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★★★★★ I received this ARC from Delacorte Press via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof and are subject to change. I better be getting a sequel or I will personally strangle Rory Power. The Tox didn't just happen to us. It happened to everything. Obligatory Summary It's been 18 months since an insidious and horrific disease known as the Tox took over Raxter Island, and the girls trapped there are beginning to unravel. The Tox takes something from each of them, humans and animals alike—some their eyes, some their sanity—and gives them something else in return. Hettie and her two best friends, Byatt and Reese, have managed to maintain a friendship throughout all this turmoil. But things are changing, and when one of them disappears, Hettie will do whatever it takes to find her. Part psychological thriller, part psychological hor...

★★★★★ This was the first book that I ever really loved. I first read it when I was about 10 or 11, and I fell in love with Scott O'Dell's writing, getting my hands on any of his books that I could find at my elementary school library. It really made me into a reader. But I hadn't read it in about a decade, and I was curious how well it would hold up to my adult mind. IT WAS EVEN BETTER!!! I originally rated this 4 stars, rather arbitrarily, but this reread proved that this is truly an amazing piece of historical fiction, especially for children. Even for its time, it does a great job at portraying Native American peoples in a humanizing light, as well as young girls (which is amazing, because Scott O'Dell was clearly a white adult male). It's compelling and action-packed, and extremely educational. I really felt for Karana as she lives abandoned on an island for the majority of her life, missing her family but feeling unable to leave her home. M...

★★★★☆ (original rating: 5 stars) This place was truly the highest and the lowest of all worlds—the most beautiful senses, the most exquisite emotions...the most malevolent desires, the darkest deeds. Perhaps it was meant to be so. Perhaps without the lows, the highs could not be reached. This book holds a really special place in my heart. It's the first book I ever read that was over 600 pages, and it was one of the first books that really got me into reading. I used to keep it next to my pillow every night when I went to bed, and I'd flip to my favorite parts (still know them by heart) over and over again, just to experience them again. I love this book, and nothing can ever change that. I did, however, decide to lower this from a 5 star rating to a 4 star. It just didn't affect me in the same way, the way it once had. Perhaps I've simply numbed myself to it, but it's been over 5 years since I last read it, and I just...didn't feel anything, ...

★★★★★ Buddy read with Nana (not to be confused with the dog nurse 😂) As usual, this was golden ❤️ (Original review) This is honestly so wonderful. I read this mostly because I am writing a dark fantasy Peter Pan retelling (you can vote on a title here ), but it really exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be enjoyable--it is a classic that has stood the test of time--but it was really a fantastic story told so wonderfully. It feels like it is being told to you, and it feels like there's even more to tell, which is probably why it has become so iconic. Peter's character is so interesting because he's almost an antihero sometimes, and quite similar to Hook in so many ways. If you've only seen the Disney movie, you really should read the book because it is significantly better in every conceivable way (except for the singing--there isn't a lot of singing lol). Buy the book here: Amazon Book Depository Barnes & Noble

★★★★★ "Wherever you walk, I will be there." *sobs* This third installment, the end of the main trilogy, was pretty darn good. There's something about Garth Nix's writing that just really does it for me. The subtle humor and wit, the syntax and sentence structure. It's all just so great. I love everything about it! The world is the best fantasy world ever, in my not so humble opinion. It isn't overbearing, but it's intricate and unique and dark without being grimdark. Death is probably the coolest setting in any book ever, and you can fight me on that. I loved the character arcs in this, especially Nick's. He didn't have much of a character in the previous book, but he really shone in this one, and his ending was just...*cries a little more* just perfect. I love how relatable all the characters are. I wish Sam had had a bit more to do in this, but as it is, I'm happy with how it all turned out. "So I'll d...

★★★★☆ Honestly, my feelings about the plot and the characters remain the same as my previous reading, but I just couldn't stand those directly quoted paragraphs from either like three pages before or even from different books. Every time one of those showed up, I imagined those flashback scenes from Twilight set to the music of Christina Perri. Like, why not just say Clary remembered what he had said and leave it at that, or, idk, let me draw my own conclusions and connections for once? (Original rating: 5 stars) After the literary trainwreck of City of Fallen Angels, I had no expectations for this book, but my stubbornness kept me from not reading the next installment. I've never been more happy with how annoying I am. City of Lost Souls is just what a good YA dark fantasy book ought to be. The engaging plot, the twists and turns, the multiple perspectives, gave this book what its predecessor lacked: substance. Every character was actively advancing the plot ...

★★★★★ The beauty of it cannot be understood, either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you. I loved this! It's so atmospheric and spooky! It doesn't really give you all (or any, for the most part) answers, but I think that added to the atmosphere tbh and I appreciated that. If it had attempted to answer literally everything, I think it would probably have fallen into the pit of parody like the Illuminae Files did for me. What this short book accomplished spectacularly for me is that it felt like a half-forgotten nightmare or a memory I've repressed. I felt, reading it, that I had read it before, but not in the sense that it was formulaic or overly predictable, or even that it was a blatant rip-off of something else. No, rather it gave me strong sensation of sensory discomfort and the idea that what is familiar is not familiar, that what is real is actually very much not real, which I believe was en...

★★★★★ Yes, I read this all at once, with very few stops, and no, I'm not ashamed. Feed the Forest inside you with blood, and it would feed you in return. I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Literally everything. The love interests, the conflicts, the main character, the character arcs, the setting, the writing, the pacing, the world, the magic— E V E R Y T H I N G My favorite character was Rachelle herself, Erec being a close second. They felt so real and intense and everything about them was so well done. I didn't love Armand as much as I was definitely supposed to, but I still really liked him as a character and really appreciated his role in the plot. I hadn't expected Amélie to be as important as she was, as best friend characters usually don't have very big roles, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was a real person, not just a pretty painting for Rachelle to compare herself to. It was all very well done. Rosamund Hodge ha...

★★★★★ Madness. Monsters. A city full of death. Even if we survive this plunge, it’s hard to see a future. This re-read was utterly fantastic! I'm slowly losing my ability to read with my eyes and not just with my ears (bless and curse audiobooks!) but I could barely put this down, and I already knew what happens! There were a few parts, particularly at the beginning, that stretched my suspension of disbelief a little too far, and I still don't really care for Sprout, but this is definitely still a 5 star read. "People have pasts. You can’t be a person without one." R's journey through this is one of my favorite things I've ever read. It's paced so well (and having re-read it, foreshadowed like crazy in the best way possible!!!!). Something about Marion's writing just does it for me. His philosophical ramblings feel natural and are genuinely thought-provoking. I love everything about it. Everything on earth has meant something to...

★★★★★ Nothing is pointless, as long as one is alive. For being a grimdark fantasy novel, this was surprisingly optimistic. Well, if you can look past the whole "death and all demons" parts. Why we march and why we die, And what life means...it's all a lie. Death! Death! Death! Yeah, that kinda dampens the mood a little. I really enjoyed this. At first, the writing was somewhat difficult to get into, particularly the first chapter, but once I got into it, it flowed amazingly well and painted quite an enrapturing image. It was scenic and epic and I loved it entirely. (My only qualm with this being that Thalia's 1st person perspective every once in a while was jarring and didn't feel entirely necessary, but was well-written nonetheless.) Amrath and the lore was probably one of the coolest things I've ever read. This gave me the strongest Game of Thrones vibes in the world, mixed with a little bit of Six of Crows of all things...

(I hate movie covers but oh well) ★★★★★ I buddy read this with Nana ! It was a re-read for me, my first read being in junior year of high school, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it once more! How quickly one accepts the incredible if only one sees it enough. Honestly the best thing about this book is Robert Neville. He's sad and alone and a little bit crazy, and I loved him. The poor guy deserves a nice long hug and a good ol' dog. He's such a fantastically complex character, and I really savored his sarcastic conversations with himself: Crossing your fingers, Neville? Knocking on wood? He ignored that, beginning to suspect his mind of harboring an alien. Once he might have termed it conscience. Now it was only an annoyance. Morality, after all, had fallen with society. He was his own ethic. Makes a good excuse, doesn’t it, Neville? Oh, shut up. *sighs contentedly* That's the good stuff, right there. The very ending s...

★★★★★ This book finally did what all 4 books before it failed to do. It made it to my favorites list. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway. I started this with low expectations, to be honest. I had been let down by Six of Crows  and didn't want to repeat my disappointment. And I think those low expectations saved me just a little bit. While I still had reservations in the first 100-or-so pages, by the midpoint, I was sufficiently hooked. Honestly, I feel like the real problem with this duology is that the first book is bogged down by thematic set up that only pays off in this book. The plot was better paced, held more tension and stakes. There were real ideas here to latch onto, and real character moments that didn't feel too contrived or that they were entirely for the aesthetic. I felt myself begin to truly care for the characters an...

★★★★★ No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. This was surprisingly quite funny! The narration was done in that particular style that seems to have been largely abandoned by modern authors: third-person told from a first-person non-character narrator. I love this style! Many of my favorite classics (Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc) are told in this style, and it always lends itself a storybook quality that is sorely lacking in today's literature. The story itself was something I am at this point extremely familiar with, as it has permeated all corners of Western civilization at this point, but still, there were some things that are often excluded in most adaptations, such as the children of mankind: "They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from th...

★★★★★ Buddy read with Nana !! OH MY GOSH Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker? The Writing and Worldbuilding I adore Garth Nix's writing. It's lyrical without distracting from the narrative and flows very well. He clearly has a very strong grasp on the language. I absolutely loved every bit of it. I have to admit that I thought this wouldn't be nearly as good as it was, because it came out before I was born and often older (and tbh even current) YA writing lacks strong narrative voice and relies heavily on tropes and cliches to convey the story. But this was totally unique and excellent in every way! I can even see the influence it has had on the genre, with books like Shadow and Bone and Throne of Glass clearly trying to emulate what this book had (though their success varied). I AM IN LOVE with this world and its inhabitants. From the very beginning, this gave me White Walker and the Wall vibes from Game of Thrones a...

★★★★★ There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights. Why am I always so surprised that classics are seriously fantastic? I loved everything about this! Even knowing the general story, having absorbed it via osmosis most of my life and having once watched a terribly adapted play put on by my high school peers, I was still pulled in by the tension, the terror, and the themes. I loved every character and found the plot to be very climactic and engaging. The writing style was superb! Each narrator had a consistent voice that defined them and made their perspective all the more interesting. My personal favorite was Dr. John Seward. He had a very lyrical way of viewing the world and it made his sections beautiful to read. The opening part with Jonathan Harker's imprisonment in Dracula's Castle was palpably tense and drew me in immediately. All in all, the entire thing was excellent! For life be, a...

★★★★★ (re-read and original) A dead man lies near a river, and the forest watches him. Gold clouds drift across a warming pink sky. Crows dart through dark pines that hover over him like morbid onlookers. In the deep, wild grass, small living things creep around the dead man's face, eager to eat it and return it to the soul. Their faint clicks mingle with the rush of the wind and the screams of the birds and the roar of the river that will wash away his bones. Nature is hungry. It is ready to take back what the man stole from it by living. But the dead man opens his eyes. Every time I read those lines, chills go down my spine and my hairs stand on end. This is truly something spectacular. The New Hunger expands upon the ideas of Warm Bodies, giving insight into the lore and the origins of this world and its inhabitants, but it can be read as a standalone just as well; it is powerfully meaningful and substantial. Its lyrical prose spins a tale of surv...

★★★★★ (original) ★★★★☆ (re-read) The world has been distilled. Being dead is easy. This is a fantastic book. I watched the movie first because I thought it looked funny and now it's one of my favorite films. I decided to read the book, because as the old adage goes, "The book is always better than the movie." Oh how that's true. This humanized (quite literally) the zombies and their plight, while making epic comparisons to the state of survival versus living. What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be undead? This book is so much more than a Romeo and Juliet zombie drama. This is so much more than the Twilight with zombies. It's about how love is what makes us human, sometimes quite lite R ally. "You should always be taking pictures, if not with a camera then with your mind. Memories you capture on purpose are always more vivid than the ones you pick up by accident." Buy the book here: Amazon Book...

★★★★★ OH MY GOODNESSAKDLGKAJGOAJROTJLGJAFLG At night, Henrietta felt like magic, and at night, magic felt like it might be a terrible thing. Every time I read the description of this book, I was even more confused about what it was about. It came across as a ghost version of Twilight (and with Maggie Stiefvater's track record with Shiver , no wonder) but the constant hype surrounding it, even after all these years, finally won me over. The cover helped too. I LOVED THIS! The characters are all amazing, and even when a certain character's existence felt unnecessary at first, by the end they were properly justified and I felt an emotional connection to them. I LOVE the boys themselves. They're all such wonderful, well-rounded characters. I really liked Blue as well, and her wacky family stole my heart. Can we just talk about how Ronan -  Ronan of all people; the scary angst king - is the mother of a baby raven? Because MY HEART CAN'T TAKE ...

★★★★★ Nov 16 update: SO I TRANSLATED THE BINARY (to the best of my ability and I didn't double check because honestly, who has the time for that) AND AIDAN IS ACTUALLY SAYING THINGS!!!! First of all, when he says 01001001 right before he awakens and starts his "I" monologue, he's literally saying "I" in binary, so yeah, that's pretty awesome. BUT WAIT! When he has that long stretch of binary in the shape of a heart beat monitor like some kind of Arctic Monkeys album cover, HE IS SAYING WORDS! I couldn't get a super good translation, but the only words that came up were as follows: "I will show you ... I will show you fear in a handful of dust." DANG BRB TTYL I'M GONNA GO DIE NOW THANKS < error > I literally read this in one sitting. I forwent food, drink, sleep, human contact, animal contact, hygiene, and my own sanity to finish this book because I 👏 COULD 👏 NOT 👏 PUT 👏 THIS 👏 DOWN! I started it at like...

★★★★★ It's difficult to put into words how much I loved this. I started this series out of a desire to more fully understand and appreciate the complexities of Voldemort and found myself loving Harry and his little band of misfits more than I can ever imagine (for the record, I love Voldemort too #HotTomRiddle). To be honest, the first few books (excluding my OG number one fav Hot Tom Riddle and the Giant Snek ofc) didn't really draw me in. Prisoner of Azkaban wasn't all that interesting to me. But from the Goblet of Fire on down, every single one of these books has delivered more than I could ever imagine . I wish I'd never seen the movies, not yet at least. I wish I'd experienced this story along with everyone else (my excuse being that for the first few books' releases, I had yet to be born). The wonderfully executed plot twists and character deaths in this final installment would definitely have shocked me more than they did (though for the rec...