Fantasy

"Never a Hero" is the second book in the gripping series "Only a Monster"
that revolves around the life of the main character, Joan. The series follows Joan,
a monster, as she tries to find her way in a world where monsters roam around
without notice. This series is a perfect blend of romance, fantasy, adventure, and
drama, making it an ideal pick for readers of all ages.

The book begins with Joan's return to the Hunt house, where she and her
"family" face even more danger than before as the new villain, Eleanor, attempts
to change the timeline, just as Joan did in the past book. The book is a thrilling
ride, packed with numerous twists and turns, and features appearances from
several characters from the first book.

Readers who enjoyed the first book will undoubtedly be engrossed in the
sequel as the story builds upon the previous book's foundation. The author has
beautifully crafted the plot, and the characters' development is amazing. With
each page, the story progresses towards an intense climax as the fate of the
timeline hangs in the balance of Joan and her friends once again.
Overall, "Never a Hero" is a must-read for anyone who loves an engaging
and immersive story. Whether you are a fan of romance, fantasy, adventure, or
drama, this book has something for everyone. So, dive into this heart-wrenching
series and experience the thrill of this fantastic world full of monsters, heroes,
and adventure.

Animal Farm is an allegorical story about farm animals that manage to overthrow the humans and run the farm by themselves. However, the pigs slowly take more and more power, until it’s no better than it was before.

The plot is simple and easy to follow. Even a child could easily understand it. However, this is a very compact story. Every page has a new development that moves the story along. The characters are likewise simple, yet effective. Boxer and Benjamin are the standouts in this story. Boxer because of his lovable nature and Benjamin for being one of the few characters in the book to hold some complexity.

The reason for this story’s simplicity is that it is an allegorical story. Every element is designed to mirror the Russian Revolution (though it could easily be applied to many worldwide revolutions). Since they have to represent broad groups of people, the characters can seem a bit flat at times. The same goes for the plot. It’s great for those who want a quick and thought provoking story, but could be disappointing for those looking for in depth analysis.

I would recommend this book to fans of symbolism and allegory, or even the run of the mill dystopia fan.

Mockingjay is the third book to the Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss finds herself stuck in between a rebellion and the future of Panem. It is discovered that Katniss was rescued by District 13, which is an underground district that joined the rebellion against the capitol. Katniss is fighting for her loved ones yet again, and against the capitol directly. She is chosen as the symbol for the rebellion, but she doesn’t know if that is what she wants.
This book wasn’t my favorite out of all three, but I recommend reading it because it is still a good book. Definitely read the other two books before this one, so you can understand what is going on. Mockingjay is one of the more emotional books from this trilogy, but it still keeps you on edge like the other two.

Reviewer Grade: 8th

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. After Katniss and Peeta return home from the games, they both go on the victor tour to all the districts. Before they left President Snows visits Katniss and says she still needs to be in love with Peeta so there won’t be an uprising in the districts. After that, the Quarter Quell (the 75th Hunger Games) comes along and everything changes. Katniss needs to fight for the ones she loves, and to stay alive. If you’re interested about reading Catching Fire make sure you read the first book of the trilogy, The Hunger Games. This book has a lot of good twists and turns, and kept me wanting to flip to the page to see what happens next. It was an emotional book, which keeps you on the edge. If you liked the first book I recommend reading the second!

Reviewer Grade: 8th

The Hunger Games follows a girl named Katniss Everdeen. She lives in a world where there is 12 districts, which are controlled by the capitol. This nation is called Panem. A very long time ago, the districts rebelled against the capitol, so the capitol created the Hungry Games. The Hunger Games is a game played each year, and one boy and girl from each district is sent to fight to the death. When Katniss’ younger sister Prim is chosen as the tribute for district 12, Katniss couldn’t let her sister go, so she volunteered to go in for her as the female tribute for district 12. Katniss and the male tribute of district 12, Peeta Mellark, are sent to the capitol to train for the games.
This was an amazing book that I recommend to everyone including new readers like myself. I’m not a big reader, but this book really had me stuck to the pages. I was up all night and couldn’t stop thinking about what is going to happen next! The Hunger Games is definitely one of my favorite books!

Reviewer Grade: 8

Fairies are terrifying, violent creatures; they haunt the humans’ worst nightmares. A wall and a twisted treaty are the only barriers between these terrifying creatures and the vulnerable, weak humans. However, the wall is weakening, fairies are venturing through the cracks, and the humans have long forgotten the treaty's terms.

Ferye’s family relies on her hunts, but over time, she has to venture deeper into the woods toward the wall dividing the fairies and the humans. These hunts are risky and dangerous, and it’s only a matter of time before she might have to confront a fairy. When Ferye accidentally breaks the treaty's terms, she has no choice but to follow Tamlin, a fairy, into his lands, the Spring Court. Ferye can never return to the human world and will live out her days in the fairylands, away from her family and home. She expects cruelty but finds beautiful, stunning lands and kind, generous fairies. As she adapts to her new home and overcomes her original opinions, she falls in love with the mysterious Tamlin and the fairies.

The plot is immaculate, the world-building is absolutely stunning, and the characters are enthralling; A Court of Thorns and Roses is a must-read for anyone who loves high fantasy and romance. It is one hundred percent a page-turner and will keep you enthralled until the last word.

“Before the Coffee Gets Cold” is a story about a cafe that can send you back in time, so long as you drink your coffee in a particular seat. A variety of customers come to the cafe to meet with people they’d otherwise have no chance to see. However, there are several rules. The two most important are that the present will never be changed and that the time traveler must return before the coffee gets cold.

Each story is interesting and heartfelt in its own right. My personal favorite was Hirai’s story about her sister, particularly because of how it was up in the previous stories. That’s another aspect of this book. These stories are all interconnected. Aside from the first woman, each main character is shown beforehand. This book also keeps the stories from being repetitive. There’s enough of a twist on each story, one woman wants to meet her husband who’s losing his memory. Another wants to express her feelings to her ex-boyfriend. All the reasons are different enough to keep the story fresh.

The characters are all likable too, although there are a few strange moments in the beginning. All of them are given a little backstory, but not much. All in all, it’s nice without being extraordinary.

This is a quick and cozy read that I’d recommend to almost anyone. Especially if you’re interested in speculative fiction.

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller is a stunning and deeply moving retelling of the Iliad that captivates from beginning to end, earning a solid 5 stars. Miller skillfully weaves a tale of love, friendship, and heroism, focusing on the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles. The narrative beautifully explores the complexities of their bond, providing a fresh perspective on the legendary characters. Miller's prose is both lyrical and evocative, effortlessly transporting readers to the ancient world. The emotional depth and nuance she brings to the characters make this retelling a triumph, resonating with readers on a profound level. "The Song of Achilles" is a masterpiece that seamlessly combines rich storytelling with timeless themes, earning its well-deserved 5-star rating.

TW: A main theme of this book (and thus the review) is suicide. If this topic makes you uncomfortable, I would suggest finding a different book.

“The Midnight Library” is a story about Nora Seed, whose life has not gone how she’s expected. Worse yet, she feels as though it’s all her fault and her regrets weigh heavy on her. One night she decides to end her own life, but she wakes up in a library with her elementary school librarian. That’s when she gets the opportunity to live the lives she could have led if she’d made different decisions.

As the story goes along, we see many of Nora’s alternative lives. Some of them are just as disastrous as her regular life (her best friend dies, her husband cheats on her). Others are nearly perfect, but can’t be truly satisfying when she didn’t create them. I was glad that some of the alternate lives were good, otherwise it would have seemed like Nora’s original life was simply the lesser of two evils. All of them are interesting to read about. Another interesting aspect of the book is the library itself. The author knows when to reveal information and when to keep things vague.

There aren’t many characters to keep track of. Nora is the main character, and the reader gets a good sense of her interests and aspirations through her various lives. Her friends and family all get a decent amount of depth as well, though they’re not in focus most of the time.

I can’t pretend that I really resonated with the message of the book. I would have preferred if it focused a bit more on the good things that could happen in Nora’s future rather than the good things that happened in her alternate lives. However, that could be a problem exclusive to me.

Overall, I would recommend this book to almost anyone. It’s a fast read and a good story.

"Unseelie" is a fantasy book by Ivelisse Houseman. It centers around Iselia 'Seelie' Graygrove, an adopted changeling and her sister Isolde. One day a heist goes wrong and she's stuck with a magical compass in her arm. However, this gives the sisters an opportunity to team up with Raze and Olani to find the treasure of the Wildline family.

The characters are all fairly well done, if not a bit dull. Raze and Olani were the highlights for me, both having their hidden depths teased without being drawn out. Though I didn’t find Isolde particularly interesting, she was likable and understandable. Seelie was a bit unpleasant at times, but I always ended up liking her. The plot was a bit dull in the first half. It often felt like a car that drove for a few miles before sputtering out. Or else it felt more like a checklist than a story. However, it found its footing by the time they entered the fairy realm. After that the plot was engaging and hard to put down. It felt like the dreamy fantasy world I was looking for.

Now, the main selling point of this book is the autistic representation. Though I am autistic, obviously I don’t speak for all autistic people (so keep that in mind). Having an autistic protagonist at all is definitely amazing. I can count on one hand the number of confirmed autistic characters I’ve seen in media. However, I was a bit disappointed in how Seelie turned out. Though this book was intended (as written in the author’s note) to be a story about autism, it didn’t feel like one.

Seelie feels like an outsider, but that’s more due to people thinking she’s dangerous than thinking she’s incapable or strange. Her arc is more about trying not to hurt people than trying to relate to them or feel useful to them. Furthermore, the story tries to address the topic of parents feeling that their children have been ‘stolen away’ by autism. However, in a world where changelings literally replace human children, the argument loses a bit of power. There are occasional references to Seelie avoiding eye contact, having trouble with social cues, and having difficulty with loud areas, but these are always brief and never impact the story much. That said, there are smaller moments that capture autism quite well.

Finally, I found the writing style to be distractingly anachronistic. It felt more like watching two tik-tok users collab than reading an epic story about the fae. Then again, many people enjoy that kind of writing. So maybe it's just me.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read that slightly disappointed me. However, I fully intend to pick up the second part as soon as it hits the shelves. Not only because I hope the author has improved her craft, but because I thoroughly enjoyed myself.