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fossilreads's Reviews (165)
“You are both the most frustrating and the most captivating part of my universe.”
Thank you to the author for the ARC, I am reviewing this voluntarily!
Starting with the dedication: FIRE. This was such a sweet and spicy academic rivals to lovers novella!
I enjoyed reading another part of the Augury University series and hanging out with its magical beings again.
We follow two students, Zinnia and Wren, competing to become valedictorian. They decide compete in a personal competition and end up in all kinds of fun shenanigans. I had a fun time seeing them fail and succeed in front of each other.
I especially loved the nonbinary AND endometriosis representation in the main couple. Both were done great and we didn't shy away from the harsh realities of how awful endo can be.
The spice was great and kinky and I loved it!
“In the name of stability and security, they condemn only the violence that challenges the status quo, never the violence that perpetuates it.”
This was a mind blowing sequel. After the heartbreak of Iron Widow, this book kept waking my hatred of our society. The social commentary was timely and can open many readers' eyes. Sometimes you need the issues explained directly, to truly understand why they're so detrimental.
I enjoyed how Zetian had to balance the narrow walkway of the revolution she started, being guided and sometimes ridiculed by Qin Zheng. Speaking of Qin Zheng, get pegged my guy.
I loved the way queer identities were much more visible now that Zetian actually got to see the city life.
This book was exhausting in the best way, so much to digest and so much power to gain from it. Open season on these pigs was indeed called for.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
“Did she actually want a sister and Delilah simply didn’t know how to be one? How to be anything to anyone as a little girl who’d just lost the only person who’d ever made her feel wanted?”
Delightfully sapphic romance and heart aching life crisis.
I loved the main characters and their complicated pasts, entwined with each other and returning to each other to start something new. Both of them had to learn that no everything is as they assumed and really grow to accept how differently they've interpreted different situations.
I enjoyed all the plotting and scheming, while pining for each other behind everyone else's backs. Delilah and Claire's pasts were heart wrenching and I truly felt for them as they learned to navigate their newfound connection.
The spice was a nice addition but this story can carry itself even without it.
My favorite part ended up being the complicated family relationships they had to navigate and even face completely different realities within those. I'm absolutely picking up Astrid's book too!
Way too much repetition, they're having the same conversation over and over again. Their day in London was... not very believable with the timing, you're telling me they went everywhere with no traffic or any queues with zero planning ahead???
"You were beautiful on the stage. That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Not that you're a thing! You're a goddess! I mean, I... I'm going to shut up now."
Even though it's a novella, we managed to have some good slow burn too!
This couple was *chef's kiss* with their dynamic, Shane was an adorable, shy, inexperienced witch and Elle a gorgeous domme succubus. I was absolutely drooling after her right along Shane! Their communication skills were great, maybe even a little too perfect at times. Not many people know how to word everything so well right off the bat. I truly enjoy when people don't really leave space for misunderstandings even when they might hesitate over how they read a situation.
The spice was fun and got a bit kinky too, an absolute plus for me!
Loved the sex work positivity and multiple queer characters, including NB side characters. Shane and Nathan's friendship was really great too, such healthy masculinity and platonic love!
"You're already getting some tonight, but thank you."
This one was mostly fun and interesting, but no girl, his D will not "ruin [you] for any other man" no matter the size or how it's used. That's just not how this works. And what on earth is he packing if your fingers don't reach around, a baseball bat?
I love a fake dating story and this was quite well done. There was so much tension and drama and it all just added to the story. The spice was a pretty good addition too!
I found the characters well built. I liked the complex family histories the main characters had and loved having a POC rich story! In the beginning we kind of skipped the fact that they still had a long drive they could chat during, so the characters felt like they had to go through things "one last time" before it.
fast-paced
“I hate to disappoint you, Shelly. Kraken don’t have sex like humans. We do it much, much better.”
This was a quick romance read to help me get back to reading and it did it's job. The blurb had me hoping for more, this could have worked better for me as a full novella.
I wasn't a huge fan of the main characters but they were fine. I liked the FMC's type of clumsiness, for the MMC.. he's a rich kraken :D
This is an instalove short story as a prequel to a series. It could've been slightly longer in my opinion, to fit everything needed for a well rounded experience.
I picked this up for a quick romance and kraken spice, romance was delivered, but it could've used a little extra time to build. The spice was fine for me, I was hoping for a little more from it, and with the shortness of the story we only got there at the end.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was my first audiobook I've listened to fully and it was a great experience. I think I would've gotten slightly more out of this one if I'd read it in text, or better yet, combined audio and text! The narrator was perfect for this book!
This is a beautiful coming of age story and it had me laughing out loud, crying and so much more. It's heart-warming and gut-wrenching at the same time, addressing multiple sensitive issues in a gentle, yet realistic way through the Latinx community's eyes.
This book is so magical and I enjoyed getting a closer peek into a culture that's somewhat familiar, but I haven't really dived into. The characters were delightfully teens doing teen things and I feel their choices might sometimes feel irresponsible and odd to an adult, but made sense in the context of what might feel important to a teenager.
The big plot twist was kind of a big surprise to me, but I think I would've noticed more foreshadowing if I'd read the book in text instead of listening. There was a lot of intensity in the form of either action or different kinds of grief. I did guess some plot advancements but for me that's a good thing, as long as I don't get everything spoiled too early.
I will absolutely be picking up the next part when I get the chance, I already miss Yadriel, Maritza and Julian's shenanigans in an intense environment!
This is a beautiful coming of age story and it had me laughing out loud, crying and so much more. It's heart-warming and gut-wrenching at the same time, addressing multiple sensitive issues in a gentle, yet realistic way through the Latinx community's eyes.
This book is so magical and I enjoyed getting a closer peek into a culture that's somewhat familiar, but I haven't really dived into. The characters were delightfully teens doing teen things and I feel their choices might sometimes feel irresponsible and odd to an adult, but made sense in the context of what might feel important to a teenager.
The big plot twist was kind of a big surprise to me, but I think I would've noticed more foreshadowing if I'd read the book in text instead of listening. There was a lot of intensity in the form of either action or different kinds of grief. I did guess some plot advancements but for me that's a good thing, as long as I don't get everything spoiled too early.
I will absolutely be picking up the next part when I get the chance, I already miss Yadriel, Maritza and Julian's shenanigans in an intense environment!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No