Tag: paranormal

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare | The Last Hours #1

Posted July 27, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 6 Comments

I have to admit, I’ve been on a huge Shadowhunters kick this year. It all began when I decided to reread the TID trilogy in order to go into Chain of Gold fully prepared, which then led to reading all of the short stories and novellas I could that chronologically came before Chain of Gold (huge shout out to Dedra from A Book Wanderer for this handy list of what to read!) When I finally picked up Chain of Gold, my expectations were sky high, and I’m pleased to state that *most* of them were met! I love all of […]

Haunting the Deep (How to Hang a Witch #2) by Adriana Mather | ARC Review

Posted August 30, 2017 in Reviews / 8 Comments

One of my favorite things in the YA genre has always been paranormal stories, especially ones focusing on good, old fashioned witches. It seems like the genre has moved passed paranormal in many ways after the “Twilight” years, so I was excited last year when I found out about How to Hang a Witch, which focused on a witch and ghost story set in the infamous Salem and inspired by the Salem Witch Trials. The book gave me so many Halloween-town esque vibes (albeit much darker). When I found out that the author was writing a companion novel about the […]

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater | Review

Posted December 21, 2016 in Reviews / 4 Comments

Oh dear oh dear oh deer (no pun intended.) There seems to be something peculiar about my relationship with this series, which is that I absolutely love and am consumed by the odd numbered installments, but the even numbered volumes are a bit harder for me to get through. I’ll admit I held off on reading this book for months because 1) I have to be in the right mood to appreciate Maggie Stiefvater’s paranormalcy and magical realism, and 2) because I was scared it wouldn’t live up to how much I adored Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I finally decided […]

Proposal (Mediator #6.5) & Remembrance (Mediator #7) by Meg Cabot | Review

Posted April 18, 2016 in Reviews / 3 Comments

After the success of Royal Wedding (the adult sequel to the YA Princess Diaries series) I have been beyond excited for the new Mediator books. I ordered this novella as a physical paperback (it’s tiny!) and it reminded me of the days I used to buy the Princess Diaries novellas at the bookstore, before e-readers were really a common thing. I had been seriously slumping since I finished Queen of Shadows, so switching up genres to paranormal and revisiting some of my favorite characters from the past (not to mention one of my first book boyfriends) seemed like the perfect […]

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater | Review

Posted February 1, 2016 in Reviews / 10 Comments

“You can be just friends with people, you know,” Orla said. “I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all those raven boys.” I think I am about as short as Blue and this makes me identify with her on a spiritual level (no pun intended). That’s the beauty of this series: Maggie makes you feel so intricately connected to the characters in small, intimate ways, and sometimes silly ways, whether it’s through a Ronan’s cynicism and snarky remarks, Gansey’s obsessive behavior and paralyzing fear of bees, or Adam’s deep and dark desire to be better, stronger, to matter. While […]

Firewalker (Worldwalker Trilogy #2) by Josephine Angelini | ARC Review

Posted September 1, 2015 in Reviews / 4 Comments

My Review It’s no secret that Firewalker was my most anticipated ARC of the year. I raved about Trial By Fire this January, and I adored the unique world that Angelini created that was a mixture of paranormal and science, with a dash of steam punk thrown in for good measure. It was different and complex and featured one of my favorite, and seemingly underrepresented, paranormal creatures: witches. You can imagine my immense emotional upheaval upon finishing this book and not deeming it worthy of 5 stars, or even 4 stars, but rather relegating it to the rather mediocre side […]

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle | ARC Review

Posted August 5, 2015 in ARCs, Reviews / 16 Comments

So let’s raise our glasses to the accident season, To the river beneath us where we sink our souls, To the bruises and secrets, to the ghosts in the ceiling, One more drink for the watery road. If there’s one word to describe The Accident Season, it’s atmospheric. Set in Ireland, it follows a family that suffers unfortunate events (everything from scrapes and bruises to deaths) every October, despite their best precautions. It’s a refreshingly unique premise for a YA novel, and while I was anticipating horror, what the storyline evokes instead is a unique sort of whimsical eeriness. The […]

End of Days by Susan Ee | Review

Posted June 10, 2015 in Reviews / 8 Comments

“Power is best held by the ones who don’t want it.” I’ve been meaning to write this review for weeks, but for some reason have been unable to fully form my thoughts about this book into coherent sentences (a strange occurrence for me, as it’s common for my reviews to easily be 1000+ words). I think the dilemma of being able to form a concrete opinion about this book stems from the fact that I was equal parts satisfied and disappointed by the way that Penryn and Raffe’s story ended, an odd juxtaposition of individual scenes I really enjoyed that […]

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black- Review

Posted February 9, 2015 in Books, Reviews / 17 Comments

“We love until we do not. For us, love doesn’t fade gradually. It snaps like a branch bent too far.” I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering how in the heck I only gave this book 2.5 stars. You’re probably wondering if I even read the same book as you did. Well, full disclosure: It breaks my heart to rate this book so low, but it just didn’t work for me. I was so so excited to read The Darkest Part of the Forest, as it was the first novel I picked up by Holly Black. I had read […]

Flailing Everywhere Over Trial By Fire by Josephine Angelini- A Raving Review

Posted January 19, 2015 in Books, Five Star Reads, Reviews / 15 Comments

“A crucible’s craving is her mechanic’s mandate.” I usually write very calm, analytical reviews. In fact, I pride myself on it. I like being able to look back on my reviews and have a clear and coherent message as to my thoughts on a book. However, much of that I fear is going to go out the window with this review because I cannot stop flailing over how much I loved this book. It’s only the second book I’ve picked up so far in 2015 but it’s already become my first five star read of the year! Reading this […]