You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
hannahleelovestoread's Reviews (635)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Savannah Royals by Lindsay Barrett, a mashup of romance and Prohibition-era heist novel, is a fun, action-packed read set in Savannah, Georgia. Female main character Katarina “Kat” Quinn was born in the unforgiving Catacombs beneath the city and lost her mother at an early age. Now, she has made her way up the ladder of Savannah’s hierarchical society and is an upcoming graduate of the prestigious Telfar Academy. She has even attracted the recent attentions of the eligible and famously wealthy Matthew DaMoulin. But nothing can keep her from her roots and the “Wolfpack” she formed during her younger years with her friends Abe and Tony and her first love, their charismatic leader, Paul — or so she thinks.
The dynamic characters and humorous, lively banter in this book kept me turning the pages. Kat was one of my favorite FMCs out of all the romance novels I’ve read since my recent foray into the genre. While I strongly advise checking content warnings, I admire the author for her treatment of the serious subject of (as she succinctly puts it in the author’s note) “love that has twisted into something unrecognizable.” The novel’s only downside was its falling action, which was a little too tidy and predictable. However, this didn’t stop it from being one of my favorite reads of the year so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Murder
Minor: Misogyny, Racism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: War
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicide, Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Domestic abuse
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
In this second installment of the DarkFlower Jungle series, the story picks up where Princess Aironell has been taken by mysterious forces who tell her of her beloved Drefan’s true identity. Her kidnapping is a ploy to lure Dref in, but Aironell begins to doubt he cares for her at all. Still, she uses her increasingly powerful magic to find out what these sinister forces (and others who are even darker) want with Dref. But she finds out that her own identity is more crucial to this process and to the DarkFlower Jungle itself than she realized.
Author Alyssa Rose firmly established herself as a short-form author with this novella. I did find some of the exclamatory language, particularly that of Kyus and Travago, overly modern for high fantasy. However, the magic system and the backstory were complex and interesting, and Aironell’s relationship made the enemies-to-lovers transition. Aironell’s mother, Queen Evalyn of Bachusa, is one of my favorite characters from Rose’s longform Fates Align duology, so I was excited to see fascinating tidbits about her ancestors in connection with the DarkFlower jungle bringing the story full circle. I recommend this novella and eagerly await the arrival of Found and Fated this fall.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping
Minor: Torture, War
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Murder
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Darci has almost everything going for her. She has a successful career as a children’s librarian, a cozy home of her own, and an unbreakable bond with her best friend, Claire. However, she can’t help feeling a little envious of the love Claire shares with her fiancé, Edison. Meanwhile, Darci’s neighbor Alex, a doctor in the local hospital’s emergency room, is fighting to overcome his grief over a personal tragedy that took place years ago. When Darci and Alex cross paths, their interactions are full of miscommunication and misunderstandings — but some unidentified force keeps leading them back to each other.
This book was such a fun, dynamic read. Author Stephanie Pass managed to combine comedy and spice with relatable characters and a realistic depiction of grief. The vulnerability, love, and hesitation of the scene in which Alex brings Darci along to the cemetery brought me to tears. The only thing about the story that didn’t resonate with me was the slight element of magical realism with the annotated romance novels; it felt detached from the rest of the plot. Overall, though, I highly recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Data Independence by Wes Chaar is an eye-opening book written from a uniquely informed perspective. Chaar, who worked with Delta Airlines in the 1980s, had employee access to the earliest customer relationship management (CRM); in other words, he helped collect customer data to optimize revenue. As time has gone on and this practice has grown exponentially in both the public and private sectors, Chaar has become a firm believer in every person’s fundamental right to privacy. The book focuses on the public need for a “Data Constitution” and proposes three core tenets of data consent, data control, and data currency. The author points to the role government policy now plays in the regulation (and lack thereof) of data collection and promotes citizens’ active participation in the legislative process.
I am amazed at the sheer volume of information I learned from this book. Chaar has a knack for breaking down a complicated topic into easily digestible pieces for the less-than-tech-savvy like myself. Frankly, however, my optimism is not equal to his. While I believe that citizens can and quite possibly will take back a small amount of their privacy, I am afraid that much of the damage is done. Because of books like this one, though, I am a well-informed citizen able to make more conscious decisions about my privacy in the digital arena. As such, I highly recommend this book to everyone.