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ashley_mrose530's reviews
346 reviews
Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
I loved this book so much. It's everything everyone was saying about it. I loved the characters and watching their relationship develop with each other slowly was so beautiful. The world building was perfect, never clunky or out of place with the exposition. The characters desires were clear and their flaws were also well established. This book was a little more political than I thought it was going to be but it's still so good. It never got boring or over the top.
I am worried about reading the second one because I've heard people say it's a let down compared to this one, but I will take the chance on it just because I love this book so much and I want to know what happens.
I am worried about reading the second one because I've heard people say it's a let down compared to this one, but I will take the chance on it just because I love this book so much and I want to know what happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Violence, and War
When You Least Expect It by Haley Cass
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I am honestly really disappointed in this book. I loved Those Who Wait so much so I wanted to try other books by the same author, but I guess this one was not the one to try.
First of all, the writing was very much telling rather than showing, especially at the beginning. It seemed to be rushing throughout the book rather than being slow and developing things well. The beginning of the book went from one plot point to the next rather than developing the main character and setting up her motivations, desires, dreams, or even her past. I felt like I got no details about her at all.
Speaking of character development, there was next to none. I know that Caroline is a lawyer and that seemed to be her only personality trait. The only thing that was shown about her fairly well was that she liked kids. That was actually developed naturally and shown to us. I couldn't tell what her flaws were or what she needed to work on herself. I really don't know why this book was from her point of view at all. Because there were no flaws, there was also no growth for her and that was a huge issue with this book. I felt like Hannah had more character development and even growth than our POV character did which is very disappointing.
All around I'm very upset about this book. I almost DNF'd it but decided not to because I did like Hannah and the slow burn of the relationship. Probably the only redeeming qualities here unfortunately.
First of all, the writing was very much telling rather than showing, especially at the beginning. It seemed to be rushing throughout the book rather than being slow and developing things well. The beginning of the book went from one plot point to the next rather than developing the main character and setting up her motivations, desires, dreams, or even her past. I felt like I got no details about her at all.
Speaking of character development, there was next to none. I know that Caroline is a lawyer and that seemed to be her only personality trait. The only thing that was shown about her fairly well was that she liked kids. That was actually developed naturally and shown to us. I couldn't tell what her flaws were or what she needed to work on herself. I really don't know why this book was from her point of view at all. Because there were no flaws, there was also no growth for her and that was a huge issue with this book. I felt like Hannah had more character development and even growth than our POV character did which is very disappointing.
All around I'm very upset about this book. I almost DNF'd it but decided not to because I did like Hannah and the slow burn of the relationship. Probably the only redeeming qualities here unfortunately.
The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
5.0
I loved this book. The characters were what really sold it. The plot was a little far-fetched but the characters and their dynamics were perfect. I loved all of them. I think my favorites were Ted and Brooks though. They were so funny and Brooks had so much depth that you learned as you read and he wasn't even one of the lead characters.
And then there was the main girls, Tanzie and Gemma. I absolutely loved them together. The fluff was so good and the spice was even better. I loved that they had open communication throughout the whole book too. They realized they had feelings or, in Tanzie's case, could develop feelings if they tried to do friends with benefits and they were both open about them instead of hiding them. It was refreshing to see in a romance novel.
I loved their relationship so much. This was definitely a fantastic sapphic romance story.
And then there was the main girls, Tanzie and Gemma. I absolutely loved them together. The fluff was so good and the spice was even better. I loved that they had open communication throughout the whole book too. They realized they had feelings or, in Tanzie's case, could develop feelings if they tried to do friends with benefits and they were both open about them instead of hiding them. It was refreshing to see in a romance novel.
I loved their relationship so much. This was definitely a fantastic sapphic romance story.
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
This was a really great character study on what is right and wrong and how we are perceived based on those actions.
In this short story the main character chose to save her brother's life ten years ago by promising her soul to a demon. In this world, that is considered the highest sin and you are dirty and shunned for making that deal. It doesn't matter why you made it at all. It has the same energy of if someone kills another person it's typically seen as the worst thing you could possibly do, but what if they killed them to save someone else or even themselves? It shows that there can be grey areas in even the things people consider irredeemable.
I liked that the main character believed that she did nothing wrong in making that trade and never regretted it and she was right. It was definitely worth it, at least to her. And she put up with everyone disagreeing and putting her down for it for ten years.
And then she was faced with the same decision at the end of the story and she made the same choice. It was a beautiful full-circle moment and made you really look at the other characters around her for their reactions. It was nice to see her brother change his opinion after he was faced with that same choice - damning himself or losing the person he loves.
I also loved the romantic relationship in this book between the main character and her girlfriend. It felt so realistic and beautiful. They were so supportive of each other and it was obvious how much they loved each other even through their bad choices. It was truly amazing to see.
In this short story the main character chose to save her brother's life ten years ago by promising her soul to a demon. In this world, that is considered the highest sin and you are dirty and shunned for making that deal. It doesn't matter why you made it at all. It has the same energy of if someone kills another person it's typically seen as the worst thing you could possibly do, but what if they killed them to save someone else or even themselves? It shows that there can be grey areas in even the things people consider irredeemable.
I liked that the main character believed that she did nothing wrong in making that trade and never regretted it and she was right. It was definitely worth it, at least to her. And she put up with everyone disagreeing and putting her down for it for ten years.
I also loved the romantic relationship in this book between the main character and her girlfriend. It felt so realistic and beautiful. They were so supportive of each other and it was obvious how much they loved each other even through their bad choices. It was truly amazing to see.
Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I liked the idea of this book. I thought the world was interesting and the magic system was different and fascinating, but I didn't really vibe with the story overall.
I felt emotionally distant from the characters and their motivations and I'm not sure if that's just because I was listening to the audiobook - because sometimes I do feel more distant from a book in this format - or if it was the writing in general. I know I didn't really care for Ahn as a character. I feel like she was too trusting when she literally grew up in poverty and knew how people could lie and manipulate each other.
I did like Altan more. I liked how he seemed pretty morally grey especially at the beginning and throughout the story he grew to be more trusting and emotive. I think he had the best character growth out of the two of them as well. He learned the power of forgiveness and love while Ahn really kind of ended up where she started. She started the book off by being afraid of her magical abilities and refusing to use them and by the end she still refused to use them and didn't acknowledge how they could be used to help rather than hurt. It was not fulfilling for a main character in my opinion.
And then at the end of the book they separate and that bothered me a lot too. I didn't understand Ahn's motivations for leaving the country she grew up in at all. What was she looking for? Her mom? She has no idea if she's even alive? I could see it if she had a hint that her mom was alive but she didn't so I don't know why she even wanted to go searching for her. It seemed to set it up for a sequel but I don't see any record of a sequel on the way so I don't really know what the author was trying to do with this ending.
Anyway, it was an interesting read. Not the worst thing I've read this year, but it could have been better.
I felt emotionally distant from the characters and their motivations and I'm not sure if that's just because I was listening to the audiobook - because sometimes I do feel more distant from a book in this format - or if it was the writing in general. I know I didn't really care for Ahn as a character. I feel like she was too trusting when she literally grew up in poverty and knew how people could lie and manipulate each other.
I did like Altan more. I liked how he seemed pretty morally grey especially at the beginning and throughout the story he grew to be more trusting and emotive. I think he had the best character growth out of the two of them as well. He learned the power of forgiveness and love while Ahn really kind of ended up where she started. She started the book off by being afraid of her magical abilities and refusing to use them and by the end she still refused to use them and didn't acknowledge how they could be used to help rather than hurt. It was not fulfilling for a main character in my opinion.
Anyway, it was an interesting read. Not the worst thing I've read this year, but it could have been better.
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Honestly this duology is just phenomenal. I loved everything about it so much. Iris and Roman are still one of my favorite couples ever and I loved the world building of this historical fantasy. I also loved that the side characters became more prominent in this book. They each had their own desires and needs making them seem so real. The writing is so beautiful - simple yet lyrical and almost poetic at times. This is definitely one of my favorite series of all time.
Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
I loved this retelling. I've always been a big fan of Pride and Prejudice and I love that this remix made it queer. It was exactly what I was looking for. I also loved that it kept all of the major plot points of the original book while spinning them to match the new characters and their story.
I loved Oliver and his struggle to be who he really is rather than who society tells him he should be. And though they took the pride out of Mr. Darcy, I still loved him and how supportive of Oliver he is when he found out who he was.
I do think a lot, if not all, of the female characters in this book were pretty flat and one-dimensional. They seemed to only be there to either hit major plot points from the source material or move Oliver's struggles along whereas the original source material focused on all of the female characters and the misogyny they all had to deal with. For example, I was really wondering how confronting Mr. Collins was going to affect Oliver's relationship with Charlotte, but she seemed to have been forgotten unfortunately because that was not addressed at the end of the book at all.
In all I had a really great time with this book though and I loved to see more trans representation.
I loved Oliver and his struggle to be who he really is rather than who society tells him he should be. And though they took the pride out of Mr. Darcy, I still loved him and how supportive of Oliver he is when he found out who he was.
I do think a lot, if not all, of the female characters in this book were pretty flat and one-dimensional. They seemed to only be there to either hit major plot points from the source material or move Oliver's struggles along whereas the original source material focused on all of the female characters and the misogyny they all had to deal with. For example, I was really wondering how confronting Mr. Collins was going to affect Oliver's relationship with Charlotte, but she seemed to have been forgotten unfortunately because that was not addressed at the end of the book at all.
In all I had a really great time with this book though and I loved to see more trans representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Dysphoria, Sexism, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Deadnaming
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I had a lot of fun with this book. I liked the characters. Kai and Paedyn had so much chemistry and I loved Kai and Kit's relationship as well as them with Jax. I thought both Kai and Paedyn were so smart and the author did a great job of keeping their characters consistent throughout the book. I also liked the idea of the plot with the Elites and the Ordinaries and a Hunger Games style fight-to-the-death tournament. I always love a good superpower plot line and combining that with the Hunger Games was a fantastic idea.
Unfortunately there were quite a few things that didn't work in this book. One of those is the world building. I really have no idea why they have this tournament. It would have made sense to me if it was all Ordinaries participating in it but to have it all be Elites killing each other doesn't make sense. I thought they wanted the Elites to be the only ones in this society? Why are they forcing them to kill each other? And what's the motivation for being in the tournament? Bragging rights? That wouldn't be enough to get a majority of people to risk their life so I don't think it's very realistic.
There is also an issue of timing here. There was supposedly only two weeks between when Paedyn found out she was going to be in the tournament and the actual start of the trials and in that time I'm supposed to believe that Paedyn felt so guilty about forgetting about her friend, for like a week, that sheblames her death on herself? I don't feel like that was enough time to say she completely forgot about her friend considering everything else that was happening. I also don't think two weeks was enough time for all the training and everything that happened in that time. Also her friend was suppose to have sewed an entire dress in less than two weeks? That's also fairly unrealistic. And then after that first trial, we don't really get a time frame and I have no idea how much time passes but that was probably better than the two weeks that we were told about.
So even though I did really enjoy this book, it still had those two huge faults. I think I do want to read the next one though and see how the story progresses.
Unfortunately there were quite a few things that didn't work in this book. One of those is the world building. I really have no idea why they have this tournament. It would have made sense to me if it was all Ordinaries participating in it but to have it all be Elites killing each other doesn't make sense. I thought they wanted the Elites to be the only ones in this society? Why are they forcing them to kill each other? And what's the motivation for being in the tournament? Bragging rights? That wouldn't be enough to get a majority of people to risk their life so I don't think it's very realistic.
There is also an issue of timing here. There was supposedly only two weeks between when Paedyn found out she was going to be in the tournament and the actual start of the trials and in that time I'm supposed to believe that Paedyn felt so guilty about forgetting about her friend, for like a week, that she
So even though I did really enjoy this book, it still had those two huge faults. I think I do want to read the next one though and see how the story progresses.
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I did really like this one, but I felt like it started off kind of slow. I feel like most of the really interesting stuff happened in the last quarter of the book. Like the back part of the book was really good and paced well and had interesting world building, but the first three-quarters of the book was so slow and didn't really keep my interest as well as I would have liked.
The first portion of the book is basically setting up the plot only. We get to know the characters a little bit but we don't really feel their relationship to each other because that all developed in the past. It almost felt like this was supposed to be a sequel, if we were strictly looking at the relationship development and character building. It was really hard for me to see why they cared about each other so much but hadn't talked in years.
But once we got to the island where they met up with the villain was when things started to pick up a little bit more and then it just kept growing. I really liked the magical element to this world and how Amina was just trying to retire and got roped into this whole new world instead. And I do think the last portion of this book makes up for the first part being so slow.
It looks like this one is going to be a series and I'm really excited to see where it goes from here and how Amina deals with all of the change that happened in this book.
The first portion of the book is basically setting up the plot only. We get to know the characters a little bit but we don't really feel their relationship to each other because that all developed in the past. It almost felt like this was supposed to be a sequel, if we were strictly looking at the relationship development and character building. It was really hard for me to see why they cared about each other so much but hadn't talked in years.
But once we got to the island where they met up with the villain was when things started to pick up a little bit more and then it just kept growing. I really liked the magical element to this world and how Amina was just trying to retire and got roped into this whole new world instead. And I do think the last portion of this book makes up for the first part being so slow.
It looks like this one is going to be a series and I'm really excited to see where it goes from here and how Amina deals with all of the change that happened in this book.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book really kept me guessing. I didn't know what was going to happen until it was already happening throughout the entire ending of this book and I loved it so much.
I liked the idea. The magic system was so fascinating and I loved learning about it. I liked that it kind of didn't have any limits to what it could do but rather the limit lies in if there was enough scribe blood to do it.
I liked the characters too. I was immediately invested in Esther and Pearl's relationship and was rooting for them through the end. Jo's scenes were less interesting to me though. I found myself wanting to get to Esther's scenes while going through Jo's. I think there just wasn't as much going on in Jo's part of the story. The stuff with her mom was necessary but it definitely wasn't as interesting to me since it was obvious to me that her mom was under an NDA once that was introduced to us. I did enjoy Nicholas's story as well. I do think he was introduced a little late though. I think I had gone through 2 or 3 hours of the audiobook before he was introduced and it took me by surprise. Until that point I thought it was just going to be the two sisters throughout the story but then we suddenly got his POV and I was a little confused for a bit. I did like his story though and his struggle with getting away from the toxic manipulation his uncle was putting him through while also loving him as a father-figure. It felt realistic and I really appreciated what his POV added to the story.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this book especially to anyone who loves magic and books.
I liked the idea. The magic system was so fascinating and I loved learning about it. I liked that it kind of didn't have any limits to what it could do but rather the limit lies in if there was enough scribe blood to do it.
I liked the characters too. I was immediately invested in Esther and Pearl's relationship and was rooting for them through the end. Jo's scenes were less interesting to me though. I found myself wanting to get to Esther's scenes while going through Jo's. I think there just wasn't as much going on in Jo's part of the story. The stuff with her mom was necessary but it definitely wasn't as interesting to me since it was obvious to me that her mom was under an NDA once that was introduced to us. I did enjoy Nicholas's story as well. I do think he was introduced a little late though. I think I had gone through 2 or 3 hours of the audiobook before he was introduced and it took me by surprise. Until that point I thought it was just going to be the two sisters throughout the story but then we suddenly got his POV and I was a little confused for a bit. I did like his story though and
All in all, I would definitely recommend this book especially to anyone who loves magic and books.