This book was very disappointing. I kept seeing it hyped on book blogs, Bookstagram, and BookTok. I was super excited to read this and then even more excited once I got a notification from the library telling me that I got to jump the line for my chance to read this book. I can't entirely if this was a case of overhyped and then not so good, or if I just didn't enjoy this book.
This was a 5-star read until the end. The end felt too rushed for my liking.
I think that this was my favorite of all of the Twilight series. Getting this look from Edward's point of view was amazing. There were holes filled that I didn't even notice needed to be filled in the first place. You can really see just how much Bella meant to him and why she meant that much in the first place. I definitely recommend this book out of any of the others.
This book was a great start to my year.
This book had me feeling a wide range of emotions as I went through it. While predictable I was still holding my breath throughout the entire thing. Practice Girl was a pretty good representation of what high school is actually like. Kids are mean and they, unfortunately, hold the ability to hurt others especially when they are working together. Laure did an incredible job with this book and with painting a beautiful story of friendship, love, loss, heartache, and determination.
Beckett knew what she wanted and that was to be loved and respected for who she truly was. But she is also a child and a child with her head in the clouds and her heart on her sleeve. As someone who wore their heart on their sleeve as well, I know very well that this just leads to heartbreak and disappointment. You spend more time being taken advantage of than actually being valued. Beckett's journey to discover herself and reshape her views is one to not be missed.
**UPDATE**
I finished the book and it was okay, enough to move it from a 2-star to a 3-star review instead.
When reading the first read I did enjoy it; I really did. Trying to read this fully I just could not do it. I made it 15% through before I DNF'd it. I wanted to like this, I wanted to at least finish it, but I could not do it. This is definitely the book for someone, but I am just not that person. I can not really describe what it is that made this book not the book for me, but I can tell you that I know it isn't for me. I think I may be a bit too old for the target audience's extra reach. Maybe I will enjoy this book at a later time, so I will be keeping it. I will try again one day, but I think that I will give it quite a bit of time before I try again. Instead of trying to get myself to continuously go back to it right now I went ahead and packed it since we are moving soon. I want to be able to give this book the best chance at truly being enjoyed, and trying to force myself to read it just isn't the way to go.
I have 3 disclaimers to make.
This book confused the heck out of me, especially at the beginning.
I won this book and received my copy for free.
Also, I never received my copy so I am doing my review based on the copy I was able to get my hand on, which was an audiobook. This means that some of the things that I did not quite get or understand stayed that way for me regardless of completion of this book.
With that out of the way, I really did enjoy this book. I liked the mix of modern times and modern technology with magic and more ancient ways of being. It was a mix that I have never read or experienced before. I think that I have gathered that Jesse was/is trans and is a person of color, specifically black. From outside research, I have gathered that a common and huge plot point in this book is common in Szabo's writing and that makes me uncomfortable.
I am white as can be so I cannot speak on the discomfort and wrongness I felt with the push on the violence towards persons of color. I can say that there was quite a bit of discomfort with the idea of a group of white women inflicting violence against gay men, especially with how it was written in this and What Big Teeth. It just seemed pushed and I can say that I will not be reading What Big Teeth after my reading of this book and my outside research.
Amazing. 10/10 would recommend it.
This book was INCREDIBLE! Absolutely incredible. Once I got into it I could not put it down I just HAD to keep going and know what happen at the end. I felt like I had been a part of the journey that Ziva, Kellyn, and her sister. I was shocked at the end when the big reveal came up, I still do not trust him and I am about a quarter of the way through book #2. We will see what happens as we go on, but it has been such a long time (I want to say I was in middle school) since I was DYING for a sequel to a book to be released. This book cost me a lot of sleep and I had many tired days, but it is 100% worth it.
I related with Ziva on such an emotional and mental level, and it was amazing to see a character like me that was not essentially "useless" or where the whole point of the story was that at the end they become a brand new person who is no longer anxious and can be a perfectly normal member of society.
I literally bawled like a baby at the end. The last couple of chapters gripped my heart and would not let go. This is the best book that I have ever read.
































































































































