aliveinbooks's reviews
139 reviews

Road to Ruin by Hana Lee

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Not what I was expecting but an interesting ride. A runaway princess, a courier running from her own past and emotions, a besotted prince to the rescue, and a magic system that creates tension between those with mana and those without.  A lot of questions unanswered and the end... COME ON! I'm hooked!

Heavenbreaker by Sara Wolf

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Hits the ground running.

Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dad Bod: Minotaur Labyrinth by Alana Khan

medium-paced

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

2.75

This one fell flat for me. I didn’t get any real sense of building chemistry between the two. It was just there and told to us rather than the reader being able to experience it as they did. I also hated the one bed troupe, that’s a me issue though not the writers. I’m really disappointed with this one since I’ve lived the authors previous works.

The Book of Renfield: A Gospel of Dracula by Tim Lucas

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

The Book of Renfield is an interesting parallel novel to the Dracula story. Dr. Jack Seward, a Doctor overseeing the care of R.M. Renfield, recounts and records the former servant of Dracula. We delve deep into Renfield's sad history and better understand the madness that seeped into Renfield while in Dracula's thrall.
This was written in the same style as the early 1800s Bram Stoker’s Dracula classic gothic literature so it may not be suited for those who prefer more modern-day story writing.
I'm a big fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula so reading this was an extra treat, adding more flavor and context to the characters from the classic novel. I was able better to understand Renfield and his near-blind devotion to Dracula. I would definitely recommend this to classic horror fans who enjoy gothic literature.

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

 Whelp my first official DNF of the year. I got 25% way through and the pacing was just too slow for me. I got bored and did not care for the FMC motivations enough for me to be invested. 

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

 A queer reimagining of "The Selkie Wife".

I am glad to finally see a story where someone else sees the horror behind the Selkie Wife. Being kidnapped and forced to be a man's wife, torn away not just your family but a part of yourself, completely cut off.

I adored this story and I do like the occasional HEA. 

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Beautifully crafted Cottage Core Horror.

Wolf, Willow, Witch by Freydís Moon

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Picking up shortly after the end of Heart, Haunt, Havok we follow Tehlor Nilsen as she claims Lincoln Stone as her new vorðr, a sentry, protector, and personal battery pack to supercharge her magic when she's low.   Lincoln, fresh from hell, is none too pleased with this new power dynamic between them and leaves Tehlor on the floor with a warning.   Show your face again and I'll rip it to shreds.

When a juicy new relic falls onto Tehlor's radar she reaches out an olive branch to Lincoln.  Infiltrate the new neo-church(cult) to seize it for themselves.  The stakes are high and this new congregation is much more dangerous than meets the eye.  Together Lincoln and Tehlor tiptoe around not just the cult but each other.

This was such a fun ride and Tehlor had a little more depth to her this time around compared to her initial portrayal in the first book. I was also somewhat surprised by Lincoln, he cared a little more than I gave him credit for.  This was fast-paced and kept me interested until the very end.