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honeyreads1066's reviews
348 reviews
The Perfect Find by Tia Williams
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think I should have read this before Seven days in June.
This book follows Jenna, who at 40 has upended her life and started to work with one of her rivals. The only problem is that she needs to make a perfect web series to keep her job and the man who's videoing the whole thing is Eric, her rivals son and someone Jenna finds a little too irresistible.
In terms of characters, I found everyone fairly likeable, I thought that the side characters were better but that may just be my thing against main characters. Although I did love Eric as a love interest. I was not however a big fan of the dialogue at all, it annoyed me, not to the point I stopped reading the book but I was still very annoyed.
I did feel very convinced about the romance. Sometimes there's an issue of romance feeling very instalove but this wasn't an issue here. It did feel very natural and gradual and I enjoyed that a lot.
The ending was very Tia Williams, I can't complain because I was kind of expecting it but I wasn't a fan of it at all. Despite that I did think it made sense, it didn't feel out of place or out of character which I think is great.
Overall, it was just okay, I think if I read this first I would have enjoyed it a lot more because Seven days in June was so damn good but I still enjoyed it.
This book follows Jenna, who at 40 has upended her life and started to work with one of her rivals. The only problem is that she needs to make a perfect web series to keep her job and the man who's videoing the whole thing is Eric, her rivals son and someone Jenna finds a little too irresistible.
In terms of characters, I found everyone fairly likeable, I thought that the side characters were better but that may just be my thing against main characters. Although I did love Eric as a love interest. I was not however a big fan of the dialogue at all, it annoyed me, not to the point I stopped reading the book but I was still very annoyed.
I did feel very convinced about the romance. Sometimes there's an issue of romance feeling very instalove but this wasn't an issue here. It did feel very natural and gradual and I enjoyed that a lot.
The ending was very Tia Williams, I can't complain because I was kind of expecting it but I wasn't a fan of it at all. Despite that I did think it made sense, it didn't feel out of place or out of character which I think is great.
Overall, it was just okay, I think if I read this first I would have enjoyed it a lot more because Seven days in June was so damn good but I still enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
To the Lake by Яна Вагнер, Yana Vagner
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I don't feel like this book was for me at all.
This book follows Anya who along with her husband and son make a plan to journey to their lake house to escape the deadly epidemic that has so far ravaged the land and caused everyone it's come into contact with to die.
Despite how deadly this virus is, Anya's husband Sergey with his need to help keeps inviting people to join this journey with them which makes Anya increasingly nervous. The journey itself is already hard and with a lack of petrol and resources, it's not just the virus they need to watch out for.
I just assumed that a lot more would happen on this journey, I felt like is as told what everyone was feeling and the events that happened were so few and far between that I didn't feel like it was worth it.
The characters themselves were very skewed since it's Anya's POV we get everything from. It means that her feelings towards all these characters were what was shown and for that reason, they never really felt like individuals. Anya also didn't seem to like anyone so the majority of the characters were quite unlikeable too.
For that reason, I also did not feel any set of stakes for anyone. I didn't care enough whether they died or not which I suppose changed how this book was supposed to be read.
The description however was extremely detailed, I could visualise each scene incredibly well but in addition to this, it also meant there was a lot of telling and not showing which got irritating after a while.
Overall, I just wish that more happened but I did finish it because I did want to know what happened. I guess this just wasn't the book for me.
This book follows Anya who along with her husband and son make a plan to journey to their lake house to escape the deadly epidemic that has so far ravaged the land and caused everyone it's come into contact with to die.
Despite how deadly this virus is, Anya's husband Sergey with his need to help keeps inviting people to join this journey with them which makes Anya increasingly nervous. The journey itself is already hard and with a lack of petrol and resources, it's not just the virus they need to watch out for.
I just assumed that a lot more would happen on this journey, I felt like is as told what everyone was feeling and the events that happened were so few and far between that I didn't feel like it was worth it.
The characters themselves were very skewed since it's Anya's POV we get everything from. It means that her feelings towards all these characters were what was shown and for that reason, they never really felt like individuals. Anya also didn't seem to like anyone so the majority of the characters were quite unlikeable too.
For that reason, I also did not feel any set of stakes for anyone. I didn't care enough whether they died or not which I suppose changed how this book was supposed to be read.
The description however was extremely detailed, I could visualise each scene incredibly well but in addition to this, it also meant there was a lot of telling and not showing which got irritating after a while.
Overall, I just wish that more happened but I did finish it because I did want to know what happened. I guess this just wasn't the book for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
God, it has taken me so long to write a review for this book because I'm still on a high. I swear I need to start reading romances more often.
This book follows Aurora, who is starting new after a divorce in the town her mother went missing so many years ago. As she goes on this journey to find herself she may find a lot more than she bargained for on the way.
If you can't tell I loved this book. It is such a slow urn but honestly one of the best I've read in a long LONG time. The characters all felt so real and loveable or not so loveable and we're all complicated with their problems.
I liked the relationships between the different characters as well, as, in the already established ones such as Rhodes and Amos, I thought they were done very well.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book, although it was a slow burn there were but that I thought were a little too long and I wasn't that invested in but overall it didn't change the way I enjoyed the book. 100% would recommend.
This book follows Aurora, who is starting new after a divorce in the town her mother went missing so many years ago. As she goes on this journey to find herself she may find a lot more than she bargained for on the way.
If you can't tell I loved this book. It is such a slow urn but honestly one of the best I've read in a long LONG time. The characters all felt so real and loveable or not so loveable and we're all complicated with their problems.
I liked the relationships between the different characters as well, as, in the already established ones such as Rhodes and Amos, I thought they were done very well.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this book, although it was a slow burn there were but that I thought were a little too long and I wasn't that invested in but overall it didn't change the way I enjoyed the book. 100% would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
The Master by Kresley Cole
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm not going to review this book as I normally would because it is so different from what I usually read but I LOVED THIS.
I'm not often a reader of romance books but I've been in a slump and a friend of mine recommended me this book a whole back nd I though I should get to it. Well I finished this quicker than any book in the last 3 months because it was SO HOT.
This book successfully has pulled me out of a slump, got me all hot and bothered as well as have an interesting plot that I was pretty damn invested in.
Is this a guilty pleasure novel? Yes! Would I still recommend this to everyone? Yes!
My only issue was literally that the ending felt rushed and maybe I'm not a fan of epilogues in romance books because I didn't like this one but I don't think it takes too much away from my overall experience reading this. Anyways you should read it too.
I'm not often a reader of romance books but I've been in a slump and a friend of mine recommended me this book a whole back nd I though I should get to it. Well I finished this quicker than any book in the last 3 months because it was SO HOT.
This book successfully has pulled me out of a slump, got me all hot and bothered as well as have an interesting plot that I was pretty damn invested in.
Is this a guilty pleasure novel? Yes! Would I still recommend this to everyone? Yes!
My only issue was literally that the ending felt rushed and maybe I'm not a fan of epilogues in romance books because I didn't like this one but I don't think it takes too much away from my overall experience reading this. Anyways you should read it too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
To say that I didn't love this book would be an absolute lie.
This book follows 6 people with unique powers in a modern world where magic is real. These 6 people are offered a unique opportunity to become part of the Alexandrian society, who are caretakers of the lost library of Alexandria. The catch is only 5 of them will be initiated. The 6 will fight to prove themselves the best of their peers but there is always the weakest link.
The best part of this book is absolutely the characters. While the plot is interesting the character dynamics are incredible, detailed and complicated. I love the way that Blake describes these characters and the way we learn more about them. I read this book and my opinions on certain characters changed completely halfway through because they truly felt like real people that we were slowly getting to know.
While I preferred the characters of this book the plot is still something I loved. It goes into places I didn't think it would and honestly for the majority of this book I had no idea what to expect.
The worldbuilding is brilliant. You get an idea of the abilities that a lot of people have, what is possible and what is theory. Also often when magic exists in something it is set in a medieval time but I love the fact that we got to see how magic would affect everyday contemporary society.
My only issue is though I found everything interesting, there were certain bits in terms of the magic or what they were studying that was just a bit confusing and took me a long time to understand. But I'm very happy about the inclusion of them. Overall 10/10 would recommend.
This book follows 6 people with unique powers in a modern world where magic is real. These 6 people are offered a unique opportunity to become part of the Alexandrian society, who are caretakers of the lost library of Alexandria. The catch is only 5 of them will be initiated. The 6 will fight to prove themselves the best of their peers but there is always the weakest link.
The best part of this book is absolutely the characters. While the plot is interesting the character dynamics are incredible, detailed and complicated. I love the way that Blake describes these characters and the way we learn more about them. I read this book and my opinions on certain characters changed completely halfway through because they truly felt like real people that we were slowly getting to know.
While I preferred the characters of this book the plot is still something I loved. It goes into places I didn't think it would and honestly for the majority of this book I had no idea what to expect.
The worldbuilding is brilliant. You get an idea of the abilities that a lot of people have, what is possible and what is theory. Also often when magic exists in something it is set in a medieval time but I love the fact that we got to see how magic would affect everyday contemporary society.
My only issue is though I found everything interesting, there were certain bits in terms of the magic or what they were studying that was just a bit confusing and took me a long time to understand. But I'm very happy about the inclusion of them. Overall 10/10 would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Payday by Celia Walden
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This book follows three women, in different stages of their lives at a company. Their colleague, boss and co-partner Jamie comes up as a subject of conversation at an office party. The three women come out convinced that Jamie has done something but with time away from each other they're not so sure.
Now one of them has started something and it's all gotten a bit out of hand and Jamie the object of all this madness is suddenly the victim.
This book wasn't at all what I expected going into it. The characters were probably my favourite part because they were all messy and complicated and not exactly likeable.
The setting was also interesting. I don't often read books that are set in a professional setting so it was interesting to see that dynamic with all the drama. Also, I did learn a little about properties without meaning to, there's a lot of detail put into that particular section that's not needed but very much appreciated.
My issue is mostly with the pacing and the way the timing works. Also with the fact that there were multiple perspectives and I wasn't exactly keen on the way it jumped around.
Overall I did enjoy this book I'm just not particularly passionate about it.
Now one of them has started something and it's all gotten a bit out of hand and Jamie the object of all this madness is suddenly the victim.
This book wasn't at all what I expected going into it. The characters were probably my favourite part because they were all messy and complicated and not exactly likeable.
The setting was also interesting. I don't often read books that are set in a professional setting so it was interesting to see that dynamic with all the drama. Also, I did learn a little about properties without meaning to, there's a lot of detail put into that particular section that's not needed but very much appreciated.
My issue is mostly with the pacing and the way the timing works. Also with the fact that there were multiple perspectives and I wasn't exactly keen on the way it jumped around.
Overall I did enjoy this book I'm just not particularly passionate about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Sexism, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
All of Us Villains by C.L. Herman, Amanda Foody
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book is so much more than the people it involves. It was described as the hunger games with magic which it kind of is, on its surface level.
The book follows 4 of 7 champions, chosen by their families and mostly born and bred to be part of a competition that has been going on for generations. To determine which of these champions families has access to a finite source of powerful magic until the next tournament.
In the past, the Lowe family often win the tournament but this time each family has something to gain and so much to lose that the sole winner is not so clear.
The characters in this we're easily it's the strongest aspect. With multiple POV's it's often that some characters are more interesting than others but here I got something from everyone's story even from the characters I wasn't exactly fond of. (If the title is anything to go by that's the majority of the characters).
The plot was also strong, not as much as the characters but gripping. I loved the setting and the modern world as the background for this tournament as usually anything involving magic is set during medieval times.
My only issue was with the pacing, I found the beginning to be quite slow which is probably what took me so long to finish it but once I got to the competition I couldn't stop. Despite this, the bits before the competition reveal so much about the characters going in that I'm glad that it wasn't the focus of the whole book.
Overall I enjoyed myself and with that incredible ending, I am 1000% waiting eagerly for the next one.
The book follows 4 of 7 champions, chosen by their families and mostly born and bred to be part of a competition that has been going on for generations. To determine which of these champions families has access to a finite source of powerful magic until the next tournament.
In the past, the Lowe family often win the tournament but this time each family has something to gain and so much to lose that the sole winner is not so clear.
The characters in this we're easily it's the strongest aspect. With multiple POV's it's often that some characters are more interesting than others but here I got something from everyone's story even from the characters I wasn't exactly fond of. (If the title is anything to go by that's the majority of the characters).
The plot was also strong, not as much as the characters but gripping. I loved the setting and the modern world as the background for this tournament as usually anything involving magic is set during medieval times.
My only issue was with the pacing, I found the beginning to be quite slow which is probably what took me so long to finish it but once I got to the competition I couldn't stop. Despite this, the bits before the competition reveal so much about the characters going in that I'm glad that it wasn't the focus of the whole book.
Overall I enjoyed myself and with that incredible ending, I am 1000% waiting eagerly for the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Minor: Body horror and Confinement
No-Mod: Book 1 of the Mute-Cat Chronicles by Derek Porterfield
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book follows Addie, a non moded person in the near future where mods have taken over. After she runs away from the church fir unknown reasons, she relapses that the church will stop at nothing to find her, with no idea why.
The character's were a bit lacklustre. I didn't feel anything other than slight annoyance at everyone especially Addie. That may be amplified by the fact that I have a thing against main characters but really I was just a it bored by everyone and the decisions that Addie made while she was the naive girl and whatever just seemed a bit too much.
The description and setting though were fantastic. The promised of the whole world was so interesting especially since this is a premise that has been told before. I am very impressed with the deta among certain things.
Overall, I personally would not recommend it. I just think that personally it wasn't to my taste but I see why people like it.
The character's were a bit lacklustre. I didn't feel anything other than slight annoyance at everyone especially Addie. That may be amplified by the fact that I have a thing against main characters but really I was just a it bored by everyone and the decisions that Addie made while she was the naive girl and whatever just seemed a bit too much.
The description and setting though were fantastic. The promised of the whole world was so interesting especially since this is a premise that has been told before. I am very impressed with the deta among certain things.
Overall, I personally would not recommend it. I just think that personally it wasn't to my taste but I see why people like it.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It has taken me a whole day to be able to write a review for this book because I had to process it, I LOVED it so much.
This book follows Zetian who offers herself up as a concubine pilot to murder the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. She does the unexpected and does kill him using the psychic link used to pilot the chrysalises.
After this, she's labelled the iron widow a much-feared pilot who can sacrifice the male pilots to power up the chrysalises. She is paired with Li Shimin, the most controversial and lost feared pilot ever. Now that Zetian has tasted power shell for everything she can to save these other girls even with the entire system working against her.
There is not a single thing I did not enjoy about this book. The characters themselves were incredible, fleshed out and complicated. I empathised with them in ways I didn't expect and as they learn more about themselves and each other I learnt more about them as though meeting them myself.
Before reading it, romance wasn't something I thought made sense in this book but good it does here so very much, it brings a new layer to these characters and enables you to find out more about them.
The world and plot themselves were easy to understand and very compelling, the world-building was complex but not in a way that it took over all other elements of the book.
Overall, it was incredible, showing the extremes of emotions and just how far people are willing to go to achieve something. I truly enjoyed myself, there were moments when I was sitting up having to put the book down just to process. I've already preordered this and I would urge everyone to do the same.
This book follows Zetian who offers herself up as a concubine pilot to murder the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. She does the unexpected and does kill him using the psychic link used to pilot the chrysalises.
After this, she's labelled the iron widow a much-feared pilot who can sacrifice the male pilots to power up the chrysalises. She is paired with Li Shimin, the most controversial and lost feared pilot ever. Now that Zetian has tasted power shell for everything she can to save these other girls even with the entire system working against her.
There is not a single thing I did not enjoy about this book. The characters themselves were incredible, fleshed out and complicated. I empathised with them in ways I didn't expect and as they learn more about themselves and each other I learnt more about them as though meeting them myself.
Before reading it, romance wasn't something I thought made sense in this book but good it does here so very much, it brings a new layer to these characters and enables you to find out more about them.
The world and plot themselves were easy to understand and very compelling, the world-building was complex but not in a way that it took over all other elements of the book.
Overall, it was incredible, showing the extremes of emotions and just how far people are willing to go to achieve something. I truly enjoyed myself, there were moments when I was sitting up having to put the book down just to process. I've already preordered this and I would urge everyone to do the same.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Reprieve by James Han Mattson
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was such a thought-provoking and tense book.
Quigley House is a full-contact escape room where teams of 4 attempt to go through 5 cells without saying the safeword to receive a cash prize. We follow a group through the house until just before the last room a man makes his way into the cell and kills one of the contestants. As we weave through the circumstances that brought all these characters to this house we realise just what prejudices and beliefs led to the tragedy occurring.
First off, I thought this was a literary masterpiece. The style of slowly delivered information painting a picture of just who these characters are when you already know the outcome adds a new layer to the usual storytelling. The use of court transcripts embedded between particularly highlighting their perceptions of the event.
It's safe to say that the characters here were written beautifully. I found none but 2 to be likeable, good people but even though we switch POV I didn't find that any of the characters were annoying or uninteresting. I also didn't find that there were any perspectives I didn't want to see. Each gave a new diverse point of view. The characters were so glaringly imperfect humans in such a way that you relate but also find it interesting to see.
The setting itself is something new to me and the idea of a full-contact horror house as the backdrop of this exploration is so different and interesting to me. It's not a generic social horror or thriller and offers conflicting opinions or perspectives while getting its point across.
The only thing that brought this down for me was the ending, while you understand how everything came about I still had a large number of questions. I'm not entirely sure whether it's me just missing the inference but this book did leave me both frustrated and annoyed.
Overall I felt like I got a lot out of it and it was a very interesting read, I would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism