Jenny Jose

I loved the first part, except for how much Violet objectified Xaden. A couple chapters after their first kiss, I personally felt as though the writing started to get sloppy. The battle at the end was a little too much for me, and I completely forgot there was a war expect for when the gryphons showed up. (It seemed irrelevant overall, so my brain decided to forget it.) The transition from 'enemies' to 'lovers' was real hasty. I also didn't like how some characters basically had a few lines and were later forgotten. I also didn't like how Violet hated that she was going to be a cadet before Parapet, but after she was like 'No, Dain, I won't leave.' I guess she felt proud of herself or something, but later she was hating on Basgaith and still refused to leave the Riders Quadrant. The first 800 or so pages were mostly good, though, save those critiques.

I'll start with the pros. So the plot was good. Pretty much all I can say on that account, and that's the only reason this book has three starts. (Well, that and my love for Mako.) Now, the cons. To start with - Nere Hanson. Her type of girl I don't like. I think she could have been one of my most favorite characters in ever if she was just a little less naive. I don't think anyone would be so naive in real life. At the end, after Mako's funeral, I believe she said somewhere that 'all my friends were here except for one.' (I was crying then, because I didn't want Mako to die. He was just a lost child (who admittedly crippled someone).) Suddenly, I didn't dislike Nere. I was all 'she cares so much; how could I ever dislike her?!' Then I realized she was talking about DAI. Seriously? You're thinking about your ex/maybe-not-ex talking stage rather than the child who voluntarily died for you? Then I decided to hate her. (And I read the 'trees' part, and I don't care.) Also, I hate how the book portrays Wasp as a one-dimensional villain (except for that one part where Dai talks to Nere about Maia); I have sympathy for them in most stories. So yes, she's my favorite, and you can call me crazy, but she is. And if you criticize me about Wasp or Nere or Mako, you will never hear the end of my talking 😊😊😊

Wanted to love it, but I didn't. 'How to End a Love Story' was not my kind of book. In the beginning, I liked the detail about Michelle and stuff, and the writing was great. Then it felt really rushed. After Helen ate those gummies and fell down that trail with Grant, she was suddenly so... friendly isn't the word, I can't really describe it. It felt like Yulin Kuang was just speeding all the details up to get to **other** scenes. I skipped them. At the end, I liked Grant's proposal and there conflicting emotions, but I felt like there needed to be more emotional connection throughout the book earlier. (One of those few emotional scenes was when they talked about Michelle's suicide.) If it included a bit more emotional development, I think I would have fairly liked it. Despite all that, I loved the cover!

This book had me thinking about it for so much time; and even though it's been so long, it's still my favourite as of now! (I did finish off the book with a serious hate to anyone named 'James Hook'. He was fine at the beginning BUT THEN. HOW DARE HE. Also maybe a sort of prejudice against Rhian? I just wish he didn't always betray Rafal like boy what?! 😒🤦) I loved how there was so many perspectives, and it's made me rethink what I've been told about the hexology, as I've only read the last two books in the series. I love this book more than I loved the series, and I was absolutely crazy about them! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes stories about loyalty, choices, and how things are not always as they seem. (HUGE TWIST AT THE END. Had me put the book down to process what it meant for the hexology and doubt literally everything about it.)