kellie reads

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

my most anticipated read of 2024 and.... OH MAN.... i have so many thoughts

i have been reading reviews and opinions over the past few weeks, and this book seems kinda universally hated. WHICH, HONESTLY, I THINK IS WEIRD? because the second book (HOSAB) was so much less enjoyable for me than this book was. HOSAB was a slooooog, and a huge disappointment after the first book (HOEAB), which is one of my favorite books possibly ever. HOFAS had much better pacing and a much more interesting plot, imo

that being said, this book is not without its flaws!!! I did have some problems with it (bryce getting on my nerves, bryce + hunt plot points falling flat emotionally, the major storyline wrapping itself up too quickly and neatly, characters being immortal/never really seeming to be in real danger which makes the stakes feel lower, etc.)

there were also lots of redeeming qualities though! the plot kept me engaged, the ACOTAR crossover was SO FUN (although I wish it was longer), I really enjoyed ruhn and lidia's storyline, and since i'm emotionally attached to all the CC characters, of course it's emotional and bittersweet to see the main story (mostly) come to an end. since we know there will be a CC4, I'm really curious who and what it will be about

i am likely going to read more of the short stories in this collection, but so far, i have only read sally thorne's and christina lauren's (my queens. my saviours. my guiding lights.)

Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

if sally thorne has a million fans, i am one of them. if sally thorne has one fan, it is me. if sally thorne has no fans, i am dead.

my hero, my icon, my inspiration, she could keyboard smash and i would cry about it

this story is full of sally's wacky humor and not everyone is going to get it. i, however, get it, and therefore, this story was cute and funny and quirky and adorable and lovely and fuzzy and perfect

if you don't get it THEN YOU DON'T GET IT and i'm sorry for you

very happy to have some new sally writing to enjoy, as i am an addict who has been suffering withdrawals (she has been Going Through Some Stuff and not writing as much, and i am angry that the cruelties of life have targeted my queen who deserves nothing bad to ever happen to her like EVER, but that's life i guess)

thank you sally i love you sally!!!!!!!

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i am an OG christina lauren fan, some of their earlier books are my all-time faves (roomies?? josh and hazel's guide to not dating?? CLASSICS! PERFECTION!) but more recent books have not hit the same for me, so i went into this with guarded expectations

that was not necessary, because this story was so lovely!!! i really loved everything about it, not a single complaint here

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

we love a bisexual main character!!!

it's a good thing he had that redeeming factor because otherwise i found him a bit unbearable. i do wish he showed more signs of personal growth throughout the story

HOWEVER, this was a highly engaging read with lots of adventure (robbers! pirates! sexy encounters! dangerous escapes! magical realism, a bit!) it's like uncharted had a baby with a coming-of-age historical romance

YA, but doesn't read like it

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

⭐️⭐️⭐️

this was sooooo hyped so i went in with high expectations, but this missed the mark for me

would have been a DNF if not for the murder mystery aspect. at my core i am a nosy girl who needs to know what happened, so that was the only thing that motivated me to finish

you know how there's YA that is written well, and YA that is written like a 14 year old wrote it? yeah this is the latter, i DID NOT jive with the writing style whatsoever

numerous plot points were a bit unbelievable

hello i'm back after procrastinating posting about any of my 2024 reads, apologies for the incoming flood of posts!!

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone & Amal El-Mohtar

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

this was my final read of 2023, admittedly because it was a novella and i was trying to cram in one more book before the end of the year

i read it in one sitting, the perfect read for a cozy afternoon with a cup of tea

side note: as a canadian i immediately noticed all the references to canada and guessed immediately that one of the authors had to be canadian (and i was correct) lol

i really enjoyed this!!! i think it missed out on five stars for me due to a lack of emotional connection with the characters. the plot of this book would have had me emotionally WRECKED if i felt more invested, but i think the epistolary format, the overall style of the story, the flowery prose, the sometimes abstract nature of what's going on... all of that put a bit of distance between me and the book. it had me saying "oh :(" at during the final 25% instead of sobbing, if you know what i mean.

a quick catch up post since i've been 1. lazy about reading and 2. lazy about posting what i read

first of all, what a wild selection of books lmao

Prophet: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

so much fun!!! i was lucky enough to get an ARC and this story kept me gripped from beginning to end. loved the slow burn romance SO MUCH!! i was left with some questions about the main story arc but nothing that has kept me awake at night. overall it was a genre bending blast. it was marketed as enemies to lovers and in my opinion it wasn't that really, but it WAS an opposites attract queer spy science fiction mystery romance and omg how can you go wrong with that

Fourth Wing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

if 2012 dystopian YA + SJM + fanfic had a threesome and then a baby. that is not going to be for everyone, but it was for me. this was a nostalgic and fun read as long as you don't take it too seriously!! and i really loved the chemistry and tension between the two main characters. enemies to lovers + forced proximity are two of my favorite tropes so i was a bit spoiled by this one!

Alone With You In The Ether: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

sign my petition to tear down mount rushmore and erect a monument dedicated to this book instead

Ice Planet Barbarians: ???

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5

Notes:

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

review contains spoilers

while i do have some criticisms of this book, i still ultimately ended up giving it four stars, because it DID keep me very absorbed. staying up till 4:30am to finish it has to mean something, right??

i think my biggest disappointment was the ending — it felt unsatisfying for the bad guy to go free in the end, the innocent man to stay in prison, and for us to not ACTUALLY know what happened that night. it strikes me that this is often what happens in real life — and i don't know if that is the point the author was trying to make. but i would read non-fiction if i was looking for the real-life uncertainties! i read fiction because i want an ending tied up with a nice pretty bow and the bad guy in jail!!!

that being said, it was an enjoyable read and i did enjoy how realistic the whole thing felt. i also enjoyed the mc a lot, although i think a lot of folks found her unlikeable, i found her very relatable. maybe that means i'm also unlikeable <3

the book was way too long and there were a number of subplots/background stories that really felt like they added nothing

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

saying i'm obsessed with this book is an understatement

this is just like.... a warm hug in book form. which is kind of ironic since it's about a murder

so many comforting and delicious descriptions of food and tea!!! i was so hungry while reading

this story very much centers around the found family trope and it was sooooo heartwarming 😭

vera is so lovable and hilarious she must be protected at all costs!!!! sure she's also insane but that's part of her charm

i will say, i figured out who the murderer was only 50% in, but the mystery aspect of the story wasn't what had me so absorbed anyway, so i didn't care that much. the heart of the story is about the group of people who have come together due to the murder, not who actually did it

Lavender House by Lev A.C. Rosen

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

i was really excited for this one (a glass onion style queer mystery??? sign me up!) but it didn't quite hit the mark for me

it's definitely a mystery, but this is a heavily character driven story, rather than plot driven

it felt like we were supposed to deduce the murderer based on whose personality made it seem most likely, rather than actual clues being revealed throughout the story

not very much misdirection either, and the reveal wasn't particularly exciting

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i've already read one of talia's previous books and loved it, so i had high expectations going into this one

since it's YA, i figured this would be light and funny like her other books, just minus the smut—and that ended up being pretty much exactly right

she's great at writing spice, so the lack of it was unfortunate, but it totally makes sense since this one is YA

this story was an interesting look into the mind of a character with OCD. the author herself also has OCD, so it was really educational for me. i have an anxiety disorder and there seems to be a lot of overlap with some OCD symptoms that i didn't even realize

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

a delightful little clue-meets-and-then-there-were-none style whodunnit

breaks the fourth wall practically every single chapter in a way that was funny and engaging and made it stand apart from the thousands of other books like this

kept me fully engaged for a same-day start to finish read

Bad Eminence by James Greer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

?????????????????

no but actually i have no idea what just happened

probably the weirdest book i have ever read

this is the type of book that you'll either love or absolutely hate

i loved it, although for the last 25% i truly had no idea what was going on

this is the most vague and unhelpful review of all time, i know. sorry

purposely pretentious and hilarious and not meant to be taken seriously at all

a woman written by a man AND IT WORKED. probably because she was crazy. and not just a little bit

me and my husband have a running joke about the usage of the words "ersatz" and "palimpsest" in every single work of literary fiction i have read over the past several months and this one, of course, used them both

a super quick read, short chapters, very adhd friendly in that regard (very adhd unfriendly in many other regards)

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

⭐️⭐️⭐️

hello i didn't read a single book in february because i bought a PS5 but I'M BACK BABY

it took me over a month to read this book which probably says a lot about how invested i was (not invested at all)

plot moved at the pace of a snail-sloth hybrid and everything was incredibly predictable and unexciting

the only reason i'm giving it three stars is because i really enjoyed the tension between the mc and her love interest... all the scenes that involved the both of them were excellent in a way that kind of weirdly contrasted the sluggishness of the rest of the book

these are the books i'm looking forward to reading this month!

these violent delights by chloe gong

bad eminence by james greer

alone with you in the ether by olivie blake

hell bent by leigh bardugo

and hopefully a few others i will choose as the mood strikes 💗 let's gooooo february!