helliecreed's reviews
522 reviews

Malice by Heather Walter

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Seem to have a strange relationship with these types of novels lately. First 48%-52% of the book I was becoming increasingly frustrated with its pacing and lack of plot or motive. The world itself kept me interested to continue and splashes of character moments, however its' prose is very simplistic. Nothing wrong with basic prose but it in my case when the slow start is half the book I began to skip paragraphs.

There are chunks in this novel when I would forget these characters weren't high school age. They read sometimes younger than they are. This gets better as it progresses thankfully, but maybe I have forgotten how derpy we are in our early twenties (cries in older millennial)lol

The plot is nothing new. Everything you think will happen will happen or if you feel suspicious of anyone, don't worry, you are correct in your assumption! The characters take a while to develop especially any form of relationship with one another. In retrospect, I like how we see their nuances and even what that means for Alyce. The moment I hit the midway point I read it all in a single sitting. Became hooked. There were stakes and emotional attachments for me to care. The world and characters fleshed out. All this was set up during the first half but finally stakes were raised and the concept of gilded cages bloomed. I was so scared this was quickly going to be another 3 star read for me. I just started the year y'all! lol. The moment I was feelingduring the second half I was here. I surprised myself and man was I happy I allowed to enjoy the story. 

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A very slow burn, which isn’t necessarily bad considering we are trying to “normalize” a relationship between a horseman and plain Jane. However, it began to become very repetitive with ride horse-find house- shenanigans and repeat. I had a lot of fun and even understood where Pestilence was coming from but Sara… as a fellow human being it’s hard to truly understand her motives. “Oh he is so pretty!” After him making you witness countless devastation even my own brain would kick in and find it very jarring. Towards the end I couldn’t believe we were still on this journey and it began to feel like arguing for the sake of argument. Now the spice… it’s okay. Very intro level with the same descriptions used for each moment. Do not come into this book expecting smut, it’s not that. Still recommend as a fun strange story about characters since plot and world building isn’t the focus. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Misogyny

A Very Krampus Holiday by Katee Robert

3.5

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Upgrade by Blake Crouch

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Sign Here by Claudia Lux

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Wehrwolf by Alma Katsu

3.0

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

So I absolutely wanted to love this book however it left me wanting so much more. Everything was so intriguing but it never delved into its world, history or even the characters deeply. As much as I loved the atmosphere and main story I was left, empty. Maybe that was the point lol always cursed to be to hungry for more haha

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This story is something you have read a million times and okay characters. Nothing outstanding however that ending…. Definitely will continue this trilogy and I have high hopes it won’t play it so safe. Fun, vanilla fantasy. 

Definitely think this is YA fantasy, really read as such including some of their arcs. Everything would be easily accessible to a YA audience and would even connect to these characters more easily.