Book Reviews

While the Arthurian legend has always fascinated me, I wasn’t entirely sure how much of what I knew was just condensed through other adaptations and interpretations and what was in the original story. I finally took it upon myself to read through this huge multi-volume set to find out what it’s actually about. To say it disappointed me would be an understatement. Perhaps it’s the prose, or the translation, or just the story structure, but I have never been so bored by a piece of literature since I forced myself to read Ulysses .

Early on, Le Morte D’Arthur had enough recognizable events to keep me engaged. The origins of Arthur’s birth. The Sword in the Stone. Lady of the Lake and Excalibur. Then, things fell apart. So much of the focus in this book was on random battles and jousts that I could hardly believe the famous stories that were gleaned from this tome even existed in this form. After a while, I was just forcing myself to sit through it just to say that I’d covered the source material.

Considering this is the earliest story (aside from the Bible) that I’ve read all the way through, it can be forgiven for being obtuse and unfocused. I’m more glad that the salient story beats have been distilled in Cliff Notes and other adaptations so that I don’t have to dive in and tackle this unwieldy story again. My curiosity wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, but my masochism forced me to finish it. Ultimately, if you’re also curious to read the original manuscript that inspired so many drama-filled tales of chivalrous knights, I’d say just pick up something that covers all the good bits and ignore the original.

An overly long book that doesn’t even seem to focus on anything it’s known for, I give Le Morte D'Arthur 2.0 stars out of 5.

Divine Rivals is a fantasy story about Iris Winnow and Rowan Kitt, two aspiring journalists who begin as enemies in the workplace but later become much, much more after Iris' letters, who she had believed were being sent to her brother, Forest, who was at war, ended up in Rowan's hands.

Divine Rivals is truly one of the best love stories I've ever read. The world in which the story is set it is amazing, and the book executes the enemies-to-lovers trope perfectly. The words the author used to describe everything are extremely immersive, and it makes you feel as if you're actually in the story yourself. The story itself is spellbinding and heartbreaking, and I am very excited to read the sequel.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was how confusing all of the myths and legends about the war are. Other than that, this book was fantastic. Five stars.

This book is a collection of answers to crazy hypothetical questions. Randall Munroe, a former NASA robotics engineer, that is also a cartoonist explores many hypothetical and unique situations like what if you went swimming in a spent nuclear fuel pool or how many printers would it take to keep up with all the Wikipedia edits? This book is just endless joy to read with its charm and humor. I have read and re-read this book countless times and if you are a nerd that has interest in math and science I couldn't recommend any single book higher.

Hayla Swinton is the funniest gurl in her class but due to her being overweight she judges herself. During a school assembly, they have a talent show where Leo a very funny comedian performs. After that she falls head over heels for him. He is a scholar fit very popular guy Hayla finds out that he performs at his dad‘s family, friendly pub , but he doesn’t know what to perform so Hayla starts making up material and slipping it into his locker. She goes to the open night at the family friendly pub that his dad owns and watches him, little does she know Leo put her name down to perform that night she gets up stage very nervous is going well so far until she sees Leo and her best friend Chloe flirting with him this leads to her getting very embarrassed saying I’m done and walking off stage when Leo’s dad walks up, he reaches for the microphone, but Hayla gives him a big hug. The next couple of days were torture for her and her three best friends got in a fight brcause Chloe flirting with Leo. Leo finds out that Hayla was the one who was writing all of the comedy he wants to reform to be the comedy comedian of the teen comedian of the year. But Leo is just using her after her friends. Telling her this she still doesn’t believe them, but then she sees him kissing another girl after they thought they had a connection. This causes Hayla to also join the teen comedian of the year contest.

I chose to read this book Becuase it shows no matter how you look you can do what you love and I was in the mood for a rom-com because it was very funny.I dint like how fast everything was moving though

Celaena Sardothian is an assassin who is summoned to the council because she’s giving a once in a lifetime chance to become the Kings champion to win her freedom from the work camp she was trapped in for being an assassin if she can defeat 23 killers, thieves and warriors in a competition she will be released from this prison. It goes through many different plot twists throughout the book and a love triangle between the crown, Prince and the captain of the guard. I read this book because I like fantasy and it was a lot of drama happening and I liked that I didn’t like how it ends on a cliffhanger

If you are a person who adores fantasy or is looking for an unforgettable book series, i highly recommend reading warrior cats. The main character is a housecat named rusty who lives a comfortable life under human care. One night, he spots cats from a clan known as thunder clan. The 4 clans are unrecognized by anything other than the cats themselves and have social structure that keep the clans aligned. The cats were known as graypaw, lionheart, whitestorm and the clan leader, BlueStar. After recently receiving a prophecy of fire saving thunder clan through rusty, they quickly take him in as he gains the clan name Firestar. (After becoming leader due to bluestars death.) Firestar quickly befriends Graystripe, and their bond stays ever strong even after Graystripe begins having splits loyalties between clans. He uncovers secrets of the forest, as clans turn on one another, and clans begin to lose hope of peace after devasting impacts on the forest. But his kittypet roots surface back up and causes more discrimination and drama to this series.

This book has me so invested because of how many layers this book has, it has friendship, love, death, emotional trauma, bad pasts that come back to bite you and deep impact on the reader. You will fall in love with the amount of characters there are and all the mixed personalities within this book. The book describes seemly real life scenarios through the lives of these cats and has genuinely moved me greatly by how touching they are. There are characters that miss out on opportunities as a clan member, people who go crazy and turn more vile, elders who have seen it all, and kits who never got to meet their parents.
The author's sense of detail and imagery when making this book is beyond amazing, i can picture exactly what the characters are like and make you feel you are living inside the book.

overall this is an amazing book series to read if you enjoy animals, deeply rooted backstories, and characters that keep you guessing then this is a wonderful book and personally my favorite series ever. This is a family friendly book, and I recommend for all ages. This is a very long book series so if you fall in love with these books, you should never run out of books to read!

Climate is a poetry book that explores the difficulty and the beauty of navigating life. Hanson uses an extended metaphor to represent how our emotions are like weather and our overall wellbeing is like climate. I loved this book because it delves into the importance of recognizing each of our emotions. It gives the powerful perspective that maybe our ultimate goal should not be happiness, but the delicate balance of peace.

When Chloe learns that her birth mother unexpectedly has another child, the last thing she expects is for her mother to name her next of kin for guardianship of her new sister. Not hesitating to say yes, Chloe learns that she does not meet all the requirements, and must enlist in a foster care program where she and another perspective guardian must work together to care for their siblings.

This book was very cute. It is a romance following two adults in their young twenties trying to care for their siblings amidst dealing with the foster care system. I’m lucky enough to have never needed to be in the foster care system, but I thought that the thought and care that the author implements regarding these situations was very sweet. Some parts of the book however seemed very convenient to the point that it did not seem realistic. So many coincidences happened in the main character’s favor that it was a little hard to believe. Other than that, this was a very easy read, and I really enjoyed the romance story.

Born during the time of apartheid in South Africa, comedian Trevor Noah tells the story of his childhood as a mixed boy in a time where having bi-racial parents was considered a crime.

This book was incredible! I had to read it as a summer reading assignment, and while books for school are rarely interesting, “Born a Crime” blew me away. For starters, Trevor Noah tells a story of inequality and injustice and writes of horrors I can barely imagine, and yet he writes with so much humor that it is very digestible. The life he lived and the way he grew up is so very different to me that it was at some points hard to fathom, but I felt like it opened my eyes in so many ways. The fact that apartheid only ended in the nineties is heartbreaking to me, but Trevor Noah talks about firsthand experiences living through the aftermath. While I knew vaguely who Trevor Noah was, his memoir filled me with the utmost appreciation for him, and his story will be one that sticks with me for a long time.

Five years ago, Wendy Darling and her brothers went missing in the woods. Six months later, only Wendy was found, and her brothers were never heard of again. It's the story that has haunted both the little coastal town of Astoria and Wendy's family. Now, as an 18-year-old ready to head to college, Wendy is intent on starting a new life away from the tragedy.

Unfortunately, her plans are interrupted when children from the town start disappearing.

Naturally, the police link this new string of disappearances to Wendy's case and begin questioning her. But despite their urgency, Wendy doesn't remember anything from the six months she went missing. To add to it all, one day, she stumbles upon an unconscious boy in the woods. Except the boy is not just any boy - he's Peter Pan, a figure who Wendy thought only existed in the tales her mom used to tell her and her brothers when they were little. But Peter Pan is in danger, and unless Wendy confronts her past - plus whatever sinister being lies in the woods, they might lose the missing children for good.

I think my favorite thing about this book is its unique setting: it's realistic, but there's also a little bit of magic intertwined in it thanks to Peter Pan. I also loved the spooky descriptions of the woods and personally think it helped add suspense to the story. The beginning of the book pulled me in instantly, and the end wrapped everything up quite nicely (it also left me feeling a bit emotional). However, the book began to get repetitive towards the middle - a lot of it was Wendy and Peter being tortured, Wendy questioning what was happening, and Peter trying to distract her while also not being of much help. I found Peter's character quite irritating at times (although he was funny), and Wendy herself was kind of flat; a lot of the side characters also felt like afterthoughts. I did find myself rooting for Wendy and Peter's relationship, however; they developed a genuine emotional bond that didn't feel forced, and I liked the parts where they helped comfort each other through all the emotional baggage and trauma they went through. It's also an interesting clash of two completely different worlds - a girl who's legally an adult and a boy who isn't supposed to grow up - although this wasn't really explored much in the book. The author also did a good job portraying Wendy's mental warfare (i.e. her guilt and PTSD from her past), and her character arc and journey to healing were well written. Overall, Lost in the Never Woods was a creative story with a very raw portrayal of trauma (and overcoming it), and although it has its faults, the book did leave a strong emotional impact on me, and I can't say I didn't enjoy it.

This book dives into great detail about the Five Nights At Freddy's universe, telling three short but immersive and entertaining stories in one book. All of the stories follow a similar theme, to be careful what you wish for, find joy in the simple, less than great things, and that if it seems too good to be true, it more than likely is. It manages to deliver the message while still giving the stories their own, sturdy points and plots outside of it.

I had no trouble imagining the locations and characters within this story, and I found them quite relatable. It describes things wonderfully, as someone who has always struggled with picturing what books describe in my head, I had no trouble with this one. While this book certainly isn't for the faint of heart, it is totally worth a read.

Almost American Girl is an illustrated memoir by Robin Ha about her journey to America and her experiences there. I always find it interesting to read about other people’s experiences, but I especially enjoyed this one because of its format. It is graphic novel style, making this a fun, quick read. The illustrations were very pretty and so was the writing! I loved this book, and it gave me a window to someone else’s life that I really enjoyed reading about!

Out Of My Mind is a fantastic book about Melody, a girl with cerebral palsy. Contrary to popular belief, Melody is a very smart girl and has a lot of ideas and things she wants to say, but her disability has, until now, held her back. At her new school, she joins a team for smart people who compete with other groups of smart people to prove they’re smarter. I loved this book so much and even cried at some point. Beautiful story and writing, this was my third favorite read of 2025!

The Court of the Dead is the sequel to Sun and the Star, which follows Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades. Nico’s half-sister Hazel asks him and his boyfriend, Will Solace to help at Camp Jupiter and they get caught in many additional adventures! I loved this book so much! It was such a great book, I love how Rick Riordan writes in general, and this was another great addition to his works! Nico is personally my favorite character in the entire Riordan universe, and I just love reading his character so much!

Rooftoppers follows the story of a girl named Sophie. She was found after a shipwreck floating on a cello case by Charles. When Sophie is threatened to get taken away from Charles, the two flee to Paris. When living in America, Charles and Sophie would often climb on top of the roof to relax, so Sophie did just that, and met Mateo. Sophie was certain that she would find her mother here, and with Charles, Mateo, and her friends by her side, her mother seems closer than ever. This book was very heartwarming (and nerve racking at times) to read, and Rundell develops her characters so well! I loved this book, could not recommend more!

Enemy for a Brain is a memoir by Zara Beth, disability rights activist, author, content creator, LGBTQA+ individual, and disabled herself. This book is about her life and the highs and lows in her life so far. We start reading about her primary, elementary, school life and end with her adult years so far. I really enjoyed reading this book because I found it fascinating learning about how one person can deal with so much and still lead a great life. I also love watching her content! I would recommend it to anyone, but especially people who might be going through some similar situations and/or are having a difficult time accepting themselves.

Rebecca. Samantha. Haley. Katie. Ashley. Growing up, Nora became many different girls as she helped her mom con criminal men, learning a lesson from each persona she took on. Now, having escaped that life and her mother, she is living with her older sister, Lee, finally trying to start over and be a normal teenager. But an awkward bank trip with her ex-boyfriend and new girlfriend turns deadly as two bank robbers enter in the middle of their visit and hold everyone in the building hostage. Now, Nora must pull off the biggest con of all: getting out of the bank alive.

I didn't have many expectations going into this book, as I just picked it up for a summer reading program. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked "The Girls I've Been"! The story alternates between the disastrous bank robbery and Nora's past, going through the different cons she was involved in and the different girls she became. This structure was perfect for creating suspense and made it almost impossible to put this book down! Additionally, the writing style was very easy to read and intriguing (despite a few minor typos), and the romance plot between Nora and Iris was sweet and didn't take away from the tension and suspense at all! I loved that "The Girls I've Been" was not only a thrilling story, but also fearless social commentary about the hardships that Nora was exposed to growing up. I would definitely recommend giving this book a try for an easy, thrilling, and meaningful read!

Incendiary is an amazing book meant to capture your attention and keep you reading until the very end. Although this book has some slower parts, it always picks back up within two pages. The story resembles the time of the Spanish Inquisition with a magical twist. The main character, Renata, is a Robari, or memory thief, who is part of the Whispers. Eight years ago, she was taken out of merciless King Fernando's castle by the rebel group of people with other magics like Ren's called the Moria. After her unit leader and love, Dez, is taken by Prince Castian, Renata goes on a journey to get her revenge and uncover the secrets of the war. In the castle, she finds overwhelming memories of her previous time there, having been used as a weapon, along with the thousands of haunting stolen memories she carries with her. Having neglected her own past so long, she has no idea what devastating secrets await her, and how they could completely change her view on the Whispers, and Prince Castian himself. One of the best things about this book was it's originality. The magic and writing are set in ways I have never seen before. The unexpected ending has me anxious to read the second one. This was definitely one of the best books I've read this year.

Everything changed for Connie a year ago, when her mom decided to start a vlog: LouPlusTwo. Now, desperate to keep up the "perfect" image of their family (and get even more money from their followers), her mother has documented every moment of their lives - despite the haters that openly vocalize their displeasure with her mom...opinions that Connie shares. So when someone begins stalking her while her mom and sister are gone on a college tour trip, Connie is concerned that one of the haters might take their frustration at the vlog out on her. Becoming increasingly more paranoid, Connie isn't sure who she can trust - especially as girls who look like her begin to die in tragic accidents...

"The Obsession," much like the other two Natasha Preston books I have read, drew me in with an interesting and unique synopsis and left me disappointed and angry at the execution. I did not enjoy the writing style of this book at all - Preston repeated herself almost constantly, the characterization was poorly done and confusing, and the dialogue was awkward. In addition, this book ends on a cliffhanger (despite it being a standalone novel). I understand that this is Natasha Preston's style, but this made the last few chapters seem was rushed and anticlimactic, leaving the reader with a random and disappointing plot twist and countless plot holes, not explaining the more interesting parts of the book's premise. Overall, after being disappointed yet again by a Natasha Preston novel, I have decided that her books are not for me. If you are interested in this genre, I would recommend reading books by authors such as Holly Jackson and Karen M. McManus instead.

After marrying to form a political alliance between both their nations, Alaric and Talasyn are far from at peace with one another. However, as the two grow closer and the world hangs in the balance with the Moonless Dark upcoming, loyalties are tested and the two must question what their motives might mean for the other. Little do they both know something more sinister is brewing.

This was a great sequel to “The Hurricane Wars!” While I felt like a lot of the plot was relatively predictable, it still made for an easy and exciting read. However, at the very end of the novel, Guanzon wrote an astounding plot twist that I truly did not see coming! With heavy tension still laying between the two main characters and this new development of the story, I’m very excited to see what Guanzon will do for the finale!

Set in occupied France during World War 2, “The Nightingale” tells the story of two sisters navigating their lives that become forever changed. Vianne has never spent her life alone. While living a quiet life with her husband and daughter in a small French town, she believes nothing will come of Hitler’s army terrorizing her country. When her husband is enlisted to fight for France, she finds herself alone for the first time and must discover how to balance keeping her family safe while fighting for what’s right. Opposite of Vianne, Isabelle has always dreamed of becoming a hero and fighting for her country. When she discovers the newly beginning French Resistance, she doesn’t hesitate in risking her life to save downed airmen all across France. However, when Germany begins losing the war, the consequences for spies become more serious, and Isabelle must decide how far she is willing to go for her country.

This book devastated me. Kristin Hannah describes all of the horrors of World War 2 in brutal, unflinching detail. More than that however, she put in so much research into learning about the French Resistance and the role women played, and she writes their courage and bravery with such passion. I think this a novel everyone should read, as the lessons of humanity and good vs evil will stick with me for a long time. I feel like everyone hears about how terrible war is, but accounts such as the ones in this novel, even while fictional, truly prove how war ravishes humanity and communities.

A year after her girlfriend's tragic passing, Felicity Morrow has returned to Dalloway School for her second attempt at graduation, heading back to her old room at the campus' historic Godwin House. Felicity has always been drawn to the occult, and Dalloway only feeds her obsession: Godwin House is even supposedly haunted by the ghosts of the Dalloway Five, five young women who died under mysterious circumstances on Godwin Grounds. But the occult is no longer a place of solace for Felicity, not when she's convinced her dead girlfriend, Alex, is haunting her, and Felicity is now only interested in her grades and graduating.

Unfortunately, the new Dalloway student has other plans for her. After her debut novel won a Pulitzer Prize, Ellis Haley enrolled in Dalloway School to research the Dalloway Five for her second book. Ellis is a method writer, putting herself in her character's own insane adventures, and Felicity can't help but be drawn to her intelligence and whimsy. And eventually, Felicity reluctantly agrees when Ellis asks her to help her research the Dalloway Five. But when strange events begin to follow Felicity wherever she goes, Felicity is forced to confront the ghosts that plague her mind - including Alex.

Perhaps the summary of this book sounds straightforward. I will tell you it's not. Perhaps, it's because Felicity is an incredibly unreliable narrator, which may throw some people off, but the book left me unsatisfied and with more questions than answers. Initially, I thought the Dalloway Five would have more importance to the plot, but truthfully, not much is revealed about them or their deaths either. In fact, the whole magical/paranormal circumstances surrounding Dalloway are fairly muddled and confusing, and by the end, I was confused what role magic even had in the whole book. Perhaps it was intentional, as the author was likely trying to make the reader question reality, but I feel like it could've been executed better.

It is important to mention that Felicity suffers from psychotic depression, which heavily impacts her narrative. As I have never dealt with this condition, I will not speak for people who have suffered from this disorder. There are also side characters who struggle with mental health issues. The reviews I've seen online regarding the representation of mental health in the book are mixed: some people say the characters with issues are portrayed in a very bad light, which is ironic considering that Felicity mentions at some point how people with mental disorders are often seen as crazy/insane. Others feel seen by the author and satisfied with the portrayal; the author herself has battled psychotic depression and wanted to touch on her own experiences.

These points aside, I personally did not connect to any of the characters in the book. A lot of the side characters felt flat and incredibly pretentious, and I personally disliked Felicity and Ellis. There has also been some discontent online regarding the representation of the two POC characters; one character's biggest purpose in the book was to tell Felicity about racism. The beginning of the book set off a nice tone, and I liked reading about the history of Dalloway and the whole historical lore behind it. However, the rest of the book dragged on for so long I had trouble even remembering what happened. Then, the book started picking up at around 70%, and the rest of the book was packed with random twists and turns to the point it felt like a completely different story. The ending was rushed, and the big twist felt like it was thrown in at the last minute, though I must say I didn't see some of it coming. There were also other random plot points added in that I felt like weren't necessary. This book felt all over the place for me, and it didn't give the greatest reading experience, but it does have its audience, and perhaps I may recommend it to a friend or two.

Those who live in Barkley Cove are more than happy to accuse the mysterious "Marsh Girl" of murdering beloved quarterback Chase Andrews. But there is so much more to Kya Clark than that. After being left to fend for herself at the age of ten, Kya learns to live off the land, developing a deep love for nature and its wonders. And as she grows older, she is forced to navigate the complexities of first love, loneliness, and heartbreak. "Where The Crawdads Sing" alternates between Kya's coming-of-age story and the ongoing murder investigation, leaving you constantly wanting to know what will happen next.

I was really looking forward to reading "Where the Crawdads Sing" because of its original and intriguing genre-blending. However, I think that Delia Owens may have tried to incorporate too many ideas into one story. The time skips were incredibly disorganized, with chapters and chapters devoted to the span of a few days with little action, followed by massive time skips that threw off the pacing, making this book boring, repetitive, and predictable. Along with this, the writing style was all over the place and the dialogue was poorly written, especially as the author unevenly incorporated North Carolina dialects for no apparent reason. In addition to these issues, I could not get invested in the romance plot, as the love triangle seemed forced, unnecessary, and confusing, hypersexualizing Kya and undermining her character development. Overall, I am sad to say that "Where the Crawdads Sing" did not live up to the hype for me, though I'm sure some readers will enjoy it.

Bella Swan is moving to Forks - away from the sunshine and bustle of Arizona to the perpetually dark, green, and rainy small town in Washington. There, she meets Edward Cullen: the quiet, mysterious, and incredibly handsome boy in her Biology class. But Edward has a secret. He and his family are vampires who drink the blood of animals instead of humans. Now, as Bella and Edward grow closer, they must explore their feelings for each other while also facing the irreversible fact that, ever since meeting her, Edward has thirsted for Bella's blood.

For better or for worse, "Twilight" is iconic, and despite the hate it gets, I would definitely recommend this book to people who are a fan of romantasy. Stephenie Meyer did a great job with the worldbuilding around the vampires' backstories, powers, etc., complete with lovable characters and a genuinely thrilling plot twist. With that being said, re-reading "Twilight" several years later, the writing style felt a little cumbersome and outdated to me, and the dialogue especially seemed awkward. Along with that, when I first read this book, I loved Edward's character...but upon re-reading the story, I was confused by his random mood swings and scattered characterization, which made it extremely hard to like him and his relationship with Bella. Despite this, if you are interested in "Twilight" or like the genre, I would definitely recommend giving this book a try!

Besides its incredible medical program, DeWitt Med is known for one thing: its influx of drug overdoses in first year students. Following the perspectives of five students and their professor, “Dead Med” navigates the lives of students crumbling under the pressure of med school and consider turning to the impossible, and when tensions are high the night before the final, a shot rings out, and the mystery regarding who did it is just beginning.

This mystery thriller was so incredibly underwhelming. The POVs of the lives of the students and the events leading up to the shooting were, in my opinion, very pointless to advancing the story and providing answers to the mystery. I only gave the novel two stars because some of the characters’ stories were mildly interesting, but even then, none of them were likeable! Also, the story as a whole was very confusing to follow, which made the plot twists and discoveries downright boring. And to finish, the book ends with a mediocre epilogue that attempts to explain the lives of the characters after the events that occurred, and I just felt as though this epilogue was so unnecessary as it still didn’t provide any sort of explanation.

Overall, I would not recommend this book. This was also my first Freida McFadden book, and unfortunately, I don’t know how many more novels I will be reading of this author.

All Talasyn has known is the Hurricane Wars. Her whole life has been composed of fighting and defending her land of Sardovia from the tyrannous Night Empire. Following a devastating blow and a shocking discovery, Talasyn meets Alaric, the newly crowned Emperor of the Night Empire. Despite being sworn enemies, the two must work together to face a new and rising evil.

This book was really fun to read! I saw a lot of people saying it gave the same vibes as Rae and Ben Solo from Star Wars, and while I don’t really like that comparison, I love Star Wars and I could see a little similarity with the world Guanzon wrote. I do wish the novel was a little less romance focused, as I feel as though some elements of the romance plot overtook the main fantasy story. Overall, this was a very fun book, and I’m excited to continue with the series!

The Lost World is a thrilling sequel to Jurassic Park that follows the returning Ian Malcolm and other scientists on a rescue mission for an arrogant scientist stuck on an island. I chose this book because I had already read Jurassic Park and loved it. I enjoyed the fast-paced, exciting second half. It is one of the best books I have read this year because it has lots of thrills and science. Overall, The Lost World is an amazing sequel that I highly recommend.

It's the spring break before Hannah and her best friend, Emmy, graduate - and they plan to enjoy every second of their time at the resort in Puerto Vallarta. So when Emmy's fourth vacation boyfriend, Ben, invites them on a private sailboat tour of the marina, they can't refuse - even if it means that Emmy's older brother and Hannah's lifelong crush, Jackson, comes along as a chaperone. However, everything begins to go wrong as a storm approaches, putting the sailboat at the mercy of the elements. It soon becomes clear that no one is coming to rescue them - and that they can't even trust each other.

I really enjoyed reading "That's Not My Name" by Megan Lally, so I was excited to hear that she was coming out with yet another book. However, I was sorely disappointed upon reading "What We Did To Survive." The premise of surviving the storm (with a dark twist!) was initially intriguing, but I just couldn't get into the story. The characters were flat and annoying cliches that I couldn't bring myself to care about, and the plot began to get repetitive especially as the characters argued about teenage drama while they were in a life-or-death situation. Additionally, despite the fact that Megan Lally is known for her shocking plot twists, every single one was predictable and underwhelming - along with the big twist at the end, which (whether intentionally or not) was the exact same plot twist as "The Raft" by S.A. Bodeen, which was published fourteen years before "What We Did To Survive." Overall, the best way I can describe this book is that it seemed rushed. Megan Lally's amazing writing style was ruined by small mistakes and passages that would have benefitted from editing and being further fleshed out, and all aspects of the plot fell flat for me.

In the third installment of the House of Devils series, Darien must race against the clock in order to save Loren. The cost? It requires him and his Devils to venture to a completely different city, Yveswich. Meanwhile, in Ker's bustling capital city, Roman Devlin only lives for one purpose: to protect his brothers. The last thing he expects is for Darkslaying rival, Shayla Cousens, to steal and blackmail him. Now, with both Darien and Roman's lives becoming uprooted, the true dangers of the conflicts in Terra begin to evolve in terrifying new ways.

Wow! Just when I thought the plot couldn't evolve any further, Kayla Edwards continuously proves me wrong! I'm so glad the author included the perspectives of both new characters and old side characters. It definitely helped shape the plot and furthered my understanding of the conflict. I also absolutely love the found family trope that begins to develop in this novel. While the story was steadily building towards it in the previous novels, the effects are displayed more clearly in this novel. As per all of her books, Edwards did not fail at making me feel every emotion. I laughed, I cried, and my heart broke on more than one occasion for nearly all of the characters. I am so excited to continue this series, and I am so upset the rest of the series is not written already.

In the fourth installment of the House of Devils, the city of Yveswich is in uproar. With the city rapidly declining and the imperator only allowing limited time to get out, the Devils and the other Darkslayers must race against the clock. Within Yveswich, a dangerous new magic is forming, and it is up to the Devils to save not only the world, but also one another.

This book made me feel everything. Looking back from the first book, the plot is so much more intricate now and every character serves a purpose. I'm so impressed with how the author is able to seamlessly implement relatively small details from the first novels and make them serve a much larger purpose in this book. There was so much foreshadowing in books 1 and 2 and I just did not notice it! As I have said with previous reviews, I adore the characters, and this book allowed for so much plot-focused character development. While the decisions of some characters made me angry, I could always understand why they would make the decisions they did along with the information provided to them. I'm so sad this is a continuing series and this is the last book that is published, but I'm so excited to see where Kayla Edwards takes this series next! It's very rare that nearly every book in a series is five stars, but the author writes this story so well that I can't help but find it perfect.