This story is very grief-driven, though that isn't always super apparent. The relationships built also aren't always super healthy. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting and I can recognize that it is written well, but I felt very disconnected throughout.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.** CF Barrington presents a dark academic thriller in When We Were Killers. Readers follow our perspective character, Finn, upon his admittance to St Andrew's where he is to study Divinity. Finn is quickly swept up into the Clan dal Riata, a group of five friends including himself who are fascinated by pagan holidays of the Celts and Vikings. Nothing holds the attention of Magnus, the supposed leader of the clan, like the Viking Berserkers. Magnus is determined that a substance is responsible for the rage-fuelled aggression and resistance to pain of the berserkers and he is determined to find it. Even though a Clan member has already died in the search. Even though there is a very real threat that more might be next unless the search is stopped. When We Were Killers does for the Viking lore what The Secret History does for the Greeks and what If We Were Villains does for Shakespeare. An absolute mess of toxic friendship and love and lore. This is absolutely the pretention and the isolation of academia accompanied by the camaraderie and misery of research. The writing is sometimes slow and winding, but with a driving pace behind it that seems almost characteristic of the dark academia works that hit hardest for me. Barrington clearly researched the topics well and the cover art is the final nail in the coffin of impact for this book. When We Were Killers stands strong with the pillars of the genre and forges its own place beside them. Is it perfect? Undoubtedly not. But I couldn't ask for more from it. I will absolutely be looking into Barrington's backlist and will be purchasing my own copy of this book.

Charlie Cochet's writing is always a joy. Light-hearted and easy to get drawn into. Happy to be back in the world of Four Kings Security.

This series is arguably not the best, but it is fun and I'm enjoying it. I will read the next two volumes but it isn't something I need to keep as a shelf trophy.

This is cheesy and ridiculous. Definitely needs some editing work, but I liked it and it was fun. Definitely will continue to the next.

I love A Midsummer Night's Dream in its original form. It has to be one of my favorite Shakespeare works both to read and to watch on stage. For this log and review, I specifically read the 2008 adaptation by Ian Graham and illustrator Penko Gelev. The graphic novel adaptation was designed to enable someone who may struggle with Shakespearean language to be able to understand. This is done via various text blocks and footnotes throughout the graphic novel. As such, all of the pages are horribly cluttered visually because of these resources and it is very difficult as you begin to read to find the flow of the panels. If you do like and understand Shakespeare without assistance, this adaptation is not for you as it was difficult to enjoy the artwork and the story with all of the visual noise. I recognize that this does have a use and a place which is why I chose to leave the rating as 3 star rather than letting my enjoyment tank the rating.

I definitely preferred the author's first book over this one, which is annoying given that I tend to like vampire lore more than werewolf lore. Alas, this one was just fine.

A lot of people are going to hate this one. Please look up content warnings before reading. This one is sinister and seeping into the cracks. Immaculate vibes.

Stories within stories based on Chinese tradition. Companion novel to Starry River of the Sky. I think there is one more companion novel as well? Grace Lin's storytelling is a perfectly nostalgic vibe ❤️