hrtlss_grl's reviews
112 reviews

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Heir of Ashes by H.M. Darling

tense fast-paced

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Medical content, Gaslighting, Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

The Frost Queen's Blade by Meg Smitherman

adventurous emotional funny fast-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

5.0

This book was one I couldn't put down. It definitely got me out of a slump. And while I feel like technically it was a little obvious in its "twists" it was not supposed to be some kind of over the top Machaivellian masterpiece. It was exactly what I think it was meant to be: fun, inspiring, fantastical, romantic and a little bit smutty. It got me out of a slump and into a frenzy. I was laughing, smirking, smacking my forehead and groaning in disbelief. My family is convinced I'm crazy, but this book was just that good. 
Elma was fantastic and while Rune outshown her on occasion, she flew high on her own, kicked butt and saved the day. We gotta love a woman who knows what she wants, and while it takes her a little bit to figure it out, when she does, she takes it. 
Something that I really enjoyed was what felt like an accurate (to my experience with mental health) depiction of depression, lonelines, and suicidal thoughts. I am so glad that the author was thoughtful enough to include a trigger warnings section in her book. It helped me mentally prepare.
Overall, I loved this. It will easily be in my top 5 favourites for a long while. 
5 🌟 (stars)
3 🌶 (spicy peppers)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Abandonment, Classism, Blood, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, War, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Slavery, Domestic abuse, and Blood

Beautiful Wreck by Larissa Brown

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

This book was very heavy on the prose. For swaths of the book, it felt like nothing was happening because it was all flowery words. That being said, the main character is a linguist, so it did make sense. This is one of the slowest of slow burns I have ever read, and I mean that with all my heart. Having met fairly early in the story, they don't even brush hands until around 100 pages in. It takes them even longer to kiss. He is technically untouchable, so that has a ton to do with it, but it also informs the whole story and a strong amount of the plot. I will say it takes the main character far to long to figure out the major twist. I saw that coming from a mile away, and so did my beastie Betta. I will say there is some mild sort of grooming going on with Betta, but it actually seems to work for the book. I also feel like grooming is sort of the wrong word, but I haven't got a better one. In the end, it is a lot of buildup for a quick wrapup. I wished we had gotten more of an ending. There is however a book 2, though I believe it is about a different main character and I will have to consider it, since I didn't care to much for her in this one. (I wasn't supposed to, but oh well.) I did love how women were always the center and focus of this book. We rarely saw the men, and truly only through the women's eyes. Would definitely recommend for viking romance fans, time travel romance fans, historical fantasy epics fans, or anyone who just loves a beautifully written love story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Bullying, Animal death, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Animal death, and Death of parent

Dating & Dismemberment by A.L. Brody

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book embodies the idea of 'What would happen if Friday the 13th were a Rom-Com?' It's a fast paced fun romp with low stakes and a lot of heart. We follow the story of the Duchess of Death, and her family trying to figure out life and love. Even though these characters are monsters, they are very human and have hopes and dreams, wants and needs just like everyone else. I would also like to point out that this book is written by a man. And while there is some disagreement on whether or not men can write women, I would say of all the men writing women, he definitely did the best. It's not perfect, but for sure better than some female authors I've read. *cough cough Galenorn cough cough* These characters feel real. Their emotional struggles feel real. At the same time this book is so lighthearted and fun. I know there is some heavy stuff listed in the warnings, but they are mostly just mentions and very little is seen on page. Please give it a try. I really enjoyed it a ton!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Racism, Torture, Antisemitism, Murder, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Alcohol, and Sexual assault

Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, War, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Murder, and Xenophobia

Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Animal death

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey

adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A retelling of the first book in the Kushiel's Legacy Series (Kushiel's Dart), this book is so much more. It actually fleshes out the character of Joscelin, giving him more agency and showing us a whole different side of Terre d'Ange. While written to match the first book, it is considerably shorter do to less description, giving it a different feel from Phedre's voice. Joscelin is definitely his own person with his own way of seeing things, giving this book a less prose heavy bent. I loved the glimpses of things we never got to see in the original book, and plan to read it side by side with the original any time I read this series from now on. Just remember, it does follow the plot of the first book, and so it has graphic violence and also torture and slavery and the inability for Joscelin to prevent what happens to Phedre which makes him suicidal, and you do get to see his thought processes through all that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, War, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Kidnapping, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, Outing, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Rape, Grief, Vomit, War, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Bullying

Moderate: Cancer, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Sexual content

Very cute fade to black romance with diverse characters and a plot straight out of a rom-com movie. A nod to all the greats. :) Narrator was a little slow, but otherwise great at making characters stand out from each other.

Not Another Vampire Book by Cassandra Gannon

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Forgive the grammatical errors plaguing the latter half of this book, and just enjoy the ride. NOTHING about this book is serious. It is definitely just a bit joke, and one that is a lot of fun. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, and Genocide