ghoulishcrypt's reviews
564 reviews

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

4.5

I went in pretty blind with this book and still declared it a five-star prediction last year. I was looking forward to getting to this last year but I didn’t predict just how many people would put a hold on this book. I would have loved to have read this in December but I was not going to put this off until the end of the year. I understand the comparison to Red, White & Royal Blue and I even agree with it. 

This is a fun fantasy romance with a pretty big political element to it. I understand the comparison to Red, White & Royal Blue and I even agree with it. The critique of capitalism and the talk of different ways of grieving were fantastic. And this was a great example of the trope opposites attract. 

I loved the main characters and Kris and Iris got me as well. I’m a little bummed with how this ended but I also respect it. I’m looking forward to the next book although I won’t make it a five-star prediction. I do not care for sex scenes but I wasn’t bothered by the few scenes in this. And I do believe that I will be re-reading this in December. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

This is another book I thought was going to be a five-star prediction in 2024 that flopped for me. I adore world-building but the world-building in this? This was so convoluted. Most of the world-building was about wool and I kept hoping to hear more about the world that wasn’t about that. The romance left me feeling meh but that’s probably because I prefer my romances to be less about the sexual aspect and more about actually falling in love with the person which there was barely any of. I didn’t believe that Matti and Luca were in love or that they should’ve been together. The characters had their skeletons but they didn’t have their organs. They needed to be worked on more than they were. The entire book did honestly. 

The mystery surrounding Luca was a giant let down as well. There was quite a few quote-able moments the one currently in my mind is about turning a scene in the last chapter into epic poems but I’m going to be honest in saying said quote felt wasted in this book. 
 
I thought about dnf’ing this multiple times but I decided to power through it to mark off a r/fantasy bingo square. Hopefully, A Marvellous Light is better since I’ve seen that this was Freya’s first book and that it just got published later on.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 42 by Mizuho Kusanagi

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I’m not ready for this series to end.

My Beautiful Man, Volume 1 (Manga) by Yuu Nagira, Megumi Kitano

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The mc reminded me of Sid the Sloth…. And I just really don’t care for the bully and servant thing.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

5.0

Honestly, what’s there to say except it’s LOTR. I think the fact that I named my dog Frodo is a big giveaway on how I feel about this series.

I will say the queerness of Samwise really comes through in a certain scene. Thought it was just normal fandom shipping and then I read that.

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

2.0

I’m… I honestly don’t know I knew this wasn’t getting the best reviews going in but I was still expecting it to at least be a 3 star. I almost feel like I need to re-read this because I feel like I missed so much. But, looking at others reviews I don’t think I really did.

Interesting premise but that’s about it.

Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 1 by Katsura Ise
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

Went into this blindly hoping it wasn’t mostly about playing Magic The Gathering but it is and I just don’t care much TCG’s.

Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 1 by Yu Ishihara

3.0

This was honestly just okay. The bonus chapter that has nothing to do with the actual storyline broke me though.

I will be reading volume two since it’s waiting for me to pick it up from my library but I don’t think I’ll be continuing this series beyond that.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 11 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe

5.0

That ending. I want to read the next volume so badly rn.

Choujin X, Vol. 7 by Sui Ishida

4.0

I’m honestly tempted to let volumes build up so I can binge read a few. I just want to keep consuming this series.