All the Books.

"Though dark, disturbing and at times, truly disgusting, Blakemore has created an unforgettable character in Tarare and his sad, sordid tale. This is a book that will stay with me for a long time for many different reasons and to me, that's a sign of a great read."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐ Pros: Tarare wasn't a monster, it just seemed that the world was against him/I liked Lozeau and his strange band of misfits/Dr. Dupuis seemed like a genuinely good person, or at least, he had his moments.  Cons: Some of the timeline/people of the French Revolution were just white noise to me/Courville was a despicable man.  Full Review:  The Bottomless man, the Glutton of Lyon, Tarare the Terrible. The man who has many titles but who's name is simply, Tarare, is dying in a hospital in Versailles. Citizen Doctor Tissier has written to his friend, Dupuis, in hopes that he'll be able to cure this mysterious illness that plagues Tarare. For now though, he lays, chained to his bed and waits for...

"We're given an interesting glimpse into a day in the life of Bast, Kvothe's student, who also just happens to be Fae. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't but through it all Bast shows that though he's powerful, he also has a heart and in the end, will do the right thing."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: I do love Bast for the fact that he could easily kill all the people who come to him and yet he doesn’t. He has a heart, though he’s sly, dark and mysterious.  Cons : I’m curious as to what happened between Rike and Bast that created such animosity but the lack of an explanation didn’t take away from the book as a whole.   Full Review:  ***Disclaimer***If you have not read  The Name of the Wind  or  The Wise Man's Fear  by Patrick Rothfuss, please do so and then come back and read this at your leisure. That way you'll know what I'm talking about 🙌.*** Bast is sneaking out of the Waystone Inn early, for what purpose, we don't know but just before he ...

​ "A collection of stories, all set in the world of the Arc of a Scythe series by Shusterman. A Martian Minute  and Anastasia's Shadow were real standouts but after awhile they storie began to get repetitive and the lack of a singular narrator, iring. This was an interesting addition to the series but not as good as the series itself."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: Some interesting stories that add a bit more history to characters and the timeline of the series, such as the Cirrus expedition/What happens when you become Unsavory/ A Martian Minute and Anastasia’s Shadow were really well done.  Cons:  Though this focused more on the world of Arc of a Scythe, I did miss Rowan/Citra/Short stories are tough for me because they lack a linear storyline but that's just a pet peeve.  Full Review:  This was a collection of short stories that were all based in the world of rhe Arc of a Scythe series by Shusterman. Some stories were co-authored while others were written by his child...

"Love is a disease, the deadliest of them all.  Unfortunately for Lena,"Amor Delirium Nervosa" runs in her blood. It drove her mother to suicide and Lena's terrified that she'll somehow fall victim to it as well. She's a good, law abiding citizen and simply lives her life. As fate would have it, with her procedure mere months away, she sees a boy, their eyes meet and the rest is history. Though it had a good, dystopian, The Giver  vibe, Lena's painfully melodramatic naivete and Oliver's paragraph long descriptions were tedious."  ⭐️⭐️ Pros: The idea that love is a disease, "Amor Delirium Nervosa" was unique, a good hook/Oliver's truly built a world of her own with society twisted on its side, pure dystopia/Parts of the ending were surprising, which I appreciated.  Cons: Lena is painfully, obnoxiously oblivious/I almost DNFed with Lena's reaction to Alex's big reveal because it just seemed very unbalanced. Lena shared a dar...

"Monsters are real and they're crawling over Verity. Callum Harker and Henry Flynn offer protection to the citizens of V-City but each in their own way. Kate Harker, Callum's only daughter and August Flynn, one of Henry's adopted sons, who is also a Monster (a Sunai) want what all children want. A purposeful life and their parents love. Unfortunately, for them both, life is not easy, and they'll have to fight for both while trying to decide if they can trust each other. Schwab delivers in her usual, powerful, poignant and poetic way and I'm eager to see how the series progresses."  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pros: The idea of the Phenomenon, Monsters coming to life in the wake of violent deaths (Corsai), murder (Malchai) and mass killings (Orsai), was definitely unique/It left off perfectly open-ended, allowing for expansion or leaving it as a stand-alone//To me, Schwab is a master of Magical Realism.  Cons : As I have a soft spot for the "quiet, tortured hero" (...

"Obviously targeted to writers but honestly, anyone could benefit from Bradbury's practical yet poetic advice, this was a collection of esasys by Bradbury about his writing process and reflections on some of his greatest works."   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pros: Bradbury, duh, though I'm biased, to me, the man's prose is pure poetry, every word beautiful/Since writing is not my career, it was an interesting way to view Bradbury's life. Writing was his job and he was the only income. If he did not produce material, he would not get paid. It help put things into perspective.  Cons: The man can go on for a bit 😂/Bradbury's insane work ethic and endless endurance to just produce story after story seems insane and overwhelming but then again, this was his livelihood, so I'm sure it was insane and overwhelming. If he didn't write and get paid, they'd starve, so, it was a life or death situation. Full Review:  This was essentially a collection of essays written by Bra...