Category: fiction
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Book Review: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I picked up The Secret History because I’d seen a number of people describe it as a classic piece of dark academia. People who love it seem to REALLY love it, and whenever I see a fandom that’s devoted to a book in that way, it makes me curious. I can absolutely see why many…
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Book Review: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where Are You was such a poignant, emotional look into what it is to love and live and grow older. It was an eerily familiar depiction of the existential crisis that sometimes hits when you look at your life and it isn’t what you thought or expected it to be. I loved the…
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Book Review: The Reckoning (The Zodiac Academy #3) by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Zodiac Academy is one of the most addictive series I’ve read. It’s dramatic and full of early adulthood angst, but the over-the-top nature of the books is part of the series’ charm. Now that so much of the magic system and universe is established, I…
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Book Review: If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

I love a good dark academia novel, and If We Were Villains is one of my favourites that I’ve read in some time. I can’t even recall where I first started seeing positive reviews about it since it’s been around for a while, but it lived up to the hype. Set in a conservatory school…
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Book Review: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic is one of those classics that many people I know reference but that I’d never actually read myself. I listened to this one on audiobook and I have to say, I get the hype. It was a great story of love, life, growing up and growing older, all with an understated aspect of…
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Book Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

I picked up Daughter of the Moon Goddess on a great sale at Homesense partly because I thought the cover was gorgeous and partly because of the excellent reviews I’d seen on Instagram from reviewers with similar reading preferences. It sounded like a promising premise, but I was utterly unprepared for how all-consuming this book…
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Book Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Ruin and Rising was the epic finale of the Shadow and Bone series, and while it took some turns that weren’t how I wanted to see things play out, it was still an extraordinarily entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Where Siege and Storm was a little slower-paced, and a little more focused on the…
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Book Review: Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Siege and Storm is the second book in the Shadow and Bone series and I thought it was an excellent sequel. The series is a trilogy, so naturally, I found this book to be heavy on the build for the inevitable epic finale. Still, even with a slower pace from the first book, it certainly…
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Book Review: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Legends and Lattes was one of the most unique fantasy novels I’ve read in some time. There was, of course, a plot, but what pulls you into the story are the cozy café vibes and the relationship dynamics between the characters. There wasn’t a huge amount of movement or action, but it didn’t matter to…
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Book Review: These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

I was hesitant about buying These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan, despite the amazing things I’d heard. The tropes all sounded like things I’d enjoy, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to pull the trigger and buy a physical copy right away. I borrowed it from my library in audiobook format instead though, and I’m…
