Ruby

This series is so charming and full of good old emotional fluff. I simply adore it. Light, fun, and occasionally serious this trilogy makes for some good beach reading. Body & Soul goes back to its roots for me. The focus is back on Alona and Will and the challenges they face as individuals and together. Alona is now inside Lily's body, both she and Will struggle to fully come to terms with what that means and the consequences of it.I've said it before and I'll say it again. Alona and Will are great characters. However, Alona is definitely the highlight for me in each book. She's so well crafted. Alona has come a long way since The Ghost and the Goth but it's such a realistic and well done growth that you almost don't realize it until the end. This was a great conclusion to the trilogy. An ending that I wasn't anticipating, but was still satisfying and believable (as believable as a book about ghosts can get, anyway).

Generally speaking, I liked Masque of the Red Death but it wasn't special. I found certain aspects of the story to be visually . . . interesting, but not necessarily appealing (omg, all that Ke$ha glitter). I found other aspects to be rather convenient and lacking a proper explanation (next book, maybe?). The most disappointing thing for me was the plot being over shadowed on a number of occasions to focus on (ready for it?) i n s t a ♥ l o v e and a l o v e ♥ t r i a n g l e. Both love interests fall into the well established young-adult novel trope of "cardboard nice guy" and "disrespectful dangerous jerk guy", neither of which are appealing. I did like Araby, though. I like that she felt real empathy for people that didn't feel fake. I think her character needed a little more follow-through regarding certain actions. Araby vows never to experience what her brother was not able; however, even before she comes to realize that this vow is unreasonable she's choosing to partake in things her brother couldn't. I also thought that Araby's drug use was handled poorly, it just seemed like something to make her more "edgy" and distant from the world. I hope that in the next book we'll see her grow into a more self-assured character that doesn't follow every request asked of her.

Better than the first!

Everything I'd been looking for in an urban/paranormal fantasy! I had a few moments where I wish the plot had been at the forefront of the story rather than the romance, but overall the story played out well.

This was a poorly done retelling that offered up nothing new. Characters were often meant to subvert common fairy tale tropes but they lacked the depth and development needed to actually say something meaningful. The plot is practically non-existent. For much of the book nothing happens but hanging-out and partying between the cast of characters, with some “cryptic” things said about certain characters’ destinies. For all the emphasis on the original fairy tales I never felt like the setting or plot was actually all that dark and disturbing. The only thing I found disturbing was the reactions the protagonist, Mira, had toward the antagonist, Felix; they were very dismissive and unconcerned.I could not stand Mira. She was naive, selfish, and impulsive in all the wrong ways and never seemed to grow. Then, of course, you have the horrid insta-love despite multiple characters telling Mira that the guy she's obsessed with is a terrible person. I hate that she pretty much forgives serial murderer, Felix, at the end of the book. Of course, she never tells anyone of authority (her guardians, police, anyone with common fucking sense) that said murderer is still alive and is going to finish his business with her, i.e. kill her. How you can continue to love someone who is a murderer and wants to murder you is beyond me but apparently Mira still does!The one bright spot was that the writing was good, a lot showing instead of telling. The dialogue and banter seemed fairly natural (if not somewhat annoying), though some things struck me as odd and were left unaddressed. Unfortunately, everything else was much too shallow for me to connect with anyone or the story.

The Victorian era, Jack the Ripper, and paranormal happenings; all things that I find interesting to read about and this book had all three. My problem with this book was the characters and the dialogue were far too modern! The only character with a stitch of authenticity in regards to society and etiquette was the grandmother. I don't mind Victorian era novels with opinionated and against-the-grain heroines, but it needs to be done in a realistic way and this was over the top. Two things that stick in my mind that were totally unbelievable and jarring were the protagonist getting invited to a sort of dinner party for doctors when a) she isn't one and b) she is the only woman in attendance, and the use of "whatever" in the dialogue (think the movie Clueless). To say I was disappointed would be a bit of an understatement.

This was a very fun and light read that never really takes itself too seriously. Alona was a very judgmental and snarky protagonist but still very readable, and often times even likable despite you wanting to shake her every now and then. Alona was balanced out by Will who is more empathetic and relatable. The dialogue was sharp and full of wit. The plot was easy to see coming but didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book.

This was a predictable but very lovely and easy read.

Didn't make it past page 20.

I do love Robin Hood retellings and I love when a tough female character is involved, so I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, my biggest problem with the book was the characters. I found most of the main characters Rob, John, and Scarlet infuriating. Rob had the potential to be the dark brooding hero I usually find intriguing but he, on more than one occasion, proves himself to be a sexist asshole. John was a super creepy and clingy asshole who wouldn't take no for an answer. I was constantly rolling my eyes at Scarlet with her over the top self-sacrificing personality. My whole experience, with this otherwise adventure packed book, was just completely soured by the characters.

So, very quickly, everything going on with the zombies is great, entertaining but anything that doesn't have to do with the zombies is lacking. I really liked the women in the book and it was all good until the men showed up. If I'm going to continue with this series I'm going to need Travis and Juan to die in a fire and just have Katie and Jenni kicking zombie ass and taking names (I don't think that's going to happen though).

To be perfectly honest, this book had very little (if any) significant plot movement. There was no character growth for anyone: Gabriel still has the personality of a paper bag; Linden is still whiny, privileged, and oblivious; and Rhine is still a special snowflake. Cecily is the only interesting character and, unfortunately, she's not in this book much. Pretty prose can only do so much for a story.

This book doesn't live up to its original ideas and potential. It falls flat due to the tragically boring romance and lackadaisical characters. Little is answered in this first book, and I have to say, I have no enthusiasm to find the answers in the next book or the book after that.

This is what you need to know about the story of Cate Cahill . . . she is a witch, awesome, right? Not when you live in an AU version of the late 19th century New England. To add to her witchy problem her sisters are also witches and tend to use their magic as they see fit. So much for keeping it on the down low. Of course, par the current situation in YA fiction, Cate must be part of a love triangle, just throwing that out there. Oh, there’s also a prophecy, can’t forget about a prophecy . . .I actually really liked the writing style and tone of Born Wicked. The descriptions had a very ethereal and mysterious quality that lingered throughout the story, and the prose was simple but effective. Unfortunately, despite being a witch, Cate is not a very captivating character. In fact, I gave my book the side-eye on more than one occasion due to Cate’s Judgey-McJudgerson attitude toward other women, and her constant I-know-better-than-you attitude toward her sisters. It was nice to see that some of those women that she looks down on do surprise her and show her that they, like her, actually have a brain and can think for themselves later in the story. However, It is nice to see a protagonist make difficult decisions to save and keep her family from harm, rather than that boy she just met.The two antagonists are made very clear in this book. Mr. Ishida is hardly in the book and just comes across as a typical big bad villain. While Elena is the much more layered antagonist, she’s mysterious and immediately makes you wonder what she’s up to, good or bad. I found her to be very accommodating to Cate for much of the book and was annoyed at Cate’s behavior toward her because Elena is actually a very logical character. Much of the book is Cate swooning over her two love interests, despite only having chemistry with Finn, who is an admirable character but has little back-story and lacks a bit in personality. The romance was typical, there was a little bit of insta-love, but I didn’t find it off putting.One of the big reveals was an obvious go-to trope and one that doesn’t sit well with me, and thus made this an even worse read for me. The most frustrating thing to me was the sisterhood full of women, all witches, who want to break through a dreadfully repressive society end up being just as terrible as the brotherhood who enforce a cruel and terrible life upon all the women living in New England. Like, for once, can we not go there? But that’s my opinion.

This book was so meh to me. I didn't care about the heroine, I didn't care about her family, I didn't care about her plight, and I certainly didn't care about the love interest. I would have like it more if Nikki hadn't spent nearly every waking moment thinking about Jack and had more interactions with Jules. I felt like there needed to be more of a female camaraderie going on there. The only thing that was slightly interesting was the mythology, both the Greek and Egyptian. Though the Egyptian mythology brought forth was similar to that of another novel I read recently called Darker Still, so it stood out.I just didn't connect with the material at all.

I wanted to love this so much! Imperial Russia? Necromancy? Dark Magic? You had me at hello! Unfortunately, this is a 2 star book for me.The setting, folklore, and history have all been well researched and it shows. The paranormal aspects are fascinating and fit naturally within the story, even though there is a lot going on in that department. The plot drags a little in the beginning and middle, but the end makes up for it. Most of the characters felt very flat and nondescript, which is why I had trouble from time to time remembering who was who and why they were even there.Katerina is the only character that really evoked any emotion from me. I appreciated that she had ambitions and was willing to defy societal standards to be a doctor because she wanted to help people and do something with her life. She always wanted to take responsibility for her actions, particularly when related to her necromancy. At times Katerina could be frustrating. She kept most of her troubles to herself, despite having a very understanding and loving family. She also forgot or ignored good advice from people who knew the court going-ons (Stay away from Danilo, Katerina! Here, since you won’t stay away, have this ring that will keep you from falling under his spell! Damnit, why aren’t you wearing the ring! Well, now you’re screwed, Katerina! Have fun being engaged to, the painfully obvious, evil Danilo!). Despite her dumb decisions I still found myself liking Katerina. Regarding the “romance”, I never felt there was a build-up to Katerina and George’s relationship. Katrina just thinks of him as cold and standoffish most of the time, but at some point that does change. . . . I just can’t remember when. I didn’t love it but I didn't hate it either. There was nothing that made me incredibly happy, enraged, or sad it was all just kind of meh.