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cagneynicole18's reviews
24 reviews

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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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 ๐Ÿซฑ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿซฒ๐Ÿพ 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... ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ
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Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

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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

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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 ๐Ÿ†
- 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.
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Where Oceans Burn by Casey L. Bond

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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.
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Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

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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

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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.
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The Hollow Heart by Marie Rutkoski

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring tense slow-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

4.0

okay here we go...

the first 2/3 or the book dragged to me which was deviating because I loved the first book, but finishing the book was worth it. I do wish that she made the ending much longer and kept writing. I do feel like the author got tired of the book at some point and rushed the rest. I loved finding out Nirrim's origin that was incredible to me. Honestly, I wish we got three books instead of two I'm sad it's over.
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Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

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dark inspiring medium-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

3.75

Loved this book so much in the beginning. The story is unique and the characters are beautifully made. Overall it's a very good book and I do recommend it.
I had to take off stars though because I wish the ending was arranged a little differently. I got bored for a bit and switched to a different book before finishing this one. There is also a HUGE lack of diversity that I'm surprised people haven't mentioned. I'm not one to usually be bothered by this too much but I got incredibly tired noticing it every few pages. I believe there might be one poc character
but he dies for the benefit of the main character
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I've never read a book like this before. It has such an intriguing mix of high fantasy and elements of dystopian fiction that was captivating to read. I absolutely fell in love with all of the characters (even the horrible ones) because each have so much depth to them 
10/10 read and I can't wait to start the next one โค๏ธ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿ’œ
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The Unseelie Crown by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0