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cas_reads_anything's reviews
404 reviews
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
2.5
best feature: queernormative world that some people may find cozy; there is technically a scene where a character masturbates to death.
worst feature: the utter predictability of every single plot point, not that there are a ton of plot points. The writing is awkward (not awful, just also not good) and the dialogue can’t decide if it wants to be semi-normal or this weird version of victorian speech where no one uses contractions. I hated the love interest and the main character wasn’t exactly endearing either. this was fairly boring and painful to get through and the payoff was the exact ending I could have told you would happen from like, 30% of the way into the book.
The Merciless King of Moore High by Lily Sparks
4.25
Overall Impressions: I genuinely could not put this down. The horror/apocalypse/event is not explored super thoroughly, because the real terror is the dystopian set up created by teenagers in its wake. You almost forget at points that this isn’t just political intrigue/a murder mystery, and then a giant monster barrels in to remind you. I never knew who I could trust or who was “right” or “wrong” throughout the whole story and I found it absolutely fascinating. Really, really enjoyably weird read.
Worldbuilding: This book is hyper focused on a very small portion of the world and never zooms out to tell you more. The main characters don’t know what happened with the rest of the world (or even beyond their own high school) so neither do you. The main characters don’t understand what creates or motivates the Growns, so neither do you. I did wish for a lot more information on them but on the other hand, I LOVE that the story just plunks you down in the middle without a ton of exposition or info dumping.
Characters: Most of the characters were unlikable (on purpose!) and utterly untrustworthy but they always kept me guessing. I really liked Kay, even when I was shouting for her to just stop talking, and Brick was probably my second favorite character even if he clearly makes flawed decisions. I wish we had learned more about Starr but ultimately the book did a great job of keeping so many POVs distinct and interesting.
Plot: A million twists and turns, and yet it all made sense in a general way. I was shocked by some of the revelations but afterward they did make logical sense.
Pacing/prose: fast paced throughout, with constant action on action on action.
Recommend/Read More? Absolutely. I am hoping this gets a sequel because there is so much left to explore in this story.
Worldbuilding: This book is hyper focused on a very small portion of the world and never zooms out to tell you more. The main characters don’t know what happened with the rest of the world (or even beyond their own high school) so neither do you. The main characters don’t understand what creates or motivates the Growns, so neither do you. I did wish for a lot more information on them but on the other hand, I LOVE that the story just plunks you down in the middle without a ton of exposition or info dumping.
Characters: Most of the characters were unlikable (on purpose!) and utterly untrustworthy but they always kept me guessing. I really liked Kay, even when I was shouting for her to just stop talking, and Brick was probably my second favorite character even if he clearly makes flawed decisions. I wish we had learned more about Starr but ultimately the book did a great job of keeping so many POVs distinct and interesting.
Plot: A million twists and turns, and yet it all made sense in a general way. I was shocked by some of the revelations but afterward they did make logical sense.
Pacing/prose: fast paced throughout, with constant action on action on action.
Recommend/Read More? Absolutely. I am hoping this gets a sequel because there is so much left to explore in this story.
The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach
4.25
Loved the characters and the prose, really interesting world. But the pacing felt off. there was so much set go to get onto the pirate ship and then that felt like just fizzled out? we built to this big confrontation and then bam, the world is saved? just a little bit of a lack of follow through on some of these big scenes
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
4.0
I recieved an advanced copy of this book at no charge.
This was an extremely enjoyable read. I liked Julie Soto’s debut quite a bit, but I think this was better.
We follow two rivals, a violinist who has lost her family and was struggling financially before she found a stable position with a pop orchestra playing 7th chair with a few weddings on the side. Gwen isn’t taking risks and sure, maybe she’s not growing much as a violinist, but she’s finally found a place where she has some stability and belonging.
Enter Xander Thorne, bad boy cello rock star (don’t laugh, I know. there’s some suspension of disbelief with that one). He doesn’t show up on time, is rude to his fellow orchestra members, and seems to be focusing on his own side gig as a rock star more than anything else. Until Gwen is promoted to the position of first chair—the position Xander was promised and wanted his entire life.
There is competition, miscommunication, rivalry, and a number of scenes where I need a diagram to understand how his hands are holding what while she’s apparently playing a cello?! I loved the tension between the two and the depth of the characters with their non-romantic struggles woven in as well. The first part of their relationship is lowkey unhealthy, as are the relationship dynamics of a lot of the side characters, as Xander seems to feel like he knows better than Gwen about what she needs, is feeling, or should do. But the book definitely calls out the unhealthiness. I wish it had done a little more to work through and reconcile that, as well as explaining Xander’s sudden change of heart in the third act a little more. It’s not that they don’t make sense, because they do, but it felt a little glossed over so that we could just get to more spice scenes. Which, valid. But I would have taken another 30-50 pages of this book to fill things in a bit more for sure.
Either way, I will be picking up whatever Julie Soto writes next for sure.
This was an extremely enjoyable read. I liked Julie Soto’s debut quite a bit, but I think this was better.
We follow two rivals, a violinist who has lost her family and was struggling financially before she found a stable position with a pop orchestra playing 7th chair with a few weddings on the side. Gwen isn’t taking risks and sure, maybe she’s not growing much as a violinist, but she’s finally found a place where she has some stability and belonging.
Enter Xander Thorne, bad boy cello rock star (don’t laugh, I know. there’s some suspension of disbelief with that one). He doesn’t show up on time, is rude to his fellow orchestra members, and seems to be focusing on his own side gig as a rock star more than anything else. Until Gwen is promoted to the position of first chair—the position Xander was promised and wanted his entire life.
There is competition, miscommunication, rivalry, and a number of scenes where I need a diagram to understand how his hands are holding what while she’s apparently playing a cello?! I loved the tension between the two and the depth of the characters with their non-romantic struggles woven in as well. The first part of their relationship is lowkey unhealthy, as are the relationship dynamics of a lot of the side characters, as Xander seems to feel like he knows better than Gwen about what she needs, is feeling, or should do. But the book definitely calls out the unhealthiness. I wish it had done a little more to work through and reconcile that, as well as explaining Xander’s sudden change of heart in the third act a little more. It’s not that they don’t make sense, because they do, but it felt a little glossed over so that we could just get to more spice scenes. Which, valid. But I would have taken another 30-50 pages of this book to fill things in a bit more for sure.
Either way, I will be picking up whatever Julie Soto writes next for sure.
Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes
3.25
Overall Impressions: Very creepy, with a building sense of ominous dread as the story goes on. I actually liked Ophelia quite a bit, even though she’s meant to be a flawed character, and was satisfied with the ending even if it didn’t answer every possible question. I particularly liked Ophelia’s backstory and her realizations as the book went on.
Worldbuilding: Fairly standard sci-fi capitalist space nightmare, without a ton of additional details. There was enough there to frame the story but I would have liked a little more about the main threat in the end.
Plot: Several red herrings, twists, and turns which left me wondering what was even happening at a few points. I generally enjoyed it.
Pacing/prose: A little rushed at the end but otherwise I thought the pacing was good. The prose did feel like I was watching a movie which some people like and others don’t.
Worldbuilding: Fairly standard sci-fi capitalist space nightmare, without a ton of additional details. There was enough there to frame the story but I would have liked a little more about the main threat in the end.
Plot: Several red herrings, twists, and turns which left me wondering what was even happening at a few points. I generally enjoyed it.
Pacing/prose: A little rushed at the end but otherwise I thought the pacing was good. The prose did feel like I was watching a movie which some people like and others don’t.