badattentionspan_reader's reviews
346 reviews

The First Stone (The First Dryad) by Teshelle Combs

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Once again, a wonderfully built world and wonderfully complex characters were the name of the game. 
Sanaa is possibly one of the greatest characters I have ever read. She is the epitome of growth coming from a land like Rote, which was bland and boring and conforming and harsh and emotionless and just mute. Not to mention, women were just a means for creation and power.  Blegh.
Her shift after moving to Caram, which is very loud and colorful and flavorful and challenging and strong and equal. It just led to her ultimate power and badassery. 

I loved the relationship between Sanaa and Taeyo. The banter was perfect. The respect was perfect. They just really matched well. They pushed each other's boundaries but not in a way that made the other feel unloved. 

The additional characters. There are always so many, but Tess really makes sure you learn about and love each and every one. This is possibly one of my favorites of the First series. 

To continue on about the characters... literally, there's a frog named Mus that has a big part to Sanaa's story. A FROG.  

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

adventurous dark inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book is more than I thought it would be. I was worried it would be exactly like the first where there wasn't a lot of excitement. Ooooh boy. There is plenty of excitement this time around.
There's deception. There's star crossed love. There's despair. I cried a few times. Rebecca really made you love the characters she wrote. Everything that happens feels personal. 

I'm so glad I stuck it out for the second book.

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

dark emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

If you're looking for thrill and excitement, this is not the book for you. There is *some*, but it's sad and war related. You will likely get bored if thrill is what you want. 

This book is more for the development. The development of your characters. The world building. The relationships amongst friends. The creation of myths and gods. The feeling of right vs wrong. Pen pals!?

I feel like giving it a rating won't feel right. Because I did really like this book, however, it didn't excite me. But I am huge on development, and I really became close to the characters. So I don't know. It's a lot of good and bad mixed

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

When I first started reading this book, I was creeped out enough I didn't want to read it at night. Then it started getting extremely repetitive and I almost gave up. It got better, but there was a whole bid up and the ending fell short. I wish there was more gusto. The secret was meh, the wrap up was boring. I just wanted more. 

But if this does turn into a movie, I'll watch the crap out of it.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

3.5

Not my usual genre. I'm glad I gave it a go though. 

Elizabeth is a baddie. Having to put up with the bs of a man's world 60-70 years ago sounds exhausting. Everyone thinking she's riding her boyfriend's coat tail and men taking advantage of her and her smarts left and right. It was tough to read, because sometimes I still feel that way in the world today. 

I am in disagreement with a lot of people that Elizabeth isn't a relatable character. Her ridiculous logic and rationality is me.

One of the things that bothered me was how much it hopped around. I was confused a few times because we'd randomly be transported into a memory and then go back to the "present" and it was spotty and hard to follow at times. 

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

You think you know, but you don't.

Okay, so the beginning of this book it seems like it's going one way and you get annoyed with the predictability, but then the second half things get a little crazy. Very fast paced and the twists were SO GOOD!

Dead Girls Can't Smile by Nichole Heydenburg

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSirens, and this is my honest review. 

Okay, here's the thing. I wish goodreads had half ratings because this is better than just a 3, but it's just not *there* for a 4.

This book starts off very slow. I wasn't sure it was something I'd want to get into for the first ~30%.
However, when the going got going, I had a hard time putting it down. Sleep did win the first night I read it, but the next day, I sat down and finished in one go. Very fast-paced.

I did not expect what went down to have gone down. There was some darkness. There was some betrayal. There was high school drama.

This is a great YA thriller if you want a *truly* YA novel.


What I did not like: the romance/dating. I know it was part of the plot, but it seemed a little out of place and silly at times. 

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Look, I'm probably an unpopular opinion, but Nesta Archeron is one of the most relatable characters. She is going THROUGH it. Figuring out her trauma. She may be a giant b sometimes, but she is the type to push Pele away when she has her big feelings and that's super relatable. 

I know people love the smut, but that was my least favorite part about the book. Sorry 😅

This book made me ugly cry. You learn about the power of friendship and sisterhood. And tradition. And ugh it was just a good ending (until next book). 

I wanna be a valkyrie so bad. 

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

5.0

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

informative lighthearted

3.0

This is like the christmas special of the ACOTAR series. 

There is important information within the pages, but really, it's just a filler. I enjoyed it, but it didn't grasp me and my emotions as the others did.