Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

15 reviews

straybutterfly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


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carsons1996's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

This was yet another great launching point for a wonderful new Jennifer Armentrout series. Great suspense and tension and just an overall good style of writing. It follows a similar blueprint to her other series, but I literally do not care because it's just such a unique and interesting take on all the typical fantasy tropes.

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a_acha331's review

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

While the book's synopsis initially intrigued me, the reading experience left me with a migraine 🙂 The plot had potential but fell short due to a lack of engaging writing, detailed world-building outside the “manor”, and character development. The “supporting cast” felt underdeveloped, barely interacting with the main protagonist or each other. Excluding Claude, who was “boss and CEO”, so she had to interact with him I guess 👁️👄👁️

The pacing was sluggish, with the most engaging” and “exciting” moments reserved for the end. Numerous dialogues and scenes seemed unwarranted, often using verbose explanations to fill pages rather than advancing the story. It's disappointing because the plot was promising. Don't even get me started on the ending 🙄 A cliffhanger when the storyline was finally getting good……Brother eugh!! What do you mean?????? 🤦🏾‍♀️I don't even want to read the next book at this point🧍🏾‍♀️


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3bobbielee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0


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chi__'s review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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notbambi's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well, this is the sexiest book I have ever read. This is my first time reading an Armentrout book, and damned if she isn't a master of building sexual tension into every scene, whether it's a spicy scene or not. It's what I wish the ACOTAR series had been.

There were some annoyances. Thorne uses very formal speech most of the time, but then starts talking about his dick in very casual, modern language, and that switch in register felt jarring. Some parts were rather infodumpy. Very little happens in the non-romance plot until the last 5 chapters or so, when suddenly everything goes to hell in a handbasket. 

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aurora4847's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I fell in love with this book so quickly. It has everything I love in a fantasy. I can't wait to read the rest of the series when it comes out!

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birbpal's review

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Stars

I am confused to the point that my brain feels as though it has melted through my ears. I am either incredibly stupid, or I have no idea what was happening for the majority of the book.😖🤷‍♀️

For a good chunk of the story, it was endless exposition that made little to no sense along with sexy times between Lis and Thorne. I was hooked at the beginning of the book, but the middle dragged on and on; simultaneously making little sense but also info dumping??

The last 20% of the book hooked me again. Finally, there was action! And some questions were answered! But wait, those answers only made me more confused, so yeah, I don't know what to think lol.😅

Someone else described this book perfectly: Fall of Ruin and Wrath read more like a prequel than an actual fully-formed book. Nevertheless, I am somewhat hooked, so I will be reading the next book. Depending on how I like it, I might change this review. For now, I will keep it at 3.5. 🐥💕

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ambzillius's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

🖤 R E V I E W 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶
I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this so much, but the relationships between all of the characters were just 😘👌

I'm not usually one for Romantasy  and also usually avoid the smut and head for the gore instead... but this had the perfect amount of both! Every other chapter was spicy and made you want more, but the scenes with the blood and gore were top-notch!!

Thankyou @books_and_boxes11 for lending me your edition, I now understand why you cannot wait for book 2!

If this ends up doing a Shadow & Bone I will be sorely disappointed. Let Thorne be the good guy, i desperately need this 😂

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deedireads's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

TL;DR REVIEW
Unfortunately, Fall of Ruin and Wrath was a bit of a miss for me. I didn’t dislike it enough to DNF, but I probably will not be continuing with the series. 

For you if: You have enjoyed JLA’s previous books (otherwise I don’t recommend).

FULL REVIEW
I was extremely excited by the prospect of the first book published by Bramble, Tor’s new romance imprint.  Unfortunately, this one was a bit of a miss for me. I didn’t dislike it enough to DNF, but I probably will not be continuing with the series. 

The main character of the book is a young woman named Calista, paramour (slash courtesan, kind of) to a Baron who’s kind enough. She has a unique ability to read a person’s thoughts and future by touching them. She and her best friend grew up on the streets, so she’s not complaining about their comfortable position. Then her encounter (actually, re-encounter from childhood) with a Hybhorn (read: angel) prince disrupts it all.

Like I said, I didn’t hate this enough to DNF; I could see the potential of a strong ending to make my complaints worth it, and I was having fun enough. Unfortunately, such an ending didn’t materialize, so I walked away with three main issues. 

  • First, consent in this novel is EXTREMELY questionable. JLA tries to address the question head-on and make it clear that Calista is willing, but…is she??? It’s uncomfortable at least. 

  • Second, I couldn’t keep any of the worldbuilding details straight in my head. I kept forgetting all the different ranks and types of magical races, etc. I read a LOT of high fantasy and am pretty darn good at this; it was a book problem, not a me problem.

  • Finally, I love spice as much as the next romantasy reader, but this is not really about romance, it’s just about sex (she uses the word “f*cking” every time). There is a lot of it (in public, no less), which is fine, but it got repetitive. And yet somehow it’s also a slow burn? The raunchiness completely overshadowed the worldbuilding and the plot (even the romance plot).

At the end of th day, I was surprised by all the 4- and 5-star reviews on Goodreads, but then I realized all the high reviews were from her existing fans, and everyone else felt similar to me. (I guess that means, at least, if you’re already a JLA fan, chances are good you’ll like this book!) A bummer, but on to the next one.

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