This felt like a book written for fans, packed with little references to other books and character cameos. And while it's certainly fun, I didn't feel like Sunrise on the Reaping added anything totally new to the series. You get more insight into Haymitch's games and what turned him into the curmudgeon we know as well see the initial seeds of resistance that grow into the events of the main series. Definitely worth reading, but I think the big hype online made me expect a bit more.

A warm hug of a book that makes you slow down, realize all you have to be grateful for, and appreciate the world and your connection to it

A well-written and well-narrated account of how a bright and talented woman got manipulated into surrendering her life to a small cult in Idaho. Lenz is incredibly persuasive - at each major step closer to the cult you could see how and why she made her decisions. Really heartbreaking but an impactful story

Love the court politics, love the scheming and manipulation, love the card readings and magical intrigue. A well-executed slow paced political fantasy with such smart and exacting characters. Don’t love dream sequences personally which made part of this challenging, and I never really understood all the characters/houses or the magic system, but still a solid book

This series is so fun, but book three may be my least favorite so far. The complexity of the level/world prevented me from being fully invested since I never really understood what was going on lol. Seeing the interactions between crawlers and Carl trying to preserve his humanity are the best parts. I also switched to audio for book three and really think that’s the best/only way to consume this series

Reaper's Gale has so many elements of what I've loved in this series, but there was a lot holding me back from truly loving this. I was so happy to continue the Midnight Tides storyline. I loved the Sengar and Beddict storylines, Tehol and Bugg, the brother dynamics, Rhulad's rule, all of it, and was happy to continue that here. Steve also provides a cutting commentary on empire and greed through the interplay of Letheris, the Tiste Edur, the Bonehunters, and the Awl that is the main strength of Reaper's Gale over other installments. Despite loving a lot of the individual components, I had a hard time getting through this. As always, there were a lot of POVs and jumping around and while I was excited for the convergence of multiple storylines, I was less invested in this book's plot overall. By the end, I couldn't help feeling as though a lot of it was unnecessary, but I'm sure those plot points were secretly just seeds planted for the remaining 3 books. Overall this book felt like it suffered from middle book syndrome despite being book 7 or 10, full of getting the right people to the right places with some occasional battles and confrontations, but nothing resolute. Thinking this one will fall to my 6th favorite of 7 before House of Chains.

This had me giggling and kicking my feet reading until 3am. It’s hard to find a romance novel that balances emotional buildup, fully formed characters that have meaning and purpose outside of the relationship, a compelling plot, and lack of cheesiness, but this series hits them all for me. I did find some of the miscommunication and dialogue a little annoying, but it’s minor in comparison to how much I loved this.