coralinejones's reviews
375 reviews

The Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

4.0

i'm so in between with this rating. somehow this novel is both 3 and 4 stars for me. there's a lot of high tension, fast action scenes that i enjoyed. there was enough characterization and interesting plot to keep me going to the end; at the very least i was intrigued enough to find out what happened to her grandfather and how these villains play a part in it. though, some of this felt very predictable (i figured out very early on) and the tone of the story felt extremely YA even though this is an adult novel.

i also think some of the characters felt... weak? very one dimensional. just there to be there instead of feeling like actual full-fleshed out people. i had these moments, especially when i first started this novel, where i would go "what's the point of me reading this when i can reading the poppy war or red rising again." which wasn't great but, you know what? this was still very, very enjoyable despite the criticisms!

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.75

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

5.0

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

3.0

A low three stars... I don't really like romance books. Clearly there was something here that kept me going (Black protagonists, pop-culture references I could relate to; lots of Beyonce references in particular. Fairly interesting characters). To preface, I read this to finish a prompt for my BHM reading challenge and compared to other romance books with animated covers, this was actually way better than most.

Though, the biggest problem I have with romance books is that I prefer the romance to occur around a bigger plot, not that the romance IS the plot point. I found myself falling out of the story towards the end of the book. As a horror / thriller / mystery / crime reader I found myself wishing they could uncover a crime together or outrun ghosts or something as a couple just to keep this interesting, lol. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Had this been shorter I think I would give it a better review.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.

something about this just wasn't clicking for me.

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

dark emotional informative sad tense

3.5

Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson

4.75

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

You by Caroline Kepnes

2.0

i imagine he'd get along with patrick bateman real well.

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.

so boring and repetitive. idk how i got through 50% of this