Icebreaker was honestly a book I wasn’t all that interested in reading. I haven’t been in a romance mood lately let alone a spicy read. I also am not a sports romance girly in general so this book was flying under my radar for multiple reasons. However, I was sent this off of my wish list a few months ago and it was just screaming at me saying “I will give you all the winter vibes!” So I plucked it off of my shelf and gave it a try, here are all my thoughts, the good and the bad.
“You’re my favorite,” I whisper, leaning in to kiss her flushed cheek. “Even if I had crab hands?” “Even if you had crab hands, Anastasia.”
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.
Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.
But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.
Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?
This book took awhile for me to get into. I honestly just struggled with the main character a lot so I had no desire to pick it up and read it. I am not sure what is in the air but I apparently have only been interested in reading books that have an unlikeable main character and it is starting to get on my last nerve. So now you might be asking “Why did you finish it if you couldn’t stand the main character?” That is a great question, I am still asking myself that very thing.
I would say the main reason I kept reading was because I knew a romance was going to be a quick read, especially one that had as much smut in it as this book. Secondly, I liked almost all of the side characters so they made up for it. i really liked that we got Nathans POV every other chapter, that was what really interested me and kept me going. I just really wanted Nathan to be happy even if it was with Stass.
Reading the back of this book you expect a lot of skating and playing hockey, well that was one part of the book I actually missed! There was way more sex scenes than skating scenes! The back of the book makes it sound like Nathan and Stass would be skating together for the whole book but that only lasted maybe 50 pages…100 if we are lucky but again it is barely mentioned, to the point where I forgot what this book was really about.
One thing That I want to really Highlight is the mental health rep in this book. There is one chapter in this book where Stass is having a therapy session and to be honest I almost Cried! This made her character feel more real and I really connected with that. Then we have Nathan who is constantly reminding her to take care of her wellbeing and pushing ever so slightly on her habits to help her create healthier ones and he does it in such a gentle way, my heart was swooning for this man!
Before reading this book I highly recommend looking up trigger warnings. Some of the ones I want to specifically point out because they have a huge presence is Eating Disorders, Body image, Controlling Friendships and Time OCD. Please make sure you take care of yourself when reading any book!
“Don’t give me that shit. I’ve seen what you have on your smutty bookshelf.”
This book was one that my friend @syds.bookshelves has been telling me to read for quite some time now. I finally caved knowing I did really enjoy “The Love Hypothesis” By the same author hoping this one would be just as great. Something I forgot about this author is that she is a huge raylo fan so some of her books feel like Star Wars fan-fic and I am not a Star Wars Fan at all, so when Star Wars gets mentioned I tend to roll my eyes haha. But this did not ruin the reading experience at the slightest.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a community of women trying to mind their own business must be in want of a random man’s opinion.”
Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project–a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia–Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.
Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school–archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.
Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?
Ali Hazelwoods books typically follow characters in STEM, which is a topic I know nothing about. This can worry me when starting a book like this Because if I don’t know much about the characters hobbies I may get bored and check out when reading about them. However this book was written so well that you really mostly focused on their love story. and their jobs were just there to move the story along.
Now one thing that did really bug me was all the Marie Curie facts. Look, I know this was a huge part of the book and pretty much the Main characters entire personality. But sometimes it felt like facts were just being thrown into here for no reason at all! I could have lived without them but that is just my opinion. If there wasn’t so much information on Marie Curie I probably would have rated this book a bit higher honestly.
Gosh, Levi is the most perfect man to ever exist! I truly love a man falls first trope and this book was the ultimate example of it. But as much as I loved Levi, I was beyond annoyed with Bee for 90% of the book. I really struggle with unlikeable main characters and Bee just drove me crazy! I really wanted to like her but her constantly reminding Levi how much he hates her and not giving him a chance to explain himself was un redeeming in my eyes. Thank goodness Levi is a saint or else I don’t think he would have fought so hard for her.
Regardless of some of the things I struggled with, this was still a super cute book. In fact, I even read it in one sitting so that attests to how much I did enjoy it.
“The real villain is love: an unstable isotope, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay. And it will forever go unpunished.”
This was my Book Clubs November Read, cohosted by my bestie @IrelandsLibrary. I honestly had no intentions on reading this book until Ireland had suggested it as a book club read and of course it was a hit! I should have known she had great taste after her last suggest “Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries” which also had a very positive review from our book club members. I am starting to think she should pick all of our books from here on out!
“I never told you that I love you. And I regret that, most of all.”
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
I have said this many times before, I am NOT a fantasy reader! So the fact I read three fantasy books in a row blows my mind. It also sacred me because I read this book Immediately after finishing Iron Flame so I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to focus on the world building, but honestly this book was pretty easy to follow.
I absolutely love books with mixed media so the fact that they were sending letters to each other really grabbed my attention, I just wish their were more letters honestly. I heard someone say that because both of these characters are supposed to be exceptionally great writers the letters were perfect but the writing of the book its self was subpar because it had to make the letters stand out, Honestly I can see where they are coming from but that doesn’t change my mind that this book was phenomenal.
With that said, I still think that somethings could have changed in this book to make me like it even more but if these particular things changed I don’t see how she could have wrote a second book so for the plot line Rebecca was going for I couldn’t have seen this book being written any other way. And the cliff hanger we are dangling off of as we wait not so patiently for the second book to be released was something I did not see coming at all! Why did you have to do this to us?!
I am not usually one who likes an insta love story but this book really worked for me. Spoiler Alert, but they got married so fast! However my heart was rooting for them so hard! I think the reason for this is because Roman fell first and I am learning that I am a sucker for the guy falls first trope. I can’t wait to see where their relationship goes from here but I am not sure my heart can take it!
I highly recommend this book to anyone who might be on the fence, just go ahead and pick it up, you won’t be disappointed!
“It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can’t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, “You will miss so much by being so guarded.”
“I don’t think you realize how strong you are, because sometimes strenght isn’t swords and steel and fire, as we are so often made to believe. Someimes it’s found in quiet, gentle places.”
I finished “Fourth Wing” The night before “Iron Flame” Released meaning I started this book practically hours after I had finished the first. If I didn’t have a vacation to be on this would have been finished last week, that is how fast I was flying through this book. Luckily I did have some decent layovers that did let me read bits and pieces at a time but I had too many distractions to be bale to finish till I came back home. Now that I have finished the book I don’t know if I even have words…
“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.”
Just as a warning this is quite a long review and overall deep dive into this book but I had a lot to say so I guess this was mostly for me to get all my burning thoughts out! I have provided a table of contents so you can skip to the parts you would like to spend time reading.
Everyone expected Violet Sorrengail to die during her first year at Basgiath War College—Violet included. But Threshing was only the first impossible test meant to weed out the weak-willed, the unworthy, and the unlucky.
Now the real training begins, and Violet’s already wondering how she’ll get through. It’s not just that it’s grueling and maliciously brutal, or even that it’s designed to stretch the riders’ capacity for pain beyond endurance. It’s the new vice commandant, who’s made it his personal mission to teach Violet exactly how powerless she is–unless she betrays the man she loves.
Although Violet’s body might be weaker and frailer than everyone else’s, she still has her wits—and a will of iron. And leadership is forgetting the most important lesson Basgiath has taught her: Dragon riders make their own rules.
But a determination to survive won’t be enough this year.
Because Violet knows the real secret hidden for centuries at Basgiath War College—and nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.
I have waited a few days to officially write my review so everything that happened could really sink in. I am excited to share my thoughts and theories even the completely unhinged ones. This is going to be a long and rocky review so buckle up and lets go!
I have heard a lot of people say that this book is not a literary master piece so why are we rating it so high? I agree this series has its flaws but the emotions this series pulls out of people and the attachments we have over these characters I feel like is the true reason it is rated so highly. If a book can get me to audibly gasp or physically cry there is no reason I would be rating this any lower than four stars, which I know is probably crazy to some people but ratings change from person to person and our reasons will probably never align and that is OK!
You are going to read these first few paragraphs and be in awe that I rated this book so high. But please don’t question my logic and mostly my feelings because I think this book was an integral part to the overall series and everything that happened in this book is going to be so important later on. So bare with me… Ok.. Here we go!
The beginning of this book had a lot of info dumping that we had to trudge our way through that honestly didn’t feel like it was going to have any kind of pay off in the end. It almost felt like this whole book was just going to be a transitional book so book three could be a huge battle, which honestly may not be wrong. However, the first part of the book walked so the second half could RUN! With that being said I have heard most people struggle reading this book till shortly after part two cause that’s where things really start to pick up maybe even just before part two begins..
In fact I wrote this in my storygraph notes (Scene where Mira finds out Brennan is alive just before part 2) ‘Page 360’ “Mira! I am so happy they are all together. I love that she punched him. Also I think the book could have ended here and been an ok transitional book into the third one with a big war but we shall see.” I just think this happy family reunion was a good stopping point but Rebecca was like “Hold my Drink, we are going for a ride!” And what a ride it was!
“Less than a minuet” , Xaden whispers. “That’s all it took for you to fall out of love with me.”
Xaden will forever be one of my favorite male characters in books. I love me a protective man even when Violet says “You are starting to sound like Dain” I mean how dare you compare Xaden to Dain… Insert eye roll. Xaden is the ultimate shadow daddy and this book confirmed that. I am honestly upset with how little he was in this book, clearly my favorite character and I hardly got any scenes with him!
Xaden tried so hard to love Violet and give her the time and space she needed and asked for but Violet was giving him nothing! This leads me to my next gripe. Is it just me or is Violet a very unlikeable character? I could be in the minority here but she drives me crazy!
‘Page 1’ “Mom and dad need to make up and have no more drama…ok? ok.” Like seriously I wish this was true but they were in a constant fight this whole book it felt like! I am rooting for them but damn I almost feel like Xaden deserves better, cause he really tries and I feel like Violet is just so stubborn but I mean would I be any better in her shoes?
‘Page 115’ “Girl…You shouldn’t be denying yourself any part of this man!!! Put that bed of his to good use!” I mean seriously if you don’t theres a million other woman who will, if you catch my drift.
‘Page 115’ “As a certified asexual I don’t need him to dick me down but damn a “fight for me” kind of man…😋”
‘Page 119’ “The miscommunication!!!! Everything is not your fault Violet but fucking up your relationship will be on you!! I am a Xaden Stan!”
Ok enough about how much Violet drives me crazy, let’s move on to more important things.
The Big Twists
Trying to avoid spoilers for this book was so hard and as I am writing this I can now see that I am a part of that problem… Oops.
I knew someone died at the end, even without spoilers you could have assumed this was going to happen. But for me it was because of my boyfriend, he decided to read the last chapter of the book (Nothing more) and by his reaction I just knew someone died and he was like “yup but I will not tell you who.” So during the book I would randomly be like “oh no, please don’t tell me it was Rhi…” or “Oh shit! Brennan doesn’t die does he?” Well, Noah stood strong, never giving me a single hint at who dies.
I get to the end and who dies? Oh yeah, her mother! Like what? Lilith wasn’t even on my radar of someone dying, meaning I didn’t think I would care if she died and man oh man was I wrong! Talk about Literal tears!
Lilith was 80% a bad guy to me. I figured she might turn good at some point but I saw her as a horrible mother until the middle of this book when she helped Violet escape and then the end where you can see under her tough shell is a mother who just cares about her children.
With all that said Liams death in “Fourth Wing” still hit me harder but this is a close second! (Surprisingly)
Speaking of Liam, I was so happy to see him in this book. His death really tore me apart because I loved his character. Reading this book gave me hope that we may be able to see him / hear from him more in the next few books. This makes me beyond curious to know what part he will play in the rest of this series.
The next thing that shocked me to my core was Xaden Turning into a Vennin! How could Rebecca do this to us?! Of course, the answer to that is for the plot. But what a way to break my heart! As mentioned above Xaden is why I am reading this series so god forbid something happens to him!
I mean look at that face, I was shook! I am honestly so scared for him in the upcoming book(s). I don’t know if my heart can take much more! He has had one rough go at life and he deserves to finally be happy.
“Welcome to our fucked up family. Guess we’re brothers now.”
Jack Being alive almost caused the destruction of my book. I was not ok! She killed him! How in the world could he possibly be alive?!
But what really stung was the fact that he was Vennin! What? How? When? Where? Why? I have so many questions and so little answers. Especially when he said we are already among you… now on my next re read I will be paying attention to every single character! I gotta hunt them all down!
“Was.” My gaze tracks Dain as he walks around the mat to Professor Emetterio. “He was my best friend.” For fifteen years, there was no one closer. I’d thought he was going to be my everything.”
In my “Fourth Wing” review I wrote “Dain has two fates he either dies or they make up and he joins the forces. God I hope they kill him! Traitor!!!!” Well it looks like he joined the forces. I honestly don’t know how to feel about him, I know I don’t trust him but he almost makes you want to give him a chance. But yet he is still Trash! He has a few more books to make it through and if I were him I would be counting my days!
God forbid Rebecca gives him a chance with Violet next book. That just might kill me.
Theories I Can Hop On Board With
***I have heard this various times on TikTOk I unfortunately don’t know who said what now with the millions of theories I have listened too. ***
Violets Second Signet is either Time Travel or A Direct bond with Malek
Andarna is a god of dragons
Liliths love of her life isn’t Violets dad (More of this on my own Theories where I add onto this in an unhinged way)
Violets Lightning is actually raw power so she can manipulate her power in more ways than she thinks
Violet can dream walk. (Her dreams with the Sage)
The marked ones mark is actually an extra power or a boost in power because a dragon gave them the mark and dragons only give marks as powers. The size of the relic represents their power. (Kayleigh Tiktok) I agree with this because why else would they be able to block out Melgrens power if they are in groups more than 3? This way they have a way to still go under the radar if needed. That is a blessing in of its self and the dragons don’t seem to give people the benefit of the doubt.
Theories I Don’t Love
***I have heard this various times on TikTOk I unfortunately don’t know who said what now with the millions of theories I have listened too. ***
Tairns previous rider was the one Lilith was secretly in love with
Violets dad is the leader of the vennin
Violet is inntinnsic
Liam Comes Back
Violets mom is vennin
Violet is vennin because Nolon was constantly healing her as she grew up, I don’t believe this because in the book she has a “Dream” with the vennin sage who said you will turn to save the one you love or die togetehr.
My Theories
Heads up. My theories are a bit out there so many of you may not agree but What If?
You can watch my Tiktok Theory Video to hear my exact thoughts and comment to see other peoples opinions as well.
My First theory is that the love of Lilith’s Life is actually Fenn Riorson… Yep you heard that correctly!
I think that Lilith has been helping the Rebellion the whole time and in the midst of it all she fell in love with Fenn Riorson. When in the end he became the very thing he despised, Vennin. On page 620 we read.
“We have tried every method we know of, as you requested. There is no cure. There is only Control.”
-Missive from Lieutenant Colonel Nolon Colbersy to General Lilith Sorrengail
I think she could have been trying to save him instead of killing him because he was the key to protecting not only the continent but most importantly her kids, which was her soul mission in life.
Why else would she entrust Xaden to protect Violet when she entered the war college? She had to know deep down Xaden would protect her at all cost and do the right thing for the marked ones, the continent and of course Violet.
Of course she could have been using the serum to heal Violets dad instead which is a possibility but I just don’t believe it. or I guess I don’t want to believe it if it is true.
My Second Theory is maybe a bit more believable than the first.
I believe that the leader of the Vennin is Xadens mom.
All we know is that she left him at a young age and he hardly knew her. I think she could have been vennin before he was born and so Xaden already has Vennin blood inside of him meaning maybe he is a direct line to the vennin thrown. This is why the leader of the Vennin is searching for him so hard.
I also believe this is why when Violet was in the arena she had to fight a vennin that was contained in Fenn Riorsons Chest. He knew how to capture them because of his wife which in turn when she left him and his son he knew he had no choice but to stop her Vennin ways.
Questions I Need The Answers Too!
If I have missed any details that should have given me these answers please let me know in the comments!
Did Violets dad really die by Heart Problems?
Will Xaden and Violet Be End Game?
Who was the 7th rider?
Who was the 7th Dragon?
How were the dragons able to keep Andarnas Breed such a big Secret?
Who else do we know is a Vennin?
What is Violets Second Signet?
Did Tairn actually know that Xaden was Inntinnsic because in fourth wing he said something along the lines of boy don’t you dare try and get in my head and read me. But when Violet found out he was so shocked! Of course he could mean tapping into the connected bond all four of them share but the worded has me questioning it.
How did the Vennin get into Basgiath? And how can they still harness some power?
I am interested to know how all of this would have played out if Violet really did get into the Scribes. Not really a question though.
Do Vennin have to feed?
Poll Section
Favorite Quotes
Too Many To count but I don’t apologize, there are just too many good ones!
“I do. I’m sorry if you expect me to do the noble thing. I warned you. I’m not sweet or soft or kind, and you fell anyway. This is what you get, Violet— me. The good, the bad, the unforgivable. All of it. I am yours.” His arm wraps around the small of my back, holding me steady and close. “You want to know something true? Something real? I love you. I’m in love with you. I have been since the night the snow fell in your hair and you kissed me for the first time. I’m grateful my life is tied to yours because it means I won’t have to face a day without you in it. My heart only beats as long as yours does, and when you die, I’ll meet Malek at your side. It’s a damned good thing that you love me, too, because you’re stuck with me in this life and every other that could possibly follow.”
“I think I liked you better before you decided that feelings were something we need to discuss.” “Sorry to inconvenience you, but this year the role of Violet Sorrengail”—he points to me—“ will be played by Xaden Riorson”—he taps his chest—“ who will drag her, kicking and screaming if he has to, into a real relationship with real discussions, because he refuses to lose her again. If I have to evolve, you do, too.”
“But I’m begging you, Violet. Don’t offer me your body unless you’re offering me everything. I want you more than I want to fuck you. I want those three little words back.”
“You should take her at her word. In fact…” Xaden doesn’t bother to lower his voice. “If you don’t, I’ll take personal offense. She made her choice, and it wasn’t you. It will never be you. I know it. She knows it. The whole quadrant knows it.”
“No, Violet.” He lifts both swords overhead, then slips them into the sheaths on the pack behind him with practiced expertise and a hint of a smirk. “Just you and me.”
“His jaw flexes, his hands curl at his sides, and his beautiful face… Well, he hasn’t looked at me with that much anger since discovering my last name at Parapet, back when he wanted to kill me. Guess I should be careful what I ask for, because I’m so fucked. “You aren’t where I left you, Violence.”
“In a world of dragon riders, gryphon fliers, and dark wielders…” “It’s the scribes who hold all the power.” They put out the public announcements. They keep the records. They write our history.”
I have had this book on my shelves since shortly after it came out but didn’t know if I really wanted to read it. This book has so much hype surrounding it that I was scared I would be let down. Not to spoil my own review but lets just say this book lived up to its high expectations.
“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.”
“Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it toward the possibilities instead of keeping it where it belongs—on the probabilities.”
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.
She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.
Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die
I honestly can not believe that I waited this long to read this book! This book has been all the rage on every book platform and I was seriously starting to get FOMO. It wasn’t until I met my new Bestie (Also Named Bailey) who finally convinced me to pick up this glorious book. So yes, I finally finished it two hours before Iron Flame was released. Probably the best decision I could have made so I didn’t have to wait for the next book like everyone else. If you need me you can find me with my nose stuck in Iron Flame for the next few days. Ok sorry now on to the real review.
I had heard this book was beginner friendly for anyone who hasn’t been a fantasy reader and I was skeptical of that, but of course they were right. The world building in this book is beautiful to say the least. It is so easy to follow along with , I would say the hardest part is the pronunciation of all the names, honestly in my head it just sounds like blah blah but or I make up my own way to say it so there is no way my characters are named the same as the rest of yours haha.
I knew nothing about this book going into it other than Dragons. But after reading it I chalked it up to an even better Divergent book. Divergent was one of my favorite books as a teen, ok well maybe it was the only series I read growing up so it automatically gets the title for favorite book.. Anyways, It felt so nostalgic while reading this book which is part of the reason why I was able to devour it so quickly! I have heard it reminds people of the Hunger Game Series as well but I never read those and (Don’t Hate me) I never liked the movies either so I have no input on that connection.
“But I will not run. I wouldn’t be standing here if I’d quit every time something seemed impossible to overcome. I will not die today.”
Ok, here are all my spoilers, you have been warned!
This was an easy five star rating for me for several reasons. The main one being the connection between Violet and Xaden. I love morally gray men and I knew as soon as we met him that he was the one! The fact that they can communicate telepathically is just chefs kiss! The way Xaden is so protective over Violet just melts me to my core, I honesty don’t know how you could write a better morally gray character and if they aren’t end game I don’t know if I could ever recover, or even if they are end game I can’t take any miscommunication but that is way too much to ask. I just want them to be forever happy haha.
The second reason why this was an easy five star read for me is how fast paced this book was. The way the end of the chapters left me wanting more just made me fly through! I needed to know what the heck was going to happen next because again, I can not get enough of these characters! I also just found out that this should be a five book series which I am happy about because I can not get enough of the characters, however I am so scared of who we might lose along the way.
When I tell you that I sobbed when Liam died… Man that was so tragic! I totally understand the bond between riders and their dragons but why did he have to die too?! He was one of my most favorite side characters and I was not prepared for him to be the one who passed at the end. This made me think about everyone else I love in the book and just knowing that there is a high chance that they won’t make it through the whole series and I am not ready for that! I am already too attached!
“I’m going to keep you. You’re mine, Violet.” “Only if you’re mine.” “I’ve been yours for longer than you could ever imagine.”
If for whatever reason you have not picked this book up yet I highly recommend that you do. This is a book that will stick with you for a long while and will consume all your thoughts. Literally, I have been dreaming of this book for days!
QOTD: What Kind of power would you wish to Wield? What kind of Dragon would you want to bond with?
“And when others are quick to stand in front of me, Xaden always stands at my side, trusting me to hold my own.”
I read the first book in this series about a year ago and I immediately fell in love with the writing and just the main story line. I went to start the second book only to find it was following Jack And Jill whom at the time I didn’t care to learn more about so I set the book aside for far too long. I am so glad I finally picked this one up as it truly surprised me.
“There are worlds built on rainbows and worlds built on rain. There are worlds of pure mathematics, where every number chimes like crystal as it rolls into reality. There are worlds of light and worlds of darkness, worlds of rhyme and worlds of reason, and worlds where the only thing that matters is the goodness in a hero’s heart.”
Twin sisters Jack and Jill were seventeen when they found their way home and were packed off to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.
This is the story of what happened first…
Jacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter—polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline.
Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter—adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got.
They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted.
They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
“The Moors exist in eternal twilight, in the pause between the lightning strike and the resurrection. They are a place of endless scientific experimentation, of monstrous beauty, and of terrible consequences.”
As I mentioned above, I wasn’t really in love with these characters in the first book so I struggled wanting to read this one. I had heard this is a lot of peoples favorite book of the series though so I knew I had to pick it up and I am so glad I did! This book really dove deep into why these kids are the way they are and how your parents can really make or break you at a young age. I mean the childhood trauma they have to face… I don’t blame them for finding the Moors a more suitable place for them.
I couldn’t imagine being thrown out of the one place you could call home and felt like you belong just to know you have to go back to these parents who were never good to you in the first place. This book really put the events of the first book into perspective and it all comes full circle!
I can’t wait to read the rest of this series and to learn more about all of these crazy worlds these children find themselves in. It makes me wonder what magical door would have opened for me if this was something that really happens. Probably a door filled with cats, like a world ruled by cats…Ok yeah…I might be a crazy cat lady haha.
I highly recommend this book/series however please read trigger warnings as the events that take place can be tough to read.
“Every choice feeds every choice that comes after, whether we want those choices or no.”
QOTD: What Magical Door would you hope opens to you?
“She had tried to make sure they knew that there were a hundred, a thousand, a million different ways to be a girl, and that all of them were valid, and that neither of them was doing anything wrong.”
World of Bai 