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for inner circle love to yap about not forcing mating bonds, they practically force it on nesta by locking her up in a house with cassian who;

has a constantly crossed nesta’s boundaries

treats nesta like shit

not listened to her rejections and no’s

only sees nesta’s body sexually

discarded nesta in favour of others

is possessive of nesta even though she is not his

oh feyre constantly telling nesta to give cassian a chance - feyre cant seem to realise nesta is her own person with her own wants

funny how they treat lucien -a male who has always respected elain and sees her as a person and not meat or a prize to win- the way they should have treated cassian

elain’s refusing about her bond are respected, but not nesta’s

cassian is a big red flag, nessian is unhealthy

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The Lightning Thief Review

Poseidon, Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.

I will never not love this story. The adventure and emotions that so many young people (and adults) can relate to. Grover and his insecurities and thinking his failures are his alone. Annabeth feeling the pressure to always have a plan and not feeling wanted by either parent. Percy feeling like he is always letting the only parent who cares about him down. These characters are so relatable. I also loved the humor and the way that different myths are woven through the story and are mostly accurate, if updated. I mean, who didn't love Ares and Aphrodite getting caught in the Tunnel of Love? The spiders, though. :/ Annabeth, I feel you. There were also liberties taken though, like with Medusa and Poseidon, though I need to review the Roman v Greek versions, because I believe in one Medusa was willing (?).

Percy & Sally My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray hairs, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy alright? My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful. I think you know, Percy. I think you're enough like me to understand. If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.

[Quotes:] Oh, yeah. I guess you'd be an environmentalist. Only a human wouldn't be. They'll think you're impertinent. I am impertinent. The River Styx. Polluted. For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across- hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me. The Sea does not like to be restrained. Still...I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic. Percy's Feats [1] Fury [2] Minotaur [3] Medusa [4]Escape Chimera & Echnida [5] Procrustes [6]Ares [7] Luke

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Fourth Wing Review

Reading for the second time, I understood a lot of things better. More history of the wars, where places were, how Signets worked, etc. It gave me a lot more insight into the world-building, which is really why I wanted to re-read before jumping into Iron Flame. Knowing about certain deaths did make reading some parts harder. IYKYK but it made me appreciate the friendships more and served as a warning that no one was safe. I loved Tairn even more this time around. If he were a human, I think I would like him and Violet even more than Xaden and Violet, perhaps an unpopular opinion. His arrogance is one of my favorite things, as well as his (albeit salty) patience with Violet at times. He's the highlight of the book for me.

Tairn "I know exactly who and what you are, Violet Sorrengail." "You will not fall. I will not allow it." "You're bleeding. Stop it." "You're making us look bad. Stop it."

Tairn roars with the unmistakable sound of pride. Lightning wilder

"We will feast on their bones, Silver One."

Xaden Xaden stands in the doorway like some kind of dark, avenging angel, the messenger of the queen of the gods.

Xaden x Violet "I wasn't perfect like Brennan or a warrior like Mira." "She doesn't know you very well, then."

Favorite Quotes: "Decide, Violet. Are you going to die a scribe? Or live as a rider?" "Stay the hell away from Xaden Riorson." "A dragon without their rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead." "We live as cowards or we die as riders." "No matter what you think of me for keeping secrets, we're friends, Violet."

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The Dream Thieves Review

Review: I mean this in the most respectful way possible: I truly did not care about the plot. To me this book was 100% about the introspection of the characters. It was about Ronan coming to terms with everything that he is. Things that make him feel angry and confused and uneasy about himself. He's a ball of frustrated rage, yet he can't unleash it because everything about him, everything that he could find wonder or peace in, is what makes him angry. There is no aha moment of clarity for him in this book, though I think a close one may be he accepts himself as his own nightmare, and learns to wield the things about himself that he is afraid of. The road getting to that point was long and definitely a war with many battles, and many more left to fight, I think. The other part of this story (in more ways than are obvious to the reader or characters) is Adam Parrish. Adam is still working through his own issues, both magical and real world. However, in the end, I think he learned that to he needed to accept himself *ahem, Ronan* to find clarity in both.

The Raven King, make way for the Raven King.

Favorite Quotes: "In that moment, Blue was a little in love with all of them. Their magic. Their quest. Their awfulness and strangeness. Her raven boys." "All of us have secrets in our lives. We're the keepers or kept-from, players or played. Secrets and cockroaches - that's what will be left at the end of it all." "Why is the tea here so good? I spit in it." "If you never saw the stars, candles were enough." "But one of the marvelous things about being Ronan Lynch was that no one ever expected him to do anything nice for anyone." "You'd talk about this with your grandmother? I cannot possibly imagine discussing this with mine. She's a lovely woman, I suppose. If you like them bald and racist." "There was something warming, Ronan thought, about all of them burying a body on his behalf." "All food eaten in anticipation of a kiss is delicious." "Maybe she'd go for a walk, just her in the pink switchblade. They were a good pair. Both incapable of opening up without cutting someone."

Notes: Gray Days days when morning seemed bled of color and getting up seemed unimportant -- I shall adopt this. Man, these dream thieves are a dime a dozen.

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Powerful Review

Beware of spoilers

You make even the stars envious, because one day -far from now- you will be up there beside them, outshining every single one.

🥺My Pae has found me.🥺

😭😭See you in the sky.

Review:

I am broken. This book broke me. Consider me broken by this book.

As much as I wasn't bothered in Powerless, I am devastated by this Adena.

Adena with the sunshine and honey buns and smiles. Why??? 😭

Somehow in just over 200 pages, Adena and Mak became one of my favorite fictional couples ever. I had hope for them. They were so perfect. Sweet and devoted and they needed each other. Mak needed her.

I hope he gets some payback in the next book somehow.

💕 Adena 💕

She smells of honey, of happiness incarnate.

I can't 😭😭 

I wonder if I'll be able to watch over her when I get to wherever Death is taking me.

He better let me watch over her. 

😭And it just keeps coming...

One, two, three...

Death is gentle in a way life never was.

I look up into the sky, seeing stars swim in my vision.

What a beautiful night in the Fort.

Four, five, six...

I'm counting the seconds until I see her next.

I'm counting the stars until I see Mak shining beside me.

The stars wink at me, welcoming me home. 

Favorite Quotes:

💚 Nothing says 'welcome home' like a newly arranged pile of garbage.

💜 What a terrifying realization, to admit one's admiration for another.

💚 Even in the midst of crying, she manages to glow, as though each tear were a drop of sunlight.

This pile of garbage is all that I've got. I thought you had me? Do I? So long as you'll take me.

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Powerless Review

Review: So many similarities to The Hunger Games and Red Queen. [Note: reading Red Queen next month and that review will include a list]. The story was very much a "Hurry up and wait" for me. The exciting parts were thrilling and the rest was filler. Some parts felt like they could have [should have] been more relevant and described.

Examples: Kitt going to Loot. The whole Adena scene in the end. Callous as it is, it happened so fast, I didn't really care. Really any part with Kai and his father could have been given more depth.

But instead of diving more into those, we got more and more flirting filler. And did Kitt not notice or not care about the tension between Kai and Paedyn? Did I misread his feelings because it seemed like he was into her as well? The trials themselves were pretty original butni do wish they had been more of the story instead of being maybe one chapter each. Same with the rebellion. We know it's happening, obviously, but the meetings were super short and there weren't many at all. Paedyn trusted these people so quickly because what? They knew her father? Even after she learns Callum can read minds? She was so smart about everything else. But the one time she needs to think about the fact that she is betraying not just her future king, but also her friend, who genuinely seems to care about her opinions and can create change, she jumps head first.

Kai: "His eyes were the color of thunderclouds settling over Ilya, of smoke puffing from the chimneys overhead, of the stolen silver coins clenched in my fist. His black, long lashes are in total contrast with his steely gray eyes, now sweeping across my face." "The Deliverer of Death, they call him."

Paedyn: "Her eyes are the color of the Shallow Sea's deepest corner, a clear sky as it begins to drift into night, the subtle shade of a forget-me-not. And like the hottest flame, her eyes are blue and full of fire." "The Silver Savior."

Favorite Quotes: My life means the end of someone else's. - Kai Perhaps you may not need powers to be powerful. - Kai He fears what he cannot control. And in this very moment, that something he cannot control is me. - 🗡 Paedyn

"Every girl deserves something equally as pretty and deadly as they are." - ⚔️ Kai

"Careful, darling. You forget that spilling blood is what I do best." ⚔️ Kai

"Perhaps I'll relieve him of one of his hands, so he never has the opportunity to lay it on a woman again." ⚔️ Kai

"Don't stop. Your questions, your thoughts, your contradictions - I want to hear them all." - 👑 Kitt

"Will you forever be the prize I am aimlessly trying to win?" ⚔️ Kai

"Oh, darling, a trophy implies that I won it, earned it, deserve it. But if I get to have you, it will be because you let me." ⚔️ Kai

"Oh darling, I'm already dreaming." ⚔️ Kai ☆As he practices 😭☆

"Only you can make my name sound worth saying." - ⚔️ Kai

Read Along Thoughts: ▪️He shielded her body 😍 ▪️Uh the dance lessons 💃 🕺 ▪️Who knew Thumb Wars could be so interesting

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City of Ashes Review

Review: City Of Unrequited Love, more like. Clary loves Jace but can't have him. Jace loves Clary but can't have her. Simon loves Clary and has her, but she loves Jace. Maia loves Simon but he loves Clary who loves Jace. Magnus loves Alec and has him but no one can know. Alec loves Jace but had Magnus but no one can know. Luke loves Jocelyn but she doesn't know or knows and ignores it. Is that everyone? I can't remember.

Anyway... such a thrill ride. Always something happening. Even if it's off page while we watch out amorous siblings angsting. After the angst, we find pit what happened. I love the moral greyness of everyone. Even Valentine. He may be an evil bastard, but he thinks he's right. He isn't acting out of malice per se. Just a twisted sense of moral superiority. Ah, to see him humbled. 😌

Simon>>>

Simon knew what he was supposed to say. Sh'ma Yisrael, adonai elohanu, adonai echod. Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. He tried to speak the words, but a searing pain burned his throat. "Clary," he whispered instead.

Notes: 》Ya know what would be nice? An illustrated guide for these demons. 》Maia is kind of a bitch to Clary. 》Simon isn't even the real love interest 😭

Demons Mentioned [beginning pg 222]: ▪️Drevak ▪️Raum Demon ▪️Agramon - Demon of Fear ▪️Moloch ▪️Oni

Favorite Quotes: 🧚‍♀️"Faeries live for hundreds of years and they're cunning as snakes. They can't lie, but they love to engage in creative truth-telling. They'll find out whatever it is you want the most in the world and give it to you - with a sting in the tail of the gift that will make you regret you ever wanted it in the first place."

"Never doubt my weasling abilities, Shadowhunter, for they are epic and memorable in their scope." 🖤Magnus🖤

"You are mortal; you age; you die. If that is not hell, pray tell me, what is?" 🧚‍♀️Faerie Queen

"I can't believe he didn't have the dignity and presence of mind just to get drunk and pass out in some gutter." 😇 Jace

"I guess it's true what they say. There are no straight men in the trenches." 😇 Jace

"Hate is nothing when weighed against survival." - 👹 Valentine

"I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly." - 🖤Magnus🖤

"Never believe the bad guy is dead until you see a body. That just leads to unhappiness and surprise ambushes." - 🧛‍♂️ Simon

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Phantasma Review

Reading Status: Complete ❤️🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤 Points for OCD Rep! I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I'd heard that it was both hot and gory, and forgive my ignorance, but I could not reconcile those two descriptors applying to the same book. Both were delightfully correct! I loved the trials, which were, in fact, gory but somehow there was a whimsy about the game (or perhaps I'm just applying my feelings of Caraval, which I couldn't help but to compare this to). Ophelia was a great heroine, spunky and independent, but she was also smart enough to know and admit when she needed help, which I loved. Very much enjoyed not knowing what the next trial would encompass and I was on the ride right along with Ophelia. I do wish we got a little more personality from the Devils who were hosting each trial, but the only one we really got was Raeha, who was just obnoxious. I have mixed feelings about Genevieve. I like that she was so willing to help solve the problem their mother left, but I'm always annoyed by characters who have to catered to their whole lives. It seemed like she and Blackwell were actually more compatible by the end. I'm sure he and Ophelia have great sex, but it seemed that Genevieve is the one he would have more fun with. I really liked the glimpse of backstory we got for their parents and I do hope Ophelia and Blackwell learn the history of the locket in the next book.

I am not your angel, but I will be your nightmare. If you sabotage my chance at getting my sister back, I will find a way to haunt you until every single one of your inner demons looks like me. You will never know a moment of peace again."

In a different life, in a fair one, I would have kept you until my eternal soul withered away to dust.

My soul will go to its grave with your name echoing in my mind.

Thoughts While Reading: So this is Caraval with bad words. Good to know.

Favorite Quotes: Soft hearts don't survive here. What kinds of hearts do? Hearts with teeth. If all of my inner demons were destroyed, there wouldn't be much of me left. Next time your mind tries to convince you otherwise, remember this: there is nothing about you that I find undesirable. I told you before that nothing would ever stop me from getting to you if you needed me, and that will remain true forevermore. I would tear the universe apart and it seems if I must.

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I love this so much.

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Too Hot To Handle Review

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Artifacts of An Ex by Jennifer Chen My rating: 4 of 5 stars Plot- or character-driven? Character Strong character development? Yes Loveable characters? Yes Diverse cast of characters? Yes Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes This was a super sweet romance with a great, diverse cast of characters. Perfect for Valentine's Day or anyone getting over an ex or entering a new relationship. As a plan-a-holic, I totally get Chloe and her need for perfection. I love how, by the end, she allows herself some freedom. Also, Daniel goes through some growth, accepting his self-worth and that love isn't without risk. I found that to be a very deep, adult theme in this book, along with the importance of moving on before entering a new relationship and hurting someone else. A great lesson for the target age group who is exploring the dynamics of love for the first time. View all my reviews

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The absolute chokehold that this book has on me is scandalous. My other books will be so jealous.

Jude is Mother and I will hear nothing else about her. The pure badassery of this girl is beyond.

Cardan is giving princely vibes. And bully vibes. And possibly alcoholic faerie vibes, but we can examine that more closely later.

I admit I was a little bored through the first half, but the second half more than made up for it. I haven't read books 2 & 3 yet, but the desire to read this one in a loop may override my need to immediately continue the story.

I'm off to read it again.

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10 posts!

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