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alex_pcbff's Reviews (378)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4 🌟
Tags/tropes/themes:
🌙 Last of her kind
🩸 Healer FMC
🌙 Unique worldbuilding
🩸 "Who did this to her?"
🌙 Kidnapped by the enemy
🩸 Hidden/secret identity
🌙 Background sapphics, as a treat
🩸 Meddling gods
🌙 Semi-sentient magic
🩸 "She's mine"
🌙 Slow burn
I had trouble getting pulled into the story toward the beginning, but eventually it picked up for me, and I was on the edge of my seat to know how everything fit together!
This book has such a unique story and worldbuilding, which is so refreshing when a lot of romantasy books start to blend together these days. I loved Ertha and the fact that she still stuck to her role as a healer, even if she loathed the person she was healing. The characters are all well-developed in my opinion, and it was fun trying to guess all their secrets and motives. The romance also builds nice and slowly, so it feels genuine.
Like other people have said in their reviews, I really had no idea what was going to happen next. The hints are there, but they're subtle, and I wasn't being spoon-fed foreshadowing. At the same time, there's still so much more story to tell, and I can't wait for book 2 to learn more!
The cover art, chapter headers, and scene break art are also really pretty 💖
I was a little worried the book would be too dark for me. It has dark themes throughout, the most prominent being r*pe threats and forced pregnancy threats (not by MMC), but it was relatively mild overall in my opinion, which was perfect for me.
Overall, I definitely recommend giving this romantasy a chance, and I am metaphorically knocking on M.A. Brown's door asking for book 2 🙏
Thank you Netgalley and M.A. Brown for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
Tags/tropes/themes:
🌙 Last of her kind
🩸 Healer FMC
🌙 Unique worldbuilding
🩸 "Who did this to her?"
🌙 Kidnapped by the enemy
🩸 Hidden/secret identity
🌙 Background sapphics, as a treat
🩸 Meddling gods
🌙 Semi-sentient magic
🩸 "She's mine"
🌙 Slow burn
I had trouble getting pulled into the story toward the beginning, but eventually it picked up for me, and I was on the edge of my seat to know how everything fit together!
This book has such a unique story and worldbuilding, which is so refreshing when a lot of romantasy books start to blend together these days. I loved Ertha and the fact that she still stuck to her role as a healer, even if she loathed the person she was healing. The characters are all well-developed in my opinion, and it was fun trying to guess all their secrets and motives. The romance also builds nice and slowly, so it feels genuine.
Like other people have said in their reviews, I really had no idea what was going to happen next. The hints are there, but they're subtle, and I wasn't being spoon-fed foreshadowing. At the same time, there's still so much more story to tell, and I can't wait for book 2 to learn more!
The cover art, chapter headers, and scene break art are also really pretty 💖
I was a little worried the book would be too dark for me. It has dark themes throughout, the most prominent being r*pe threats and forced pregnancy threats (not by MMC), but it was relatively mild overall in my opinion, which was perfect for me.
Overall, I definitely recommend giving this romantasy a chance, and I am metaphorically knocking on M.A. Brown's door asking for book 2 🙏
Thank you Netgalley and M.A. Brown for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
3.75 🌟
🌸 AO3-style tags 🌸
fae, magic, royalty, dual POV, some spice, an untrustworthy man (not that we're surprised), slow burn, glacial burn, seriously there is barely a spark so far, consort selection tournament, the Hunger Games but they're fighting over a man, honestly a man is not worth it
I have a mixed opinion about this book. Some of the dialogue felt stiff and unnatural, and there were moments when I was like "Ah yes, here is the Plot Relevant™️ information that will very obviously come to play later on". But at the same time, there are lines that had me dying, and I still enjoyed reading this book.
I'm vibing with the romance so far. I love slow burn, and this is true slow burn. I also love seeing an inadequate man who is not the MMC be obsessively possessive of the FMC (because I have bad taste in men). This book delivers exactly that.
The trials were okay. I love the consort tournament storyline in general, but I've seen it done better. It was just missing something, and I'm kind of over characters like Apricia (bitchy rival woman who does not get along with the FMC but is traditionally perfect).
This book definitely feels like New Adult, and the series has potential. I'm going to read book 2 eventually.
🌸 AO3-style tags 🌸
fae, magic, royalty, dual POV, some spice, an untrustworthy man (not that we're surprised), slow burn, glacial burn, seriously there is barely a spark so far, consort selection tournament, the Hunger Games but they're fighting over a man, honestly a man is not worth it
I have a mixed opinion about this book. Some of the dialogue felt stiff and unnatural, and there were moments when I was like "Ah yes, here is the Plot Relevant™️ information that will very obviously come to play later on". But at the same time, there are lines that had me dying, and I still enjoyed reading this book.
I'm vibing with the romance so far. I love slow burn, and this is true slow burn. I also love seeing an inadequate man who is not the MMC be obsessively possessive of the FMC (because I have bad taste in men). This book delivers exactly that.
The trials were okay. I love the consort tournament storyline in general, but I've seen it done better. It was just missing something, and I'm kind of over characters like Apricia (bitchy rival woman who does not get along with the FMC but is traditionally perfect).
This book definitely feels like New Adult, and the series has potential. I'm going to read book 2 eventually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
DNF @ 25%
I really wanted to love this book, because the concept is everything I love about dystopian fiction, and it's very relevant to the world today and the development of AI technologies and generative AI. Unfortunately, this fell flat for me.
There was a lack of nuance in the book that made it too simple for me. I usually prefer more secrecy in dystopian novels, but in this book, it felt like the main characters all knew from the beginning the issue with the nano chips, or at the very least that the tech was sketchy.
The characters felt underdeveloped to me, and I would have liked to learn more about them and their lives before immediately getting into the plot. I felt very detached from them. I also wish the book had felt more immersive, with more details about the nano chips at the start. Like the way they integrated with the transpo, which is genuinely so cool.
This may be a case that I'm just too old for this kind of writing style (I'm in my late 20s), but I do still re-read some of my favourite YA dystopian books like Legend and Warcross by Marie Lu. Maybe this is just better for a "lower YA" reader. I try to avoid DNFing books, but I can tell this book just isn't for me.
Thank you Netgalley, Echo Press Publishing, and Anders Edwards for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
I really wanted to love this book, because the concept is everything I love about dystopian fiction, and it's very relevant to the world today and the development of AI technologies and generative AI. Unfortunately, this fell flat for me.
There was a lack of nuance in the book that made it too simple for me. I usually prefer more secrecy in dystopian novels, but in this book, it felt like the main characters all knew from the beginning the issue with the nano chips, or at the very least that the tech was sketchy.
The characters felt underdeveloped to me, and I would have liked to learn more about them and their lives before immediately getting into the plot. I felt very detached from them. I also wish the book had felt more immersive, with more details about the nano chips at the start. Like the way they integrated with the transpo, which is genuinely so cool.
This may be a case that I'm just too old for this kind of writing style (I'm in my late 20s), but I do still re-read some of my favourite YA dystopian books like Legend and Warcross by Marie Lu. Maybe this is just better for a "lower YA" reader. I try to avoid DNFing books, but I can tell this book just isn't for me.
Thank you Netgalley, Echo Press Publishing, and Anders Edwards for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes
This book really is that girl. I devoured it.
To fulfill an ancient magical contract, Princess Odessa is forced to marry prince Zavier, and leave her entire life behind to go to his kingdom. The contract is between the 5 kingdoms as a peace treaty of sorts, so they can focus on defending against the vicious monsters instead of wasting resources by being at war.
I absolutely loved this from start to finish. It has a good mix of romance and plot, and the romance is built up really well. No instalove (thank god).
I honestly feel so bad for Odessa. No one tells this girl anything. Why is everyone around her keeping secrets 😭
I do think some of the plot was a little predictable, but I'm not really mad at it. I was still surprised by some parts toward the end.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read for me! I'm looking forward to book 2
To fulfill an ancient magical contract, Princess Odessa is forced to marry prince Zavier, and leave her entire life behind to go to his kingdom. The contract is between the 5 kingdoms as a peace treaty of sorts, so they can focus on defending against the vicious monsters instead of wasting resources by being at war.
I absolutely loved this from start to finish. It has a good mix of romance and plot, and the romance is built up really well. No instalove (thank god).
I honestly feel so bad for Odessa. No one tells this girl anything. Why is everyone around her keeping secrets 😭
I do think some of the plot was a little predictable, but I'm not really mad at it. I was still surprised by some parts toward the end.
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read for me! I'm looking forward to book 2
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sav is a fae who has been banished to the human realm with her magic bound, along with many low fae. When her people are attacked and imprisoned by anti-fae humans, she has to work with the anti-fae leader's son, Jack. Along their journey, she has to supress any developing feelings for Jack, as it is a death sentence to fall in love with a human.
I'm a little conflicted about this book. There are some parts I adore, but the romance fell short for me.
What I loved most about the book was a lot of the side characters and the overall plot. It was a bit predictable, but I got sucked in quickly. It's obvious from the start that there's more going on than meets the eye for Sav and Jack, as well as with the overarching human vs. fae conflict. All the characters have their own secrets, and the author did a great job pacing out all the little information reveals throughout the book.
I loved a lot of the side characters, especially Kaspar. He is so loyal to Sav and I love him for that ❤️ The antagonists are also really well-developed. Dane (Jack's dad) is an evil, creepy asshole, but he's interesting. I love a villain with a backstory and depth.
For the romance, I didn't really feel a strong chemistry between Jack and Sav. Honestly, I like Kaspar a lot more than Jack 😭 Jack fell way too quickly for Sav, and it felt very superficial.
I've seen people tag this as enemies to lovers, but it's way more of a forbidden romance than EtL. They're never actually enemies; Jack is supposed to be on the human side of the conflict, but from the very start he's been helping the fae and going against his father.
Despite my personal opinions about our main couple, I still enjoyed reading this! This was my first Cassabdra Aston book, and I'll definitely keep an eye on her future releases (and book 2 of this duology!)
Thank you Netgalley and Cassandra Aston for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
I'm a little conflicted about this book. There are some parts I adore, but the romance fell short for me.
What I loved most about the book was a lot of the side characters and the overall plot. It was a bit predictable, but I got sucked in quickly. It's obvious from the start that there's more going on than meets the eye for Sav and Jack, as well as with the overarching human vs. fae conflict. All the characters have their own secrets, and the author did a great job pacing out all the little information reveals throughout the book.
I loved a lot of the side characters, especially Kaspar. He is so loyal to Sav and I love him for that ❤️ The antagonists are also really well-developed. Dane (Jack's dad) is an evil, creepy asshole, but he's interesting. I love a villain with a backstory and depth.
For the romance, I didn't really feel a strong chemistry between Jack and Sav. Honestly, I like Kaspar a lot more than Jack 😭 Jack fell way too quickly for Sav, and it felt very superficial.
I've seen people tag this as enemies to lovers, but it's way more of a forbidden romance than EtL. They're never actually enemies; Jack is supposed to be on the human side of the conflict, but from the very start he's been helping the fae and going against his father.
Despite my personal opinions about our main couple, I still enjoyed reading this! This was my first Cassabdra Aston book, and I'll definitely keep an eye on her future releases (and book 2 of this duology!)
Thank you Netgalley and Cassandra Aston for the chance to read the ARC! All opinions are honest and my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, Torture
slow-paced
