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delllannney's reviews
308 reviews
The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.0
Victorian era romance meets haunted house meets light fantasy! Olivia Atwater has a super engaging writing style that I absolutely love. It is so descriptive and I very much enjoy how she uses it to develop her world building. As usual in her books, there’s a light and airy magic system and characters with tons of personality, but this one touched on some more serious topics that I really enjoyed. I wasn’t 100% sold on the romance and it felt a bit rushed, especially in the last quarter of the novel, but overall it was cute and I did enjoy the connection between Winnie and Quincy.
Winnie is a wonderful character. Her internal monologue is hilarious and she has personality and spunk in spades. She really developed as a person throughout this book by learning more about herself, overcoming difficulty with intimacy due to past trauma (men suck tbh), and trusting others and herself enough to let them in and really care about them. Mr. Quincy was a bit of a dark horse to me, honestly. Besides the… uhm…. tail?…. he seemed great, but his character just felt a bit flat. He really came into his own when he and Winnie are making their way through the Witchwood Knot, but for the first half of the book I just really was not getting the vibes. Robert was a great character growth piece for Winnie — as she gets to know him better she goes from begrudgingly putting up with him to genuinely caring for him and trying her hardest to save him from a life within the Witchwood Knot. Winnie’s familiar Oliver (Ollie) was a super fun addition to the story as well!
Plot wise, looking back, I don’t really think much happened? It was a fun story that I enjoyed while reading, but there are only two plot points that I can really recall as being important. The first half is dedicated to character specifics that, in my opinion, could have been integrated with other areas of the story to make it more cohesive and exciting.
Holy CROSSOVERS! There were soooo many callouts to Olivia Atwater’s Regency Fairytales series which was a fun surprise as well.
Winnie is a wonderful character. Her internal monologue is hilarious and she has personality and spunk in spades. She really developed as a person throughout this book by learning more about herself, overcoming difficulty with intimacy due to past trauma (men suck tbh), and trusting others and herself enough to let them in and really care about them. Mr. Quincy was a bit of a dark horse to me, honestly. Besides the… uhm…. tail?…. he seemed great, but his character just felt a bit flat. He really came into his own when he and Winnie are making their way through the Witchwood Knot, but for the first half of the book I just really was not getting the vibes. Robert was a great character growth piece for Winnie — as she gets to know him better she goes from begrudgingly putting up with him to genuinely caring for him and trying her hardest to save him from a life within the Witchwood Knot. Winnie’s familiar Oliver (Ollie) was a super fun addition to the story as well!
Plot wise, looking back, I don’t really think much happened? It was a fun story that I enjoyed while reading, but there are only two plot points that I can really recall as being important. The first half is dedicated to character specifics that, in my opinion, could have been integrated with other areas of the story to make it more cohesive and exciting.
Holy CROSSOVERS! There were soooo many callouts to Olivia Atwater’s Regency Fairytales series which was a fun surprise as well.
When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Oh, I am so conflicted here. I absolutely adored certain things in this book, but really did not enjoy others.
I felt like this was a story that was written with tons of emotion: the characters were written with passion and care, the sensitive topics in this book were addressed in a meaningful way, and there was good payoff at the end. The little news clips/tweets/texts that were included at the end of every chapter were such a fun additions too! I loved Mabel and Alfie, and I loved the premise of learning about both of them in the capacity of ghostwriting Alfie’s memoir. The tension and pining in this book were top notch and it was a rollercoaster watching them try to navigate crazy fans and paparazzi lol.
But, I felt like the fake dating execution was lacking. The entire story was one huge miscommunication trope combined with the friends-with-benefits “let’s just get it out of our system” thing that always creates such a mess. I also wasn’t a fan of the writing style. It was choppy and repetitive, (which I will admit did succeed in conveying super strong emotions from Mabel specifically) and really irked me by about 40% in. A lot of the side characters felt especially frivolous, Mabel and Alfie both felt a bit immature at times, and I would have loved to see more development between them emotionally. It felt like a very quick progression from strangers > slight enemies > friends > lust > even more lust > love. I felt like I didn’t get to see them really fall in love.
Either way, this was a fun and quick read. If you’re looking for scalding hot tension and an adorable ending, this could be for you! And as a bonus: I always love curvy gal representation!
I felt like this was a story that was written with tons of emotion: the characters were written with passion and care, the sensitive topics in this book were addressed in a meaningful way, and there was good payoff at the end. The little news clips/tweets/texts that were included at the end of every chapter were such a fun additions too! I loved Mabel and Alfie, and I loved the premise of learning about both of them in the capacity of ghostwriting Alfie’s memoir. The tension and pining in this book were top notch and it was a rollercoaster watching them try to navigate crazy fans and paparazzi lol.
But, I felt like the fake dating execution was lacking. The entire story was one huge miscommunication trope combined with the friends-with-benefits “let’s just get it out of our system” thing that always creates such a mess. I also wasn’t a fan of the writing style. It was choppy and repetitive, (which I will admit did succeed in conveying super strong emotions from Mabel specifically) and really irked me by about 40% in. A lot of the side characters felt especially frivolous, Mabel and Alfie both felt a bit immature at times, and I would have loved to see more development between them emotionally. It felt like a very quick progression from strangers > slight enemies > friends > lust > even more lust > love. I felt like I didn’t get to see them really fall in love.
Either way, this was a fun and quick read. If you’re looking for scalding hot tension and an adorable ending, this could be for you! And as a bonus: I always love curvy gal representation!
The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Long Game by Elena Armas
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.0
Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino
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? Yes
3.0
An easy and quick read, but not my favorite. I agree with the title: this was is love story. To me, there’s a difference between a love story and a romance novel, and I think this perfectly embodies what a love story is: the good, the bad, and the ugly, life getting in the way, and imperfect people just making it work. The characters are just SO immature. Yes, I know this is a coming-of-age, second chance, college loves who lost touch story. But even in the adult timeline, I was bothered by the lack of communication and maturity between Matt and Grace. I had trouble taking them seriously, but I did enjoy how purely they loved each other. All this plus a rushed ending and it just didn’t hit home for me.
It’s so silly but a character that is only in like the last 10% of this book was the bright spot for me. They made the other characters around them feel more connected to the story and made the writing come alive for me, which I desperately needed.
Either way, I enjoyed the writing and how easy it was to read, but it just wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. It’s angsty and full of naivety in the college timeline. It’s angsty and full of immaturity in the adult timeline. I can see why other people love this book, but sadly, as someone who is SUPREMELY character driven, I just didn’t connect with this one.
It’s so silly but a character that is only in like the last 10% of this book was the bright spot for me. They made the other characters around them feel more connected to the story and made the writing come alive for me, which I desperately needed.
Either way, I enjoyed the writing and how easy it was to read, but it just wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. It’s angsty and full of naivety in the college timeline. It’s angsty and full of immaturity in the adult timeline. I can see why other people love this book, but sadly, as someone who is SUPREMELY character driven, I just didn’t connect with this one.
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I very much enjoyed this one!! HOFAS is on par with Earth and Blood for my favorite in this series, and was a HUGE improvement from my experience with HOSAB and my expectations coming off of that one. I just love these characters so much. As always, the found family is perfect, the world building is amazing, the writing is phenomenal. Plus, the pacing in this one was perfect in my opinion. There were only a few short moments where I felt like it was slow, but for the most part it was soooo engaging and interesting throughout which, for a book this long, is a huge testament to the writing and the story. A couple of character things and some weird dropped/unimportant plot points is all that held this back from a full 5 stars for me.
SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
Let's get to the details:
Obviously I think we have to start with the CROSSOVER:
This book had the perfect amount of crossover in my opinion. There were interesting and meaningful interactions and connections to a world outside of Midgard which I loved to see, but it didn’t take away from the plot of the book OR the Crescent City series as a whole. This was still a CC book, focusing on CC characters, but with appearances from other characters and little easter eggs and nods to our other worlds that we love so much, all while maintaining the integrity of each series as their own. Loved it. The crossover gave such great detail and perspective on the history of each series which I really enjoyed and I loved being able to make those connections. I was nervous that throwing all of these worlds together was going to sully the perfect image I had of all of them in my head but I was very pleasantly surprised and very happy with how it came out.
Characters
Okay, mixed bag here. Bryce was just not it for me in this book. She was extremely selfish on multiple occasions…. She didn't handle anything in any sort of adult fashion, she was SO whiny and self-serving, she disrespected Hunt and his wishes and opinions at almost every turn, and made everything about herself. Seriously, wtf was that? She's probably my least favorite SJM FMC already, but I really was so out on her this entire book. Zero character development. It's like SJM wanted to her be just like Aelin with the whole secret plotting thing…. But Bryce has never been like that. Why change her entire character? I really couldn't stand her or wrap my head around ANY of her actions. The whole self-sacrificing thing at the end didn't even help. But you know who saved the day, as usual? RUHN motherf*cking DANAAN. Omg. I'd die for this man. Happily. If I ever see Lidia Cervos it's on sight. I WILL take her man. Anyways, Ruhn was great and on top of his amazing development from HOSAB, he became the most well rounded character out of everyone in this book, imo. He's so kindhearted and thoughtful and funny and I just adore him. Speaking of Lidia, I LOVE HER. I LOOOOOVE HER. She is SO complex and like this puzzle with pieces scattered all over the place and every time you find one and are able to fit a new piece in to the big picture it is so satisfying and amazing. Once she trusts someone and lets them see who she really is, she treats everyone with so much compassion. She's everything and I love her. AND HER NAMING HER SON BRANNON AND BEING SOMEHOW SOME WAY RELATED TO AELIN SENT ME INTO A FULL BLOWN TIZZY. GAH!!! Alright, let's talk about Hunt. After that sh*t he pulled in the first book I have never been a huge Hunt girlie, but his love for Bryce is so pure and I really do love his personality so much. He's come so far as well, especially with the curveballs that were thrown at him in this book??? Being a test tube baby of Hel?? Watching another person he loves die (well, not really)?? Dealing with Bryce's childish antics???? Making friends?? I love his relationship development with Ruhn and Baxian SO MUCH. And god, I love Baxian as a character. I love his story and his past with Danika and having that side to him. But what happened in the second half of the book? It felt like he fell off the face of the earth? I wanted more of him!!! I'm going to do Ithan and Tharion together because they both bothered me. Ithan had this super intense guilt he carried around for literally no reason and never learned despite MULTIPLE failures that his attempts to make it better never ever helped. Like dude, hang it up. It's fine. Tharion is just slippery and sporadic and didn't think anything through. Like he really needs to do some introspection. Maybe go to therapy? Yikes. Love his personality and his character but I really don't feel like he brought anything significant to the story? The "woe is me" thing got really old, really fast. What the f*ck was the point of Sigrid? Anyways. Glad Sabine is dead. Fury and Juniper basically didn't exist? Ariadne basically didn't exist? Jesiba obviously came through in the end and I very much enjoyed learning more about her, but I did think it was weird that she instantly opened up way more to Ithan in like 2 days than she ever did with Bryce in YEARS? Again, changing entire characters to service the plot isn't my favorite thing. I do LOVE these characters. But some things just didn't make sense. BUT I NEED TO YELL TO THE HEAVENS ABOUT NESTA AND AZRIEL FOR A MINUTE. I know this series isn't about them, I KNOW, but I died the entire time they were on the page. I loved loved LOVED seeing Nesta's development. You could see her softer moments and it melted my heart. And her little friendship with Az? Them making little jokes together. Kill me right now. I'm obsessed. Sarah, if you're listening, I need an Azriel book more than I need air. PLEASE.
Plot
Very fast paced, very dynamic, very engaging. I enjoyed the story of this WAY more than the second book in the series. Like I said before, I loved the pacing here. I felt the part in Prythian when Bryce is basically watching the entire movie about how all this crazy sh*t came to be was really slow, and I understand the need to put the full story out there for continuity purposes, but it just felt repetitive. Other than that I felt like the story moved along really quickly. Big plus to this one in my eyes. I felt like soooo many storylines were either dropped or forgotten or just made no sense? Again, what the f*ck was the point of Sigrid? What was the point of Ariadne? What happened to Baxian in the second half? I mentioned this in my HOSAB review, but the Emile storyline was also pointless? I don’t get it. We spend so much time and so much plot worrying about these characters and then they have no real impact on the story. It irks me. I loved the resolution of the end – killing the Asteri, disbanding the power structure, the plans for the future. Everyone is happy (what a foreign concept) and everything is as it should be.
Romance
10/10 no notes. I love Bryce and Hunt as a couple (while I do have my qualms with them individually). Ruhn and Lidia are everything to me. I want more love and happiness for all our other characters, please!!!
General Thoughts
……… How did nobody die?
Why did nobody die?
(quietly) ..... I really don't want another book in this series.
Let me explain!!!!:
If she's going to end this trilogy like this – with everyone alive and happy and excited for the future, she just needs to end it there. I don't feel like any of the other characters have enough room for growth to warrant pivoting the series to focus on them (like Nesta did). Anything else will be
a) Even more painful if something happens to any of them
b) Pointless or contrary to the plot and character lines that are already established
c) Trying too hard to be over the top crazy and interesting
ANYWAYS I'm rambling, but this book made me feel things and shed many many tears. I may have some complaints, but the reading experience was phenomenal, as is typical of SJM, and I really did enjoy this one. Now give me ACOTAR 5!!!!
SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!
Let's get to the details:
Obviously I think we have to start with the CROSSOVER:
This book had the perfect amount of crossover in my opinion. There were interesting and meaningful interactions and connections to a world outside of Midgard which I loved to see, but it didn’t take away from the plot of the book OR the Crescent City series as a whole. This was still a CC book, focusing on CC characters, but with appearances from other characters and little easter eggs and nods to our other worlds that we love so much, all while maintaining the integrity of each series as their own. Loved it. The crossover gave such great detail and perspective on the history of each series which I really enjoyed and I loved being able to make those connections. I was nervous that throwing all of these worlds together was going to sully the perfect image I had of all of them in my head but I was very pleasantly surprised and very happy with how it came out.
Characters
Okay, mixed bag here. Bryce was just not it for me in this book. She was extremely selfish on multiple occasions…. She didn't handle anything in any sort of adult fashion, she was SO whiny and self-serving, she disrespected Hunt and his wishes and opinions at almost every turn, and made everything about herself. Seriously, wtf was that? She's probably my least favorite SJM FMC already, but I really was so out on her this entire book. Zero character development. It's like SJM wanted to her be just like Aelin with the whole secret plotting thing…. But Bryce has never been like that. Why change her entire character? I really couldn't stand her or wrap my head around ANY of her actions. The whole self-sacrificing thing at the end didn't even help. But you know who saved the day, as usual? RUHN motherf*cking DANAAN. Omg. I'd die for this man. Happily. If I ever see Lidia Cervos it's on sight. I WILL take her man. Anyways, Ruhn was great and on top of his amazing development from HOSAB, he became the most well rounded character out of everyone in this book, imo. He's so kindhearted and thoughtful and funny and I just adore him. Speaking of Lidia, I LOVE HER. I LOOOOOVE HER. She is SO complex and like this puzzle with pieces scattered all over the place and every time you find one and are able to fit a new piece in to the big picture it is so satisfying and amazing. Once she trusts someone and lets them see who she really is, she treats everyone with so much compassion. She's everything and I love her. AND HER NAMING HER SON BRANNON AND BEING SOMEHOW SOME WAY RELATED TO AELIN SENT ME INTO A FULL BLOWN TIZZY. GAH!!! Alright, let's talk about Hunt. After that sh*t he pulled in the first book I have never been a huge Hunt girlie, but his love for Bryce is so pure and I really do love his personality so much. He's come so far as well, especially with the curveballs that were thrown at him in this book??? Being a test tube baby of Hel?? Watching another person he loves die (well, not really)?? Dealing with Bryce's childish antics???? Making friends?? I love his relationship development with Ruhn and Baxian SO MUCH. And god, I love Baxian as a character. I love his story and his past with Danika and having that side to him. But what happened in the second half of the book? It felt like he fell off the face of the earth? I wanted more of him!!! I'm going to do Ithan and Tharion together because they both bothered me. Ithan had this super intense guilt he carried around for literally no reason and never learned despite MULTIPLE failures that his attempts to make it better never ever helped. Like dude, hang it up. It's fine. Tharion is just slippery and sporadic and didn't think anything through. Like he really needs to do some introspection. Maybe go to therapy? Yikes. Love his personality and his character but I really don't feel like he brought anything significant to the story? The "woe is me" thing got really old, really fast. What the f*ck was the point of Sigrid? Anyways. Glad Sabine is dead. Fury and Juniper basically didn't exist? Ariadne basically didn't exist? Jesiba obviously came through in the end and I very much enjoyed learning more about her, but I did think it was weird that she instantly opened up way more to Ithan in like 2 days than she ever did with Bryce in YEARS? Again, changing entire characters to service the plot isn't my favorite thing. I do LOVE these characters. But some things just didn't make sense. BUT I NEED TO YELL TO THE HEAVENS ABOUT NESTA AND AZRIEL FOR A MINUTE. I know this series isn't about them, I KNOW, but I died the entire time they were on the page. I loved loved LOVED seeing Nesta's development. You could see her softer moments and it melted my heart. And her little friendship with Az? Them making little jokes together. Kill me right now. I'm obsessed. Sarah, if you're listening, I need an Azriel book more than I need air. PLEASE.
Plot
Very fast paced, very dynamic, very engaging. I enjoyed the story of this WAY more than the second book in the series. Like I said before, I loved the pacing here. I felt the part in Prythian when Bryce is basically watching the entire movie about how all this crazy sh*t came to be was really slow, and I understand the need to put the full story out there for continuity purposes, but it just felt repetitive. Other than that I felt like the story moved along really quickly. Big plus to this one in my eyes. I felt like soooo many storylines were either dropped or forgotten or just made no sense? Again, what the f*ck was the point of Sigrid? What was the point of Ariadne? What happened to Baxian in the second half? I mentioned this in my HOSAB review, but the Emile storyline was also pointless? I don’t get it. We spend so much time and so much plot worrying about these characters and then they have no real impact on the story. It irks me. I loved the resolution of the end – killing the Asteri, disbanding the power structure, the plans for the future. Everyone is happy (what a foreign concept) and everything is as it should be.
Romance
10/10 no notes. I love Bryce and Hunt as a couple (while I do have my qualms with them individually). Ruhn and Lidia are everything to me. I want more love and happiness for all our other characters, please!!!
General Thoughts
……… How did nobody die?
Why did nobody die?
(quietly) ..... I really don't want another book in this series.
Let me explain!!!!:
If she's going to end this trilogy like this – with everyone alive and happy and excited for the future, she just needs to end it there. I don't feel like any of the other characters have enough room for growth to warrant pivoting the series to focus on them (like Nesta did). Anything else will be
a) Even more painful if something happens to any of them
b) Pointless or contrary to the plot and character lines that are already established
c) Trying too hard to be over the top crazy and interesting
ANYWAYS I'm rambling, but this book made me feel things and shed many many tears. I may have some complaints, but the reading experience was phenomenal, as is typical of SJM, and I really did enjoy this one. Now give me ACOTAR 5!!!!
Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This one was interesting! This book has a dynamic cast of characters and an interconnected timeline encompassing the lives of 4 women over 20 years. If you enjoy a story with complex mother/daughter dynamics (like SUUUUUPER complex), this book is for you. However, I don't feel like it really lives up to the "thriller" name. In my opinion, it's more of a slow burn mystery or domestic suspense type, but the story did have good pacing and flow overall. Also an enjoyable listen! The short chapters make it easily bingeable, and the audiobook narrators did a great job.
Alice Feeney's books are always filled with people with very strong and distinct personalities, but out of all of the ones I've read from her, I think this one has the most unique cast of characters. I never knew who to trust or who was telling the truth. She always does a great job of creating complex and well thought out characters without going in to so much detail that the story drags or is overwhelming. Plus, any book with a dog in it gets major points from me.
I did guess a majority of the twists/reveals in this one, which is rare because I am NOT a guesser when it comes to mysteries in books lol. By about the halfway mark I had it all figured out as far as which characters were connected and how. I was waiting for the typical Alice Feeney crazy plot twist that blows my mind, but unfortunately there just wasn't one?
Overall I still love Feeney's style and her work but just wanted more "wtf-ness" from this one.
Alice Feeney's books are always filled with people with very strong and distinct personalities, but out of all of the ones I've read from her, I think this one has the most unique cast of characters. I never knew who to trust or who was telling the truth. She always does a great job of creating complex and well thought out characters without going in to so much detail that the story drags or is overwhelming. Plus, any book with a dog in it gets major points from me.
I did guess a majority of the twists/reveals in this one, which is rare because I am NOT a guesser when it comes to mysteries in books lol. By about the halfway mark I had it all figured out as far as which characters were connected and how. I was waiting for the typical Alice Feeney crazy plot twist that blows my mind, but unfortunately there just wasn't one?
Overall I still love Feeney's style and her work but just wanted more "wtf-ness" from this one.
House of Bane and Blood by Alexis L. Menard
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Peaky Blinders meets Six of Crows vibes. Swoonworthy “my wife” moments. A secret double life. A horribly muddled past. A secret power. A small mystery plot. A building enemies to lovers romance. A quick but interesting read, but nothing crazy, unexpected, or super outstanding. A good palate cleanser or a low stakes, low expectations fantasy read.
I liked both of the main characters, I thought it had an entertaining (although predictable) plot, and there’s a good romance that moved the story along. An enjoyable reading experience and it was a super quick read, but the writing style wasn’t my fav (very VERY repetitive word use) and I felt the world building was a bit sporadic. I wished it was just a bit more thought through and had more development on all fronts (setting, romance, character growth, etc.).
A pretty strong 3. The vibes are GOOD!
I liked both of the main characters, I thought it had an entertaining (although predictable) plot, and there’s a good romance that moved the story along. An enjoyable reading experience and it was a super quick read, but the writing style wasn’t my fav (very VERY repetitive word use) and I felt the world building was a bit sporadic. I wished it was just a bit more thought through and had more development on all fronts (setting, romance, character growth, etc.).
A pretty strong 3. The vibes are GOOD!
Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0