A. OBrien

Absolutely Gripping and Life Altering

Reviewed: 02-22-25

This is the most honest and raw book of life and every struggle, emotion, interaction, relationship, and decisions we as human make. The tedious and monotonous daily decisions we make that account for our entire lives. How we can lose ourselves in others struggles, in our own struggles. And how lonely we can feel in a room full of people. It’s a testimony, a valid and truthful account of what it means to be an adult and have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. How we can live for everyone else but ourselves and how living is the hardest decision of all.


Trigger-on page discussion of suicidal ideations.

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Such a fantastic ending

Reviewed: 02-18-25

I fell down the rabbit hole that is known as the WaxWays, and continued on through a binge of book 1 and then book 2. Waiting for book 3, knowing it was the final, made me nearly hold off on finding out the conclusion of these characters that felt so vivid and real. The perfect blend of a pursuit for revenge and the knowledge to get you there, and what you are willing to lose to feed your darkest desires. With calling of friendships well loved from YA Books and a fury burning enemies to lovers duo from the likes of New Adult. Magic, and wizards, wands and dragons, ancient secrets and city plots, The WaxWays is everything you love about fantasy books crammed into a trilogy that’s literally bursting with perfection. I so desperately wish I could start from the beginning. Sitting in a crowded WaxWay room, waiting for the candle to burn down right before a striking girl sets her fingers down to pinch its flame.

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The Favorites is THE favorite

Reviewed: 01-21-25

I was enamored with this cover from the first time
I saw it. It reminded me so much of a Renaissance painting. The colors, the raw emotion, there was something in the image that conveyed YEARNING. The sense of longing and bottomless near toxic desire. This is 100% the reason I needed to read this book.

It wasn’t until I hit play on audible that I realized it was not just a full cast but a FULL cast. The reason for this will be apparent from the first page of Katarina Shaw’s story, but initially I wasn’t sure how anyone would keep up with so many changing dialogues. And yet, it was seamless. You didn’t just read the story of Shaw and Roche, you lived it, felt it, breathed it. From the preteen years of names in a heart to the epic heartache on a sidewalk in the pouring rain. The highs and lows, and sometimes rock bottoms, you were there as all the key figures surrounding the skating couple gave testimony and gossip to nearly two decades of story.

In a sea of endless books with the same plots, arcs, and tropes, The Favorites stand out with a refreshing ice dance duo aiming for the Olympics and a documentary style overlay woven between the narration of Kat telling her own story. Descriptions of archival footage and cellphone videos, blogs and flip phones from the early 2000s, give a nostalgic grounding to what would normally be a confusing narrative to follow. Characters developed on page and through those interview/ video POV’s create an entirely new depth of realism.

At the end, I’m incredibly satisfied albeit drained emotionally from a whirlwind lifetime read over 450ish pages. But there is one thing I can say for sure, the feeling of yearning that drew me at first? That will be how I’ll always remember The Favorites, a story that continued chapter after chapter to evoke a yearning for more.

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1 person found this helpful

The narration truly turned a great whodunit into the best

Reviewed: 11-28-24

Everything about this read was fantastic. The true crime podcast plot can be very tiresome even for those of us that love true crime podcast lol. It doesn’t translate the best in books and audio is even more hit or miss. But this book was not only witty and engaging it was down right hysterical at times. The audiobook could have been a drab affair but the narration and production of incorporating the podcast actually INTO the audio as if you were listening along was brilliant. It leaves you totally engrossed in the story and characters and I’m so sad this is such a unique gem. It’s going to be very difficult to find a listen this great.

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A captivating high fantasy academia book twist with the world of the old fae and bargains

Reviewed: 11-22-24

A book that has remnants of long ago lands and dreams filled with faeries. A winding tale of friendship, love, betrayal and determination. A story that feels as if you were told it by your mother on chilly evenings and warm summer nights not only as a cautionary tale but of a testament to the power you wield inside yourself. Stunning storytelling and characters that develop in front of your eyes as if they were apart of your own history. The Scholar and The Last Faerie Door evokes the emotions of a young child dreaming of magic and the lessons of adulthood that stay in our hearts until the very last page.

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Nostalgic and Riveting right down to the last page

Reviewed: 11-21-24

This book was so very good. It was not exactly a dark academia book, in the traditional sense but I could very much see why the publisher would market it as such. There’s pursuit of knowledge albeit maybe more of a personal sort of knowledge, there’s a tragedy a group of friends are desperately trying to solve. There’s finding oneself and coming to terms with one’s self. Grief and acceptance and friendship. It’s a bit of a twist on what long time DA readers would consider the genre but it does fit in a strange way. In a good way I suppose?

The word nostalgic is ironic (once you read it) but it truly does feel nostalgic. Even though I was not born during the initial time period of the book it still resonated with so many parts of me. The storyline was so intriguing and unique. The aspect of memory visiting, and how even what we think we truly know is not ever truly real. What is real? Reality? The here and now? It’s a kaleidoscope of emotions, moments, and pieces of time. Where everyone you meet or will meet or have met hold a singular fragment of that same meeting only through a different piece of color. And depending where you target your thoughts, you could end up catching a glimpse of another life in another time with another person.

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Hours of Academia in all forms

Reviewed: 11-20-24

M.L.Rio’s and Olivie Blake’s short stories were the main reason I purchased the anthology back in 2023. It felt like forever waiting in the audiobook, and while I found quite a few new authors that I will go peruse the shelves for, I could not make myself enjoy the female narrator. Her pacing was much too fast and felt as if she missed every comma and inflection. She read all of the female narrations so it was not something I could get away from. The ssss of the S everytime she spoke just made it hard to listen to and overall I would have preferred someone else.

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Probably in the minority but I expected more

Reviewed: 10-13-24

While I was intrigued with the world building of magic, the town itself and nearly all of the secondary characters, I just could not connect with Zo. She felt whiney and oblivious and annoyed me more than anything. Her inner monologue was tedious and had a very “ Woe Is Me” aura to it. I did enjoy the book enough to continue through each chapter to find out what happened next, but by the end I really only want to continue the series for every character BUT Zo.

Conclusion: Will I read the next book? Yes. But I don’t think I’ll be putting it at the top of my “must read immediately list.”

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Dark Academia meets Hades and Persephone

Reviewed: 10-07-24

Really surprised me how much I enjoyed this book. A lot of DA is being marketed as such without actually being DA, I’m looking at you A Study In Drowning. And this one not was fulfilled the DA slot but added in the Underworld and Gods. It was one I found myself hitting play for the next chapter more than once.

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Beautiful Story

Reviewed: 03-20-24

While this truly is a beautiful and moving story of loss and love, new beginnings and a bit of magic it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I’m not sure how to exactly explain it, as the book is very well written and engaging, but it was also melancholy in its entirety. There’s always a sense of underlying sadness even when the sadness brings joy. This made the many hours of audio sorta feel like a rainy day that drug on and un. The tempo of the story never exactly escalated and instead followed a steady stream. I suppose this would be a truly relaxing read for some. Unfortunately for me I need a little more variances in my preferred reading.

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