fatedhearts_lorilee's reviews
216 reviews

Keep Me by Sara Cate

emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

Killian and Sylvie have such great banter, right from the moment she breaks into his house to find a typewriter. They bicker and they call each other terrible names, and I was completely here for it. 

There is tension and frustration as they figure out their roles within their marriage of convenience. Of course, all that tension leads to some spicy moments! 

There’s also some really touching moments, and I really felt for the characters as they struggled with their individual baggage. 

🖤 Scottish manor
🩷 Marriage of convenience 
🖤 My wife 
🩷 Mo gráidh (his nickname for her)
🖤 Enemies to lovers
🩷 Forced proximity 

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Re-read

I am completely in love with this book! It was so much fun to go back to the world of Caraval. I love the way Scarlett sees colours associated with her emotions- the imagery is so well done. Scarlett’s anxiety about herself and her sister as she goes through the game is extremely relatable. The twists and turns kept me on my toes, even though I’ve read it before. Of course, I’m also obsessed with Julian, and love his nickname (Crimson) for Scarlett. The slow burn tension as they work together throughout the game is excellent, and the sacrifices he makes let us know how he feels about Scarlett, even when he can’t say it. 

Tale of the Heart Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

 Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to ARC read this amazing finale to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘴 series. 

 

This series drew me in so completely, right from 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭, and Nisha did such an amazing job of tying together the threads of the different stories. This felt like a very satisfying finale. 

 

After the way 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 ended, I was extremely anxious to see how things were going to be resolved. There is so much stress and tension (in a good way) as Lor goes through her journey. I loved that we got to visit more of Ouranos, and that we got to spend time with more characters! We get more POVs in this book, including Rion, who is just the worst. 

In some ways it would've been nice to get to know Willow and Tristan better, but I also understand that there's only so much that can be included in one book/series! 

 

I always love getting to hear from Gabriel, who is one of my faves, and his banter with Lor is 10/10.
“𝘐 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.” 

 

𝒬𝓊𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒: 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 

 

♥️ Burn the world for each other 

🖤 Touch her/him and die 

♥️ Fated mates 

🖤 Found family 
♥️ Political commentary

Reclaimed by River Savage

emotional funny sad fast-paced

4.0

Fast paced novella, going back to Kadence and Nix. It was nice to see the characters work through some real life issues. Of course, as it’s a novella we move through them quickly, but River uses a time jump so that we can progress quickly without it actually being too unbelievable of a timeline. 

The ending was funny, and it was a nice light way to end the story. 

Affliction by River Savage

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

4.0

This was a good continuation of the series. Although it does include

the pregnancy trope, which normally I hate, I actually didn’t mind the way it was developed in this story.

I liked that we got to move through the events of the first book quickly, and got to progress the story. I really liked Sy & Holly as the MCs for this story. Sy had a really interesting backstory that I was definitely hooked by. 

Fast-paced and a good read. 

Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Once again, I’m loving this series! 

We get to see more of Lor’s interactions with her family, Nadir and her friends. Lor and her siblings have to figure out ways to work through the trauma they’ve all been through, and sometimes they fight, but they make up and I love to see their bonds. 

Nadir is so swoony and he really needs more fans because he is amazing. He is so supportive and also has some excellent lines throughout this book. I love that he refuses to wear anything except black.

Of course there’s the little issue where he might’ve told his dad something about Lor then proceeded to die, but I’m assuming it happened for a good reason and that he either isn’t dead dead, or something will happen with her being the new overseer or something

I was super happy to see Callias again, even though it was brief! 

I loved getting to see Gabriel, and his POV gave us sooo much interesting information that explains a lot. I was a Gabe fan before, and I’m an even bigger one now! 

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I loved getting to know Lor and Nadir better throughout this book, and see a bit more of the Aurora kingdom. 

There’s so much tension between Lor and Nadir, and while it’s definitely frustrating at times, it also makes sense. Lor doesn’t know who she can trust, and she’s obviously been hurt and used before. Nadir is patient and always encouraging and understanding, and I can’t wait for them to get together for real. 

I really enjoyed the Serce flashbacks, where we get to find out what happened to destroy Heart.

I liked that it seemed like maybe Serce really did just screw everything up for power. Obviously I’m glad she and Wolf had such a strong bond and cared about one another, but Serce’s mother did seem to be right that she wasn’t ready to take the crown.

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I am in love with this series and it's only book 1! Nisha's writing style and storytelling ability are both so engaging. I was interested in the book right from the beginning.

Two POVs, which I found really interesting. I liked that we got Lor's perspective of the Aurora and Sun kingdoms, and then Nadir's perspective to fill in some information we wouldn't otherwise have. 

I loved the relationships that Lor made along the way. Callias is fantastic and he reminds me of Cinna just a little bit! I love Halo, and I hope that we get to see more of her in the other books. I'm very curious to know more about the relationship between Gabriel and Atlas. I feel like there's potential for Gabriel and Lor to be friends and/or allies. 

I predicted that Atlas was not all he was cracked up to be, and I'm so glad Lor got away! I was worried that she was going to be forced to give into him, but that's not who she is!

I love the social commentary that Nisha has woven into the book - she does it really well. It's clear, but it isn't in your face all the time either. 

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

I liked the trials, and I liked the magic & necromancy. It felt extremely similar to Caraval however, which was tough to get over. It was fun, so still giving it 4🌟 but… there were a few too many similarities for me.