deannak92's reviews
186 reviews

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.0

I have been putting this series off for a long time, mainly because I just wasn’t sure how it would compare to ACOTAR. However, I did really enjoy this first book and the premise. I’ll try not to guess too much though as we all know how that went with Tamlin. 🥲 At this stage though, please don’t ask me to pick between Dorian and Chaol, because I just couldn’t! I have the entire series sitting on my shelf, and looking forward to continuing this story!

25 Reasons to Hate Christmas and Cowboys by Elle Thorpe

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

A super corny quick little Christmas read. 🎄

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Infinity stars. An incredible, heartbreaking and beautiful tale of art, history, love, sacrifice and so much more. 

I am at a total loss of how to accurately put into words how I feel about this story. This is my book of the year. I am sobbing, this book is a masterpiece. 

‘She knows the paint will fade, rinsed off by a puddle, or simply wiped away by time, but that’s how memories are supposed to work. There—and then, little by little, gone.’

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

“There is no hell so cruel as powerlessness.”

“Tall. Dark. Damaged. You’re just my kind of poison.”

What a journey. I read this via a mix of audio and on my kindle, the narrator does a fantastic job in setting the mood. I found the writing style very unique and interesting with the use of more than one language, however sometimes the story just felt a bit disjointed. Structured like an interview, it jumps from past to present time frequently. It is not something you can just sit down and read to relax, it is quite an intricate story that requires your full attention, but if you enjoy vampires and high fantasy I think you will enjoy this read. There is some beautiful quotes scattered throughout and a bit of comedy and banter sprinkled in there too, but there is a fair overuse of swear words and for someone that is not at all bothered by this, even I found myself questioning the overuse of it. A lot of the time it is used in a comedic way though which takes the edge off. I would not recommend it to people who are just starting out in the fantasy world. I am I’d say an intermediate fantasy reader and did enjoy it overall. 4 stars, not much spice, but the couple of scenes they did have were incredible. This would have been a 3.5 star read for me, but Dior increased my rating, she was my favourite, and the last 30% of this book was phenomenal.

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

What the cliffhanger?! I will be needing book 2 immediately. What The River Knows is a captivating mix of thrill, romance, drama and action. I absolutely loved it. The first couple of chapters were a bit slow but after that, twists and turns on every page. Trust no-one! A fantastic Egyptian historical fantasy. Give me a treasure hunting book any day!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

‘Once upon a time in an old town, in an old street, there stood a very old house.’ Less cosy than anticipated, but a very cute read. Dual timeline and multiple POV. It’s a very interesting concept. It’s like magical realism, romance and a bit of a thriller all at once. ‘The thing about books, is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’

Skyshade by Alex Aster

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The last 5 chapters of this book were incredible, unfortunately the start of it just felt a bit messy and confusing. Ending on a cliffhanger of course, ALEX ASTER WE ARE GOING TO HAVE WORDS!

You’re right. I don’t know what love is. I don’t know how to love. If you ever have me another chance to love you, I would learn. I would learn the right way to love you. 

Apples Dipped in Gold by Scarlett St. Clair

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

The first book in this series was a 5 star read for me, but this one fell a bit flat. It had some intriguing moments and I still read it pretty quickly. However it just felt a bit messy and rushed, which I’m really disappointed about as I have been anticipating this read for a while!

Mile High by Liz Tomforde

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5 stars - audio version 🎧 Overall, I did really enjoy this book however I just feel romance books do not need to be this long. The narrators did a fantastic job. The banter and tension was great, and the story touched on a lot of real life topics. Honestly though, it’s not going to be a super memorable story for me, and there was more than once I was thinking to myself when will this end? I am however very excited to read Ryan and Indy’s story!

Save Me by Monique Koen

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious fast-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? No

5.0

It all started with a creep sneaking in through my window and now, I can’t imagine my life without him. 

An incredible end to this series. I binged it in one go, it was thrilling, mysterious, creepy, sexy and funny all in one. Book 2 is certainly darker than book 1 but it was chefs kiss and Monique absolutely slayed this as her debut series.

The spice? Well, it was phenomenal like the first book, and we love the return of some knife play. 🔪 

If you love a good stalker romance, please do yourself a favour and pick this series up. It does not disappoint. 

Check your trigger warnings, I look forward to reading her next release!