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hharkins's reviews
215 reviews
If the crown fits by LeanΓ© Giliomee
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
This is a fun, quick romantasy read.
β¨ Forced Proximity
β¨ Hidden Identity
β¨ Slow burn
The characters are likable enough. The story is very fast-paced. So much so that it can feel jumpy and rushed sometimes, I do wish some scenarios went more into detail with what was happening. The situation changes a lot, very quickly. Some of the dialogue and interactions don't feel natural at all. But, I do really like the premise of the story and see a lot of potential in the series. I'm excited to see where it goes.
I received an ARC free for review, my opinions are my own and given voluntarily π
β¨ Forced Proximity
β¨ Hidden Identity
β¨ Slow burn
The characters are likable enough. The story is very fast-paced. So much so that it can feel jumpy and rushed sometimes, I do wish some scenarios went more into detail with what was happening. The situation changes a lot, very quickly. Some of the dialogue and interactions don't feel natural at all. But, I do really like the premise of the story and see a lot of potential in the series. I'm excited to see where it goes.
I received an ARC free for review, my opinions are my own and given voluntarily π
Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
5.0
"You came."
"You called."
βββββ
πΆοΈπΆοΈ
A really well done gothic romantasy.
πForced Proximity
π» Morally Gray MMC
π Deadly trials
I always go into books that are viral on TikTok with a healthy amount of skepticism. I can't tell you how many I've fallen for, just to be utterly disappointed. This one is one that lives up to the hype. As someone who reads 200+ books a year, I don't do a lot of re-reads, but this is one I would come back to again.
Ophelia is a necromancer who's just come into her powers. The death of their mother revealed financial hardships and her sister joins a deadly competition to save their family home. Ophelia joins to save her and strikes a deal with a devilish phantom, Blackwell, to help her make it through the trials.
"You called."
βββββ
πΆοΈπΆοΈ
A really well done gothic romantasy.
πForced Proximity
π» Morally Gray MMC
π Deadly trials
I always go into books that are viral on TikTok with a healthy amount of skepticism. I can't tell you how many I've fallen for, just to be utterly disappointed. This one is one that lives up to the hype. As someone who reads 200+ books a year, I don't do a lot of re-reads, but this is one I would come back to again.
Ophelia is a necromancer who's just come into her powers. The death of their mother revealed financial hardships and her sister joins a deadly competition to save their family home. Ophelia joins to save her and strikes a deal with a devilish phantom, Blackwell, to help her make it through the trials.
Bluebeard by Peter McDonnell, Jim Clemente
fast-paced
3.5
The full cast made this a really enjoyable, quick listen.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
4.0
I really enjoyed this one!
The book-within-a-book aspect was great!
We follow Maggie- who's family fled their apparently haunted home when she was 5, never to return. Her father wrote a best-selling novel recounting their time in the house, but even though Maggie never believed a word of it, her parents refused to entertain any of her questions about it.
Imagine her surprise when her father passes away and she inherits said haunted mansion?! She makes it her mission to uncover the truth of what happened there.
Bouncing between Maggie's experiences and the past (as told within her father's novel)- the author does a great job of building tension and suspense.
Overall, a really enjoyable read that I'd recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller/mystery!
The book-within-a-book aspect was great!
We follow Maggie- who's family fled their apparently haunted home when she was 5, never to return. Her father wrote a best-selling novel recounting their time in the house, but even though Maggie never believed a word of it, her parents refused to entertain any of her questions about it.
Imagine her surprise when her father passes away and she inherits said haunted mansion?! She makes it her mission to uncover the truth of what happened there.
Bouncing between Maggie's experiences and the past (as told within her father's novel)- the author does a great job of building tension and suspense.
Overall, a really enjoyable read that I'd recommend to anyone who likes a good thriller/mystery!
Don't Believe Her by Nicola Sanders
5.0
Holy Crap! What a fun read!!!!
This was my first book from this author and I'll definitely be going back for more!!!
What would you do if your best friend went missing, only to reappear years later? What would you do if you were sure it wasn't really her?
This thriller kept me on my toes. Every twist and turn took me somewhere I didn't expect. Every guess I made was off. The pacing was great and the author did a great job of building and maintaining tension and suspense.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good domestic thriller because this is definitely a great one!!!
Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the ALC to listen to and review. π
This was my first book from this author and I'll definitely be going back for more!!!
What would you do if your best friend went missing, only to reappear years later? What would you do if you were sure it wasn't really her?
This thriller kept me on my toes. Every twist and turn took me somewhere I didn't expect. Every guess I made was off. The pacing was great and the author did a great job of building and maintaining tension and suspense.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good domestic thriller because this is definitely a great one!!!
Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the ALC to listen to and review. π
The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
3.0
Edie loves puzzles. She creates crosswords for the paper and solves jigsaw puzzles in her spare time, but when she receives some jigsaw pieces promising that people will die if she can't solve the puzzle, she's thrown headfirst into a race against the clock and has to use her skills to solve a murder mystery.
I really enjoyed the narrator. She did an excellent job of bringing life to the various characters. And her voice really added to the cozy vibes of the story.
It did start off slow for me- I wasn't really fully engaged and invested until around the 50% mark.
Overall, I did enjoy the story- for some reason it really reminded me of watching Murder She Wrote, and I didn't call the reveal of the culprit. But I found the pacing off and never really felt connected to the characters and it holds me back from giving this a higher reading.
If you're looking for a cozy, holiday murder mystery, you might enjoy this!!!
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ALC. My opinions are my own π
I really enjoyed the narrator. She did an excellent job of bringing life to the various characters. And her voice really added to the cozy vibes of the story.
It did start off slow for me- I wasn't really fully engaged and invested until around the 50% mark.
Overall, I did enjoy the story- for some reason it really reminded me of watching Murder She Wrote, and I didn't call the reveal of the culprit. But I found the pacing off and never really felt connected to the characters and it holds me back from giving this a higher reading.
If you're looking for a cozy, holiday murder mystery, you might enjoy this!!!
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ALC. My opinions are my own π
The Wedding Party: An addictive psychological thriller full of twists and turns set on a sweltering Australian beach by Rebecca Heath
2.5
2.5β
I was so excited to get into this one, but it ultimately left me disappointed.
We are told the story across three POVs and two timelines. It flows well and is easy to keep track of.
We have Adele who is marrying Jason, the best friend of her childhood sweetheart (Ollie, who died tragically 12 years prior) and Melanie (Ollie's mom) carrying us through the current events. The details leading up to Ollie's death are all told from his sister, Sophie's POV.
I don't understand the choice to have Adele and Melanie's chapters in 1st person VS Sophie's chapters in 3rd person. But, we'll move on from that.
It took me a while to get into this one. I kept putting it down and coming back to it. There isn't a likable character in the bunch, which makes it hard to care about what's happening to any of them.
I was honestly just rooting for the boat to crash at the end and take them all out π. It doesn't happen, and I didn't call the final twist(s) so that does redeem this one a bit.
Overall, it's an okay read. I just didn't feel any tension or suspense because I just really couldn't bring myself to care about a single one of the characters.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC copy to read and review. My opinions are my own π.
I was so excited to get into this one, but it ultimately left me disappointed.
We are told the story across three POVs and two timelines. It flows well and is easy to keep track of.
We have Adele who is marrying Jason, the best friend of her childhood sweetheart (Ollie, who died tragically 12 years prior) and Melanie (Ollie's mom) carrying us through the current events. The details leading up to Ollie's death are all told from his sister, Sophie's POV.
I don't understand the choice to have Adele and Melanie's chapters in 1st person VS Sophie's chapters in 3rd person. But, we'll move on from that.
It took me a while to get into this one. I kept putting it down and coming back to it. There isn't a likable character in the bunch, which makes it hard to care about what's happening to any of them.
I was honestly just rooting for the boat to crash at the end and take them all out π. It doesn't happen, and I didn't call the final twist(s) so that does redeem this one a bit.
Overall, it's an okay read. I just didn't feel any tension or suspense because I just really couldn't bring myself to care about a single one of the characters.
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC copy to read and review. My opinions are my own π.
Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa
2.0
I was so sure I would love this book. I wanted to love this book. But, when I finally finished I just felt relieved to be done instead of excited to continue the series.
It gives me the ick that the FMC developed a "friendship" and weird crush on the MMC (ancient and fae because of course he is) when she was a teenager who had just escaped her abuser (who was SA-ing her) by killing him. And I really just couldn't get past that.
Beyond that, it wasn't anything amazing. Honestly, it felt like I was reading fanfiction.
I almost always finish a series even if I don't love the first book, because there is something fundamentally wrong with me as a person and I have to. I'm definitely not jumping into the next one right away.
It gives me the ick that the FMC developed a "friendship" and weird crush on the MMC (ancient and fae because of course he is) when she was a teenager who had just escaped her abuser (who was SA-ing her) by killing him. And I really just couldn't get past that.
Beyond that, it wasn't anything amazing. Honestly, it felt like I was reading fanfiction.
I almost always finish a series even if I don't love the first book, because there is something fundamentally wrong with me as a person and I have to. I'm definitely not jumping into the next one right away.