4.5 ⭐️ Ashley Poston just DOES something to me. This book was sooop gimmicky and tropey and I predicted the twists as the characters were introduced but I still felt dazzled by the end 🤷‍♀️ I had to hold myself back from giving this 5 stars.

An Ocean Apart had all the elements of something I would usually like, but it fell flat for me. The book tries to do way too much; a dystopian society, climate change, and even a bachelorette-style reality show, yet none of these elements are explored with any real depth. The story attempts biting social themes but never follows through with meaningful critique or commentary. Also, it leans heavily into YA territory, especially with the romance. The relationship takes up far too much space for how little it adds, and unfortunately, it wasn’t compelling enough to justify being front and center in my opinion.

I wanted to love this, but despite a strong premise, it ends up tackling everything and achieving very little.

I think i just found a new fantasy author! Sorcery and Small Magics was ridiculously easy to love. The magic is small and simple in the best way, the characters are deeply lovable, and the whole book just feels like a hug. Also… it’s kind of gay 🥹 which only made it better.

gah Red Rising I love to hate you 😏 Once it gets going, it’s a real page turner and I enjoyed the setting.

The writing itself was just okay, and I struggled to fully connect with Darrow. For someone portrayed as highly competent, his reluctance to lead a rebellion seemed to switch on and off depending on the needs of the plot. I also couldn’t quite buy the premise that an elite ruling class would regularly send their brightest young people off to slaughter each other.

Overall it’s 3 ⭐️ and I’m only continuing the series because I’m doing a buddy read with my man. We have been beating each other over the head over this one 🤣