cassiecollins's reviews
267 reviews

Siren's Destiny by Richard Amos

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

This was...a bit rough. Meet a new side character? Don't get attached, they'll suffer an unnecessarily brutal death shortly. New antagonist introduced? They're cartoonishly evil—oh, and they'll also suffer an unnecessarily brutal death. Dylan: "I've got to be smart about this"; also Dylan: does the absolute dumbest thing imaginable multiple times. Anyway, there were definitely some decent bits, like the romances and how some seemingly disparate plot elements actually came together in the end (e.g. the sea witch, Jilly/Jilly's Bane, and Alexander's whole schtick). The ending sequence was also good, and its the only thing that clawed the rating up from 2- to 3-stars. I really wish we'd kept that bit of camp and light-heartedness from the first book throughout the series.

Siren's Heart by Richard Amos

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

This was a tad bit frustrating. The quality of the writing is still good, and there were several things I liked—the culmination of the "slow-burn" aspects of the romances were nice, for one. But, it was tough to see Dylan lack almost all agency in what's going on in the narrative. He gets one good win against a certain character, but other than that, he's just along for the ride. Between Jason, Lucien, Darius/Tarquin, and Alexander (who is a supremely uninteresting villain also), Dylan just gets shoved along from plot point to plot point. Here's hoping the ending wraps up okay.

Siren's Call by Richard Amos

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I didn't have as much fun with this one as the first book. I think it's a bit of second/middle book syndrome—we're introduced to a lot more characters and world-building without much payoff to any part set up in the first entry. I still enjoy Dylan as a protagonist, and we've definitely opened a whole new can of worms, so to speak, by the end of this book. Interested to see how things progress.

Siren's Debt by Richard Amos

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I got this as part of Stuff Your Kindle Day—it's also my 100th read of 2024! This was very fun. Dylan is an engaging, if not always likeable, protagonist and the action is well-paced. I'd definitely mark this as a brain-off kind of romp, but that's exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up. Can't wait to learn more about how everything plays out!

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

3.0

This was okay. It was released post-humously (ironically published merely two months before the perpetrator's arrest), and unfortunately its status as a draft is evident throughout the piece. Even with large sections and sometimes entire chapters strung together from the author's notes by editors, the piece lacks polish. The chronology is all over the place; minor details get major attention where more major details are skimmed over, among other things. There's definitely potential—I think this could've been a fascinating memoir with the GSK being almost a backdrop to the unique culture of online true-crime "detectives". Unfortunately, and sadly, with the author's passing, we are left with this shined up collection of notes. (I will give credit, Gabra Zackman's narration is impeccable and I probably wouldn't have finished without her.)

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.0

I was excited to read this because of it's high reviews from people I trust but was ultimately disappointed (it's a good book, just not the incredible, life-changing story many would have you believe). The pacing and tone are a bit all over the place. The plot is fairly cliché and predictable, though it is well put together. The world-building is also rich and dense, which is all well and good, but the author does little to actually introduce you to anything. Instead, you're dumped in with name and places and terminology and a magic system with only a series of diagrams, a hefty glossary, and a detailed character list to guide your way. There were definitely moments of brilliance in some of the characters and the battle sequences. I mean, the singular reason I rated this 4-stars instead of 3 is Misaki's duel toward the end of the book—a truly excellent showcase of both characters involved and the combat prose that the author excels in. I wish I hadn't looked at or listened to any reviews/hype before I read this, but I guess it's a little late for that.

The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The movie adaptation of this is one of my favorite horror movies, so I've been very excited to read the source material. I'm happy to say they're pretty comparable quality-wise. The film made a few big changes, but I think they both work best in their respective mediums. Nevill is truly a master of atmosphere. I also did enjoy the sort of dueling cults present here, especially how Blood Frenzy's cruelty is often contrasted with their youth and naivete about the creature and its followers. There were several moments of misogyny and fatphobia from Luke, the protagonist, that I wasn't super fond of, but those were minor in the grand scheme of the book.

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

The dragging pace really did this finale in. It was so slow, when there actually were things of interest happening, they'd zoom by and then we'd be stuck slugging along again until the next blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing happens. The relationship between Lia and

Rafe

was done well, but it just made me frustrated with the love triangle even more since we could've just focused on them instead of the melodrama. I also wish the villains were done better—outside of the Komizar, they were all so flat I really didn't care about them or their non-existent motivations. Overall this series is pretty meh.

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Definitely an improvement over the first book, though it still has some flaws. There's a lot more intrigue and we actually see examples of Lia's cleverness, which I liked. However, the snail-pacing is still rampant, and the love triangle reads more often as melodramatic than engaging. Again, it did get better toward the end, so I'm interested to see where everything ends up.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This was good, but I was a smidge disappointed. The romance is full of insta-love and not-like-other-girls tropes (and it's played as a love triangle—blech!). Also, for being on the short end for a fantasy novel, this book is heavily padded out with nothing-scenes and long, ponderous internal monologues. Like, you could cut half the thing and you'd still have the entirety of the plot. It did improve in the second half, so I'm hoping the subsequent books in the trilogy get better.