cryosphinx's reviews
141 reviews

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

3.75

Like many others here, I agree that the beginning was a slog to get through and the pace picks up in the last quarter of the book. And Poppy's inner dialogue gets a bit "Come on, let's move along" sometimes.

The story and mystery was enough to keep me hooked and I do love Hawke. I knew about the twisty twist because of spoilers but not knowing the full extent, the pay off was still worth it.

I'm not in love with Poppy (yet?) but the banter with her and Hawke is DELIGHTFUL.

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A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden

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adventurous dark medium-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

4.25

I wouldn't have expected something from a debut author is be this GOOD and make me stay up all night reading. It's very tropey but if you love enemies to lovers, slow burn, one horse, forced proximity, he falls first, "touch her and die" vibes, this has it and does it well. It's got dragons, witches, fae, oh my!

There is some fleshing out that desperately needs to happen, especially in terms of the MMC who is delightful, but some things about his personality I felt I didn't understand by the end. Some people have also complained about the lack of world building, but I didn't find an issue with that because the FMC narrator has lived a sheltered life, there's only so much SHE knows. I'm hoping that both of these things w about the world. I'll get resolved throughout the rest of the trilogy.

I also loved the growth of the FMC from timid and afraid to being a bad ass lady but you don't see much growth out of anyone else. There isn't a ton of side characters but I LOVED Mari and hope we see her story more and learn about her abilities.

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The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-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? No

4.0

Mostly anticlimactic ending to a trilogy but I bumped the score up because I love Jude so much. The first 75% I burned through and it was wild and fun but the last 25% was meh. I'm glad there was a wrapped up happy ending and that the epilogue really closed it out but overall, it just ended up being like "...and that's it." I'm hoping for more in this series because I love the world so much.

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The Wicked King by Holly Black

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Enjoyed the ride of this book much better than the first one. The twists, the turns, the twisties and turnies, the betrayals, the I-want-to-punch-this-character moments. A lot of development happening and Jude is a bad ass lady and I love her.

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The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

5.0

I picked this up after vaguely reading that gamers would like this. A month later my mom sent me a blurb about it, saying it sounds like something I'd like. So I suppose I'm the target audience.

I had just finished a marathon of fantasy books, so hard switching into contemporary was difficult at first but I'm glad I stuck with it.

As what is commonly said of this book: It's beautiful. There is little more to say other than this book needs to be read and experienced. As a gamer who read many of the books noted in the acknowledgements and played several of the fames, I loved all the references and nods but it's accessible enough that a non-gamer shouldn't be intimidated or lost and Zev in has clearly written with this in mind, offering explanations so that non-gamers aren't alienated while gamers can still enjoy without being overly told something they already know. It's a must-read tale of friendship and unconventional love across the years. There are a few changes in the storytelling method in the different section that really add to the "meta" nature of the story telling that were some of my favorite cant't-put-down moments.

I will now go wrap myself in a blanket and think about the emotional damage.

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