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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
ARC Review ✨️
☆Remi♡
New to me author, and I can't wait for more! This story was so good. Remi is excited for freedom after graduating high school. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her. Now, she must attend Columbia University as stated in her grandmother's will. Upon arriving, she unraveled some family secrets. I couldn't believe what happened, and the secret her family kept from her is wild. Remi was such a great character, though. I loved the writing and the way the storyline flowed so easily! This is definitely a book for lovers of action-packed stories!
Thanks so much to the author and Haylingbookstorm for the ARC!
☆Remi♡
New to me author, and I can't wait for more! This story was so good. Remi is excited for freedom after graduating high school. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her. Now, she must attend Columbia University as stated in her grandmother's will. Upon arriving, she unraveled some family secrets. I couldn't believe what happened, and the secret her family kept from her is wild. Remi was such a great character, though. I loved the writing and the way the storyline flowed so easily! This is definitely a book for lovers of action-packed stories!
Thanks so much to the author and Haylingbookstorm for the ARC!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
“Deck of Scarlets” by Amanda Sinatra whisks you away to a world brimming with dark academia vibes and supernatural intrigue. After her grandmother’s passing, eighteen-year-old Remi Watson is set on honoring her family’s tradition by attending Columbia University. But her college life takes an unexpected twist when she receives an invitation to join the Order of the Scarlet Quill, a secret society dedicated to training demon hunters known as the Scarlets.
Remi’s journey is a rollercoaster of twists and turns as she delves into her family’s hidden past and navigates the complexities of becoming a demon hunter. Expect some romantic tension, too, with a love triangle involving Remi, her best friend’s boyfriend Josh West, who is also her guardian, a Tutelary Saint.
If you’re a fan of detailed world-building, secret societies steeped in tradition and rituals, and a supernatural twist, then this book is definitely for you.
Remi’s journey is a rollercoaster of twists and turns as she delves into her family’s hidden past and navigates the complexities of becoming a demon hunter. Expect some romantic tension, too, with a love triangle involving Remi, her best friend’s boyfriend Josh West, who is also her guardian, a Tutelary Saint.
If you’re a fan of detailed world-building, secret societies steeped in tradition and rituals, and a supernatural twist, then this book is definitely for you.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sometimes I’m really glad that I do judge books by their covers, and this book is a perfect example. Let me start off by saying that I fell in love with the cover design the second I saw it, and I just knew I had to read it. I’m so glad to say that I enjoyed it even more than I expected!
I would say it’s romantasy with elements of thriller, aka a combination I adore, which made it a very easy and fast read for me. Moreover, the story deals with problematic characters and their no less problematic relationships. I really can’t say that the characters are loveable, but at some point you start understanding them. I was really annoyed by FMC overreacting so much, but then I realized I probably would be even worse in her situation, so good job on keeping things realistic.
Generally, this novel’s world building has reminded me of the Shadowhunters series (and, if you know me, you know that’s the biggest compliment I could give). They’re definitely far from being the same, and I can’t even call them similar, it’s just the vibe.
The story had an adequate level of predictability, and, most importantly - it had slow burn romance which is one of my all-time favorite tropes. And exactly because of this mix of the things I enjoy in a book, I can safely say that I LOVED IT AND I CAN’T WAIT FOR PART 2.
I received an ARC for an honest review of this book. Thank you to Amanda Sinclair for this opportunity to read it.
Tropes
Enemies to lovers
Secret society
Chosen one
I feel like this might be a YA urban fantasy genre. There were some adult aspects to this book but it overall for like a YA read. For instance there is a brief discussion of alcohol dependency and I think it should have been talked about more. The friendship between Nickie, Jeremy, and Remi was very high schoolish and at times annoying which i feel like was the point because I feel like it’s supposed to be kind of a sign Remi is growing out of her friends and her old life as she enters the secret society. Also I love Heather and Chloe they were both pretty interesting and cool characters that I can’t wait to learn more about it.
I liked the tension between Josh and Remi it reminded me a little bit of some of the old YA books I used to read when I was younger. It was very enemies to partners to lovers to enemies. I am curious about Kal and why exactly Josh doesn’t like him other than for obvious reasons.
I am pretty excited to read the next books because it was a well written urban fantasy and I am intrigued on what will happen next in the series.
Tropes
Enemies to lovers
Secret society
Chosen one
I feel like this might be a YA urban fantasy genre. There were some adult aspects to this book but it overall for like a YA read. For instance there is a brief discussion of alcohol dependency and I think it should have been talked about more. The friendship between Nickie, Jeremy, and Remi was very high schoolish and at times annoying which i feel like was the point because I feel like it’s supposed to be kind of a sign Remi is growing out of her friends and her old life as she enters the secret society. Also I love Heather and Chloe they were both pretty interesting and cool characters that I can’t wait to learn more about it.
I liked the tension between Josh and Remi it reminded me a little bit of some of the old YA books I used to read when I was younger. It was very enemies to partners to lovers to enemies. I am curious about Kal and why exactly Josh doesn’t like him other than for obvious reasons.
I am pretty excited to read the next books because it was a well written urban fantasy and I am intrigued on what will happen next in the series.
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC read.
Very Ninth House meets Buffy with a hint of Vampire Academy and a dash of Mortal Instruments.
Y’all, I hate Nickie. She’s a terrible friend. But I also hate Josh. He’s totally leading Remi on while dating her friend.*Update: Make that cheating. They’re cheating now. Nope. Hate it. I don’t do infidelity, and these characters have crossed that line, and I’ve lost all respect for them now. They’re all bad people. That’s my hard line, though. If you don’t have the same problem, this book might still have hope for you.
Man, I’m getting whiplash keeping up with Remi’s mood swings from her “I’m tough” persona to her “I will die for this roommate I just met and haven’t actually bonded with” vulnerability. And I’m in her head!
Surprisingly, the big issue I have with this book is that it needs less. It’s a clunky read. Everything’s broken down too far into bits. Like when you say you go to the bathroom, we don’t need to know the details of everything that happens there unless if a plot point is going to interrupt it. We don’t need an adjective or adjectival clause for every word. Sometimes it’s okay to “zoom out” for pacing purposes.
Not my favorite read. It had too many words, and I didn’t like the characters. They went beyond flawed to just unlikeable.
Very Ninth House meets Buffy with a hint of Vampire Academy and a dash of Mortal Instruments.
Y’all, I hate Nickie. She’s a terrible friend. But I also hate Josh. He’s totally leading Remi on while dating her friend.
Man, I’m getting whiplash keeping up with Remi’s mood swings from her “I’m tough” persona to her “I will die for this roommate I just met and haven’t actually bonded with” vulnerability. And I’m in her head!
Surprisingly, the big issue I have with this book is that it needs less. It’s a clunky read. Everything’s broken down too far into bits. Like when you say you go to the bathroom, we don’t need to know the details of everything that happens there unless if a plot point is going to interrupt it. We don’t need an adjective or adjectival clause for every word. Sometimes it’s okay to “zoom out” for pacing purposes.
Not my favorite read. It had too many words, and I didn’t like the characters. They went beyond flawed to just unlikeable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this book as my very first ARC! Thank you to the author and publishing team for allowing me to read and review it 🫶🏻
Here are my thoughts:
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶/5
🗡️Moody Male Guardian
🗡️FMC Anxiety Rep
🗡️Forbidden Love
🗡️Set In New York City
🗡️Secret Society
🗡️Open Door Spice
🗡️Demon Hunters
🗡️Dark Urban Fantasy
I really enjoyed the premise of the book, and it was honestly relatively easy to read, meaning it went by pretty fast. I love the concept, the premise, the idea, but it didn't feel fully fleshed out. I understand that this book is the first in a series so I can't expect it to be all laid out, but I at least expected it to be more cohesive, and less all over the place. It felt like there was an idea, and we got to see a piece of it, and then we quickly changed ideas and never got to see the end of the previous idea.
My first thought when reading the book was, unfortunately, how much it reminded me of the Mortal Instruments series - which is not a bad thing! I adored those books, but it felt almost too parallel for me personally, and I had a tough time getting past that 😅
I have two more issues and then I'll tell you the nice things. Issue the first being the typos and inconsistencies. There were several times when a wrong character name was used or even miss-spelled, when I'm almost positive, they were meaning or talking about another character. The phrasing of some of the sentences came off very stiff and not like a real person would say it, and generally several times I found words that were spelled wrong or used incorrectly, or actually just not the right word at all and it took me out of the story because I would have to go back and re-read a page or two to find context. Issue the second, Remi was a brat for a good majority of this book. She had some redemption at the end there for a second, but something about her just angered me, and I wanted her to shut up and listen for like two seconds. I hope that in future books, she gets some growth and development.
Alright, good things. The setting being modern with a sprinkle of old haunted and spooky was fantastic. I think it's fascinating to have this set in New York because it's such a busy city? It seems kind of insane but also really believeable that the "normal" people don't see what's going on, or that they don't notice anything weird.
Wasn't expecting to like the religious aspect of it, but I thought it was portrayed in a really cool way and it leaned into histories and tales and it just felt really cool and well done.
As previously mentioned, I liked the concept and the premise, and I'm excited to see where it takes us in future books. As of now, I'm planning on continuing the series purely out of curiosity.
Here are my thoughts:
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶/5
🗡️Moody Male Guardian
🗡️FMC Anxiety Rep
🗡️Forbidden Love
🗡️Set In New York City
🗡️Secret Society
🗡️Open Door Spice
🗡️Demon Hunters
🗡️Dark Urban Fantasy
I really enjoyed the premise of the book, and it was honestly relatively easy to read, meaning it went by pretty fast. I love the concept, the premise, the idea, but it didn't feel fully fleshed out. I understand that this book is the first in a series so I can't expect it to be all laid out, but I at least expected it to be more cohesive, and less all over the place. It felt like there was an idea, and we got to see a piece of it, and then we quickly changed ideas and never got to see the end of the previous idea.
My first thought when reading the book was, unfortunately, how much it reminded me of the Mortal Instruments series - which is not a bad thing! I adored those books, but it felt almost too parallel for me personally, and I had a tough time getting past that 😅
I have two more issues and then I'll tell you the nice things. Issue the first being the typos and inconsistencies. There were several times when a wrong character name was used or even miss-spelled, when I'm almost positive, they were meaning or talking about another character. The phrasing of some of the sentences came off very stiff and not like a real person would say it, and generally several times I found words that were spelled wrong or used incorrectly, or actually just not the right word at all and it took me out of the story because I would have to go back and re-read a page or two to find context. Issue the second, Remi was a brat for a good majority of this book. She had some redemption at the end there for a second, but something about her just angered me, and I wanted her to shut up and listen for like two seconds. I hope that in future books, she gets some growth and development.
Alright, good things. The setting being modern with a sprinkle of old haunted and spooky was fantastic. I think it's fascinating to have this set in New York because it's such a busy city? It seems kind of insane but also really believeable that the "normal" people don't see what's going on, or that they don't notice anything weird.
Wasn't expecting to like the religious aspect of it, but I thought it was portrayed in a really cool way and it leaned into histories and tales and it just felt really cool and well done.
As previously mentioned, I liked the concept and the premise, and I'm excited to see where it takes us in future books. As of now, I'm planning on continuing the series purely out of curiosity.
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So honored to have apart of the ARC team for this one!
This book is very slow to start but the second half of the book all the action hits! Some of the characters felt a little underdeveloped or just thrown in. But by the end of book I was hooked by the story. If you have ANY religious trama I would say steer clear. Lots of religious representation and mentions. As a former catholic kid who ran the other way in adult hood. I was definitely rolling my eyes at the references to prayers and stuff. But the story was sufficiently entertaining. The last 100 pages had me sweating! I felt like the end left me wanting just a little more. Felt like it ended very abruptly.
Definitely not YA
Not super spicy either
In summary
First 2/3 of the book
Overall 2 ⭐️
Spice .5 🌶️
Last 1/3 of the book
Overall 4.5 ⭐️
Spice 2 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Vomit
Religious themes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
BOOK OF THE FREAKING YEAR RIGHT HERE!!! Infinite stars, baby! I devoured this book in under 36 hours and it is hands down one of my favourite reads of 2024, if not THE favourite read. As per usual, I went in blind and I was invested from the very first sentence. I absolutely loved the demon hunting, the cross bows & daggers, the tension and banter between our main characters, Remie & Josh, and everything in between. I can't wait for book 2!!! To all my fellow fantasy lovers, this is a must BUY for you!!