You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
iam's reviews
1624 reviews
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.
More Than Coffee by Johannes T. Evans
4.5
This was a lot of things - funny and sweet and hot, and I loved seeing two autistic characters (both protagonist an love interest ) in an erotic short story.
The setup was also kind of hilarious, it being the protagonist working at a criminal enterprise that uses a coffee shop as a front, and one day a man actually comes in for coffee and becomes a regular.
The setup was also kind of hilarious, it being the protagonist working at a criminal enterprise that uses a coffee shop as a front, and one day a man actually comes in for coffee and becomes a regular.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
A fun paranormal romance with a sassy protagonist, a heavy focus on friendship, but unfortunately a lack of worlbuilding.
Content warnings include: drugging, discrimination, segregation, hostage situations, kidnapping, poisoning, sex on-page.
This author has been quite hyped, so I wanted to give one of her books a go, and since I love paranormal romance I picked this one. I also heard that this is the gateway for omegaverse into the mainstream so I had to give it a go for that alone - and right of the bat, this is nowhere near or even close to omegaverse, so don't go in expecting that. The werewolf pack has an Alpha, but that's it.
I liked that the main motivation for Misery, the proagonist, was to find her best friend after her disappearance. Always love such a focus and even priorisation of friendship, especially in a romance book! This led to a mystery subplot, though to be honest, the mystery wasn't so much solved as was just suddenly revealed with the entire solution towards the final climax. I did not mind this much, and had a good time both with the overall plot and the final reveal.
Reading from Misery's POV was very fun. She is quite sassy, and both her narration as well as her interactions with others were feisty and fun - though it sometimes veered a bit too much into overly-comical, almost sitcom overdrawn joke/situation territory for me, or into the "omg I'm so quirkyyy" stereotype. But it always got the curve to not be too much for me, and I overall really enjoyed reading her voice and her take on situations.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast lacked depth. Lowe, the love interest, aside, there are so many werwolf characters, but none of them really get a personality, and when they do they are mostly reduced to "older caregiver with sad eyes", "silly adoreably annoying child" or "nervous nerdy IT guy". I still enjoyed these characters, but there really wasn't much to them. The few that DID have more depth did not get the attention they deserved, which in this genre may mean they will be getting their own book, but I have no clue if that's something this author does?
Another thing that lacked depth, and this is what I noticed the most, was the worldbuilding. It kind of pretended it was there, but you only had to scratch the surface to see the cracks. Some of this is explained away by Misery being "bad at being a vamypre" due to having grown up in human territory (due to being what basically amounts to a political hostage). But even with that, there are soooo many times where the lack of thought put into the detailed was obvious. At one point it is heavily implied werewolves do not have the same organs as humans (a werewolf gets confused about where gallbladder/liver/kidneys are located on humans and then makes a comment about not getting human anatomy??) which is then never mentioned again.
There is also a long conversation and (anatomical) sexual compatability between werewolves and other species.... which was a lovely conversation and I adored it was there as the situation is fun, except it amount to nothing and bordered on nonsensical, both because the werewolf for some reason refused to just open his mouth and say what was different about him, and because they are very much compatible anyways (and I am genuinely confused as to why he thought they wouldn't be, anyway? Is this implying that AFAB werwolves have different reproductive organs than humans or vampyres??? Who the fuck knows, certainly not the author).
Lastly, to comment on the romance itself... it was lukewarm at best. Make no mistake, I did enjoy these characters together, and it read very well, it was enjoyable to read about them being wary at first and warming up to each other. But to be quite honest, there wasn't much passion or spark there. This was definitely a case of "ok but what do these charactes actually have to talk about when there isn't an external reason making them work together?". Here the whole Mate subplot (basically fated mates/soulmates/love at first sight) really worked against the integrity of the story here.
Despite all this critique, this was still fun to read and I had a good time with it. It felt lighthearted and entertaining, I just enjoy these paranormal aspects too much to not be somewhat wistful over what could have been. The book made such a huge deal out of how incompatible humans, vampyres and werwolves are in all aspects, including culturally and anatomically, but that amounted to nothing and just straight up wasn't true in many cases.
Content warnings include: drugging, discrimination, segregation, hostage situations, kidnapping, poisoning, sex on-page.
This author has been quite hyped, so I wanted to give one of her books a go, and since I love paranormal romance I picked this one. I also heard that this is the gateway for omegaverse into the mainstream so I had to give it a go for that alone - and right of the bat, this is nowhere near or even close to omegaverse, so don't go in expecting that. The werewolf pack has an Alpha, but that's it.
I liked that the main motivation for Misery, the proagonist, was to find her best friend after her disappearance. Always love such a focus and even priorisation of friendship, especially in a romance book! This led to a mystery subplot, though to be honest, the mystery wasn't so much solved as was just suddenly revealed with the entire solution towards the final climax. I did not mind this much, and had a good time both with the overall plot and the final reveal.
Reading from Misery's POV was very fun. She is quite sassy, and both her narration as well as her interactions with others were feisty and fun - though it sometimes veered a bit too much into overly-comical, almost sitcom overdrawn joke/situation territory for me, or into the "omg I'm so quirkyyy" stereotype. But it always got the curve to not be too much for me, and I overall really enjoyed reading her voice and her take on situations.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast lacked depth. Lowe, the love interest, aside, there are so many werwolf characters, but none of them really get a personality, and when they do they are mostly reduced to "older caregiver with sad eyes", "silly adoreably annoying child" or "nervous nerdy IT guy". I still enjoyed these characters, but there really wasn't much to them. The few that DID have more depth did not get the attention they deserved, which in this genre may mean they will be getting their own book, but I have no clue if that's something this author does?
Another thing that lacked depth, and this is what I noticed the most, was the worldbuilding. It kind of pretended it was there, but you only had to scratch the surface to see the cracks. Some of this is explained away by Misery being "bad at being a vamypre" due to having grown up in human territory (due to being what basically amounts to a political hostage). But even with that, there are soooo many times where the lack of thought put into the detailed was obvious. At one point it is heavily implied werewolves do not have the same organs as humans (a werewolf gets confused about where gallbladder/liver/kidneys are located on humans and then makes a comment about not getting human anatomy??) which is then never mentioned again.
There is also a long conversation and (anatomical) sexual compatability between werewolves and other species.... which was a lovely conversation and I adored it was there as the situation is fun, except it amount to nothing and bordered on nonsensical, both because the werewolf for some reason refused to just open his mouth and say what was different about him, and because they are very much compatible anyways (and I am genuinely confused as to why he thought they wouldn't be, anyway? Is this implying that AFAB werwolves have different reproductive organs than humans or vampyres??? Who the fuck knows, certainly not the author).
Lastly, to comment on the romance itself... it was lukewarm at best. Make no mistake, I did enjoy these characters together, and it read very well, it was enjoyable to read about them being wary at first and warming up to each other. But to be quite honest, there wasn't much passion or spark there. This was definitely a case of "ok but what do these charactes actually have to talk about when there isn't an external reason making them work together?". Here the whole Mate subplot (basically fated mates/soulmates/love at first sight) really worked against the integrity of the story here.
Despite all this critique, this was still fun to read and I had a good time with it. It felt lighthearted and entertaining, I just enjoy these paranormal aspects too much to not be somewhat wistful over what could have been. The book made such a huge deal out of how incompatible humans, vampyres and werwolves are in all aspects, including culturally and anatomically, but that amounted to nothing and just straight up wasn't true in many cases.
A King's Man by Johannes T. Evans
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.5
A dark story about a king and what he does to the assassins who fail at killing him.
Tense and messed-up undertones, but really intriguing.
Nice twist ending, and a clearly much richer world in the background than such a short story would make you assume.
Tense and messed-up undertones, but really intriguing.
Nice twist ending, and a clearly much richer world in the background than such a short story would make you assume.
Daddy's Boy by Johannes T. Evans
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Plays parallel to Gellert's New Job: Gay Fantasy/Crime Short Fiction but does not necessarily need to be read before reading this. Another great novelette set in the magical crime town of Lashton, this time about the crime family of the Laithes. At the center are father and youngest son, the latter wrecked by PTSD and an anxiety disorder, as well as his father's coldness towards him. It's a dark read, but I enjoyed it, though the twist at the end was unexpected and not entirely to my liking. Still cannot wait to read more.
Gellert's New Job by Johannes T. Evans
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Biting, dark but sort of humorous novelette about an accountant working for a crime family in a town on the egde of human and fae territories.
I greatly enjoyed the setting, as well as the characters. The overall sense of dread and danger, and the sheer unlikeability of the characters was a great contrast to the equally dark crass humor, and the sharp and cold tone and fearlessness of the protagonist.
I greatly enjoyed the setting, as well as the characters. The overall sense of dread and danger, and the sheer unlikeability of the characters was a great contrast to the equally dark crass humor, and the sharp and cold tone and fearlessness of the protagonist.
Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
I liked a lot of things about this book. I liked the idea of a lesbian revenge fantasy, the backdrop of industrial revolution and labor strikes, the lyrical writing of the author, and the expansive worldbuilding - unfortunately, the narration kind of killed the vibe for me.
Content warnings include: death, seizures, hallucinations, violence, organised crime, robbery, sex on-page, homophobia.
One of my biggest issues was that the main plot that is described in the book description - the bit about the main character Marney seeking revenge on the the man who killed her family, so to get close she starts courting for his daughter's hand - doesn't even come up until after 50% into the book. This is already a pet peeve of mine, but unfortunately the bits between the very beginning, where Marney's family is killed, and the plot really starting, were not my cup of tea.
Not because of what was happening - Marney growing up with bandits - but because of the narration.
For a huge part the book is written as Marney telling what happened to her to "you", her childhood friend who died with her family. Meaning the events are not written as if they are happening to Marney, but as if they had happened in the past and she is recounting the events. I simply did not like that.
The book was not well written - the writing is very beautiful, and I have enjoyed it already in the author's other works. However, the very lyrical writing, combined with the retrospective narration, and how the reader is thrown into the entire world without much explanation made it confusing to read at times. Usually I don't mind a bit of confusion while reading (the book is compared to Gideon the Ninth after all, which is famously confusing and one of my favourite books) but in this case this specific combination made me not particularly engaged with the book or plot.
Additionally, while the characters were pretty cool, they also felt very scattered and surface level. Even some of the most important characters I had no grasp on as I finished the book, and since a lot of the characters switched around, appeared out of nowhere just to disappear again, it was hard to really get invested into any of them as they were discarded so quickly even when they seemed important. And even the ones that reappeared never got much depth.
Conversely, it actually felt like there was a lot of depth to the setting and worldbuilding, but following it was difficult, and I admittedly just gave up on some of the world politics and countries/players involved. I wanted more from it, but couldn't quite get there.
The plot, what there was of it, was very cool. Unfortunately, it sort of just.... ends at 90%, and the rest of the book is told in a sort of omniscent epilogue style were a ton of events are summarized. It's not like it doesn't make sense for the plot, and IS explained away, but it felt like a very strange choice. It also gave some of the coolest worldbuilding reveals, but it wasn't as impactful as it could have been due to the narration, again.
Ultimately this has a super cool concept and I did enjoy parts of it, but it hugely missed the mark for me due to the narrative choices.
Content warnings include: death, seizures, hallucinations, violence, organised crime, robbery, sex on-page, homophobia.
One of my biggest issues was that the main plot that is described in the book description - the bit about the main character Marney seeking revenge on the the man who killed her family, so to get close she starts courting for his daughter's hand - doesn't even come up until after 50% into the book. This is already a pet peeve of mine, but unfortunately the bits between the very beginning, where Marney's family is killed, and the plot really starting, were not my cup of tea.
Not because of what was happening - Marney growing up with bandits - but because of the narration.
For a huge part the book is written as Marney telling what happened to her to "you", her childhood friend who died with her family. Meaning the events are not written as if they are happening to Marney, but as if they had happened in the past and she is recounting the events. I simply did not like that.
The book was not well written - the writing is very beautiful, and I have enjoyed it already in the author's other works. However, the very lyrical writing, combined with the retrospective narration, and how the reader is thrown into the entire world without much explanation made it confusing to read at times. Usually I don't mind a bit of confusion while reading (the book is compared to Gideon the Ninth after all, which is famously confusing and one of my favourite books) but in this case this specific combination made me not particularly engaged with the book or plot.
Additionally, while the characters were pretty cool, they also felt very scattered and surface level. Even some of the most important characters I had no grasp on as I finished the book, and since a lot of the characters switched around, appeared out of nowhere just to disappear again, it was hard to really get invested into any of them as they were discarded so quickly even when they seemed important. And even the ones that reappeared never got much depth.
Conversely, it actually felt like there was a lot of depth to the setting and worldbuilding, but following it was difficult, and I admittedly just gave up on some of the world politics and countries/players involved. I wanted more from it, but couldn't quite get there.
The plot, what there was of it, was very cool. Unfortunately, it sort of just.... ends at 90%, and the rest of the book is told in a sort of omniscent epilogue style were a ton of events are summarized. It's not like it doesn't make sense for the plot, and IS explained away, but it felt like a very strange choice. It also gave some of the coolest worldbuilding reveals, but it wasn't as impactful as it could have been due to the narration, again.
Ultimately this has a super cool concept and I did enjoy parts of it, but it hugely missed the mark for me due to the narrative choices.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
Reread December 2024:I'm not sure what it is about this book, but there is something magical about it to me.
On paper, this book - the entire series - sounds incredibly boring: a group of boys who go to a rich school are on the hunt for the grave of a dead Welsh king, and they get involved with a girl who's the daughter of psychics, and whose first love with die after she kisses them.
Yet somehow, this series kinda has me in a chokehold whenever I read it. Something about the dynamics between the characters is so captivating, and I love every one of them, all of them flawed yet lovely.
The writing is quite particular, too, and I can see how it could be annoying or pretentious, but for me it really works. The performance of the audiobook narrator is great, too.
Overall the book is both magical and ordinary, gentle and harsh, happy and sad, silly and deathly serious. Something about it is just really special to me, and I am happy to be along for the ride once again.
Reread September 2020:Audio reread made me like this considerably more than I did on first read. The narrator made me POV switches fun, and I totally failed at listening to this low-key on the side as I planned to. Instead I totally got sucked into the story and wanted to keep listening even even audiobook time was over.
First read March 2016: 3 stars
On paper, this book - the entire series - sounds incredibly boring: a group of boys who go to a rich school are on the hunt for the grave of a dead Welsh king, and they get involved with a girl who's the daughter of psychics, and whose first love with die after she kisses them.
Yet somehow, this series kinda has me in a chokehold whenever I read it. Something about the dynamics between the characters is so captivating, and I love every one of them, all of them flawed yet lovely.
The writing is quite particular, too, and I can see how it could be annoying or pretentious, but for me it really works. The performance of the audiobook narrator is great, too.
Overall the book is both magical and ordinary, gentle and harsh, happy and sad, silly and deathly serious. Something about it is just really special to me, and I am happy to be along for the ride once again.
Reread September 2020:Audio reread made me like this considerably more than I did on first read. The narrator made me POV switches fun, and I totally failed at listening to this low-key on the side as I planned to. Instead I totally got sucked into the story and wanted to keep listening even even audiobook time was over.
First read March 2016: 3 stars
And the Mighty Will Fall by K.B. Wagers
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This was a lot! A great, high adrenaline novel for the NeoG series.
Content warning include: graphic death and injury, terrorism, mass murder, trauma, hostage situation.
I really enjoyed the NeoG series when I found it last year, and this new novel was no exception. While the first three books were never without action, this one raised it all on a whole new level.
From the get go, the book is way more serious than the previous ones. There is no relationship drama, and no boarding games - the entire book plays over the course of one day (possibly only a series of hours?) and against one massive, horrifying attack on a day that should lead to more peace.
There is a time skip between And the Mighty Will Fall, which is the fourth book in the series, and the previous books, The Ghost of Trappist. It's also been over a year since I read it. As such, I struggled a bit with recalling the massive cast of characters and their relationships and character dynamics. There is a cast list at the beginning of the book, grouping all appearing characters based on their factions/teams, but that admittedly didn't really help me. I did find my groove eventually, but I do think the series is best enjoyed when you have a deep understanding of the characters and dynamics, though it does still work when you just vaguely remember. I don't think it would work as a standalone, was there is next to no recap of anything that has happened before.
Something that really struck with me was Max's character arc, especially towards the end. While the book is full of personal tragedy, what is happening to Max, or rather how what she has to do in this book, is absolutely horrifying on an emotional level. It isn't really resolved at the end, which makes sense because my god it would take a lot of time, but I'm very curious to see how it will affect her in upcoming books - I have a feeling it's going to be a big plot point.
While the series has always excelled at having a huge cast of interesting characters, I enjoyed seeing so many of them working together here, and to see them all individually excel at their jobs. That was very satisfying to read.
I said before there is not much relationship-focus in And the Mighty Will Fall - the few relationships that do advance do so very subtly, and it's more groundwork that is laid for possible future developments. I enjoyed that, too, as the main plot is just so all-encompassing. But it makes me excited to see how these things develop in possible future books.
Overall a great, high adrenaline and fast-paced installment of the series!
Content warning include: graphic death and injury, terrorism, mass murder, trauma, hostage situation.
I really enjoyed the NeoG series when I found it last year, and this new novel was no exception. While the first three books were never without action, this one raised it all on a whole new level.
From the get go, the book is way more serious than the previous ones. There is no relationship drama, and no boarding games - the entire book plays over the course of one day (possibly only a series of hours?) and against one massive, horrifying attack on a day that should lead to more peace.
There is a time skip between And the Mighty Will Fall, which is the fourth book in the series, and the previous books, The Ghost of Trappist. It's also been over a year since I read it. As such, I struggled a bit with recalling the massive cast of characters and their relationships and character dynamics. There is a cast list at the beginning of the book, grouping all appearing characters based on their factions/teams, but that admittedly didn't really help me. I did find my groove eventually, but I do think the series is best enjoyed when you have a deep understanding of the characters and dynamics, though it does still work when you just vaguely remember. I don't think it would work as a standalone, was there is next to no recap of anything that has happened before.
Something that really struck with me was Max's character arc, especially towards the end. While the book is full of personal tragedy, what is happening to Max, or rather how what she has to do in this book, is absolutely horrifying on an emotional level. It isn't really resolved at the end, which makes sense because my god it would take a lot of time, but I'm very curious to see how it will affect her in upcoming books - I have a feeling it's going to be a big plot point.
While the series has always excelled at having a huge cast of interesting characters, I enjoyed seeing so many of them working together here, and to see them all individually excel at their jobs. That was very satisfying to read.
I said before there is not much relationship-focus in And the Mighty Will Fall - the few relationships that do advance do so very subtly, and it's more groundwork that is laid for possible future developments. I enjoyed that, too, as the main plot is just so all-encompassing. But it makes me excited to see how these things develop in possible future books.
Overall a great, high adrenaline and fast-paced installment of the series!
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.