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charliauthor's reviews
503 reviews
Hans by S.J. Tilly
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was probably my least favourite of the four but thats not to say I didnt have a good time.
The opening scenes were cute. I love the sunshine/grump trope and it was done really well. Where this wasnt my favourite is that this didnt have enough smut for me and in smut book, i need a good balance. there was a ton of plot and back story which i didnt really need.
however, when Hans finally got in dat ass - literally - it was amazing!! haha
An issue I had with this was the DDLG/Daddy kink but only because Hans is basically a mercenary against human traffickers so why he would want to sort of infantalise and have a daddy kink felt a bit odd to me!? i dunno, it wasnt the best with the context but the breeding kink daddy stuff was very fun.
As ever, i liked the bromance banter with the other alliance guys lol Nero is actually insane and it was fun to see them altogether.
also, not to tell people how to write their books but i feel like there was a missed opportunity for everyone to tell Cassandra how terrible her food was and then hans have to admit he was only eating them because he loves her lol could have been cute!
A solid series for me and i'll defo check out some more S.J. Tilly and see if it lives up to this excitement.
The opening scenes were cute. I love the sunshine/grump trope and it was done really well. Where this wasnt my favourite is that this didnt have enough smut for me and in smut book, i need a good balance. there was a ton of plot and back story which i didnt really need.
however, when Hans finally got in dat ass - literally - it was amazing!! haha
An issue I had with this was the DDLG/Daddy kink but only because Hans is basically a mercenary against human traffickers so why he would want to sort of infantalise and have a daddy kink felt a bit odd to me!? i dunno, it wasnt the best with the context but the breeding kink daddy stuff was very fun.
As ever, i liked the bromance banter with the other alliance guys lol Nero is actually insane and it was fun to see them altogether.
also, not to tell people how to write their books but i feel like there was a missed opportunity for everyone to tell Cassandra how terrible her food was and then hans have to admit he was only eating them because he loves her lol could have been cute!
A solid series for me and i'll defo check out some more S.J. Tilly and see if it lives up to this excitement.
Dom by S.J. Tilly
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was so silly in the best way! It started out super super adorable with the meet cute on the plane then just went completely left field! At first, i was really here for Dominic and what he did but as the rest of the story progressed, the red flags turned green and i was having the time of my life. The smut in these books are top notch stuff. The fact that the MCs are in their 30s and 40s is also a good change and i love that this book also got a tad darker than the previous two. Dominic really is a dangerous guy and added with the way he was slinging dick, wow, it was great! haha
King by S.J. Tilly
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Loved it!
There is a fine line when it comes to the over possessive alpha males in books and how many red flags they have but Nero and now King have done this so well that they are all green flags lol.
While Savannah is a little on the boring side, this is counteracted by Kinh and his hilarious personality and humour. Savannah gets some good jokes in there too, which are appreciated and have been highlighted in my Kindle notes lol but the call for this book was definitely King and how funny he is. Especially with the dog even though im not a dog person lol
The plot was pretty standard fair: marriage of convenience, captive to lover, dark romance mafia which was all good. The smut was smutting in the best way. I needed more scenes cause that office BJ scene took me OUT! 😆😆
Very enjoyable. Onto the next!
There is a fine line when it comes to the over possessive alpha males in books and how many red flags they have but Nero and now King have done this so well that they are all green flags lol.
While Savannah is a little on the boring side, this is counteracted by Kinh and his hilarious personality and humour. Savannah gets some good jokes in there too, which are appreciated and have been highlighted in my Kindle notes lol but the call for this book was definitely King and how funny he is. Especially with the dog even though im not a dog person lol
The plot was pretty standard fair: marriage of convenience, captive to lover, dark romance mafia which was all good. The smut was smutting in the best way. I needed more scenes cause that office BJ scene took me OUT! 😆😆
Very enjoyable. Onto the next!
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Second Review - 2025
As before, i still really enjoyed Legendborn there were just a lot of elements of the secondary plot line that I didnt take to. As ever, I'm not a fan of the trauma/slave narrative, and while this was executed in a way that didnt necessarily feel performative, it still irked me that the root of the Arthurian magic in a Black protagonist was still trauma, oppression and violence. Without going into spoilers, the reason for Bree's Arthurian inheritance could have been a forbidden love story rather than what it was.
I respect that this was not the angle the author wished to take as the emphasis on claiming from our ancestors and from those previously oppressed, was the point. I just disliked that even while being the protagonist, it was still based on the narratives that are always reserved for us rather than being special just because.
Outside of that, I really loved the lore and thought gone into the Arthurian themes. While it got a little confusing at points with the root and blood cast stuff, i eventually got my head around it and was able to really appreciate how she linked the ancestral magic to the Orders magic. It was really cleverly done and i appreciated the research and thought gone into it.
In terms of characters, i really enjoyed the love triangle simply because both choices feel valid. Nick and Sel are great competition for each other (even if I'm Team Sel regardless). I liked Bree's interactions with Sel the most and Nick's saviour complex, while a bit overdone was still very chivalrous and sweet.
What I also didnt like with this though, was her relationship with Nick in connection with Bree's thoughts on racism. It was hard for me to get behind Bree's outrage for all the micro aggressions (and major) going on around her, when she was romanticising and justifying everything Nick did to not make him 'one of them'. It almost cheapened her pain for me in a way cause it felt like she was only angry when it suited her. Not to say everyone should be painted with the same brush or to answer for their ancestors, but there was something that felt performative about Bree's outrage when she was lusting over her blue eyed, blonde haired warrior. It felt hypocritical at times if im honest.
Overall, it was good and i look forward to Bloodmarked so i can learn more about the lore and meet more of the side characters, namely William who is my absolute fave!
As before, i still really enjoyed Legendborn there were just a lot of elements of the secondary plot line that I didnt take to. As ever, I'm not a fan of the trauma/slave narrative, and while this was executed in a way that didnt necessarily feel performative, it still irked me that the root of the Arthurian magic in a Black protagonist was still trauma, oppression and violence. Without going into spoilers, the reason for Bree's Arthurian inheritance could have been a forbidden love story rather than what it was.
I respect that this was not the angle the author wished to take as the emphasis on claiming from our ancestors and from those previously oppressed, was the point. I just disliked that even while being the protagonist, it was still based on the narratives that are always reserved for us rather than being special just because.
Outside of that, I really loved the lore and thought gone into the Arthurian themes. While it got a little confusing at points with the root and blood cast stuff, i eventually got my head around it and was able to really appreciate how she linked the ancestral magic to the Orders magic. It was really cleverly done and i appreciated the research and thought gone into it.
In terms of characters, i really enjoyed the love triangle simply because both choices feel valid. Nick and Sel are great competition for each other (even if I'm Team Sel regardless). I liked Bree's interactions with Sel the most and Nick's saviour complex, while a bit overdone was still very chivalrous and sweet.
What I also didnt like with this though, was her relationship with Nick in connection with Bree's thoughts on racism. It was hard for me to get behind Bree's outrage for all the micro aggressions (and major) going on around her, when she was romanticising and justifying everything Nick did to not make him 'one of them'. It almost cheapened her pain for me in a way cause it felt like she was only angry when it suited her. Not to say everyone should be painted with the same brush or to answer for their ancestors, but there was something that felt performative about Bree's outrage when she was lusting over her blue eyed, blonde haired warrior. It felt hypocritical at times if im honest.
Overall, it was good and i look forward to Bloodmarked so i can learn more about the lore and meet more of the side characters, namely William who is my absolute fave!
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Aaand there we have it! After 48 hours of audio, I have finally finished A Song of Ice and Fire as it currently stands and I can join you all in the neverending wait for this series conclusion.
Yes, its been years. Yes, its unlikely to happen but at this point, lets just accept that and move on lol
I enjoyed this for all the reasons I've loved every other book, the characters. Despite the scope of what is going on throughout Westeros, the meat of these books are the characters and their complexity throughout which I really love as a reader and a writer who tends to write more character driven books.
As always, I was not a fan of the Daenerys chapters because of how sexual they are but I did love how this young woman was navigating a world of men who are years older than her and more experienced. She makes silly choices sure but she has gone through so much and i stan her in the books and the show. What i really enjoyed about this was the small tidbit from Ser Barriston about Rhaegar and Lyanna. It definitely proves the R+L=J stuff, even if the books havent discovered that yet. He said it so casually that what else would it be? lol
As always, I wanted Cersei to have suffered more and the Reek/Theon stuff was insane but overall, the show did really well with adjusting for screen but keeping the important stuff.
The Griff/Young Griff stuff is such a major change but again, the show was better in making that a bit neater.
Overall, I'm glad I got through this monster of a series and now, my watch has ended
Yes, its been years. Yes, its unlikely to happen but at this point, lets just accept that and move on lol
I enjoyed this for all the reasons I've loved every other book, the characters. Despite the scope of what is going on throughout Westeros, the meat of these books are the characters and their complexity throughout which I really love as a reader and a writer who tends to write more character driven books.
As always, I was not a fan of the Daenerys chapters because of how sexual they are but I did love how this young woman was navigating a world of men who are years older than her and more experienced. She makes silly choices sure but she has gone through so much and i stan her in the books and the show. What i really enjoyed about this was the small tidbit from Ser Barriston about Rhaegar and Lyanna. It definitely proves the R+L=J stuff, even if the books havent discovered that yet. He said it so casually that what else would it be? lol
As always, I wanted Cersei to have suffered more and the Reek/Theon stuff was insane but overall, the show did really well with adjusting for screen but keeping the important stuff.
The Griff/Young Griff stuff is such a major change but again, the show was better in making that a bit neater.
Overall, I'm glad I got through this monster of a series and now, my watch has ended
Nero by S.J. Tilly
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This started out really strong with a great MMC and an awesome meet cute. I loved Nero from the start who was very funny with his stalker tendencies and i found myself laughing out loud in so many places. The FMC Payton was nice enough if a little naive but i found it endearing rather than annoying.
The book sagged for me at the 60% mark as it was a bit too HEA too soon and the excitement and spice of the first half was kind of lost. If not for that it might have been a solid four
The book sagged for me at the 60% mark as it was a bit too HEA too soon and the excitement and spice of the first half was kind of lost. If not for that it might have been a solid four
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book is super YA in the best and worst ways.
I had previously red Realm Breaker by VA and while I didn't love it, finding it difficult to get through/connect to the characters, I had this series on my shelf so I thought i'd give it a try with no other thoughts going in.
What works well is the pacing and ease of read. Nothing is difficult to understand, the world is fairly fleshed out and the characters tropey enough to hold your interest to turn the page. Its not reinventing the wheel and I can respect that. As long as I'm not bored to tears, we can make this thing work.
This is the standard fare of a poor girl of the lowly Reds, realising that she has abilities like the cruel overlord Silvers. There are princes in disguise and evil kings and queens and rebellious uprising and a little cheeky low chilly romance. Its all very safe and neat which for me is the concern.
I did not dislike this enough to condemn but it didn't do anything special enough to praise it. Its just kind of there. I do respect that sometimes this is needed. Not everything has to be this intricately woven plot of dark betrayals and sinister characters. Although, the villain by the end was really going for the crown of most hateful person in YA. Some of Maven's lines were honestly so great A line I liked was: He laughs long and hard. When are you going to realise that every word out of my mouth has been a lie?
Like seriously, girl. When are you going to catch on!? haha While most of this was really predictable i was in a fun way rather than a boring way as it was super tropey. Although the FMC Mare was a little naïve and slow on the uptake, she knew she was naive and slow on the uptake rather than the 'i think i know everything even though im nowhere near qualified' type FMCs that we have been given recently.
I'll continue on as I would like to know how she navigates this new world but if you like true YA with romance and no spice (so far at least) then defo try this out.
I had previously red Realm Breaker by VA and while I didn't love it, finding it difficult to get through/connect to the characters, I had this series on my shelf so I thought i'd give it a try with no other thoughts going in.
What works well is the pacing and ease of read. Nothing is difficult to understand, the world is fairly fleshed out and the characters tropey enough to hold your interest to turn the page. Its not reinventing the wheel and I can respect that. As long as I'm not bored to tears, we can make this thing work.
This is the standard fare of a poor girl of the lowly Reds, realising that she has abilities like the cruel overlord Silvers. There are princes in disguise and evil kings and queens and rebellious uprising and a little cheeky low chilly romance. Its all very safe and neat which for me is the concern.
I did not dislike this enough to condemn but it didn't do anything special enough to praise it. Its just kind of there. I do respect that sometimes this is needed. Not everything has to be this intricately woven plot of dark betrayals and sinister characters. Although, the villain by the end was really going for the crown of most hateful person in YA.
Like seriously, girl. When are you going to catch on!? haha While most of this was really predictable i was in a fun way rather than a boring way as it was super tropey. Although the FMC Mare was a little naïve and slow on the uptake, she knew she was naive and slow on the uptake rather than the 'i think i know everything even though im nowhere near qualified' type FMCs that we have been given recently.
I'll continue on as I would like to know how she navigates this new world but if you like true YA with romance and no spice (so far at least) then defo try this out.
A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
this started out well enough with a decent premise based around an alice in wonderland retelling. I was intrigued by this as i had not heard a lot about it going in and the first few chapters were interesting with how she used the various elements of wonderland in the modern world. i especially liked how the writer was able to link the traumatic experiences of African Americans to the creations of nightmares in wonderland which, main character Alice (Alison) had to defeat. this however, was only mentioned the once and the rest of the nightmares seemed to sprout from any old place of fear, which is fine but i felt could have gone a little deeper.
anywhere, i started to lose my way with this around the 50% mark as it was tediously repetitive and slow, both in the pacing of course but textually. the writing was very choppy, short sentences written in present tense which left it feeling like a list of statements rather than actual story telling. in that vein, it was difficult to get a real hold on the dangers that were faced from wonderland with the different queens and daughters etc. which all just felt thrown at me rather than really experienced in any real way. by the end, i was skimming just to find the point and for this to finish.
on a slightly more serious note, this is another book ive come across that speaks on the difficulties of being Black in America, or indeed anywhere else, while still featuring love interests who are white. to be clear, i have no issue with interracial relationships of any kind, but when a narrative focuses so much on race thereby making the white characters the overall villains or aggressors, it makes no real sense why the romantic focus would be on them. there are 7 main characters in this book and 5 of them are white. her best friend, her love interests and her allies. for a book thats meant to bring diverse faces to the forefront, where are the other representations of your Blackness. its such an odd concept to me and i struggle to understand why so many books do it!?
overall, i didnt enjoy this book as much as i wanted to. the writing was odd, the action minimal, the plot uninspired and predictable and the main character a little annoying. the things i liked best about it were the attempt to worldbuild which was great in a lot of places and her interactions with her mother that were funny and relatable. other than that, i did not like this enough to care to continue unfortunately
anywhere, i started to lose my way with this around the 50% mark as it was tediously repetitive and slow, both in the pacing of course but textually. the writing was very choppy, short sentences written in present tense which left it feeling like a list of statements rather than actual story telling. in that vein, it was difficult to get a real hold on the dangers that were faced from wonderland with the different queens and daughters etc. which all just felt thrown at me rather than really experienced in any real way. by the end, i was skimming just to find the point and for this to finish.
on a slightly more serious note, this is another book ive come across that speaks on the difficulties of being Black in America, or indeed anywhere else, while still featuring love interests who are white. to be clear, i have no issue with interracial relationships of any kind, but when a narrative focuses so much on race thereby making the white characters the overall villains or aggressors, it makes no real sense why the romantic focus would be on them. there are 7 main characters in this book and 5 of them are white. her best friend, her love interests and her allies. for a book thats meant to bring diverse faces to the forefront, where are the other representations of your Blackness. its such an odd concept to me and i struggle to understand why so many books do it!?
overall, i didnt enjoy this book as much as i wanted to. the writing was odd, the action minimal, the plot uninspired and predictable and the main character a little annoying. the things i liked best about it were the attempt to worldbuild which was great in a lot of places and her interactions with her mother that were funny and relatable. other than that, i did not like this enough to care to continue unfortunately
Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I saw recommendations for this in a Facebook group about spicy books. Somebody asked for a situation where one man degrades the female and the other praises her. This was definitely that and during the scenes where this happened it was very spicy, very saucy and an interesting dynamic.
Where i didnt love this was that it felt like forced Fantasy. Forced in that there was no real reason for this to have ladies and lords and shit, especially when it didnt feel like the author had a real grasp of the correct dialogue and settings to use to achieve this. It felt clunky and as i said forced.
Saying that there was some decent worldbuilding around the Ravens and how they live, mate, exist as shifters which i really liked. Mating dances and gifts of courting the way birds would do was well thought out and added an interesting depth to it.
The two MMCs were a bit touch and go for me with the meaner of the two more interesting but not by much. I did live the ending though. I love when a bad guy is bad to the bone with no excuses lol
Im not in a rush to continue this though simply because it felt a bit tacky why its not a 3 for me
Where i didnt love this was that it felt like forced Fantasy. Forced in that there was no real reason for this to have ladies and lords and shit, especially when it didnt feel like the author had a real grasp of the correct dialogue and settings to use to achieve this. It felt clunky and as i said forced.
Saying that there was some decent worldbuilding around the Ravens and how they live, mate, exist as shifters which i really liked. Mating dances and gifts of courting the way birds would do was well thought out and added an interesting depth to it.
The two MMCs were a bit touch and go for me with the meaner of the two more interesting but not by much. I did live the ending though. I love when a bad guy is bad to the bone with no excuses lol
Im not in a rush to continue this though simply because it felt a bit tacky why its not a 3 for me
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This started out well but by the 40% mark I grew quite bored and struggled to get through the rest of it without any real interest.
Our FMC Rin, has grown up as an orphan raised by mean people and she has no idea where she came from or who she is but is very smart. To avoid being married off and abused, she decides to take some super hard test to get into a super hard school that will give her the opportunity to live a life not on her back. She gets into the school - obviously - and when shes there, is treated shit by the other, richer students who don't like her because she's poor and apparently dark skinned. Though in an East Asian setting, it was a bit unclear how dark this would actual mean. Not that it really matters, its just one of many things I found a bit unclear.
Anyway, Rin learns how to fight and endless lore about The Poppy Wars that her country has been a part of, although I couldnt tell you why they were called this or why everyone was and is seemingly on cocaine or heroine and teachers are getting high and being weird all in the name of calling higher powers and finding some super power that is locked inside Rin.
All that to say, it started out very interesting and I was intrigued to learn what that power was and why but for me, the excitement of that story was lost with endless lore and discussion and moaning from Rin.
I usually hate the term show and dont tell because as i writer, sometimes you need to be told and as a reader, i want to be told lol but with this, there was too much telling me how dangerous the war was without actually showing me any of its devastation. When she did finally get to it, while i was shocked at the brutality of the people they were fighting, it honestly came to late in the book for me to actually care. She'd spent so long talking about different language dialects and provinces we'd never visit, that the real meat of the story, the cruelty and sinister tones of the war and the person who betrays them was just lost. There is some truly horrific content in one passage of the book that I wont bother repeating her but it was terribly sad and if what ive heard about the rest of the series but much of the same, then i'd rather not go on with it.
I love building worlds. i love all the information, the bloodlines, the prequel texts, give me it all but in a way that feels exciting and not like a history lesson which is ultimately all this was. On top of that, Rin isnt even that likeable. She's rash and toxic and power hungry and its just not particular redeeming for her throughout the book.
I won't be continuing with the series unfortunately. While the writing style/technique etc. is great, Kuang is a wonderful writer, its just not a style that prompts much excitement for me or will to turn the page.
Our FMC Rin, has grown up as an orphan raised by mean people and she has no idea where she came from or who she is but is very smart. To avoid being married off and abused, she decides to take some super hard test to get into a super hard school that will give her the opportunity to live a life not on her back. She gets into the school - obviously - and when shes there, is treated shit by the other, richer students who don't like her because she's poor and apparently dark skinned. Though in an East Asian setting, it was a bit unclear how dark this would actual mean. Not that it really matters, its just one of many things I found a bit unclear.
Anyway, Rin learns how to fight and endless lore about The Poppy Wars that her country has been a part of, although I couldnt tell you why they were called this or why everyone was and is seemingly on cocaine or heroine and teachers are getting high and being weird all in the name of calling higher powers and finding some super power that is locked inside Rin.
All that to say, it started out very interesting and I was intrigued to learn what that power was and why but for me, the excitement of that story was lost with endless lore and discussion and moaning from Rin.
I usually hate the term show and dont tell because as i writer, sometimes you need to be told and as a reader, i want to be told lol but with this, there was too much telling me how dangerous the war was without actually showing me any of its devastation. When she did finally get to it, while i was shocked at the brutality of the people they were fighting, it honestly came to late in the book for me to actually care. She'd spent so long talking about different language dialects and provinces we'd never visit, that the real meat of the story, the cruelty and sinister tones of the war and the person who betrays them was just lost. There is some truly horrific content in one passage of the book that I wont bother repeating her but it was terribly sad and if what ive heard about the rest of the series but much of the same, then i'd rather not go on with it.
I love building worlds. i love all the information, the bloodlines, the prequel texts, give me it all but in a way that feels exciting and not like a history lesson which is ultimately all this was. On top of that, Rin isnt even that likeable. She's rash and toxic and power hungry and its just not particular redeeming for her throughout the book.
I won't be continuing with the series unfortunately. While the writing style/technique etc. is great, Kuang is a wonderful writer, its just not a style that prompts much excitement for me or will to turn the page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, War