You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
iam's reviews
1622 reviews
Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Super fun and highly entertaining romantasy with a Minotaur MMC and a fun cave adventuring/training plotline!
Content warnings include: sex on-page, marriage of convenience, sex on-page, blackmail, attempted murder, corpses, misogyny; Mentions of: gambling addiction, xenophobia, sexual harassment.
I mainly bought this because I really wanted to buy a book in an Indie Bookstore I went to, and this looked pretty, plus I still have fond memories of the last Minotaur romance I read, Morning Glory Milking Farm. I also never read anything by this author before (though I have Ice Planet Barbarians on my TBR) so I went in pretty much blind.
For a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, this actually had a lot of plot. There is the main romance plot hook, the Conquest Moon, an event that happens every 5 years that is basically a mating phase for Minotaurs where they go sex-crazy for a day. This ties in with Aspeth, the FMC, the noble heir of a broke holder family (read: fancy lords) who in an attempt to safe the family wants to join the Artificeer Guild, who look for magical Artifacts in underground ruins. In order to join, she needs a Chaperone, and Hawk, a Minotaur working for the Guild, needs a group to train and someone to spend the Conquest Moon with, so they strike a marriage of convenience.
The way the convenience marriage was proposed was hilarious. Aspeth is a pretty stereotypical sheltered rich lady who is very naive, but at the same time she is very practical and pragmatic, which leads to a lot of funny situations and situational comedy. It never veered into overdramatic sitcom vibes, instead staying grounded and very, very fun. Particularly juxtaposed with Hawk's POV who doesn't always know what the heck Aspeth is thinking (or doing) it creates a lot of very fun situations and I had a lot of good laughs.
The other big plot is Aspeth and her merry band of five, the group of Guild students training to become Artificers. The entire group is a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the characters. I wish they had gotten a but more attention here and there, but that's par of the course - and with more books in the series there is a good chance at least one of them is going to get their own book in the future.
Both of these main plots have various subplots that each are fun and integrated well. There's Magpie, Aspeth's idol who is supposed to train the Five, but mysteriously absent; there's Aspeth's past as a holder heir which she is trying to keep secret; there's Hawk desperately trying to educate Aspeth about what's going to happen during the Conquest Moon, and while Aspeth isn't opposed, she is also a bit scattered. And so many more.
It's written in an easy and accessible way that flows nicely. There are plenty of emotional ups and downs and I was pretty invested in it. The worldbuilding isn't super deep, but it's clear the author put a lot of thought into it, and the world feels alive and believeable. I could have done with a bit less sexism, and more details about the non-human people of this world, but overall this was an interesting setting.
The ending was very fun and satisfying too, though there were a few details I wasn't a fan of (how all the plot point converged at the end) and some details at the end felt off to me (Aspeth's emotional reaction to the consequences), but overal, I had a great time from beginning to end.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, marriage of convenience, sex on-page, blackmail, attempted murder, corpses, misogyny; Mentions of: gambling addiction, xenophobia, sexual harassment.
I mainly bought this because I really wanted to buy a book in an Indie Bookstore I went to, and this looked pretty, plus I still have fond memories of the last Minotaur romance I read, Morning Glory Milking Farm. I also never read anything by this author before (though I have Ice Planet Barbarians on my TBR) so I went in pretty much blind.
For a book that doesn't take itself too seriously, this actually had a lot of plot. There is the main romance plot hook, the Conquest Moon, an event that happens every 5 years that is basically a mating phase for Minotaurs where they go sex-crazy for a day. This ties in with Aspeth, the FMC, the noble heir of a broke holder family (read: fancy lords) who in an attempt to safe the family wants to join the Artificeer Guild, who look for magical Artifacts in underground ruins. In order to join, she needs a Chaperone, and Hawk, a Minotaur working for the Guild, needs a group to train and someone to spend the Conquest Moon with, so they strike a marriage of convenience.
The way the convenience marriage was proposed was hilarious. Aspeth is a pretty stereotypical sheltered rich lady who is very naive, but at the same time she is very practical and pragmatic, which leads to a lot of funny situations and situational comedy. It never veered into overdramatic sitcom vibes, instead staying grounded and very, very fun. Particularly juxtaposed with Hawk's POV who doesn't always know what the heck Aspeth is thinking (or doing) it creates a lot of very fun situations and I had a lot of good laughs.
The other big plot is Aspeth and her merry band of five, the group of Guild students training to become Artificers. The entire group is a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the characters. I wish they had gotten a but more attention here and there, but that's par of the course - and with more books in the series there is a good chance at least one of them is going to get their own book in the future.
Both of these main plots have various subplots that each are fun and integrated well. There's Magpie, Aspeth's idol who is supposed to train the Five, but mysteriously absent; there's Aspeth's past as a holder heir which she is trying to keep secret; there's Hawk desperately trying to educate Aspeth about what's going to happen during the Conquest Moon, and while Aspeth isn't opposed, she is also a bit scattered. And so many more.
It's written in an easy and accessible way that flows nicely. There are plenty of emotional ups and downs and I was pretty invested in it. The worldbuilding isn't super deep, but it's clear the author put a lot of thought into it, and the world feels alive and believeable. I could have done with a bit less sexism, and more details about the non-human people of this world, but overall this was an interesting setting.
The ending was very fun and satisfying too, though there were a few details I wasn't a fan of (how all the plot point converged at the end) and some details at the end felt off to me (Aspeth's emotional reaction to the consequences), but overal, I had a great time from beginning to end.
Opal by Maggie Stiefvater
medium-paced
4.0
Sweet short story playing after the end of The Raven King, written from Opal/Orphan Girl's POV and centered mostly around Ronan trying to dream a new Cabeswater, while Adam worries about his future. Both happy and sad, both good and bad, very dream-like and grounded.
The one thing that irked me was that, in the audiobook, the narrator for some reason does a lot of mumbling?? I had to relisten several times because I could not figure out what he was saying. Which is weird because that wasn't an issue at all in the audiobooks of the other Raven Cycle books, which have the same narrator??
The one thing that irked me was that, in the audiobook, the narrator for some reason does a lot of mumbling?? I had to relisten several times because I could not figure out what he was saying. Which is weird because that wasn't an issue at all in the audiobooks of the other Raven Cycle books, which have the same narrator??
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
This was a a great, atmospheric and truly creepy read that passed by in a flash, and while I greatly enjoyed it for the majority of the time, I had some mixed feelings at the end.
Content warnings include: murder, mutilation, cannibalism (eyes, unsurprisingly), violence, gore, drugging, fetishization, racism, gaslighting; mentions of divorce, cheating.
There were two layers of unsettling to this book. The first is born from the protagonist being a young Asian woman who is, along with her family, including her younger underage sister, being sexualized, fetishized, objectified and underestimated by multiple (white) men in her life. That everpresent and constant awareness of not being seen as an equal, but as a desirable object, was so creepy and there was an underlying threat in almost every interaction.
The other unsettling part was that, despite the creepy men, for the most part, Ji-won, the 18-year-old protagonist is the perpetrator of most of the gruesome crimes. We read the entire book from her perspective and while it starts out normal enough, it quickly becomes clear that she is far from a reliable narrator, and that she may not be such a good person after all. She is smart and protective of her family, but the things she does in order to protect them (and herself) slowly start to escalate (or have been, in fact, already been over-the-top even before the book started.)
For a big chunk of the book I was rooting for her. I'm not sure what changed, if it was me or if the book was deliberately shifting, but towards the end I was no longer cheering quite so much about what Ji-won was (planning on) doing. I do think the book deliberately humanizes the creeps, while also never loosing sight of what makes them creeps. But while the creeps were written to be more human, it almost felt like Ji-won turned less so, or I guess more removed from her humanity both through her actions and thoughts.
While the book focusses on Ji-won's unravelling, and her actions slowly escalating, I did not entirely follow that plot. There is a reveal towards the end that I thought explained things, but it ultimately felt completely meaningless because it changed nothing. Maybe that was the intention, but it left me a bit confused about what I was supposed to take from it. I felt like I was missing something. That may be on me, not on the book, though?
That aside, I also found that my suspension of disbelieve was beginning to get more and more strained towards the end. Rooting for Ji-won or not, I found myself a bit baffled by the consequences (or lack thereof) of her actions. I may be completely wrong, but I found myself wondering how noone was asking the questions I was. That may have been deliberate, but it ultimately made it less believable and sastisfying to read to me.
Equally dissatisfying was how some plot threads that felt relevant and important amounted to nothing. Again, they may have been deliberately places as misdirection, but to me it felt like forgotten potential.
All of these flaws may all be down to my personal reading experience or me missing something, and for the most part I did have a great time with the book. I heard several people describe the book as slow, but I was almost flying through it while reading. I think the combination of being so entrenched in a character's head, combined with the short chapters and visceral writing, really engaged me. I think I read the entire book in less than 4 hours total, it sucked me in so much.
Overall, a thrilling psychological horror that is very captivating, a great lense of oppression and sexualization of Asian women, with a dream-like quality to it while also feeling very grounded in reality, that looses a bit of its coherence towards the end.
Content warnings include: murder, mutilation, cannibalism (eyes, unsurprisingly), violence, gore, drugging, fetishization, racism, gaslighting; mentions of divorce, cheating.
There were two layers of unsettling to this book. The first is born from the protagonist being a young Asian woman who is, along with her family, including her younger underage sister, being sexualized, fetishized, objectified and underestimated by multiple (white) men in her life. That everpresent and constant awareness of not being seen as an equal, but as a desirable object, was so creepy and there was an underlying threat in almost every interaction.
The other unsettling part was that, despite the creepy men, for the most part, Ji-won, the 18-year-old protagonist is the perpetrator of most of the gruesome crimes. We read the entire book from her perspective and while it starts out normal enough, it quickly becomes clear that she is far from a reliable narrator, and that she may not be such a good person after all. She is smart and protective of her family, but the things she does in order to protect them (and herself) slowly start to escalate (or have been, in fact, already been over-the-top even before the book started.)
For a big chunk of the book I was rooting for her. I'm not sure what changed, if it was me or if the book was deliberately shifting, but towards the end I was no longer cheering quite so much about what Ji-won was (planning on) doing. I do think the book deliberately humanizes the creeps, while also never loosing sight of what makes them creeps. But while the creeps were written to be more human, it almost felt like Ji-won turned less so, or I guess more removed from her humanity both through her actions and thoughts.
While the book focusses on Ji-won's unravelling, and her actions slowly escalating, I did not entirely follow that plot. There is a reveal towards the end that I thought explained things, but it ultimately felt completely meaningless because it changed nothing. Maybe that was the intention, but it left me a bit confused about what I was supposed to take from it. I felt like I was missing something. That may be on me, not on the book, though?
That aside, I also found that my suspension of disbelieve was beginning to get more and more strained towards the end. Rooting for Ji-won or not, I found myself a bit baffled by the consequences (or lack thereof) of her actions. I may be completely wrong, but I found myself wondering how noone was asking the questions I was. That may have been deliberate, but it ultimately made it less believable and sastisfying to read to me.
Equally dissatisfying was how some plot threads that felt relevant and important amounted to nothing. Again, they may have been deliberately places as misdirection, but to me it felt like forgotten potential.
All of these flaws may all be down to my personal reading experience or me missing something, and for the most part I did have a great time with the book. I heard several people describe the book as slow, but I was almost flying through it while reading. I think the combination of being so entrenched in a character's head, combined with the short chapters and visceral writing, really engaged me. I think I read the entire book in less than 4 hours total, it sucked me in so much.
Overall, a thrilling psychological horror that is very captivating, a great lense of oppression and sexualization of Asian women, with a dream-like quality to it while also feeling very grounded in reality, that looses a bit of its coherence towards the end.
Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was incredible, super spooky, infuriating, and holding a lot of emotion.
Content warnings include: racism (specifically anti-Asian), gore, murder, violence, mutilation, germophobia, car crash; Mentions of: child abuse
The writing was incredibly evocative, right from the first page. I cannot remember the last time I read a book with such a thick atmosphere, and felt so lonely, so alone, so suffocating with its atmosphere. And yet it was never too stifling. I really adored it, it really sucked me into the book, engaged me with the story, and connected me to the main character, Cora.
The plot, too, throws you in right away, establishing the complex and difficult relationship between Cora and her sister, Delilah, just to immediately throw you for a loop in the first chapter. Despite knowing this was going to happen based on the book's whole premise, it was still a shock, not to mention the graphic nature and unapologetically gorey description of it.
Equally gorey where the crime scenes, though I found the descriptions of Cora struggling with her germophobia (not entirely sure if that's the right term?) almost more disturbing it how visceral and encompassing it is.
The book taking place during the COVID-pandemic is central to it's focus on anti-Asian hate crimes. It's horrific, and it's unfair. There is a great author's note at the end of the book.
While some may say that chosing for the book to be specifically playing during the COVID-pandemic dates the book, but for me that made it feel even more real.
Overall, this was a stunning horror read that pulled me in from the first page, and did not let me go until I finished. I loved the writing, and story was gripping, and even days after finishing it it's still on my mind.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily
Content warnings include: racism (specifically anti-Asian), gore, murder, violence, mutilation, germophobia, car crash; Mentions of: child abuse
The writing was incredibly evocative, right from the first page. I cannot remember the last time I read a book with such a thick atmosphere, and felt so lonely, so alone, so suffocating with its atmosphere. And yet it was never too stifling. I really adored it, it really sucked me into the book, engaged me with the story, and connected me to the main character, Cora.
The plot, too, throws you in right away, establishing the complex and difficult relationship between Cora and her sister, Delilah, just to immediately throw you for a loop in the first chapter. Despite knowing this was going to happen based on the book's whole premise, it was still a shock, not to mention the graphic nature and unapologetically gorey description of it.
Equally gorey where the crime scenes, though I found the descriptions of Cora struggling with her germophobia (not entirely sure if that's the right term?) almost more disturbing it how visceral and encompassing it is.
The book taking place during the COVID-pandemic is central to it's focus on anti-Asian hate crimes. It's horrific, and it's unfair. There is a great author's note at the end of the book.
While some may say that chosing for the book to be specifically playing during the COVID-pandemic dates the book, but for me that made it feel even more real.
Overall, this was a stunning horror read that pulled me in from the first page, and did not let me go until I finished. I loved the writing, and story was gripping, and even days after finishing it it's still on my mind.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Still very much feels like a filler upon rereading, but the narrator made me enjoy the Greenmatle chapters a lot. Especially the way he read Piper was delightful.
That alone makes me bump this up to 4 stars rather than the 3 stars the meandering plot deserves.
There was more Adam-Ronan interactions and acknolwedgement of Ronan's crush, but I still think their relationship lacks on-page depth in the first three books. I did greatly enjoy any and all Gangsey shenanigans though, and how comparatively well fleshed out the individual friendships within the gang are
That alone makes me bump this up to 4 stars rather than the 3 stars the meandering plot deserves.
There was more Adam-Ronan interactions and acknolwedgement of Ronan's crush, but I still think their relationship lacks on-page depth in the first three books. I did greatly enjoy any and all Gangsey shenanigans though, and how comparatively well fleshed out the individual friendships within the gang are
The Devil's Mark: M/M Erotic Romance Short by Johannes T. Evans
4.0
Curious short story about an executioner, and a young man who follows him after his dad's execution. Some real dark themes, though maybe not as dark as it could have been.
Steps Ahead by Johannes T. Evans
5.0
Lovely short story about a prince who is weary of his position, and a serving boy who tries to seduce him.
At no point did I have any clue about where this story was headed, and it made me a bit anxious as I feared for the characters - ultimately the ending was quite lovely, and I enjoyed the dynamic of the main characters and its development. And despite this being a short story, there was a lot of development!
At no point did I have any clue about where this story was headed, and it made me a bit anxious as I feared for the characters - ultimately the ending was quite lovely, and I enjoyed the dynamic of the main characters and its development. And despite this being a short story, there was a lot of development!
Touch-Starved by Johannes T. Evans
4.0
I'm struggling with finding the right word for this story - sweet is not it, and neither is bitter, and it's not quite both or a mix of them. There was some bitterness, some sweetness, some ignorance and care and tenderness, but also a biting satisfaction.
It's not a romance, but it's also not entirely unromantic, and a very unique dynamic between the two main characters.
It's not a romance, but it's also not entirely unromantic, and a very unique dynamic between the two main characters.