ali_k0's reviews
128 reviews

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair

adventurous 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

4.0

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

The Vampires of El Norte is a Romantic Historical Thriller perfect for anyone looking to get into Romance, History, or Thrillers. 

As the Anglo army matches South into Mexico, childhood friends Nestor and Nena are thrown back together after years apart. Nena yearns to prove herself vital to her home and avoid being married off, Nestor yearns to prove himself worth marrying her and  to be seen as more than a "lowly" vaquero. 

Isabel Cañas mixes horrors of the imagination and the real horrors of history, reinventing vampires and weaving them into the long history of the Rio Grande Valley. Along the way, she pairs it with a love so bright it burns away all darkness.

Keep one hand on your heart and the other in a bag of salt as you journey back in time to 1840's Mexico-America to fight the Vampires of El Norte, but remember, the true monsters aren't always the ones who lurk in the night.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, War, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence

Minor: Cursing and Fire/Fire injury

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The perfect love story for terrible people who need help believing they are still worth loving.

Queen Bee by Amalie Howard
Did not finish book. Stopped at 1%.

Juvenile writing.

Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America by Dan Pfeiffer

3.0

Too ranty for my tastes but an interesting opinion piece

Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy by Brian Stelter

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

4.0

Spare by Prince Harry

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Harry's narration makes it feel like a conversation with a well worn traveler, a lively time fill with laughs, tears, and nostalgia for memories you don't even have, and places you've never even seen.

Kingsbane by Claire Legrand

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

My only qualm was that I feel in some areas the book dragged out it's pacing in the name of tension that didn't need to be added. 

Regardless, it is a stunning, terrifying sequel by all accounts. Kingsbane grabs your heart from the start and refuses to let go, tightening it's grip with every word until it finally rips it out from your chest at the very moment you think it will let you go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Torture, Child abuse, Pregnancy, and Infidelity

Minor: Medical content and Slavery

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Colonisation, Torture, Death, Murder, Violence, and War

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Cursing, Terminal illness, and Infidelity

Gothikana by RuNyx

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent and Dementia

Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault