itching to continue on with the series ASAP!!!

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Vengeful Review

40139338._SY475_It had been quite a few years since I finished Vicious so it took me a little bit to get situated into Vengeful.

Marcella is an interesting character. She is very self-aware which is something I enjoyed about her. She isn’t naïve at all and has quite a blunt, straightforward personality. She utilises her assets in a way that ultimately benefits her. After she becomes an EO she became quite ruthless and cutthroat and really dropped all of her inhibitions and strove towards her goals.

I have to say I wasn’t a fan of how Victor evolved in this book. All of his previous morals went right out the window and I really didn’t think it was necessary for him to kill the other EOs who couldn’t help him. He was previously my favourite of all the characters because of his goal to stop Eli and now because his motivations are quite selfish I’m finding I am not enjoying his character as much as I once did.

I enjoyed the fact that we get to see a lot of Eli’s history in this book. I think it was kind of skated over in Vicious and his reasons behind the decisions he makes and the impact that his past had on his future. I found myself becoming a little empathetic towards him after learning about all of the hardships he has had to face in his life, even after everything he has done. I remember I hated Eli in the previous book so to have both main characters switch roles for me was a little strange.

I’m not sure about June yet; I don’t quite understand where her connection to Sydney comes from. Sure they talked and texted for 3 years but her need to protect Sydney and even lie to Marcella about her made me intrigued. Where did she come from and why is she so hell-bent on finding Victor?

I liked the time jumps and the countdown; it definitely had me eager to read on. I did find myself more interested in Marcella’s plot line above everyone else. The other characters for the first 100 or so pages felt quite repetitive and stagnant. Once the pacing picked up I was very much invested in the plot and anticipating what was going to happen next!

⭐️3/5 stars I liked it, didn’t quite love it as much as Vicious!

Stay Home Reading Rush Wrap Up

I didn’t quite manage to finish all of the books on my TBR and did end up reading a book that didn’t fit any of the prompts, but I figure I went with the spirit of the readathon and just stayed inside all weekend and read a few books that I actually ended up really enjoying!

The first book I completed was Harry Potter and the Philosphoer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling! This kind of fit the prompt of read a book set somewhere you wish you could go, because like who wouldn’t want to visit Hogwarts?! 

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The next book I completed was The Last Town by Blake Crouch. Purely because I had just marathoned the first two books in this series and wanted to continue on with the last book as soon as possible. This doesn’t fit any of the prompts but I did really enjoy the book!

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And then the last book I didn’t actually end up finishing during the readathon I only got about half way through and that is Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. This was going to be for the prompt read a book in the same room the whole time which I did end up doing, unfortunately didn’t enjoy this story as much as I hoped I would!

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