alimoo511's reviews
1055 reviews

A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne

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adventurous challenging funny lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

3.5

Unlike the first installment, I feel like a Pirate's Life for Tea had a pacing issue that could not have been ignored.

The secondary romance, something that took up the focus for most of the novel, was poorly resolved.

The foundation was there, but by the 50% mark, I was convinced that the pair simply passed their expiration date, and they had lost me from there.

I feel like the pov emphasis was also a problem, again, since the story was so focused on Bobbie and Serrie for so long I felt as though having more of their pov and having scenes more involved with them would have done this a lot of good.

I also feel as though the eggs and dragon debacle were also horribly resolved and rushed. For a species we spent so much time focused on learning their ruthlessness for their young, merely accepting the loss of the third egg would not have gone as smoothly as it had in this novel and it kinda threw me out of the story because of it. 

I did adore this novel do not get me wrong, the comedy and main relationship continued to woe me as much in the first novel and even the plot and new characters held my attention but this story simply felt as though it suffered needlessly.

That being said, I literally can't wait for book #3. I am so hyped.




If We Were Villains: A Novel by M.L. Rio

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

Exactly how much of myself am I revealing when I mention that I think my favorite kind of mystery is murders of passion being recounted by someone involved years after?

There is something amazing and resoundingly eerie about a story of how someone who never would have ended up here, and yet here they are.

The things I could say about this story in particular are endless it is such a work of art and in such an extraordinary way I can feel these characters and see this murder so real in my mind.

It's heartbreakingly tragic and just I love it so much. 
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Felix Silver, Teaspoons & Witches by Harry Cook

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

3.0

Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore

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adventurous challenging funny reflective sad tense slow-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

This one is definitely way up there with Graceling and Fire for sure!!!

Linny and Hava were so ADORABLE. I wish we had more of them.

BitterBlue and Giddon in this story was so annoying but I also loved it because it really did help to show that Hava and BitterBlue were no longer at the points in their lives where their relationship dynamic was working.

I love how Cashore shows the  growing pains of growing up not just internally for the characters but externally as well.

Seeing them fall off their rhythm, be more and more frustrated by how they couldn't be in sync, and then just not communicating was so real it was agitating 🤣.

I clocked so early on that Hava was going to be a sailor. She was growing and learning so much on that ship and valued that crew so much, but I am glad we went there.

Rip Blueberry, I loved you 😭

I really hope we get another book with Hava as the main character, but also, I really do just love everything that is happening in this world, and I literally hope we never have to say goodbye to it
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.5

Horus Rising by Dan Abnett

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

3.5

It is extremely difficult for me to truly review or even summarize this as someone who was raised on Warhammer thanks to my father and uncles.

My father and my brothers, in particular, have been encouraging me to read the novelizations  of this story for years, and I finally bit the bullet, and now here I am.

This is a Grimdark Fantasy Sci-fi series that follows the Crusade of humanity as they proceed to participate in their second favorite activity, invading nonhostile civilizations and erasing their cultures and religion in favor of their own.

In this novel, we are following Captain Gavriel Loken as he recounts his time following Warmaster Horus in the early days of the crusade and of Warmaster even existing as a position in this military.

Growing up on the tale of Horus, the Emperor, and of course Spacemarines as a whole its...hard to think of this objectively or even subjectively.

I discussed this with my brother before but it was even difficult to view the truly graphic and grotesque descriptions in this book as something considered grimdark because I am so familiar to the comings and goings of this world that it didn't carry the weight I felt like I was supposed to be experiencing.

Basically, all this review is really about is how I will continue to read this series, but I also really have nothing to truly delve into and discuss.

A Werewolf's Guide To Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-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

4.5

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

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

2.0