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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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Stella is Currently Reading

Stella rated a book it was ok

We Who Will Die (Empire of Blood, #1)

by Stacia Stark (Goodreads Author)

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Stella said: " This book did not know what it wanted to be. Let's do a checklist of everything in this book.
- Roman empire inspired gladiators, emperor, guards
- A competition setting
- Aether magic that powers lamps and gadgets (including a two-way mirror to allow This book did not know what it wanted to be. Let's do a checklist of everything in this book.
- Roman empire inspired gladiators, emperor, guards
- A competition setting
- Aether magic that powers lamps and gadgets (including a two-way mirror to allow users to communicate)
- Ley lines travel system
- Sigil magic users (controlling elements etc)
- Vampires
- Wyverns
- Multiple Gods (and a baddie god trapped in a cage)
- Griffons
- Gorgon

Did the author blend every trending Booktok trope into one book? The worldbuilding was all over the place. The setting was often muddy and confusing, borrowing elements from every fantasy setting to have ever existed. The competition aspect was lengthly but barely needed. You could jump from 25% of the book to 80% of the book and you can understand the gist of the story. Was the middle part just filler? The editors should have sent another round of revisions before publication.

To make things worse, the story itself was super predictable and generic. It was as if the author didn't trust the reader. There really are in a literacy crisis. Every single chapter had to have a sentence about the FMC's motivation ("I have to save from brothers." "I couldn't do XYZ because I was too busy trying to keep my brothers alive"). GIRL WE GET IT. Boohoo you are in a pickle and they forced your hand. Please don't use this in every chapter to justify your actions. The same goes for Leon and Albion. They could not exist on the page without their dead kids being brought up. We also spend waaay too long with hints being dished up every chapter. For example, the revelation about Primus. As if his identity was really mysterious? It is so hard to read about a character who is so slow. In 2026, let's bring subtlety back.

Unfortunately, the million side charactersin this book did not add anything of value. The constant barrage of name dropping in the book felt like the author wanted every character to matter. In the end, none of them got proper development, and were used as crutches to advance the plot. Do we really need to have so many insignificant people? Back to the editing table please.

The state of fantasy is in dire need of a revamp. I really hope we see higher quality work published in the new year. ...more "

Dec 23, 2025 05:47PM · see review

Stella is currently reading

The Lily of Ludgate Hill (Belles of London, #3)

by Mimi Matthews (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 22, 2025 05:46PM

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Ana María and the Fox (The Luna Sisters, #1)

by Liana De la Rosa (Goodreads Author)

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Dec 17, 2025 07:04PM

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