@isabella_quinn
Isabella QuinnI’m really into dark academia, but in my opinion, it can either be amazing or missing the mark entirely. This one was on the better end. It was a little slow moving, but it got started quickly compared to most books, and I feel like it isn’t the kind of story that would benefit too much from faster pacing. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, it was entertaining getting a gothic dark academia set in an entirely fictional world, and it wasn’t clogged with annoying pop culture references like many similar stories I read (but based on the context of the story, I could not tell if this was meant to have a historical or modern setting.) I was surprised by how much the romance took up in the novel, this should’ve been marketed more as a gothic romance. But Effy and Preston was a pretty good couple, they weren’t really cute or anything, but they were well developed and understood each other. And the feminist angle + the social commentary on women was well developed, and it wasn’t done in a way that it overshadowed the actual horror or atmosphere in any way. My only major critique was with the climax- it started with huge revelations and was tense and exciting, but the villain was dealt with within 3-5 pages, and then there was more major revelations, but it was done in a more cinematic way for emotional impact, and it was a bit of a slog to get through. There’s definitely other dark academia/gothic stories that I find to be better than this one, but this is on the higher end of them in my opinion, I will recommend it to others and I have already preordered the sequel.
Isabella QuinnIt’s been a while since I’ve read just a simple YA romance, so even if this was a little generic, it was refreshing enough for me. I liked how there was a bit more focus on the romance than the actual D&D, since as much as I love the game, it can get tedious reading the technical details of it. Logan and Quinn were cute and wholesome, but my favorite part was the friendship Quinn formed with Kashvi, they were so wholesome together. I don’t have any major complaints about this, but rather a bunch of tiny naggings, including Quinn’s old friends being the worst people ever but Quinn didn’t really do anything to deal with it by the end, Logan and Quinn constantly going from buddies to bickering to buddies again, the whole “let’s just take some time away from each other” trope, and the story making it obvious that something would happen to Quinn’s grandma. But most of this was just based on the fact that I’ve read so much YA romance that it starts to feel all the same after a while, and that I still read it since it’s cute. So despite the little critiques, overall this was a cute little story, and I will read the companion novel.
Isabella QuinnThis had such a unique premise that I couldn’t help but read it. I loved the idea of sports tournaments with dragons, and it was well developed, albeit a bit hard to understand. The teams had a lot of great representation, including POC and lgbtq+ characters. However, I do wish we got more development on this representation, such as how it shaped the characters. But most of them were really multi-sided and developed, especially the unlikable at first characters. But it feels like at some points there were too much characters- it was hard to keep track of most of them. But there’s also no romance, which is refreshing.There was also a good helping of plot twists and excitement in the storyline, even if it focused a bit more on the villain than the actual dragon sports. And the real-world references were also fun- I loved the Law and Order obsession. This was an enjoyable read overall despite some flaws, but I’m unsure if I will read the sequel.
Isabella QuinnI would not consider this book to be one of my favorite thrillers, but it was pretty good overall. Probably because my taste in thrillers is more murder mysteries and stuff like that than these kind of police thrillers. There was a lot of detail in the plot, it was very complex and I had trouble following it at points. Might have to google a summary of this one! But there was some good twists and suspense. Also, TRAUMA. Pretty much all 3 of the main characters have been abused at some point in their lives. But it is important to get these messages across, especially when they are somewhat rare in YA. That said, I do want more romance between Nora and Iris. That was probably the best part of the book (and not because it was the most relaxed part.) Again, this was a confusing book, especially since sometimes it went really into details of the police-related stuff, but it may entertain more devoted true crime fans. I understand this is YA due to the characters being teens, but I think this may appeal to adults more because of the complex plot and subject matter. I might read the sequel, just to see if it answers some of my questions. Overall, I do recommend this book if you are into more developed thrillers, even if I felt let down because of my personal preferences.
Isabella QuinnFor May I’m trying to read all the random books I purchased and left unread instead of reading what I actually want to read, and this was an underwhelming start to my goal. It took me way too long to finish. The main reason was the pacing: this was super slow and tedious to get through. I definitely was expecting more tomb raiding and traps than intrigue and focus on the characters. But the beginning chapters had some promise for a good adventure story. Also some of the reveals and twists were pretty exciting, but they were far and few between. If you love good romantic banter, you will love this: there is just so much banter between Inez and the love interest, Whit. In general, Whit was my least favorite kind of love interest: overwhelming handsome and snarky. But the romance was pretty good, and there were some cute moments. (Also, enemies to lovers!) And the illustrations and drawings were a cute little bonus, and helped us not only visualize the story but also explore Inez’s character. Also illustrations aren’t a thing we see too often in YA books. I think most of my problems with this book came from the idea that historical fiction and fantasy can both be hit or miss genres for me, and it was… a miss with both genres. I may still read the sequel to this though (especially because the cover for it is absolutely stunning.) Most likely, people looking for action won’t like this book, but fans of more immersive and slower paced stories will like this one.
Isabella QuinnYep, this was my fourth book from this author and this is probably the only one I will heavily encourage people to read. This was my first murder mystery in a while, and it was a fun one, it was a bit complicated but that’s exactly what I like in a good murder mystery. I do think some people may find the murderer to be a bit obvious, but the motive and the other secrets the character had were shocking. Also, it’s nice to have some more sisterly bonds in YA, as the Chow sisters clearly connected with each other. I do wish Peony appeared on page a bit more, but I do understand that she is a bit young for a YA protagonist. But there’s still a little bit of romance involved (and it’s a fake dating subplot!), however it’s far from the main focus. And the historical setting was really immersive. Also an amazing part of the book is the themes relating to gentrification and stereotypes in Asian American communities, which are really worked into the actual mystery. Even though other books from this author aren’t my favorite, I actually was a huge fan of this one, and I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a diverse story with important scenes but also a great mystery.
Isabella QuinnI wrote a long review of this that didn’t save due to WiFi issues, and I’m not in the mood to rewrite all of it, so I’m going to keep it short. This was just too slow and not much happened. There were some good twists, but there was too much teenage drama in between this. Plus, it felt like Stevie didn’t put much thought into the case, she just automatically realized what happened. The things I liked were the same as in the first book- fun cast of characters (but awful romance), and the great inclusion of dual timelines. So yeah, it was enjoyable overall, but too much issues let it down. I really thought the first book was going to be the worst book in the series, but this is my actual least favorite since it was just so slow and underdeveloped. Hopefully the final book fixes all these issues and ends the series well.
Isabella QuinnA suspenseful and atmospheric dark academia. This was a really captivating read- it didn’t take too long to get into the actual thrills, and it was bloody and dark, but in a mystifying way. There was also great foreshadowing, and it felt like everyone had a secret, which was enhanced by the writing style. Plus, it was quite romantic, even if Andrew and Thomas didn’t have the most wholesome relationship, but instead a more passionate one. Plus, the mental health and lgbtq themes were worked in well, and I loved how the story included illustrations and the fairy tales in them, since it’s really unique to have that in YA. But I have one major complaint- the ending. The huge twist only happened so the story could include a theme, and although some will find it emotional, it was done in a way that completely erased everything shocking that happened throughout the story, which was made worse by the fact that it was so captivating. I get if you want to make an impact, but don’t do it in a way where you ignore the horror that the readers came for. Or maybe I’m simply not a fan of unreliable narrators. I don’t know. So yeah, it was ruined by the final twist, but the bulk of it is a developed and intense, romantic story that still proves why I enjoy dark academia so much.
Isabella QuinnSigh, yet another mixed bag that I recommend to some people but don’t recommend to others. The main issue here was the lack of shock- it took too long for the main events to actually start, and then it took a while for anything jaw-dropping to occur. Plus, I found the biggest twist to be made less impactful since the aftermath of it was so underwhelming, it felt like the characters just didn’t care that much about it. I did enjoy the supernatural elements, and the ending/climax was the most exciting part of it all. The main point of the novel is the social commentary on racism and fear, which was done impactfully and thoroughly, and to my delight, it wasn’t in a way where it just made the actual horror elements be canceled out. Cade was a great narrator too, and I loved the chapters where we got alternate POVs on the story. But I mostly came to this novel for horror- and it was lacking. Do I recommend this if you want a thrill ride? No. But I would recommend it if you are into more contemporary stories with horror used as a device for social commentary.