effy's reviews
1397 reviews

 

This was a re-read for me however I think I was just in a better place to enjoy this book than the first time that I read it as I think it is the oh-so-rare situation where i actually enjoyed it on re-read more than when I had first picked it up. A large part of my higher enjoyment levels this time around is going to be down to having a much better feel for the way that Gibson writes as well as going into reading this book knowing what it was about as opposed to just what I thought it was going to be about. Another factor in my higher enjoyment levels is without a doubt the fact that I read it in physical format as I don’t think the audio works for me.

A Dowry of Blood is a queer and poly reimagining of Dracula’s brides but, beyond a brief mention of “trouble with the Harkers”, this book does not have much in the way of overlap with Dracula and it is significantly stronger for that being the case because, frankly, Dracula is an incredibly goofy story. This is a book that is absolutely full of Gibson’s trademark lyrical writing and I love how absolutely sumptuous the prose is.

In this book, we are following the way that Constanta, Magda, and Alexei are changed physically and mentally by their relationship with their abusive husband who is never named in the narrative (absolute power move!) but can be inferred to be Dracula. There is real care taken to show the love bombing at the beginning of the relationships followed by the slow tightening of the noose until each “bride” finds themselves trapped. This is a story of reclaiming power from an abuser and it is an incredibly powerful one.

I truly had the best time re-discovering this book and definitely cherish it.

 

 

I am not gonna go too much into my thoughts on this book because it just wasn’t for me. I don’t think this is an inherently bad story but I just really don’t think I am the reader for it and that is fine.

In my opinion, this is a very basic, unexciting M/F contemporary romance. This is not the kind of story that I really pick up much. Beyond just not being my kind of story, I really didn’t love dynamic between the characters. This book has been described as “he falls first” but the MMC is absolutely obsessed with the FMC before they have even met and it just felt incredibly gross and borderline fetishtic. It was not my cup of tea.

 

 

This book is kind of a weird case for me because objectively it is a really good book however, subjectively, I had an absolutely miserable time with it. 

The problem that I had with this book is that the main character has basically the same name as me (it is spelled slightly differently but it is close enough to not make it any less uncomfortable) and it became even worse that her name was often abbreviated to just “Ef” which is something that I get called at times. I had previously decided against picking-up a book for this reason because I thought it would make me uncomfortable and yep, unfortunately I was very, very correct. It was made worse by the fact that this is a spicy book so during the sexy scenes I felt doubly uncomfortable 🙈

The really annoying thing about all of this is that I thought the story was fantastic and the pacing was great. I really enjoyed the dynamic that existed between the FMC and MMC and the way they worked collaboratively to bring goodness into each others’ lives was so lovely to read. I also loved that canonically this story takes place in the same universe and Sophie Snow’s Touch and Go series, such an unexpected crossover but so fun to read.

So how to rate this book? Do I rate it based on the fact that I had a miserable time reading it or do I rate it based on how I would feel about it if it hadn’t given me the ick, especially because that has nothing to do with the author or her writing? 

 

 

The audiobook edition is a truly wonderful way to experience Brennan's incredibly unique take on a high fantasy story. The narrator effortlessly brings each of the characters alive with their own very unique voices.

Long Live Evil is a cheeky book where it asks the reader what they would do if they were suddenly transported into their favourite fantasy world and then it says "but what if you were a villain?" I loved our protag and her scheming but also her unflinching joie de vivre. She is surrounded by a vivid cast of characters who only enhance the reading experience.

I had such a good time with this book, absolutely laughing myself silly and screaming with joy at so many quotable lines. I also really appreciated the way that pop culture references were included in the book in a way that felt like playful winks to the reader as opposed to being direct references to things that can quickly date a book. 

The fact that this book is a story within a story creates a meta element to the storytelling where it could directly address tropes and archetypes; this was something that I really enjoyed and think it would appeal to fans of Discworld and/or Alix E. Harrow's Fractured Fables series.

This book is a real treat and I am so excited for more people to experience it.

 

 

This book is so delicious and swoon-worthy. It is also deeply weird in the absolute best way!

I love how utterly depraved this book is and the way that it does not hold its freak back was just so enjoyable for me to read. The chemistry between Aurelian and Celio is absolutely undeniable and I relished every time that Celio would call Aurelian “Little Love” ❤️

This is definitely a book that is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but if you are a fan of dark erotica where couples are murdering people together and then fucking in the blood of their victims, this might be just the book for you!

 

 

Whilst this is a book that I had heard of (kinda difficult to avoid a book with such a dapper kettle on the front!), I don’t think it was something that I was really considering picking-up. I think maybe I was intimidated / put off by the fact that it has been marketed and categorised as science fiction. Honestly, it is hard to look back and pinpoint why I wasn’t interested in it because I just want to kick my past self for being such an idiot because I loved this book so, so, SO much. 

Starter Villain follows our lead, Charlie, after the death of his estranged uncle leaves him with an inheritance that opens the doors to an incredible world of super-villainy where he must try to learn the ropes whilst also dealing with threats upon him life, demands for billions of dollars, and a labour dispute with an very angry pod of supersmart dolphins. This is a book that never, for even a moment, takes itself too seriously and that makes for an incredible reading experience. I really loved what the smart animals brought to the storytelling and it was clear that Scalzi had put a lot of thought into both the dynamics and the mechanics of the existence of such things. This is a book that is in some ways an ode to classic spy stories like James Bond but also recognises all of the fun that came with things like Austin Powers and Johnny English.

I am incredibly grateful for the fact that this book was on the Hugo 2024 ballot because it pushed me to pick up a book that I don’t think I otherwise would have and I am kind of in awe of just how much I enjoyed it.

 

 

Honeycraves is the third and final(?) book in the Honeybloods series, a trilogy of YA vampire novellas that follows Honey Williams after she is accidentally turned into a vampire following a bad interaction with a rock band.

I have had a really good time reading this series and there is something really bittersweet to knowing that my time with these books has come to an end. The first book in the series, Honeybloods, was a beautiful friends-to-lovers story as we followed Honey and her childhood best friend, Sadie, on a road trip across America as Honey tried to reverse her vampirism. There was something so wholesome about these two characters who had been so close as friends mending the rifts caused by time and discovering that there was more than just friendship between them. They were also very comfortable in their queer identities which is something that I find I am increasingly more drawn to as opposed to stories where characters are coming out; don’t get me wrong, there is a place and a need for both kinds of stories but I find that I am a lot more looking for queer joy in my reading. 

By the point that we have arrived at Honeycraves, Sadie is also a vampire and both of the girls are having to try to avoid the attentions of vampire hunters whilst they search for a way to reverse their vampirism. Here is the conundrum that they are faced with: the only known way for a vampire to regain their humanity is for them to kill their sire however Sadie was sired by Honey so how can she possibly regain her humanity? To add into the complexity of the situation, Sadie is racked with an insatiable bloodlust that makes trying to blend into human society a challenge. 

The intrigue whilst reading Honeycraves was very high because there was no apparent solution to what they were facing. In addition to this, Honey and Sadie meet a few new faces in the story which creates further points of intrigue throughout the story. I do wish that we had gotten a little bit more of an ending, perhaps an epilogue because this is a series that delivers an HFN as opposed to clear HEA. There is a very definite sense that the characters are happy at the end but I felt as though I was left with slightly more questions than I normally would at the end of a series. 

Based on the amount of trailing threads in this story, I think this isn’t the last that we will see of all of the characters in this book even if Honey and Sadie’s story is over. Personally, I am very happy with the prospect of more vampire stories from Belle and wonder if her teased upcoming MM series is set in the same universe…

 

 

Vampires just doing vampy things, it’s always going to be a hard yes from me!

This is an erotic horror book that follows Will, a centuries-old vampire and a human called Ehvy who has been dreaming about him for many years. The two meet somewhat by chance when Ehvy follows an enticing smell whilst on a tour at Will’s stately home; little does Ehvy know that the enticing smell is in fact the scent of fresh blood after Will has been torturing his latest victim.

For context of just how vicious and bloodthirsty the vampires are in A Thing Divine, one of the content warnings for this book is for destructive fisting… yep, what comes to mind when you first read that, yes, that is very much a scene from this book. This is a book that revels in the scenes of extreme gore and mutilation just as much as the spicy scenes and sometimes the two cross over in a very delicious way.

This is a book that is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea but for those that like to read books where the “villain” is so morally grey, Anish Kapoor wants to secure the exclusive rights to them, this is going to really tickle your brain. I really enjoyed how unapologetically vicious Will was throughout this book and it was enjoyable to see a mini corruption arc for Ehvy throughout the story.

This is a book that has a HFN as things are left quite open whether Ehvy and Will may destroy one another or do horrid things together for the rest of their lives. I think this was the perfect place to end this story as it fit with the rest of the narrative but it also leaves the door cracked open to the possibility of more from them in the future.

 

 

Usually books that involve infidelity aren't my cup of tea but to every rule there is always the exception and this book is very much the exception in this case. 

There were so many twists and turns to this story that you were never quite sure who was keeping secrets and who was in the right. This created a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience and I was definitely very surprised by some of the reveals and the way that I had read some of the situations so incredibly wrong. The conclusion was incredibly satisfying and created a very bittersweet ending to this tale.

 

 

This book caught my eye because it had been compared to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Midnight Library. The former is one of my all-time favourite books whilst the latter very much is not. I was fascinated to read this book and see which way it would lean. Well, I can quite confidently say that this is a book that has a lot more in common with Addie than Haig's book. There is something so incredible about the journey that our main character goes on which draws the reader in and you feel as though you are experiencing her wondrous and, at times painful, journey alongside her.

This book is a very different story to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue but I can definitely see where the comparisons come from and there is a very specific vibe to this book which definitely did remind me of its comp title but this is also a very unique story very unlike anything that I have read before. It is a book that truly needs to be experienced and I recommend everyone does experience it.