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evermoreau's reviews
12 reviews
Him by Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
3.5
this was the definition of a cute little romance. i went into it expecting something entertaining and cute and that's exactly what i got. a lot of hockey talk, which is a good thing in a hockey romance (i’m looking at you daydream by hannah grace 🤦🏻♀️) & even though everything, from the outcome of the first match to the boys’ careers was predictable it was still enjoyable. i gotta say that it was a bit of false advertisement though, because the book is set up to be about ex friends turned rivals reuniting on the ice and then it just doesn’t end up being the focus 😭 in general i feel like this story got away from its roots & that’s probably bc it was a collaborative work — there were 2 instances in which the setting change was so abrupt and definitive it made me go ??? so what was all that for? but everything got wrapped up in the end. there is a single real female character of course and she serves the role of the bisexual one’s current fwb before he realises he’s in love with his best friend, but in the end her character got handled better than i expected in all honesty and this is a hockey yaoi after all so it’s not like i was hoping for some sort of feminist enlightenment out of these pages. jamie and wes were cute and funny and that’s enough
Jade City by Fonda Lee
adventurous
dark
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
i believe that the latter books in the series are going to be significantly better, because this is solid foundation, but it doesn’t change the fact that jade city on itself was an unfortunately mediocre experience, despite how excited i was for it.
the most glaring issue for me personally is the disproportionate amount of female characters + the way they are portrayed, because i’d argue shae is the only one who was paid real attention to by the author. i spent most of the book mourning the way wen’s character was being handled and honestly at times it was almost ridiculous. like, the first time we see her she is surprised by hilo in her bed and they have sex — alright, whatever, a bit of a jumpscare but i’ll live. but that scene wasn’t an introduction of wen — the character, only of wen — the woman desired. for a large part of the book she is ordered around for her own good and makes the occasional appearance in which hilo grabs her thigh or does some other horny thing. girl come on. i jumped up with joy when her and shae had that talk that resulted in wen getting the white rat job, and the pov chapter of hers where she smuggles jade was one of my favorite moments of the book. WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR 10 MINUTES OF SCREENTIME! all in all this isn’t a cardinal sin for me yet (especially bc the author is a woman so i have more faith in her in this regard, despite the goofy tweets she made a few years ago when confronted 😭) and i just hope that wen & shae and maybe even some third female character will get more spotlight in war and legacy.
as for the other characters, hilo is crazy in a way that i love, and the last scene between him and anden genuinely moved me & made me angry with him, which is GREAT! especially because as the time went on anden grew on me as well. i love it when both sides of the conflict make valid points & are loved by me & so all that is left to do is worry. YASSS! as for lan, i liked him as an extension of shae-hilo-lan siblingism because one thing about me is i will always gaf about siblings. he died too quickly for me to had grown attached to him, though, and i think the story would have benefited from some more little moments between the kauls before his death, similar to the ones hilo and shae share later on.
the plot itself was solid & i don’t really understand the people who say this is barely a fantasy, like yes there aren’t that many unreal elements but it’s not like jade could be substituted with any given drug as some reviewers claim. i liked the overall world building & the way various roles in the clan were organised. my only complaint is that the story didn’t have any overly specific Vibe which i cannot explain better than that. like when i think about jade city the location nothing super unique comes to mind & i don’t feel like i’ve been there, which often happens when i read fantasy & it’s one of my favourite aspects of it. once again i have faith in books 2 and 3 bc yes i will be finishing the series
the most glaring issue for me personally is the disproportionate amount of female characters + the way they are portrayed, because i’d argue shae is the only one who was paid real attention to by the author. i spent most of the book mourning the way wen’s character was being handled and honestly at times it was almost ridiculous. like, the first time we see her she is surprised by hilo in her bed and they have sex — alright, whatever, a bit of a jumpscare but i’ll live. but that scene wasn’t an introduction of wen — the character, only of wen — the woman desired. for a large part of the book she is ordered around for her own good and makes the occasional appearance in which hilo grabs her thigh or does some other horny thing. girl come on. i jumped up with joy when her and shae had that talk that resulted in wen getting the white rat job, and the pov chapter of hers where she smuggles jade was one of my favorite moments of the book. WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR 10 MINUTES OF SCREENTIME! all in all this isn’t a cardinal sin for me yet (especially bc the author is a woman so i have more faith in her in this regard, despite the goofy tweets she made a few years ago when confronted 😭) and i just hope that wen & shae and maybe even some third female character will get more spotlight in war and legacy.
as for the other characters, hilo is crazy in a way that i love, and the last scene between him and anden genuinely moved me & made me angry with him, which is GREAT! especially because as the time went on anden grew on me as well. i love it when both sides of the conflict make valid points & are loved by me & so all that is left to do is worry. YASSS! as for lan, i liked him as an extension of shae-hilo-lan siblingism because one thing about me is i will always gaf about siblings. he died too quickly for me to had grown attached to him, though, and i think the story would have benefited from some more little moments between the kauls before his death, similar to the ones hilo and shae share later on.
the plot itself was solid & i don’t really understand the people who say this is barely a fantasy, like yes there aren’t that many unreal elements but it’s not like jade could be substituted with any given drug as some reviewers claim. i liked the overall world building & the way various roles in the clan were organised. my only complaint is that the story didn’t have any overly specific Vibe which i cannot explain better than that. like when i think about jade city the location nothing super unique comes to mind & i don’t feel like i’ve been there, which often happens when i read fantasy & it’s one of my favourite aspects of it. once again i have faith in books 2 and 3 bc yes i will be finishing the series