jazzofmine's reviews
7 reviews

I’ve been flying through this series on audiobook. ACOMAF continued in that vein. Soooo another 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.

*** spoilers ***

Picking up from the truly satisfying ending of ACOTAR which gives us Feyre 2.0 (resurrected as high fae) - we’re back at the spring court with Tamlin. And I am here for the trauma and unpacking that inevitably has to happen as characters are trying to recover from the horrors imposed by Amarantha.

I love the direction the story took, with Tamlin failing to meet Feyre’s changing needs as circumstances drastically changed in their lives. Cue the twist: are things happily ever after? … 🧐 perhaps not … and boom the mysterious Rhysand swoops in, and our skepticism is stoked as we’re forced to confront false perceptions that have been propagated for security and political reasons for a long time.

An exchange that I particularly loved as Rhysand gradually opened up to Feyre and showed vulnerability was when she got to know about his secret, preserved city of Velaris.

“
It’s a shame,” I said, the words nearly gobbled up by the sound of the city music. “That others in Prythian don’t know. A shame that you let them think the worst.” He took a step back, his wings beating the air like mighty drums. “As long as the people who matter most know the truth, I don’t care about the rest.
“
Oh - a minor grievance I have, is the overuse of a couple of cringy words/phrases. I didn’t love all the uses of “gobbled up” for non-food related situations, I thought it sounded incredibly odd. I also didn’t love the overuse of the word “deign”. However, picking out these nitty gritty peeves in the writing feels a lot like sitting in the couch with a bag of chips, judging Olympic athletes on my tv screen. I’m still eating up the story. 

Honestly a ton of stuff happens in this second book. Love the relationship building between Feyre and Rhys. Love the internal struggles and dissonance that Feyre grapples with. And the growth that happens by the end, as she discovers and then accepts the mating bond … 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 delightful. 

Feyre is a strong, independent, adventurous character - who’s complicated and flawed. She displays a sense of sacrifice only rivaled by Rhysand. And these themes of sacrifice and duty are fairly nuanced, with exploration of some of the complications and pitfalls that come with these qualities. 

I also love the level 100 deception that Feyre is able to play by the end, as she uses this to divert attention and save her friends and mate. 

Very exciting! Loved it - 
✨🧚✨

This is what I’m into right now, and listening to this recently … I flew right through it. 

*** spoilers ***

A Court of Thorns and Roses gets 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. Were there a lot of predictable moments in this book? Yes. Did that lessen my opinion or experience with it? No. I enjoyed the world building, the adventure that comes on fairly quickly, and the themes of ignorance, prejudice, bias and vulnerability and love that unfold throughout this first volume.  

I enjoyed the relationship building between Feyre and Tamlin. And I grew to love Tamlin and believed in the Spring Court misconceptions about some of the other high fae *cough* * cough* *Rhysand* so overall, I thought the storytelling was wonderful. 

Sarah Maas tells the story, and pretty much always gives the reader the outcome that’s hoped for, which I enjoy right now. (Though there are some much appreciated twists and turns that I don’t always foresee.)

Probably the most obvious mystery that I solved immediately was guessing the answer to Amarantha’s riddle. However, I still enjoyed all the under the mountain struggles and events. And again, the presence of some predictability wasn’t a negative for me. (I think I’m in a mood lately where I don’t need a heightened sense of anxiety with some absolutely, outrageously novel fantasy story. This is hitting the spot for me where I’m at right now, in a stressful chapter of life.) 

✨🧚✨

This book earns five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars from me! It’s definitely for someone interested in Mormon history, development of fundamental offshoots of Mormonism and deeper, philosophical thinking about the nature (and dangers) of religion. I would describe this as “gruesome, Mormon true crime” to any potential reader. 

The primary aim of the book is to explore these situations that beg us to ask “How could this happen” with substantial history and development of this religion. The author explores history and provides context in order to show how the LDS organization provided a conducive environment for radical, extremists to be bred and thrive. 

The example of the Lafferty brothers‘ murder of their sister in law and baby niece is reprehensible, but not isolated. And not an accident. 

This was a good book, but in my opinion not super memorable. So I started with ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but couldn’t quite justify ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ since this is probably my least favorite of the books I’ve read/listened to recently.  It was fine enough to listen to on my commutes one week. 

Part of the appeal was listening to it narrated by the actor. I read and watched all the Harry Potter books as they came out when I was younger. So when I came across it (having not heard of this book previously) I was intrigued. I think if I was reading it physically I might not be hooked enough to keep reading.

Part of what isn’t sitting right for me with this book is that a tone of forced modesty came across to me throughout most of the book. It was fascinating to hear about some of Tom’s experiences, especially relating to his role in Harry Potter. So I wouldn’t hype this up a ton to a friend - however, kind of a fun read for a HP fan looking for a nostalgic, non fiction read.

Oh - apparently Tom Felton struggles with mental health problems and the second half or so of the book turned toward that. So to his credit, I’m sure writing this was part of him being self reflective and working towards healing. ❤️‍🩹  There are some vulnerable bits as he shared some of his experiences when he hit a rock bottom and got rehab for alcohol and marijuana use. 

*** spoilers ***

Wow. I listened to Fourth Wing a few weeks back and now I read (kindle) Iron Flame over the past couple weekends. Fourth Wing really sucked me in once I got into it listening on a long drive, I got pulled further and further in as the book went along. I am here for the spicy relationship and all that comes along with that in these first two books of the series so far.

Having finished Iron Flame, I found myself shocked and needing to recover from the ending. I kind of felt like Violet in that maybe I should have seen that twist coming… but in the back of my mind I didn’t want to go there. I didn’t allow myself to consider Xaden or Violet going to that turning point until the words were right in front of me.

Speaking of Violet, I really find her relatable. From all her insecurities, guilt and less than ideal self image, she’s got some stuff to work on. Interestingly I recently read a book on codependency. And (understandably, given the dragon bonds and such involved) Violet has some major codependency stuff going on with her control issues, self blame, taking care of others before herself … the list could go on. :) it’s fun to see her struggle with and grow through some of these struggles that she faces.

I don’t know how I feel about the ending, still grappling with it. And I was inclined to take half a star off for some reason, but I’ve changed my mind. The fact that I’m still really sitting with some of the themes of ultimate loyalty, sacrifice, love, independence, codependence, strength, communication, corruption and power … I’m going to keep the 5 stars. I would recommend the book and I’ll probably re-read some of Iron Flame before diving into the third book when it is released.

I am so glad I read (listened) - great first for the year. I listened to this in a week on daily commutes to/from work and stayed very engaged, and was actually quite looking forward to my commutes in order to continue to listen. 

I had read a few kind of negative, or at least critical, reviews prior. However I was recommended to read this by my counselor and again I’m very glad I listened. I found myself even rewinding to catch particular phrases a second time. And as I continued listening I realized I wanted to order a physical copy as well in order to annotate and get a second read in. My opinion is that those who have reviewed this critically probably either a) are in denial (if in fact they could benefit from the contents of the book) or b) are not the appropriate audience. 

For loved ones of an alcoholic or chemically addicted person, this may be very relatable. But as Melody writes - she tries to engage with folks from a variety of different situations who have come to discover that they’re codependently involved with an addict or unwell person (be it alcoholism, chemical dependence, sex addiction or a variety of situations that could lead to codependency). 

I’m a family member of an alcoholic and I would say that as she offered lists of traits, issues, situations, anecdotal stories I found myself saying “yes, yes!” And felt like at least about 75% of the content resonated with my experiences, and was helpful for me.

I only removed half a star because parts of the content weren’t for me with regards to mentions of god. However, I would still recommend this, because she only mentions god or a “higher power” in the second half of the book, in relation to 12 step programs such as AA. And I can appreciate that the structure of some programs she references involve this, and it doesn’t ruffle me (as a nonbeliever). Much of the book was still widely applicable.