fixationrealm's reviews
80 reviews

Fourth Wing (Part 2 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) by Rebecca Yarros

5.0

Branded Hearts by Elle Mariah

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

I enjoyed reading Bradley and Amelia’s story. I’m actually SO glad I decided to read Lassoed Love first because I feel it was necessary. 

It took me a little longer to get into this one, but when it picked up it TOOK OFF. 

This book wasn’t quite as emotional as Lassoed Love was but I did find myself tearing up a little bit towards the end. I don’t know how else to explain it besides: Bradley was an experience all by himself. I mean this book takes you on a journey with that man and that’s where I found my emotions getting high. I think being familiar with Bradley from book 1 helped that experience quite a bit. 

Amelia was actually so adorable and easily lovable I found myself liking her more and more as the book went on too. The two of them were perfect together ans complimented each other very well. 

This was definitely a lighter more “cute” read for sure. So if that’s what you’re needed this is a good one. I can’t wait to see who’s story is next I’m actually HOPEFUL it’s a certain two characters who are always bickering 👀 

Kuxtal Academy: The Beginning by Mikayla D. Hornedo

adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

This. Book. Was. FIRE. 

10/10, 5 stars, give it an Oscar or whatever books be getting 😩

From page one I was sucked in. The story grabbed me by the face and balled it up without letting it go until the end. I mean, my girls really did their big one on this. 

It was perfectly written and structured in my opinion. The page breaks were perfectly placed and NO GAPS WERE THERE. It was written in a way that had me asking questions in the beginning that were answered as I read along and I LOVED the thrill of that. I also loved the magic system and having to flip back to my bookmarked page in the beginning which explained it (yes it’s one of THOSE books and it’s great) 

There was such a perfect balance of romance, suspense, magic AND comedy…all of it. I enjoyed this so much I can’t even handle it. 

The way they made me fall in love with EVERY character they introduced too? *chefs kiss* Except Mira and Koas parents…I don’t think I have ever in my life read a book where I hated someone’s parents so much. Ever. 

I am obsessed with this book and cannot wait to see what Mikayla and Nelle bang out in this series. I pray that there are 30 books in this series because I will eat every single one UP. 

Thank you Nelle and Mikayla for blessing me with this truly. 

Fourth Wing (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) by Rebecca Yarros

5.0

Lassoed Love by Elle Mariah

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

So…I ended up reading this because I got the ARC for Branded hearts (which is out now and that review is coming very soon). 

Let me just say I am glad I did. To start, this book was very cute making me both blush and giggle. I did struggle with the Australian lingo BUT the way I see it is I learned some new terminology! So that was actually really cool. 

Here’s what I did not expect: I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE A SOBBING MESS for the last 20% of this book. Like excuse me? 

The love story between Isla and Xavier was everything and this book was DRAMATIC, but in the best way. 

I fully enjoyed how Isla’s insecurities with her weight and dealings with anxiety were touched on because it was REAL and I feel Elle did a wonderful job portraying how that can really be. 

The other emotional parts? AMAZING job. I actually couldn’t believe this was a DEBUT novel. It takes a lot to make me cry in a book. This one really did me in. 

Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers

dark medium-paced

5.0

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

YALL. Okay so up until now I always said “I’m just not an audiobook girlie”. Then I went and chose this for my first ever audiobook and WHAT A RIDE THIS WAS. 

First of all, I was listening to it on my way to and from work and every time I stopped at a light I was side eyeing the cars next to me like “can they hear this?!” 

This audio was unhinged and I loved every minute of it. Credence by Penelope Douglas made me realize I liked a certain…trope and you know what? That’s okay. Because I’m realizing I’m not alone and I love that. I’ve been dabbling into more dark and taboo romances and those who read them in the book community have welcomed me with open arms and I love that so much. 

Now, back to this audio. Like I said, unhinged. The clip I saw on booktok that made me choose this did not do this audiobook justice. I ASSUMED that was the worst of it but no 🖤 either way I loved this story and the gasps, “omgs” and jaw drops were everything. I’m sure reading this is one thing but the audio!? 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 I’m telling anyone who will listen to listen to this audiobook lmao 

Malachi probably needs a lobotomy but also I love him? 

Also the narrators did WONDERFUL. I mean some parts were dramatic and made me giggle but other than that the execution was THERE. 

I cannot wait for book 2 and also am now obsessed with Leigh rivers so there’s that.

Embers in the Outfield by Stefanie Castro

5.0

Stefanie writes amazing books. Let’s just start with that. 

Embers in the Outfield is an enemies to lovers romance and I ate it up. I LOVED River and Kennedy. They were both hilarious and I giggled at multiple parts of this book. Which is one of the things I genuinely appreciate about Stefanie’s writing. One thing about her? She’s going to make you laugh. 

I felt so many emotions reading this book. I absolutely enjoyed it. I loved the dual POV and diving into each of the characters views on everything. The love and connection between River and Kennedy was EVERYTHING. I knew right away they were made for each other. So reading about the entire thing unfoldinf was beautiful honestly. 

I also loved the family and found family in this book. The supporting characters were great and honestly I cannot WAIT for book 2 I just know that one is going to be extremely emotional! 

Thrill of the Hunt by Dana LeeAnn

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

5.0

What a wild ride this novella was! I was lucky enough to receive and ARC for this one AND Scorpion by Avina St. Graves and I loved them both! 

So if you don’t know a bunch of authors wrote interconnected standalones, some novellas and some full length books. The Exodus Series. I’ve read 2 so far and I cannot wait to read the rest! 

This was such a quick read for me but the amount of GOOD, DARK AND DELICIOUS spice that was packed into it? Fantastic! 

This was written very well and was HOT 🥵 I mean who doesn’t love a masked man right? If you like dark romance then these are absolutely perfect for your spooky season TBR. 

Scorpion by Avina St. Graves

5.0

This was actually such a good “novella but not a novella”. It was a quick read (just over 200 pages) and I enjoyed the entire thing. 

Leave it to Avina to somehow fit violence, steamy hot scenes (a pew pew scene too btw) and emotion into a book this length 😂 AND make you fall in love with her f’d up characters that quickly!

What I loved most is that the storyline between Zalak and Mathijs flowed well. There were pretty big time jumps but they were seamless which I really appreciated. I honestly could’ve read a full on 480 page book about these two. 

I cannot wait to read the rest of the books by the authors participating in this series. 

Credence by Penelope Douglas

5.0

I absolutely LOVED this book. Like LOVED. I know a lot of people judge this book, and that’s fine. You do you. But me?! I ATE IT UP. 

This book is NOT for everyone and I know a lot of people pass judgement on those who did enjoy it. I’m not the right one for that though because I PROMISE I do not give one f*ck what ANYONE thinks about me let alone the books I choose to read. 

There are a lot of triggers in this book, so check them. There are also some happenings that I did NOT love but didn’t change my rating. 

I honestly don’t know what made me go pick it up but I’m so glad I did. I loved all of the characters so much. I fell in love with each of them more and more the more I read. 

Reading this was an EXPERIENCE. I’ll say that. I see now why everyone was saying “what I would give to read that again for the first time” I GET IT YALL. 

The ending? LISTEN LOL. I personally LOVED the ending. I was screaming okay. Kicking my FEET. I absolutely loved how this story unfolded and how it was wrapped up. I mean my heart was very very happy with this entire book but especially the ending.

Whoever recommended this to me THANK YOU. I’ll be thinking about this often for AWHILE.