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cagneynicole18's reviews
18 reviews
The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
I found it too difficult to imagine how the city/characters were figting. Eventually I found that the book didn't have me hooked enough to try to figure it out. Put it down and never came back to it.
A House of Wolves by Steven Adams
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? No
4.25
Once I got past the first quarter of the book, I couldn't put it down! The world building was incredible and the overall story was really good. I haven't read too many fantasy books by male authors and found that I really enjoyed his approach to fight scenes. As someone with anxiety, I found Sybilla's panic attacks to be a bit hard to read just because I didn't expect it to be so realistic. Overall, this was a really good debut novel and I'm super excited to read more from this author!
Space for Love by Emily Antoinette
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
Overall:
I really enjoyed reading this book and it was so terribly hard to put down! A short, feel good alien sci-fi romance that makes your heart happy. It was refreshing to read about a character that I found really relateable, and the language used between the love interest and the MC when admiring each other was tasteful.
Characters:
I loved most of the characters in this story. The MC is a brave, badass babe and her love interest is a sexy, down-bad alien. I found them both loveable, relatable, and an absolute joy to read about.
Now, I don't think most people would agree with my opinion on this character, but I didn't like the MC's best friend. She doesn't have any sense of boundaries which, to me, translates to a lack of respect. I did wish our MC actually addressed this rather than gloss over it. This is the only reason why I docked a star.
Why you may or may not choose to read the story:
- The book is focused on the development of the characters' romance rather than being plot driven. Personally I think this makes for a good pallet cleanser book or a comfort read.
- Relateable charaBook.
- Plus size representaion.
- Diverse characters and language when it comes to sexuality & gender representation.
- Alien 🍆
- The characters fall in love relatively quickly. Slower than an instalove, but we're only reading about their romance so it feels faster. That being said it's kind of the point of the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book and it was so terribly hard to put down! A short, feel good alien sci-fi romance that makes your heart happy. It was refreshing to read about a character that I found really relateable, and the language used between the love interest and the MC when admiring each other was tasteful.
Characters:
I loved most of the characters in this story. The MC is a brave, badass babe and her love interest is a sexy, down-bad alien. I found them both loveable, relatable, and an absolute joy to read about.
Now, I don't think most people would agree with my opinion on this character, but I didn't like the MC's best friend. She doesn't have any sense of boundaries which, to me, translates to a lack of respect. I did wish our MC actually addressed this rather than gloss over it. This is the only reason why I docked a star.
Why you may or may not choose to read the story:
- The book is focused on the development of the characters' romance rather than being plot driven. Personally I think this makes for a good pallet cleanser book or a comfort read.
- Relateable charaBook.
- Plus size representaion.
- Diverse characters and language when it comes to sexuality & gender representation.
- Alien 🍆
- The characters fall in love relatively quickly. Slower than an instalove, but we're only reading about their romance so it feels faster. That being said it's kind of the point of the book.
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I'm pissed that I'm giving this book such a high rating, but the last few hundred pages took this from a 2 star to 4 star rating. I've been attempting to read this book since it was released (after having read all of SJM's other books), and I couldn't make it past the first 50 pages. BUT I wanted to read it to better understand the multiverse, and let me tell you, I absolutely HATED the first 300 pages. All of the cursing that was primarily in the first 3rd of the book was so unnecessary that it became annoying to read, every little thing became sexualized, and Bryce had no personality. Never thought I'd complain about the first two things cause I usually don't give a shit, but it read like it was written by a 14 year old prepubescent boy just discovered that girls have boobs and that words like fuck exists so now he insists on using it in every single sentence. That very much dies down in the later half of the book, but damn. Random: didn't like Juniper at all. Sis can gtfo.
What saved the book:
- It made me cry, and the only other book series that did that was Throne of Glass.
- I slowly fell in love with Hunt's character. Loved that he actively chose to stay by her side throughout the book when he could have easily switched with one of the other triarii. Also loved that he was very willing to talk about his emotions and knew when he was in the wrong about things. This man also had me kicking my feet and giggling
- Ruhn 🫱🏻🫲🏾 black women
- Ruhn period.
- The last few hundred pages were so terribly good. I was so invested that I stayed up until 6 am to finish it. The birds are chirping outside.
- Tharion period.
- Syrinx
- Lehabah... 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
What saved the book:
- It made me cry, and the only other book series that did that was Throne of Glass.
- I slowly fell in love with Hunt's character. Loved that he actively chose to stay by her side throughout the book when he could have easily switched with one of the other triarii. Also loved that he was very willing to talk about his emotions and knew when he was in the wrong about things. This man also had me kicking my feet and giggling
- Ruhn 🫱🏻🫲🏾 black women
- Ruhn period.
- The last few hundred pages were so terribly good. I was so invested that I stayed up until 6 am to finish it. The birds are chirping outside.
- Tharion period.
- Syrinx
- Lehabah... 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Violence, Cursing, and Gore
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicide attempt
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
This was ridiculously good and the ending was so cute I cried. Will now be mourning yhe fact that it's over for the next several months.
Space for Love by Emily Antoinette
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.0
Edit: I saw someone leave a comment about blackface and as a black person, this book was not disrespectful in the slightest and the cover is an image of a GREY alien. I'm gonna need people to bffr. I loved how this book focused on self love and loving differences we see in each other.
Overall:
I really enjoyed reading this book and it was so terribly hard to put down! A short, feel good alien sci-fi romance that makes your heart happy. It was refreshing to read about a character that I found really relateable, and the language used between the love interest and the MC when admiring each other was tasteful.
Characters:
I loved most of the characters in this story. The MC is a brave, badass babe and her love interest is a sexy, down-bad alien. I found them both loveable, relatable, and an absolute joy to read about.
Now, I don't think most people would agree with my opinion on this character, but I didn't like the MC's best friend. She doesn't have any sense of boundaries which, to me, translates to a lack of respect. I did wish our MC actually addressed this rather than gloss over it. This is the only reason why I docked a star.
Why you may or may not choose to read the story:
- The book is focused on the development of the characters' romance rather than being plot driven. Personally I think this makes for a good pallet cleanser book or a comfort read.
- Relateable charaBook.
- Plus size representaion.
- Diverse characters and language when it comes to sexuality & gender representation.
- Alien 🍆
- The characters fall in love relatively quickly. Slower than an instalove, but we're only reading about their romance so it feels faster. That being said it's kind of the point of the book.
Overall:
I really enjoyed reading this book and it was so terribly hard to put down! A short, feel good alien sci-fi romance that makes your heart happy. It was refreshing to read about a character that I found really relateable, and the language used between the love interest and the MC when admiring each other was tasteful.
Characters:
I loved most of the characters in this story. The MC is a brave, badass babe and her love interest is a sexy, down-bad alien. I found them both loveable, relatable, and an absolute joy to read about.
Now, I don't think most people would agree with my opinion on this character, but I didn't like the MC's best friend. She doesn't have any sense of boundaries which, to me, translates to a lack of respect. I did wish our MC actually addressed this rather than gloss over it. This is the only reason why I docked a star.
Why you may or may not choose to read the story:
- The book is focused on the development of the characters' romance rather than being plot driven. Personally I think this makes for a good pallet cleanser book or a comfort read.
- Relateable charaBook.
- Plus size representaion.
- Diverse characters and language when it comes to sexuality & gender representation.
- Alien 🍆
- The characters fall in love relatively quickly. Slower than an instalove, but we're only reading about their romance so it feels faster. That being said it's kind of the point of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Fatphobia, Stalking, and Body shaming
These are content warnings the author included in the book.
Graphic:
- sex & kink
- alien genitalia (hell yeah)
- ingestion of human & alien fluids
- explicit language
Moderate:
- anxiety
- negative self image
Minor
- stalking
- slut shaming
- food shaming
Where Oceans Burn by Casey L. Bond
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Part 1 of this book is SLOW AS HELL not even gonna lie. But, the moment we met The Shark for the first time, the story picked up a bit. (he had me giggling and kicking my feet and shit). None of the characters are likeable in Part 1 except for a couple side side characters, however that changes once our MC is on the island. The first 200 pages are tough to get through, but I say it's worth the read cause after that I couldn'tput the book down. It's a TRUE enemies to lovers and the character development is top-tier.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I don't know where to begin this review. The book is slow and the plot only begins at the end (last 100 pages) yet I couldn't put it down? Probably because the individual chapters were interesting. The characters are mid. If you get a bad vibe from them just know it doesn't change. Main character was cool but nothing crazy. Overall book was mid. I'm going to read the next one only because I want to know if we get plot and romance. I doubt it tho.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Dementia, Ableism, Death, and Misogyny
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
If dimentia is a trigger at all for you, skip page 407 (paperback English version). It isn't for me but it was hard to read. It's not actually dimentia (it's an illusion) but still.