awrittenwood's reviews
260 reviews

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-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

Bloody Wishes by Brea Alepoú

dark fast-paced

3.0

The idea was solid, but there's not much of a plot to be found until 75% through. If you don't mind that from your spicy books, then cool. However, this had such an interesting supernatural premise that I thought I would actually get to read about these men with badass power, and nothing really happened until the last quarter of the book...though that last quarter was dark, disgusting and devilishly entertaining. 

I think this book was in need of an editor more than anything. There were a lot of grammar mistakes, a couple times where they used the wrong character's name, phrases/sentences that didn't make sense, and a few really cliche phrases. Had a strong editor gone through this, it could have been really great. As it is, it's okay. 

I love Arsenio most. 🖤🧛🏽

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

dark hopeful tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

Her Soul for Revenge by Harley Laroux

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a fun, quick read for me. While I wish the characters were more dynamic and had a stronger voice of their own, I still really enjoyed the story itself.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

Maybe if this were longer and had the opportunity to really get into all the yokai (supernatural entities/spirits) mentioned, this could have been more engaging. I also found the characters pretty underdeveloped, and about 30 pages in, I realized I didn't care what happened to any of them. 

It took me twice as long to read this book as it should have because I would look up meanings to words throughout the book and find myself reading more on Wikipedia. 

I chose this book thinking it would provide a deliciously disturbing sense of creepiness, but it lacked any sort of fright for me, and it didn't feel like they're was any twist on the Hollywood horror movie genre talked about point blank at a couple points in the book. 

There was a horror story in here, but it lacked so much depth. I liked the writing just fine, and I think this could have been something so great, but it needed so much more - pages, description, scare factor, character development.

Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor

sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The Grip of It by Jac Jemc

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book did really well explaining the claustrophobic feeling that builds over time when you're in a relationship with someone and slowly start to lose trust in them. Add in the sense of being haunted in your new, old, semi-remote home, and you have a recipe for mysterious chaos. However, this story didn't get into the chaos as much as it could have to really bring out the sense of dread. There's nothing wrong with being understated, but it felt like being edged without any release. There were a few moments I felt a thorough creep factor, but they waned as quickly as the few sentences they were held in. 

A Soul to Keep by Opal Reyne

dark funny medium-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? It's complicated

3.5