alyssas_bookshelf's Reviews (91)

Corrupt

Penelope Douglas

5.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

If work and the real world didn’t exist, I would have read this book in one sitting. It was so good!!

Content Warnings

DallerGut Dream Department Store

Miye Lee

2.75

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I wanted to try out a book with a topic that was super different. This book delivered such an idea, but I just wasn't feeling it. It was cute and short, and it had some good words of wisdom, but it still took me 4 days to finish because I couldn't really get into it.

Shy Girl

Mia Ballard

5.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Brb while I go text my old sugar daddy and thank him for not being anything like this. 😂

Mia says it herself, but I feel it needs to be said again.. do NOT be fooled by the cutesy cover and make sure you read the warning/triggers before going into this story.
With that being said, this was an INSANE read. I don’t even know where to begin or end with my review, as my thoughts and emotions haven’t stopped raging ever since I finished the book. When I started dipping my toes into the Horror genre, THIS is what I was looking for.
Mia Ballard’s writing style is so smooth and flawless, I was quickly obsessed, and already have her other 2 books Sugar and We All Rot Eventually in the cart.
The way she portrays OCD, toxic relationships, the things that women go through on a daily basis, and the pure animalistic female RAGE that comes out of it all.. I couldn’t have been more impressed, seriously. I will think about this book, probably for the rest of my life, and continue to ponder on all of the deeper meanings hidden within it.

Favorite quotes:
• “‘Thank you,’ I say to the waitress reflexively. She widens her eyes at me. Get a load of this guy. I smile and cartoonishly widen my eyes back at her before she leaves the table. I love how we can telepathically converse like that. It was one of the only things women had that men couldn't take away.”
• “Rage. The word cuts through my thoughts like a knife. The sound of his voice, the sight of his face, the casual ease with which he dismisses everything he's done—it fuels the fire inside me until it consumes everything else.”
• “Women have always been cast as caretakers, peacekeepers, and forgivers. We're told to endure, to adapt, to rise above. But sometimes, the only way to heal is to rage. Sometimes, justice isn't quiet or clean; it's feral and bloody and unapologetic.”

Thank you to Mia Ballard for writing this amazing piece of art, and thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read the ARC.

Content Warnings

Shades and Shadows

Ashley Laster

3.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

YA isn’t my #1 genre, but with the paranormal/modern magic aspect, I was very intrigued and wanted to give it a try! I think middle and high school me would have LOVED this book, but adult me still enjoyed it. I would absolutely be interested in reading the next book in the series, as it left us at a point where so many things can be explored going forward.

Liked:

The wide variety of characters! There are witches, ghosts, different kinds of demons, and angels.
The friends that the FMC makes along the way are so unique and have their own lovable personalities and quirks.
Loads of humor and good banter between characters. I giggled A LOT during my read.
The representation of anxiety in teens (younger me would have appreciated this a lot).
The fact that the author wrote this book based off her own hometown and she even includes folklore from other areas in the world (i.e. The Black Church in Brasov, Romania).
LOTS of descriptive writing! Although sometimes it was a little too much description and ended up having a clunky feel to it.
There were a few plot twists that I definitely didn’t see coming and lord knows I love a good “omg, no way” moment.
How the story challenges the way you traditionally think of good vs evil / demons vs angels.

Disliked:

I had to Google the definition of quite a few words and it almost felt like they didn’t flow with the overall writing. It had me pulling myself out of the story just to find out that “garrulous” means “talkative”. Although.. since this is YA, it could push kids to broaden their vocabulary so I really shouldn’t complain.
Even with how descriptive the writing was, I still felt very confused on who was doing what and what exactly was happening. Maybe this has to do with lack of world-building and how quickly events were taking place??

Favorite quotes:

“The stars incline us, they do not bind us.”
“The moon doesn't fear the dark; she speaks the language of stars.”
“‘He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility-a band of destroying angels! Psalm 78:49’ — People forget angels are merciless soldiers."

Spice level: 🫑 (has a little bit of potential romance, but mainly plot focused, only 1 kiss between 2 characters and some funny/suggestive comments)

* ARC read through NetGalley, but this is a completely unbiased and honest review.

Onyx Storm

Rebecca Yarros

5.0

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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: Complicated

I’m so glad I did the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame reread right before going into Onyx Storm— the “new info overload” was heavy in the beginning of this book, and rendered me from fully getting into it right off the bat. I pushed through and by chapter 22 we were moving into the adventures and trials portion and I was HOOKED. Adventures ended, more necessary info dumps, and then the BATTLE!? THE ENDING!!? I thought I was mentally/emotionally prepared to wait however long for the last 2 books, and boy was I lying to myself.. Rebecca, I know you love your family and you deserve this break.. but I just want you to know that your break is breaking my heart. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!? 😭

Devourer of Men

Nikki St. Crowe

3.75

dark funny mysterious 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: Complicated

I devoured the Vicious Lost Boys series and all of its glorious spice. I think I had the same exact expectations when starting Devourer of Men, so when I was met with a lot more plot and less spice, I felt conflicted. Thats not to say that the book was bad, by any means, I actually quite enjoyed it and the ending had me hooked (pun intended? 🤔) and now I can’t wait to see what Nikki has in store for us with the 2nd book!

There Are No Saints

Sophie Lark

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book had me hooked from page 1. Lots of authors will include playlists that go along with their book, but Sophie Lark took it to the next level by not only including a playlist, but placing it throughout the story so you can listen to each song that either matches the vibe of the scene or is the actual song the character has playing. Between that aspect and the drawings that are included, giving you physical representation of what is happening in the book, this was an incredibly IMMERSIVE read. I truly felt like I was there and it had me beyond captivated. 10/10 very much recommend.

Already ordered the 2nd book and it’ll be here tomorrow, which gives me enough time to eat it up before the Onyx Storm release on Tuesday.