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maryp20's reviews
58 reviews
Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. Just wow. This is hands down the best novella I’ve ever read. I mean I genuinely would not change a thing. I have so much love for these characters that I would take a 600-page novel about just them. But I know that they are not the focus of this duology and that’s why they just get the novella. That being said, I think the pacing of this story was perfect. We got to learn so much about Lilith and her personality to understand her and her motives while also getting to see bits and pieces of Vale, who I assume will be very much involved moving forward. And let me just say, Carissa Broadbent knows how to write men who will literally burn the world and get on their knees and grovel for these women and I’m obsessed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Oh my god. This was so amazing. Let me start off by saying the only negative I have is that the writing was not the best at times, but it was not horrible by any means, just lackluster. Now, I adored this story. This felt like a mix between The Hunger Games and ACOTAR in the best way possible. These characters were great and lovable, except for Vincent and Raihn who kept going back and forth throughout the novel, both could be so lovable and amazing and then they could be total asshats. Mische though?! ADORE HER, I cannot wait to see more of her throughout the universe. Oraya’s struggle to find her place in the world and figure out who she is was the best part of this book, between magic and emotions and what she wants in life. The whole ending threw me for a loop and I cried pretty much the whole last 50 pages or so. I cannot wait to continue reading the rest of this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
While I enjoyed reading this, Belladonna just felt like a very generic story as a whole. Obviously Signa is an interesting character with a lot for us to learn about and then there’s Death which always so interesting to see how different authors portray him. There were some good twists at the end and I did enjoy the vibes of the story as a whole. I’ll definitely read the rest of the series eventually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity
The Charlie Method by Elle Kennedy
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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
As always, I love everything Elle Kennedy writes. I loved seeing something new with having a poly relationship; I think it’s something that a lot of people look down on or think is weird and I think Elle did a wonderful job navigating the social expectations and the feelings that are involved with this kind of relationship. I loved Charlie and all of her layers, especially having been adopted and seeing the imposter syndrome and feeling out of place and how that affected her relationships. I know Beckett is the one known for being a heartbreaker, but Will broke mine (IYKYK) and I’m not happy with Elle for that but I loved the ending. Will’s story and seeing him navigate having a political figure for a parent and trying to decide his own path was great and I loved seeing those parts. However, I wish we got to see more of Beckett and his story; but I think it’s symbolic of how closed off he is towards Charlie and Will and everyone else. My favorite part was all the little add ins like chapters from “The Virgin and The Blade” (which I couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of Elle having to sit down and write those) and even more so the inclusion of the Dad Chat, I miss all those characters so it’s so nice to see them still involved in these stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and Grief
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
I cannot believe this was a debut novel, it is so whimsical and well thought out. I loved the magic system and the characters in this book, Collins and Joanna are my favs. The character development throughout the story is amazing and I can’t get over how Esther’s love for Pearl was so strong that is was the catalyst for this whole story. This story is filled with familial love, lies, betrayal, and surprisingly enough, trust and we get to see what happens when power falls into the wrong hands. Also those plot twists really had me going, my emotions were all over the place! Really the only downside for me was how slow the beginning was, it took me a little over a 100 pages to get hooked and I was starting to consider DNF’ing it but I’m so glad I didn’t. I cannot wait to see what other fantastic stories Emma Törzs comes up with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Let me start by saying how shocked I was to love this story. I have heard so many mixed reviews and I really wasn’t sure if I would even pick this up, but I am so glad I did. I loved that Arthie had layers to her story that were only revealed when she wanted. The other characters were amazing and I love them but this story is full of lies and betrayal that my feelings were constantly swaying. I will say, the first half of the story was hard for me to get through; it took me some time to get used to Faizal’s writing style and it was a bit slow to pick up. The second half though?! Amazing, my heart was racing and jaw was on the floor, every page brought a new lie, betrayal, information, and action that kept me engaged for the remainder of the story. I’m completely shocked by the twist of events at the end and I have no idea what to think, I’m just excited for the next book to come out now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.5
I liked the concept of this book and that’s why I initially picked it up, but the execution of it wasn’t great. I didn’t mind the first 2/3 of the book since it was mainly Miranda and Grant finding information and making theories and all the other minor events that brought us to the end. The end was good and bad all at the same time; like the plot twists were good but everything was so cheesy and cliche to a point that I couldn’t really enjoy it. And the one thing that really irked me throughout the entire thing was that we were using UK spellings for words and using the metric system to describe a place in the United States; it may be a small thing but it bothered me the entire time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
My my, this was an absolutely phenomenal ending to the trilogy. I adored the whole series but The Blood Traitor is by far my favorite. The final installment is full of even more love, hurt, hope, lies, betrayal, sadness and joy. Our beloved characters, Kiva especially, has been through so much and grown into the best characters. We finally get to see more of the continent and so many new characters and relationships. The ending is completely full circle and so incredibly satisfying. My only wish was that it was longer, there was so much happening in this book and I was longing for more details on all the major events, and I would have loved an epilogue to see how everyone is doing after everything. I cannot wait to re-read this series in the future and to read more of Lynette Noni’s books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Oh my god. That ending?! WTF?! But seriously, the twists in this book were insane. The character development for beloved and new characters was phenomenal and I’ve fallen in love with Cal and Tor. The second installment of The Prison Healer trilogy was full of love, hope, betrayal, and lies. I’m so excited to read the last installment and see what Kiva does following these events.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
adventurous
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
3.5
I enjoyed the first installment of the Scholomance. I found it a bit difficult to get into and I felt like the world building was stretched out in a way that I was confused for a good portion of the beginning. But nonetheless, I caught on and started enjoying the story. I do wish that there was more of a subplot or something to help keep things moving cause I started to feel like things were dragging throughout the book. But the ending was the kind of speed and action that I was looking for so I loved that. I’m looking forward to the rest of the Scholomance series and seeing how certain characters make out.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail