4/5 Star Review: The Queen of Nothing, by Holly Black

If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, I highly recommend starting there before diving into this one. I was incredibly eager to return to the world of Jude and Cardan, and let me tell you—Holly Black did not disappoint.

As expected, the book is filled with fae politics, where conspiracy, deception, and manipulation are at every turn. At the end of the previous book, Cardan managed to persuade Jude to release him from his vows, only to make her his queen and then promptly exile her back to the mortal realm. Naturally, Jude was furious. But when her sister Taryn finds herself in a dangerous situation, she reaches out to Jude for help. Determined to protect her sister, Jude decides to return to the faerie world, hiding in plain sight as she navigates the treacherous landscape to assist Taryn.

The plot is packed with intensity, including themes of revenge, family turmoil, and the underlying tension between Jude and Cardan. Oak, who is still being safeguarded in the mortal realm, also continues to play an important role, adding depth to the storyline. The novel culminates in a thrilling and satisfying finale that ties up the various plot threads beautifully.

Overall, this was one of the most captivating young adult series I’ve read in a long time. The blend of high-stakes drama, richly developed characters, and unpredictable twists makes it a standout in the genre. If you’re a fan of complex fae worlds and intense character dynamics, this series is definitely worth your time.

4/5 stars

5/5 Stars: Nettle & Bone

This was my first encounter with T. Kingfisher, and it certainly opened the floodgates! After enjoying this book so much, I quickly dove into several others by her. The premise of a “chicken possessed by a demon” immediately hooked me, and I couldn’t resist picking it up.

“How did you get a demon in your chicken?”
“The usual way. Couldn’t put it in the rooster. That’s how you get basilisks.”

I was not disappointed at all.

T. Kingfisher has a unique talent for crafting vibrant worlds that come alive on the page. Her characters are equally memorable. Take Bonedog, for instance—if you’ve read the book, you know exactly what I mean. If you haven’t, I urge you to dive in! It was genuinely a pleasure to read, and I don’t often say that.

The story centers around Marra, the third-born daughter on a quest to rescue her sister, who has been married off to a truly terrible person. The first-born sister was married to the same prince, and let’s just say things didn’t go well for her. Marra’s journey is filled with twists and turns, and she encounters a Dust Wife along the way (no spoilers here, but trust me, that’s when things get really intriguing).

I’m thrilled that I discovered T. Kingfisher’s work. You can expect to see more reviews from me in the coming months, as I’m eager to share my thoughts on her other captivating stories. Each one has been a delight, and I’m excited to explore even more of her imaginative worlds.

5/5 stars

DNF? Absolutely.

In the past, I used to power through a book even if I wasn’t enjoying it, thinking I had to finish what I started. However, that’s no longer the case. My time is valuable, and there’s simply not enough of it to waste on books that don’t bring me joy or satisfaction. Now, if I’m not engaged with a book, I have no problem putting it down and moving on to something else.

This shift in mindset doesn’t necessarily reflect poorly on the author. Sometimes a book just isn’t meant for me; I’m not the target audience, and that’s completely fine. When I decide not to finish a book, I won’t leave a star rating. After all, how can I fairly rate something I haven’t completed? For me, the key to sticking with a book is a sense of enjoyment. I don’t need a masterpiece of literary prose, but I do need the story to flow well and keep me interested.

Occasionally, I’ll mention books I didn’t finish on social media, not to criticize them, but to share my experience with like-minded readers who might relate. It’s interesting how some of the books I don’t finish are quite popular, which makes me wonder if it’s just me who didn’t connect with them.

As a result, there are a few books on my GoodReads list marked as “completed” but without a star rating, flagged as DNF (did not finish). This is more for my own organization, so I don’t mistakenly add them to my to-read list again. Ultimately, it’s important to remember that it’s perfectly okay to stop reading a book if it’s not bringing you enjoyment. Life’s too short to spend on something that isn’t worth your time!

2/5 Stars: The Woman in Me

Note: The star rating is not for the story itself, or a reflection on her as a person. I did not enjoy the act of reading the book because of the layout / grammar / disjointed thoughts. Her situation is of course horrific, the author obviously went through some traumatic stuff that no one should have gone through. But it was a bad read. It was all over the place, and didn’t flow. I felt like I was reading a high school student’s diary – which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it was awkward.

She came off as a spoiled immature spiteful entitled person. That was the view I got going in, and going out. She repeats over and over on all the monetary things she does for other people, and at one point even says she dreamed of her family to bowing to her because of what she had provided for them.

Yes, parts of her life have been unfair. Her family were not the best people. She never ever takes responsibility for any of her actions or reactions to these things, and constantly places the blame on what everyone else has done to her.

I’m of course, glad, that her life is finally her own – the conservator should have never ever been a thing. She is perfectly right in the fact that she shouldn’t have been forced to perform for others while at the same time being told she was too sick to pick out her own food. That’s pretty messed up.

The formatting (or lack there of) and grammar of the book were hard to digest, but I’m sure fans will appreciate its simplicity. It was insightful to hear things from her own perspective, and I hope it brought her a little bit of closure to get it out in the world.

2/5 stars

2/5 Stars: The House in the Cerulean Sea

I keep wavering over what to rate this, and there’s one reason for it, really.

I loved the writing. I even loved the story.
What I didn’t love, was afterwards, when I learned the true inspiration for the story, from the author himself. That, I really didn’t love.

Others have already said it more clearly than I ever could, so I’m going to link to this reddit post that goes over the specifics of why I’m uncomfortable, and why despite having finished this book, and enjoying it, and the author’s writing, I just can’t give it the rating I thought it deserved, now that I have a better idea and a bit more education on the subject.

Reddit post explaining the 60’s scoop in Canada, and branching into why it’s bad that a non magical dude ‘rescued’ these children.

2/5 stars

4/5 Stars: The Wicked King

This is my first full read of 2024 – there were a bunch of DNF books on my list, which I’ll write about a bit later, but this is the first one I just couldn’t put down.

This is the second book in the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, and I was absolutely ready to continue the story of Jude, and her family. The book moved away from some of the teenage drama that we saw in the first (I was personally glad to see this) and into more politics – which I personally found refreshing.

This is one of those rare books where I couldn’t actually tell you what I thought the twists and turns of the plot would be or where they would end up – which is probably why I found it so fascinating, it has been a long time since a book enticed me in quite that way. Jude has done some growing up – she’s stronger, but she maintains her sense of loyalty at the same time.

Make sure you read the first book to the series before this one, they don’t work as stand alone books and brace your heart.

4/5 stars

2/5 Stars: The Inheritance Games

Another one of those books that I actually heard about on BookTok first, and decided to try out. I’m not sure why I thought the book would appeal to me but I decided to give it a go.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book. It was easy to read and beautiful – however. I absolutely did NOT enjoy the story, or the characters, at all.

“Traps upon traps… and riddles upon riddles”

There were no traps, no riddles. The book spent so much time focusing on drama between Avery and the other teenagers that sometimes I forgot what it was about. None of it made sense, and I didn’t enjoy the characters.

The dialogue didn’t hit any of the right notes with me, and the conclusion was underwhelming. I’m sure many others out there enjoy this read – but it was just not for me.

3/5 Star Review: Yours Truly

I’m not usually a huge fan of contemporary romance, but ‘Yours Truly’ by Abby Jimenez hit all the right notes, and was exactly the book I needed at the time that I read it. One of the main things that stood out is that the characters were relatable. There were situations that involved anxiety, and I could see myself in them. The characters were believable, and the story didn’t try to play down to a certain intelligence level.

There were some TW mentioned by the author, including cheating, medical issues, depression, and a mention of pregnancy loss & suicide. I appreciate that the author put this information forward, I wish more books would do that.

Over all, it was a good book to curl up with on a rainy day and just let my brain slow down – sometimes that’s exactly what I need.

3/5 stars

4.5/5 Stars: The Cruel Prince

This one caught me by surprise. I know it released back in 2018, but I had obviously been living under a rock and hadn’t heard about it. While browsing a book outlet store I stumbled into it, saw a few friends had read it (and they had positive reviews) so I decided to give it a whirl. It did take me a bit to get into, the setting felt a bit young for me personally (they’re a bunch of kids at school, there’s some bullying going on, everyone sort of rubbed me the wrong way – but I pushed through this).

The writing is fantastic. Holly Black easily pulled me into her world, and I enjoyed every second of it. I appreciated the darker / more sinister side of the fairy tale realm where it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I did have a difficult time connecting with the protagonist at the start (Jude) but by the end of the book I felt like I understood her better, and could see her growth as a character enough that I purchased the rest of the trilogy.

A few TW for the book would have been appreciated, as it does deal with some heavy subjects such as murder, sexual abuse, suicide, physical abuse.

I’ve always been a fan of political intrigue in my fantasy books, and I feel like Holly Black did a great job with this one. Highly recommended.

4.5/5 stars

2/5 Stars: Fancy Meeting You Here

This book had far too many “ick” tropes, with sparsely scattered redeeming scenes.

Cliché after cliché.
“He was pricklier than my legs”
“Ben’s optimism was cautious, like a baby giraffe taking its first steps”

The one redeeming scene that pushed me to finish the rest of the book, was when the main character & love interest host a party, and disaster strikes. There’s a single line here, “Do you know why I have guests holding their mouths and their asses” – that I cackled in laughter about. Hilarious.

Drunk parties (ick) “He was so drunk. and cute.” – I’m just not the audience for this. There’s nothing cute about drunk men.
Chapter 20 included fat shaming. The main character is talking about snack tables and how long it took her to get ready due to her desire to eat / weight.
The ‘damsel in distress’ trope was over played (Ben rescued during wedding when she was being physically carried off, and then rescued again when she was being stopped by a journalist hounding her), and annoying. As was the main character’s disparage over herself. She’s so incredibly down on herself, and her life, it’s annoying and frustrating. She constantly self depreciates.

This line told me I’m simply not the audience for the book: “following you around the wedding like a simp” – I’m not the demographic. Not the books fault.

2/5