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lonelyplanetfiles's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I have no words to describe how much I loved this book! A perfect cozy adventure, with a very rich and unique magical world and a lovely romance.
krytykesa's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Soooooo boring.
poppymonster's review against another edition
5.0
Cozy 90% of the book, random bursts of high stakes moments
This book was excellent, with the creative universe dynamics (Merpeople to being politically powerful), complex characters, and good pacing. Elara was ND coded in a few ways, with her black and white ethics, tendency to be overstimulated in big crowds, etc. She was sometimes a bit too perfect, but she messed up enough to make her believable. Levi was Mr poster child for commitment-phobe post crappy parents, but had a good sense of humor and was generally reasonable. The chemistry was good, in a low spice way, and their love story was tender.
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: near drowning, addiction, abuse (off page), violence, death, child abandonment (off page)
This book was excellent, with the creative universe dynamics (Merpeople to being politically powerful), complex characters, and good pacing. Elara was ND coded in a few ways, with her black and white ethics, tendency to be overstimulated in big crowds, etc. She was sometimes a bit too perfect, but she messed up enough to make her believable. Levi was Mr poster child for commitment-phobe post crappy parents, but had a good sense of humor and was generally reasonable. The chemistry was good, in a low spice way, and their love story was tender.
Spice: 3/5
Triggers: near drowning, addiction, abuse (off page), violence, death, child abandonment (off page)
atrailofpages's review
5.0
I have never related to a character as much as I did in this one. And adding to that being a great story and a great romance, even better!
This story follows Elara who is half human half elf and owns a shop with her best friend Sidney, a magpie shifter, selling magical items. She can imbue her magic into items, including golemancy where she can create large humanoid objects, which she no longer does since she does not want anyone to use them for violence. One day, she runs into Levi, who is half human half mer/siren, and she is very drawn to him, but very wary of him because of what he is. While trying to avoid this alluring and charming man, she starts being hunted by a gang called the Phantoms who want her to make them golems. Levi and Sidney try to help protect her, when the sprites then reach out Elara asking for help to build them a golem to help protect their home. And now Elara has to decide whether to against her conscience and risk making a golem to protect the sprites, or not.
I can safely say that Elara and I are quite literally the same person. She is an introvert, loves books, not a fan of large groups of people, has a best friend who is super outgoing and loves parties, she mentions needing "me time"(which I totally get), and loves large billowy and oversized shirts(which I also love). Her personality is just so similar to mine, I was floored. The way she handled herself around people is very similar to me, and when trying to navigate her relationship with Levi, especially when she would get tongue-tied around him, I felt the same way as her at the same time lol. I also appreciate that she never allowed drama, or his insecurities to get in the way of their relationship. She handled it the way I would have and I really appreciated that!
And then Levi, he is just the epitome of cinnamon rolls. He is the sweetest, most adorable, charming and handsome siren I've ever met. The way he takes care of and treats Elara was just ridiculously adorable and I just about gushed through the whole book! He has a tragic backstory, and you can't help but feel for him, and him and Elara are so different and come from such different worlds I'm just rooting him for the whole time!
The romance is also lovely. I adore slow burn romances, and this is probably the slowest slow burn I've ever read, and I loved every second of it! I appreciate how they took their time to get to know each other, and never rushed anything, and it just felt so real because of how slow they took it.
The world is also an interesting concept with a world within a world. There are gates that the Fae creatures can access, but humans cannot, to enter the Fae world, but also have access to the human world and live amongst humans. I really liked the concept and how the world was set up.
I truly enjoyed this book. It primarily focuses on the romance, but also has a great story to it that I think really adds to the story and the romance. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading the next one!
This story follows Elara who is half human half elf and owns a shop with her best friend Sidney, a magpie shifter, selling magical items. She can imbue her magic into items, including golemancy where she can create large humanoid objects, which she no longer does since she does not want anyone to use them for violence. One day, she runs into Levi, who is half human half mer/siren, and she is very drawn to him, but very wary of him because of what he is. While trying to avoid this alluring and charming man, she starts being hunted by a gang called the Phantoms who want her to make them golems. Levi and Sidney try to help protect her, when the sprites then reach out Elara asking for help to build them a golem to help protect their home. And now Elara has to decide whether to against her conscience and risk making a golem to protect the sprites, or not.
I can safely say that Elara and I are quite literally the same person. She is an introvert, loves books, not a fan of large groups of people, has a best friend who is super outgoing and loves parties, she mentions needing "me time"(which I totally get), and loves large billowy and oversized shirts(which I also love). Her personality is just so similar to mine, I was floored. The way she handled herself around people is very similar to me, and when trying to navigate her relationship with Levi, especially when she would get tongue-tied around him, I felt the same way as her at the same time lol. I also appreciate that she never allowed drama, or his insecurities to get in the way of their relationship. She handled it the way I would have and I really appreciated that!
And then Levi, he is just the epitome of cinnamon rolls. He is the sweetest, most adorable, charming and handsome siren I've ever met. The way he takes care of and treats Elara was just ridiculously adorable and I just about gushed through the whole book! He has a tragic backstory, and you can't help but feel for him, and him and Elara are so different and come from such different worlds I'm just rooting him for the whole time!
The romance is also lovely. I adore slow burn romances, and this is probably the slowest slow burn I've ever read, and I loved every second of it! I appreciate how they took their time to get to know each other, and never rushed anything, and it just felt so real because of how slow they took it.
The world is also an interesting concept with a world within a world. There are gates that the Fae creatures can access, but humans cannot, to enter the Fae world, but also have access to the human world and live amongst humans. I really liked the concept and how the world was set up.
I truly enjoyed this book. It primarily focuses on the romance, but also has a great story to it that I think really adds to the story and the romance. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading the next one!
mxgremlin's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My first read by Winters, and I will absolutely be going to download the next after I post this.
Overall, this was delightful. The best I've felt after finishing a book in a really, really long time. Advertised as a slow burn, I found it more of a medium - the plot was actually interesting, the MCs grew more than a little, but overall I didn't see enough time pass between the love interests, enough content between them, to consider it a slow burn.
I was really surprised that this got a few laughs out of me! I'm much more likely to cringe or just kinda nod along like yeah that's.... amusing I guess, but I cackled a few times throughout the book. MMC and his friends were a delight to read about, and I'm so grateful that they weren't just cliché bros.
Speaking of... This thing had so many chances to fall back into the easy safety of using clichés we've (I refuse to speak for just myself) seen time and time again in fanfiction and published romance alike - dead parents, inheritance with no strings, supposedly ~27yo but acting like they're not yet even 20, etc. FMC has parents in here, y'all! And they're not cardboard! FMC has $$$$ but she and MMC have realistic interactions about it (he does not come from money). I don't know/remember if their ages are stated, but FMC owns a shop, so I'd assume mid 20s - and she acts how I'd expect someone of that age.
Overall, this was delightful. The best I've felt after finishing a book in a really, really long time. Advertised as a slow burn, I found it more of a medium - the plot was actually interesting, the MCs grew more than a little, but overall I didn't see enough time pass between the love interests, enough content between them, to consider it a slow burn.
I was really surprised that this got a few laughs out of me! I'm much more likely to cringe or just kinda nod along like yeah that's.... amusing I guess, but I cackled a few times throughout the book. MMC and his friends were a delight to read about, and I'm so grateful that they weren't just cliché bros.
Speaking of... This thing had so many chances to fall back into the easy safety of using clichés we've (I refuse to speak for just myself) seen time and time again in fanfiction and published romance alike - dead parents, inheritance with no strings, supposedly ~27yo but acting like they're not yet even 20, etc. FMC has parents in here, y'all! And they're not cardboard! FMC has $$$$ but she and MMC have realistic interactions about it (he does not come from money). I don't know/remember if their ages are stated, but FMC owns a shop, so I'd assume mid 20s - and she acts how I'd expect someone of that age.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism
mcarty115's review
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I accidentally read the third book in this series first. I believe this is the author's debut novel and it's a solid 2 or 3 stars. The first third of the book is relatively strong. The other two-thirds are weaker and feel less focused. There is strong writing for the characters but there needed to be fewer subplots. Feels like the author had a bunch of storylines she liked and couldn't commit to just one. Perhaps those are supposed to be addressed in the second book but after too many directions in this book and almost no direction in the third book I'm going to pass on the second book.
chelsenigma's review
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
bookaholic_abby's review against another edition
5.0
A cozy fantasy romance about two cinnamon rolls who can’t help but fall for each other. The MC is a male siren rejected by his people and desperately trying to stay unattached to people to prevent himself from getting hurt. The FMC is an elven tinkerer who is asked to create a golem to protect some helpless fae folk who are being brutally attacked. This books was so cute and cozy and I absolutely loved both MCs!
bookgrrrlsclub's review against another edition
while i can see the potential, this was advertised as a “slow burn” and once i hit pg 100 i realized that this in fact was not a slow burn. the world building wasn’t as strong as it should have been and i feel confused for most of the book :/