Edit: I brought down my rating by 1 star because I know this book is objectively bad and the truth is that I enjoyed it bc I knew it was bad so I had Edit: I brought down my rating by 1 star because I know this book is objectively bad and the truth is that I enjoyed it bc I knew it was bad so I had no expectation. Unfortunately, the novel itself had a lot of bad writing that I don't think would've seen the light of day if it had been written by anybody else. I could dissect the story but I feel like I might actually end up giving it the plot it lacked by doing so. ..................
You should go into this expecting faerie smut and little plot and then you'd enjoy it. I know SJM said this is the dirtiest book she's written but somehow this fled my mind until I started reading this so if I had gone into it wanting to read the smut, I would've given it 5 stars.
I enjoyed myself though, so here's my 3-star rating
I loved this too much to write a proper and well-articulated review so here are the main points I loved:
- the world and magic: they are very well-d4.5
I loved this too much to write a proper and well-articulated review so here are the main points I loved:
- the world and magic: they are very well-developed and so prominent in the story, I absolutely loved the way they are done. As a big fan of magic in fantasy books, I absolutely adored all of it, I adored the way its return was described and the people's reactions too. It's been a while since I read a book with such active magic, especially of this sort, with all kinds of magical creatures in it and I'm so excited for Ravencaller now.
The world and its lore seems pretty big and I'm very curious to see how it will be written in Ravencaller.
- the characters: honestly? I didn't find even one boring POV this time, all of them have their big roles in the story and each of them is very interesting to follow. Of them all, my favourite character is Puffy ...more
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book.
I literally devoured this book in two days because after We Hunt tThank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book.
I literally devoured this book in two days because after We Hunt the Flame I just had to know what happens next.
I love the story and all of the characters and their dynamics. I'm just so engrossed with everything they do, I really like them. TBH, I didn't expect to enjoy this duology as much as I did since it's not my typical read but it's because of books like these two that I still try YA every once in a while.
The conclusion to the Sands of Arawiya duology was intense and had me on the edge of my seat (intensely cross-stitching while listening to the narrators bring the story to life) from start to finish. I loved all of the small twists and turns this book offered and although some of them were predictable, I still enjoyed them. What I actually really appreciated about the end of this story is that after the big baddie was defeated we actually had some time with the characters to see the aftermath of everything that happened and the last few chapters were the sweetest.
Altair's storyline is one of my favourites, he's my favourite character out of all of them XD. I loved how his story progressed and I just needed to include this in my review.
As for Zafira and Nasir, I really enjoyed reading about them and how their relationship developed more throughout the book. They didn't have it easy, especially with Zafira's book drama (that's all the context I'm gonna give). I also found their mutual pining kinda funny.
Overall, I loved We Free the Stars very much, it was an amazing conclusion to the duology and would gladly read Hafsah Faizal's next book....more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I read a good political book and this one is even an LGBTQ+ Scifi with a murder mystery thrownI thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I read a good political book and this one is even an LGBTQ+ Scifi with a murder mystery thrown in there too.
I absolutely loved the politics and the schemes that were going on in Winter's Orbit. Royal shenanigans are some of my favourite, especially when there's the overarching danger of war.
While there is a setting up period until the real action begins, the story itself starts from the very beginning and I was engrossed from start to finish. I absolutely loved the characters and the way Kiam and Jainan's relationship developed. I also found it so funny, but also relatable, how both of them behaved around each other from the beginning. They were considerable, shy and awkward because of the unusual events surrounding their marriage, it was very entertaining and I quickly found myself flying through the pages.
The book does deal with the result of an abusive relationship and the person trying to overcome it and also coming to learn that not all relationships work like that. I liked the way it was done.
As for the twist at the end, I personally didn't see it coming but that might have been because I was so engrossed with Kiam and Jainan's dynamics that I might have missed the clues.
I loved this books so much and I would recommend it if you like politics in your books and some awkward mutual pining....more
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review galley.
I actually really enjoyed this book. And since I just finished it, I Actual rating 3.75
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review galley.
I actually really enjoyed this book. And since I just finished it, I have to say that I absolutely loved the epilogue, it ended on such an interesting note about 2 characters that I didn't expect, that I just need to read We Free the Stars ASAP.
I'm used to YA being a bit more fast-paced than adult fantasy, so I was kind of surprised how slow it was in the beginning but once the story started going, I got really immersed into it. I'm quite curious to see what's next and I really enjoyed the world the author has built.
I really liked the character interactions and how they got closer. It's been a while since I read a YA book with unlikely allies like that.
I also love the setting. These kind of settings are actually some of my favourite because of how rarely I come across them in books.
While I did see some of the twists in the story coming, what I didn't expect of even think about is the events that were told in the epilogue which is what made me especially excited about the sequel....more
I really enjoyed this one. I liked the second one more though because I personally connected more with the characters in Dani Brown but ChloRating 3.5
I really enjoyed this one. I liked the second one more though because I personally connected more with the characters in Dani Brown but Chloe Brown was still an enjoyable read and Red is certainly a very adorable character.
I kind of wish this book went in more detail when it comes ro Red's past relationship experience the way in Dani Brown it was made very clear why Dani felt about relationships the way she did. As a whole, I feel like in this one their feelings developed very quickly (but honestly these books are purely based on lust first, so who can say) and I wish we'd had a bit more time in their heads to see how they'd come to love each other.
But other than that, I really enjoyed it. The main character had an invisible disability as well, so if you're looking for a romcom with this type of character, I think you might like this book....more
Since I'm in a romcom mood, I decided that it's time to read this one. Yes, I started from book 2 and next on my tbr is book 1.
I loved this book, I loSince I'm in a romcom mood, I decided that it's time to read this one. Yes, I started from book 2 and next on my tbr is book 1.
I loved this book, I love the humour and the characters. It's rare for me to start reading a romcom and know that I'm gonna love it from the very beginning but it happened with this one.
I don't really have much to say since I thoroughly enjoyed it. There's some good anxiety rep I'd say and some good relationship talk which I absolutely loved and appreciated. I've even preordered the 3rd book now ...more
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC.
"Perfect of Paper" is a very enjoyable read that has a few very good conversatThank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC.
"Perfect of Paper" is a very enjoyable read that has a few very good conversations about sexuality, relationship advice, it discusses internalized biphobia for a bit and is a very wholesome read.
I was hesitant between giving it 3 and 4 stars and settled for 3.5, since this is an ARC I decided to settle for 4 stars because the things I didn't enjoy are actually less than the ones I did.
The story itself gives a lot to think about. I particularly enjoyed the focus on bisexuality since the main character is bi herself and how dating the opposite gender doesn't make you less queer than dating the same gender. I really liked the love story in the book and even though at first I thought it happened a bit too fast, I loved it nonetheless.
While I didn't like and agree with Darcy's choices and acts in the book, I have to admit it's quite understandable, even if what she did isn't actually right. The same thing goes about Brooke and Ray, but in the end, everything was sorted out so that's why I also decided to stick to 4 stars....more
This was a light and enjoyable read. I do think the whole plot that revolves around lying is kind of a mess but not necessarilyActual rating 3.5 stars
This was a light and enjoyable read. I do think the whole plot that revolves around lying is kind of a mess but not necessarily in a bad way, that's just a result of the Web of lies the main character wove.
I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't give it full 4 stars because I did find the plot dragging here and there and even though I completely understand the conservative parents thing, I still don't like it ...more
DNF @ 74% I rated it because I read so much of it.
Warning: This review is going to be a mess. It will be kind of like bullet points and me expanding oDNF @ 74% I rated it because I read so much of it.
Warning: This review is going to be a mess. It will be kind of like bullet points and me expanding on them.
Yet another book that lies in the synopsis.
A heist, "a pair of reluctant heroes who take on a world-ending prophecy, a malicious royal plot, and most of all, their feelings for each other" is what I was offered. But where is it?
The book starts off pretty well actually. While I didn't think the idea was especially original, I liked it, and since I've decided to give a chance to some YA books whose premise I find interesting, I decided to read it. To be clear, I listened to the audiobook because this is what gets me through YA as I'm not especially fond of this age category but I still believe the ideas are good.
What I love about YA, in particular, is that it's faster-paced than adult fantasy books which makes me read it way faster than said adult SFF. The book starts off immediately with the action and throughs you right into the story which is what I liked. However, the counter-argument to this could be that it doesn't give you time to get to know the main character, Rags, but don't worry, you won't learn much about the others either.
I actually didn't have any problems with the book per se up until the halfway point when I realized what the pattern is and when I realized that this book...isn't really a heist story, nor would it have a group of reluctant heroes who are also friends, nor would it have the gay romance I was promised. Also, the title doesn't make any sense to me.
Now granted, I did DNF at 74% (which I decided to do after writing the paragraph above) so maybe it will be revealed what it means in the last 26%. Here's why I think it doesn't make sense: Cab, the master of one in question doesn't even have that many chapters dedicated to him. He is the so-called master of one, but he's barely in the story. Also, I feel like it should've been titled with something that makes more sense but in the end, they might end up merging all of the things they are masters of into one and therefore become the master of one, or maybe one of them would be this sole master at the end but frankly? I couldn't care less.
The POV pattern: I mentioned that I noticed the pattern in the book and here's the thing, I usually don't care about POV switch patterns, you do what works for you and I'll complain about it because I find dedicating individual chapters to different characters extremely limiting. Like, you are telling a story in the 3rd person, which is one of the freest ways of telling a story, you can literally have a POV about a stone but you choose to limit yourself to chapters dedicated to a specific character when you should be able to switch between POVs at any point. But I digress, that's just my preferred method of storytelling.
My problem here is the way it's done. It starts off with Rags, one of the main characters and we have not one, not 2, not 3, not even 10, not even 15 chapters in a row about Rags. We have TWENTY chapters in a row about Rags and chapter 21 is when the authors do the first POV switch. Now granted, this is their way of setting up the story, introducing us to the splot and two of the characters, but this could've easily been done by introducing us to the other 5 characters early on instead of adding them as the story progresses. I can see why they thought this was a good idea. In the book, after Rags woke up Shining Talon (honestly, IDK how anybody can take themselves seriously with a name like that in a YA novel but I'll talk about this later) it was revealed that Rags is master of five and Shining Talon boi is master of six but before they are able to activate their whatever they have to do it in order, so that's how we get to Cab, who's master of One. Ironically, his is not the first POV we get after Rags, instead, it's the master of three's POV but NVM.
So after the master of one has awakened his lizard-looking animal companion, he gets an idea (in some profound spiritual way) of where to find the master of two. That's when we get this person's POV and this is how the story progresses and here's the POV pattern I was talking about. With the introduction of the new masters, we get a new POV... However, this pattern doesn't make that much sense because the second POV was Somhairle's, who's master of 3, and Rag's supposedly master of 5, but he's the main character, so I guess it doesn't matter? I don't even know if this makes any sense.
My point is, this type of character introduction is very risky and very limited for a standalone because it doesn't give us enough time in the characters' heads before they get to do their thing.?. I wasn't excited or worried about any of them this entire time because: I didn't know them and I knew they'd do their things and nobody would risk killing them. Basically, even though the main conflict is painted to be this big thing and the characters have these shards planted in their hearts by this old evil wizard, there are no real stakes against them.
Why's that? Glad you asked because this is my next point.
Character ages don't make sense: The reason I said that they aren't afraid they're gonna be killed off is that in order for them to find their animal companion to be a master of, they have to be of age. However, it is never specified what that age is. Rags is about 16, I'm pretty sure Inis is anywhere between 15 and 20, Cab is a deserter, so he's either 18 or older but he reads like a child, Somhairle is 18 but he reads like a child as well and as I said, it's never specified what is coming of age for this book. Does it mean that they get to activate their powers when they come of age, or do they get to do it after they've come of age, at whatever age they are at? This is what I find confusing the most. Granted, this weapon (the thing with the animal companions and them being masters of these animals is an actual weapon, I know, confusing and I'm not doing it justice either) was sealed off for centuries but it still doesn't say what's coming of age. But basically, the characters don't have to be afraid of being killed because nobody wants to wait until their coming of age. Given how vague this "coming of age" is I'm not surprised. They'd either have to wait for another 16 years or maybe even 70.
This book is the authors' YA debut and from what I saw, they've had adult fantasy books previously but I actually thought they had written middle grade instead because Master of One reads like a book that doesn't quite fit in YA but it doesn't fit in middle grade either. IDK about you but I signed in for YA and I wanted YA. This is more like middle-grade with older characters. Also, having a character named Shining Talon (which is the SHORT version of his name) doesn't help. Some people might find this funny and adorable, but I feel like it's just mocking the fae. If you wanted a cool name, you should've made up something. Do a keyboard smash and make the character shorten it to George or something. Especially since Shining Talon doesn't have any talons. Also, a great missed opportunity about a talon joke as well.
Additionally, IDK if this is just an audiobook thing or what but Somhairle (who's a boy) is 18 years old but the narrator makes him sound like a child. Him having a disability makes that worse. I feel like she intentionally makes her voice higher when she's reading his chapters and IDK how to feel about that. Also, I've no idea why they chose a female narrator (or a feminine voice) for a book whose cast is predominantly male.
Characters don't know each other: I kind of expected to see some kind of friendship between the characters but I didn't. They don't know each other and they are also supposed to be these reluctant heroes, but honestly?, the only reason they are "reluctnat" is because they're literally blackmailed into it.
Where is my gay romance? At the end. I was promised some of that and there's barely any. Besides, they make it sound like it's gonna be dramatic and it's not. I know that holding hands with an old fae prince could be sooooooo exciting and cute but Rags (who's 16) and Shining Talon boi(who was young when he was sealed off for 700 years) barely talk to each other so it just came out of nowhere and it was at the 70% mark as well.
I know there are other characters I could talk about but Rags is the most prominent and memorable one, not because he has a personality or an especially interesting role but because he has the most chapters and I feel like his chapters were the most interesting and most relevant ones. If this book was written just in Rags' POV we wouldn't have lost anything from it. I feel like the authors started writing it that way and then after the first 20 chapters, they decided to add 5 more POVs.
I also skimmed quickly to the end and it doesn't seem to be a standalone as I initially thought which defeats the point of the argument I forgot to make. Which was supposed to be the fact that for a standalone, nothing was developed well enough so let's hope, if there is indeed a sequel, it will be.
Also, the famous heist happened in the first 100 pages or so and I found it to be the most interesting thing about the book, and yet kind of stupid as well.
Thank you to Harper360YA for sending me this review copy....more
I really enjoyed this book, while the first half was a bit slow it sped up in the second half and was really intense. I do like all of the characters I really enjoyed this book, while the first half was a bit slow it sped up in the second half and was really intense. I do like all of the characters and I think that Reid and Lou's relationship was well done in this one as well as their struggled and pretty much all of their dynamics with the other characters.
I found the ending a bit confusing and I'm not sure if it was meant to be that way or If I simply didn't pay enough attention in the second to last chapter....more
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC of this book.
This was such an unexpected and yet adorable read! I loved the whThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the eARC of this book.
This was such an unexpected and yet adorable read! I loved the whole story. I started reading it out of curiosity right after I got approved for it. I thought I'd just read the first page but instead I read the whole book in one day.
I loved Caio and Felipe's story, it was adorable. It was a light-hearted story about finding love and slowly learning to love yourself, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!...more
This was actually a surprisingly enjoyable story considering how pessimistic i am when it comes to YA. I decided to listen to the audiobook and enjoyeThis was actually a surprisingly enjoyable story considering how pessimistic i am when it comes to YA. I decided to listen to the audiobook and enjoyed it a lot. I also found the narrator for Reid to be quite funny wyej he was dojng the female voices which kind of made my experience even better.
I don't really have much to say. I enjoyed the story and will be onto the next one soon.
I did see some of the things coming and i already knew the plot twist from before, i wouldn't day that it's in any way a new idea, but it was enjoyable regardless.
Loved Lou and Reid's story and I'm actually looking forward to continuing their story....more
I actually enjoyed this a ot but if you're going in for a rom com, it happens in the last 50 pages I actually enjoyed this a ot but if you're going in for a rom com, it happens in the last 50 pages ...more
I don't know what point I DNFed this book at as I was listening to the audiobook collection of all 3.
So, while I had my doubts about this book, I was I don't know what point I DNFed this book at as I was listening to the audiobook collection of all 3.
So, while I had my doubts about this book, I was actually enjoying it a lot in the beginning. I wasn't loving it, but I was actually liking it.
TBH, I think I went In with the wrong expectations about it. This is more of a book about friendship than romance but the way it's written it could've been romance and I would've liked it more.
Francis and Alex are friends. That's it. And I'm putting it in my review because for about a third of the book I expected this to be a romance ...more
I listened to only a few chapters before deciding to DNF. I honestly cannot stand the main charactTW: suicide ideation, self-harm thoughts, depression
I listened to only a few chapters before deciding to DNF. I honestly cannot stand the main character, she is rude, disrespectful and just annoying to read about. After reading a bunch of reviews about it I've realised that I wouldn't have liked it even if I had kept reading.
On top of that, it uses some strong expressions when it comes to self-harm that it threw me off and made me uncomfortable, and it takes a lot to do that to me.
What's more, it's so so goddamn obvious that this is trying to be different and relatable that it actually hurts my brain. All of them pop culture references are not it for me. I'd much rather read about made up shit than real stuff because that way it least it's not painfully cringy.
The Harry Potter references did not age well. ...more
While I loved the first 3 books, from the very moment I started reading Iron Gold I had one question on my mind: WTF is happening and why?
Usually, I'dWhile I loved the first 3 books, from the very moment I started reading Iron Gold I had one question on my mind: WTF is happening and why?
Usually, I'd say that the spin-off series being different to the original is a good thing because I don't actually like reading about the same shit over and over again. If I hate something more than anything else in books and TV shows, it's recycled tropes and storylines.
While I didn't dislike this up until halfway through, I definitely wasn't liking it either but I kept listening to the audiobook weirdly entranced by how much was happening and how confused I was. If you asked me now what happened in Iron Gold, I wouldn't be able to tell you even if I managed to finish it.
We have 4 POVs this time and I'm so glad all of them sound different from each other, I liked that. We have Darrow, whom we could've done without, not because he's a bad character, but because he was totally unnecessary in this one. I think that he should've been a side character who'd get a cameo here and there from the eyes of the 3 new characters because his perspective is basically the same as it was in the original trilogy. (view spoiler)[ But he's painted as the villain now and I'm honestly not buying it. People are just manipulating him again and we've seen it all before, I'm so tired of this. (hide spoiler)] Give Darrow a break. Let him have friends and close ones who wouldn't betray him. Just leave him alone. The more I listened to his chapters, the more I realised that if he didn't die in the last book, I wouldn't be satisfied and he wouldn't be satisfied either, it seems like.
Then we have Lyria. The narrator did an amazing job! I absolutely loved listening to her even if I didn't particularly like or care for her story. I don't have much to say about her, but if she had been the sole main character of the book, I would've listened to it just for the amazing narration. I even started caring about her story at one point.
Lysander' s POV was something I didn't expect at all but it was certainly one that I liked for a bit because I was genuinely interested in what was happening over there with him and his person but I quickly lost interest. Again, we got a lot of repetition on that side as well.
And the last POV, I don't even know what his name is because I could never hear it properly but he's Trigg's fiancé.
I really didn't care about his POV. I wasn't interested in it, I didn't like him either so yeah.
I think what I didn't like was how repetitive and predictable it was. It was the type of story that you read and as things happen, you just don't get surprised because it's not the first time this has happened and it won't be the last. I'm pretty sure I've read this book before with different characters and I jsut wish that it was done in a different way. There either should've been only new characters or all of the old one + a few new ones. Darrow shouldn't have been here.
Honestly, I kind of hoped to read about their kids than Darrow and the others.
It was definitely not the book for me and the fact that I wasn't in the mood for it didn't help either.
I DNFed it halfway through because I couldn't stand it anymore unfortunately. I might give it another go when the last book comes out. ...more
I related to a lot of the experiences in this memoir and I feel like it shows very truthfully how a lot of This is basically what I wish Loveless was.
I related to a lot of the experiences in this memoir and I feel like it shows very truthfully how a lot of us feel. Even if I have never necessarily been uncomfortable with physical contact, I got the pressure one feels when somebody confesses to them.
I can't speak for everybody but this memoir was quite relatable in my opinion and the artstyle is cute.
However, I'd probably recommend for you to read it physically because some of the images and words were too blurry on my phone, or that could have been the arc format ...more
I didn't expect to finish this book the same day I started it and I didn't expect it to be what it is but honestly? I loved it, my rating is purely baI didn't expect to finish this book the same day I started it and I didn't expect it to be what it is but honestly? I loved it, my rating is purely based on enjoyment and I'm just so happy that I read it ...more
Loading...
