Mini Reviews – Slingshot, The Gilded Wolves & The Glass Castle❤︎

Hello Bookworms, today’s mini-review is a lovely one. Do you know why? It’s because ALL of these books are AMAZING! If you are looking for your next read, pick any one of these and you will be satisfied.

Summary:

Grace Welles had resigned herself to the particular loneliness of being fifteen and stuck at a third-tier boarding school in the swamps of Florida, when she accidentally saves the new kid in her class from being beat up. With a single aim of a slingshot, the monotonous mathematics of her life are obliterated forever…because now there is this boy she never asked for. Wade Scholfield.

With Wade, Grace discovers a new way to exist. School rules are optional, life is bizarrely perfect, and conversations about wormholes can lead to make-out sessions that disrupt any logical stream of thoughts.

So why does Grace crush Wade’s heart into a million tiny pieces? And what are her options when she finally realizes that 1. The universe doesn’t revolve around her, and 2. Wade has been hiding a dark secret. Is Grace the only person unhinged enough to save him?

My Thoughts:

This book took me by SURPRISE! In the first few chapters, I was certain I would rate it a maximum of 3 stars. The main characters seemed arrogant, annoying and the book started in the weirdest way(Grace, the main character was yelling at her teacher, who she believed was her soulmate). It was EXCEPTIONALLY bizarre. Thankfully, the book went off in another direction, and it evolved into a charming romance.

Although the main character, Grace was slightly unlikeable at the start(by ~slightly~…. I mean I loathed her..), I DID grow to like her(a.k.a. tolerate her). You may be thinking, “how can you enjoy a book so much and rate it so high without loving the main character?” Well, let me tell you, my friends. The answer is one word…Wade. Wade CARRIED this story in my eyes.

So let’s talk a little about Wade. I LOVE HIM! There I said it… He is perfect, and can he PLEASE BE REAL!!! I’m not asking for much, all I want is for a fictional character to be real!? Simple enough, RIGHT!?! Okay, this review is ~very~ chaotic, but it’s a reflection of myself and my inner voice. Long story short, this book takes you on a FRUSTRATING and tumultuous roller coaster, and you are forced along for the ride. When reading this book, expect to laugh, to cry, to yell, and to wonder if your life has meaning. HAVE FUN!! (evil laughter….)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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Now I don’t think you guys understand HOW MUCH I want to talk about the ending. I NEED TO TELL SOMEONE. I AM DYING. Just take a look at my Goodreads review, written about ten minutes after I dreadfully realized that that’s how THE BOOK ENDED??!?!? :

i’m going to cry, i’m going to cry, i’m going to cry. But none of the tears are coming out. this book, these characters, the ENDING absolutely ruined me. NO, I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS. Someone take this book away from me before I read it another ten times. (now if this doesn’t tell you I was devastated…. I don’t know what will).

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Overall, I recommend this emotional, intense and ~draining~ novel to all of you romance lovers. This book more than deserved that rating I gave it. The only downside was my ~slight~ dislike towards Grace. AND, before I go, here’s the thing. Slingshot is the type of book that you either love or you hate. There is no in-between. Some claim it’s the worst romance they’ve ever read(I beg to disagree but to each their own…) and others(hint: me) LOVE IT, WILL RE-READ IT 100 TIMES, AND WANT TO BE BURIED WITH IT(okay, that’s a little much, but you get it).

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Summary:

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

My Thoughts:

I loved and didn’t love a few things in this novel. Let’s get what I loved out of the way.

I LOVED :

• DIVERSE CHARACTERS(GIMME GIMME GIMME)
• THE WORLD SETTING(AHHHH I LOVE IT!)
• THAT IMAGERY(MRS. ROSHANI TEACH ME YOUR WAYS)
• THE PLOT(DON’T GET ME STARTED😤)
• MYTHOLOGICAL REFERENCES(YES YES AND YES!)

I DIDN’T LOVE:

• I think you can ALL guess what I’m going to say. THAT ENDING! WHY OH WHY! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?
• GIMME MORE ROMANCE! I am a sucker for a cute couple, okay!
• I wish there was more character-development, but at least we have a sequel!!!(which I am reading RIGHT NOW!!!!)

Well. Where do we start? Where OH WHERE!?! The Gilded Wolves had the cutest characters; Séverin(Mr. grumpy pants), Leila(I LOVE YOU), Hypnos(we live for his attitude), Enrique(definition of cute), Zofia(my little nerdy girl), Tristan(sniff sniff, *hugs*). So, those are all the main characters that we get to know and love, and hopefully, we learn more in the sequel! 

Plot-wise, this story was EXCEPTIONAL! Books that revolve around “heists“, solving puzzles and those sorts of tropes are the BEST! And The Gilded Wolves was no exception, as I was promptly hooked. The historical atmosphere only added to the intensity, and along with stunning characters and an action-packed plot, Erin=hooked.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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I would recommend The Gilded Wolves to those who loved Six of Crows, and who enjoy complex characters, worlds and EXTREMELY ANNOYING ENDINGS! Now, don’t get me wrong, this book was FABULOUS! My only wish is that the sequel holds more. More character-development, more romance, more beautiful writing and more action!

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Summary:

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.”

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town — and the family — Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

My Thoughts:

This book was phenomenal. And coming from someone who’s go-to genre is YA fantasy and contemporary, this memoir was a significant change. But I’d be lying if I said the book was perfect. But that’s the thing about The Glass Castle. The reason the book is THIS GOOD is because it isn’t perfect.

I rated this memoir five stars because of a combination of the striking writing(which was an IMMENSE part of the book), a unique story, and the reflections it forces its readers to have.

This review is significantly shorter than the rest in this post, and that is because unlike the rest of these books, The Glass Castle speaks for itself. Nothing I can say will be able to come ~close~ to how brilliant this book is. And it can only be discovered by being read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

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Once again, here’s another edition of “Erin has been living under a rock”! Today it presents; Erin didn’t even know The Glass Castle has a movie! But the real question is, should I watch it? Let me if the film is good below!

Overall, The Glass Castle is one of those books that needs to be read. For me, it enforced some lessons I had already learned and taught me some new ones. It is evident when reading how ~raw~ and real the story is. Although I could NEVER comprehend what it must have felt like being in Jeannette Walls’ shoes, for a few hundred pages, I was able to imagine.

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Thanks for reading? PLEASE READ ALL THESE BOOKS!! OKAY, THANKS!

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