Flash Reviews | #1 | January 1-9, 2016

I know myself. I know myself so well that I know if I try to post a full review here for every book I read, it won't happen. It will start out fine - nice formatted posts, lots of nice words, some cute little star ratings. Then, it will end, just as quickly as it began. "It's too much work to post a review on both my blog and Goodreads," I will say. I will be lying. It's not too much work. I just don't want to do it. Instead, I will do this: flash reviews. Every two weeks (or so), I will do a roundup of the reviews that I have written during that period of time. I will link to my full review and just do a short summary here. Sound good? Great.

001. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson 
I had high hopes for this book/series and, after finishing this first installment, they haven't been crushed. I really enjoy Elisa as a character and the relationships that she has (whether pre-existing or new) are the shining point in this book for me. The magic system left me fairly whelmed, but I still am confused about some things. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series. You can read my full review here. ★★★½

002. This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp 
While I was drawn towards some of the characters and felt an emotional connection to them, I was disappointed with this book as a whole. I appreciate the author's choice to write diversely, but I think the way that the book was
executed ended up only hurting the portrayal of these characters as diverse, as human, as multi-dimensional. The book sucked me in until the last page, which added to my enjoyment while reading, but the way that the antagonist is written really let me down. You can read my full review here.★★½

003. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers 
With a strong premise and intriguing time period, I expected to love this book. While I still enjoyed it, I was left feeling disappointed overall. I wanted more from the assassin-side of things and less from the political betrayal - which
isn't to say that I didn't enjoy that aspect, because I did, but, by the end, I wasn't ever shocked at who betrayed whom and what side everyone was actually on. I will continue on with this companion series because I enjoyed the glimpses of the following books' main characters and want to discover more about them. You can read my full review here. ★★★

004. The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine
This is one of the new releases of the month (and year) that I was really looking forward to. I will be honest in saying I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but I'm so happy that I fell in love with this book. The magic system is so unique and literal (the descriptions of the ice magic, in particular, blew me away) and the way that Fine incorporates it into the people's history and current lives was really well done. The main character, Elli, is bisexual (or queer, since I don't
know if the word "bisexual" exists in this world), and it isn't something that is wrong (as of how it is being written so far). I do have some worries about that looking forward, but I have faith that the author will do it justice. This book sets up a series wonderfully and I can't wait to continue on. You can read my full review here. ★★★★★