amelianotthepilot's reviews
796 reviews

Honestly a fine teen ya fantasy book but sorta boring imo.

Yadriel is a trans teen struggling to find acceptance in his family's dynamics. All the men in the family become brujos (witches) in a ghost summoning ceremony but he was not allowed to. In attempt to prove to his family that he belongs he does the ceremony by himself only for it to go wrong, but not for the transphobic reasons, it goes wrong because the ghost he summoned, Julian a hot cool boy from school, is an odd ghost. Yadriel, Julian, and Yad's cousin Maritza must solve the mystery surrounding Julian's death to complete Yadriel's induction and prove to his family that he is indeed a brujo and a real man.

The concept was really engaging but I think in fact I am not a teen and not the demographic for this story lol so it's only a 3 star for me.

it is truly so wild to read about the life of someone so different from your lived experiences. She Is Brat.

i also knew 0 about Julia Fox before reading this because i am not that kind of girlie but i am indeed that nosy so here we are and damn 10/10 one of the most wild memoirs i've ever read

this was fascinating.

i know nothing about Spanish history and don't often read historical fiction but I really enjoyed this. I was honestly pleasantly surprised as I love Leigh Bardugo's other fantasy novels to varying degree but for some reason had low expectations for this deviation from her norm.

This is a story about women, women in power, women who gain power, and women who flaunt power to put other women down. Luiza is maid in a dwindling wealthy house who is blessed with magic. But magic is feared and so she keeps her magic and her Judiasim secret. Doña Valentina is the lady of the house that Luiza works in, she has little but is proud and uses what she can to keep the family's status in nobility. Haulit is Luiza's aunt but also a wealthy mistress of Victor de Paredes. She's worked her way up from nothing using her body but through little contact attempts to help Luiza. After discovering Luiza's magic Dona Valentina immediately takes it for granted and flaunts Luiza as entertainment. This results in them catching the eye of the king and sending them on a wild court politic-filled adventure as part of the battle to become close to the king. Luiza must become the King's magician or be killed for witchcraft and heresy. 

Overall the story was fascinating and apparently the characters and general concept are all based on real people and historical events, albeit without the magic. I feel my main problems lay with the amount of Spanish woven into the story and my general lack of Spanish knowledge. I know 0 about Spain's history basically and although I was able to mostly follow I think if I knew some base facts going into it I would've been able to follow easier and enjoy it more. (For example, I was confused by the names because I didn't realize Dona and Don are just honorifics like Lady/Dame/Madam and Sir.) The end also felt a bit rushed to me, there was so much build-up of the world and dynamics only for them to get to the tournament and it all happened quite quickly and not as exciting as I would've hoped. I did like the new tournament competitors they were very interesting and I wish we got more of them. I was also quite disappointed in the romance. I didn't love it, it felt icky but I'm not sure if perhaps that was the point...So I guess I wish it was more intentional, or alternatively not there at all.

thought this was gonna be a fun little romcom in Italy...it was not

Katy's mom dies in the first chapter. She was supposed to go on this trip to Italy with her mom to see all the places her mom loved and they had the trip all booked when her mom finally passes. Katy then realizes her whole life is out of axis, perhaps she doesn't love her husband who she married straight out of college. She goes on the trip to Italy by herself, staying in the fancy hotel her mom chose, visiting the places her mom had picked out with stories she never got to tell. But do to some ✨ Italian magic✨  she runs into someone really familiar....her mom at her age. 

Needless to say I sobbed on the plane. There is a romcom in there somewhere too but that's not what this story is about honestly and I wish the romance bit was cut. This is a story about a mother and daughter's friendship and inseparable relationship. It's a story about grief and moving forward. It's a story about growing up in your 30s.

This has been on my list for ages but I kept hoping I'd become fluent in Italian so I could read it in it's original language. Alas that hasn't happened but I did read it in Italy so that counts for something I guess...maybe one day I'll read it in Italian.

You know me I love some drama and I love the mystique surrounding this author. Who is she? Is it an autobiography? Will she ever be revealed (posthumosly maybe)? Should she be? I love the theories of who it could be and the drama of that reporter who tried to expose her. 

The story follows Elena and her friend Lila growing up in Napoli to adulthood as wives and mothers. Through their lives, we discover the story of the neighborhood and the different families and their troubles. Lila isn't wealthy and doesn't have the money for school, Elena has only slightly more and is encouraged by teachers while Lila is discouraged and berated for her smarts. The only reason Elena progresses is because she idolizes and follows in Lila's footsteps as far as she can. But the two women grow apart with age and life's disparities. A beautiful story about female friendships and growing up with dreams too big.

A collection of Scottish tales interwoven with tales of my friend Andy's adventures as a tour guide and on the set of Outlander as an extra.

This one was wild!!

Tella after freeing the fates at the end of the last book and discovering Legend's true identity now needs to decide if she trusts Legend and his motives. Should she trust Legend or Jacks? Do either truly love her and who does she love? The Caraval festival is over and with it, it's puzzles and tricks, but everything seems to be just as tricky in reality. Was any of it real or was it all just part of the game? Scarlett and Tella need to make choices to save not only themselves but the fate of the entire empire.

This one was also obviously delicious and yet again had me hanging on every word and twist.

Another exciting mystical fantasy adventure in caraval! 

I loveedddd this one too! I definitely relate more to Donatella than Scarlett but I found this book not as exciting because Donatella's choices are very straightforward, Although perhaps this is also because I read the spinoff trilogy, Once Upon A Broken Time, which has one of the characters in the love triangle in it. ...So I sorta already knew how that was going to go, although I think that was sorta obvious anyway.

This sequel follows Donatella, the twin to Scarlett, after they've successfully escaped and beat the caraval festival. Now, Donatella is on the hunt for her mother and has help from a shady man. To find the answers about her mom she must discover the festival master's real name. This year's festival is in the grand palace and she sneaks in accidentally attaching herself to the shady man, who is maybe the missing prince? Adventure ensues. Will she reveal Legend's real name or will she ultimately fall for him and protect him?

I loved this sequel as well, yet again it was full of surprises and twists, curses and true love, princes, and balls, and was absolutely delicious. However, I would say I liked this one slightly less than the first or the spin-off series. 

I did indeed immediately figure out who Legend was in this one though. The first book had me but this one I felt like it was pretty immediately obvious. (although still fun)